Роль устных и письменных памятников в изучении мифологии татар

Abstract

The aim of the research is to determine the composition of the main oral and written sources and their role in the study of Turkic mythology in general and Tatar mythology in particular. The authors systematise the available source base directly related to Tatar mythology in the aspect of identifying the function of national myths in the process of recreating the ethnic history of the people. The paper examines oral sources containing information passed down from generation to generation and preserved in the memory of the people, as well as written sources of different times including both historical documents and literary texts. The research is novel in that it is the first in Russian literary studies and folklore studies to provide a detailed description of oral and written sources, to involve narratives that have not been used previously as material for the study of national mythology in the analysis. The research findings have shown that secondary sources of different genres ranging from ancient written monuments to modern literary works provide rich material for a holistic study of the system of mythological views of a particular people.