Особенности сюжетологии в синьцзян-ойратской эпической традиции

Abstract

Studies of epic plots constitute an urgent issue of present-day folklore poetics. The paper considers plots of the Jangar epic as living narratives in all their structural complexity, relevance of motifs, and eventfulness on the content level. Goals. The study aims to provide an insight how the tradition organizes and presents epic plots, reveal semantic and structural ties, relations between characters, discover some hidden expositions, contaminations, novelties, plot transformations, and modifications. The research objects are Xinjiang Oirat Jangar epic plots dealing with the hero’s matchmaking. Results. The analysis of the mentioned plots in the context of the contemporary Xinjiang Oirat national tradition reveals some typical plot formation features. In the Xinjiang Oirat tradition, the universal Turko-Mongolic epic theme of the hero’s matchmaking is characterized by diversity mirroring various matchmaking forms inherent to the fabulous-and-epic antiquity, as well as consecutive changes in marriage patterns and family relations, vestiges of matriarchy and patriarchal trends, marriage by abduction, cradle marriage, traditional marriage, etc. The study reveals that the Xinjiang Oirat tradition contains all types of plots: archaic plots rich in motifs, traditional and classical ones. The discovered polystadial patterns include ― to a greater or lesser extent ― impacts of archaic and classical types of the epos. It should be noted that some traditional motifs have experienced transformations within classical plots, and their content, event background, functions of characters come close to historical reality. Plots of the late ‘living’ epic Xinjiang Oirat tradition illustrate processes of introducing taletelling novelties and contaminations. The latter can be manifested in episodes determined by contextual interrelations of plots within the tradition and community, as well as in borrowings from the Kalmyk version (‘About Uzyung Aldar Khan’s Marriage’, ‘About How the Glorious Noyon Bogdo Jangar Married Aga Shavdal’, ‘About Khoshun’s Marriage’). The paper traces plots with double contaminations, e.g., the plot ‘about an imaginary bridegroom’ (‘About Khan Siyr’), the plot ‘about the imaginary bride’ (‘About Khongor’s Marriage’), the plot ‘about a prohibition and its violation’ (‘About Uzyung Aldar Khan’s Marriage’). The commonality of epic plots is traced on the contensive level of epic situations and collisions, functions of characters, movement of narratives.