AN ANALYSIS OF THE MENTALITY FOR MONGOLIANS’ SYMBOLISM BASED ON THE MYTH OF “KHUKHU NAMJIL”

Abstract

Analyzing the symbolic mindset from an overview of the content of any myth is an expression of essence from phenomena, and it will be an important tool for determining the characteristics of the nation's mentality. Therefore, many legends of the origin of the Morin huur (Horsehead fiddle) were collected and compiled in the course of my research; then 15 selected myths which are called similar versions of Khuhu Namjil tied to the main motif with the main idea of "A young man who lost his magical flying horse to a villain was depressed and made fiddles for him” were confirmed that it’s the same version of the same myth in terms of their main content, narrative, and characters. Accordingly, this research mainly used historical material, genre division, text analysis, motif, and comparative study methods. In order to analyze the symbolic mentality of the Mongolians from the myths by using some theories of ritual, cultural studies, and aesthetics, it was analyzed and determined that "the characters of the horse with the wings of desire and the mother “Etugen” were created in their world of intellection". These characters are represented by the legendary “Jonon” black horse, flying winged horse, mermaid, and “Altai”s maiden and it was proved from the content that the abstract concept of spirit is believed to be as a winged horse, and the talisman of the owner of mountains and springs has been worshiped as a mermaid and a fairy for ages. In addition, it has been proved that the symbols of colors (such as green color representing “Lus” or the owner of Springs, black color as civilian, bravery, and splendor, and red color is as warmth and joy) and numbers (one, two, three) were created from Mongolian people's devotion and belief are reflected in the legend by using the events and the narratives in it. Basically, by deepening and expanding the scope of the study of the legend of the fiddle, which previous researchers studied, and by clarifying the meaning of the event and the ideology or mindset of the characters, it is not only innovative but also brings one step closer to the further research of the legend related to the origin of the fiddle thus, the results of this research are significant and a pioneer in the study of fiddle mythology.