Dynasties of Russian Storytellers in Yakutia and the Features of Their Repertoire (Bylinas and Historical Songs as a Case-Study)

Olga Iosifovna Charina

doi:10.7596/taksad.v7i3.1738

Abstract

The article studies the traditional family features of Russian folklore in Yakutia of the Russian people living in an area near the mouth of the Kolyma River, the Indigirka River and the midstream of the Lena River. Within the scope of research on the general outline of Russian folklore distribution in Yakutia during its period of flourishment, we also overview the local features which were established in the course of an extended time-period; a number of example will be presented from epic texts created in the following areas: Biryuk of the Olyokminsky region, Pohodsk and Russkoye Ustye located on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Written records by V.G. Bogoraz compiled at the end of the 19 th century, the written records compiled by S.I. Bolo, N.A. Gabyshev at the early 1940s, and written records created by Y.I. Smirnov in the early 1980s. We will also refer to our own written records collected in the indicated northern areas where Russian folklore developed in the 1990s. These texts contain the same storytelling traditions which manifested themselves earlier in the bylinas about Ilia Muromets and the historical song entitled A Brave Man Beckons a Young Woman to Come to Kazan ; each of these folklore texts were created in different time-periods: the end of 19 th century and the middle/end of the 20 th century correspondingly. The article also specifies the features represented in the folklore texts by M.F. Sokovikov, S.P. Kiselyov, E.S. Kiselyov, F.E. Sedyh. The study represents a comparative analysis of genres and plots along with some epic text motifs recorded in the written text in the midstream area of the Lena River, and the areas of the Kolyma and the Indigirka Rivers. There is a clear dynasty type of the epic texts inheritance visible in throughout the texts. The Sokovikovs (living in the 19 th century in the Kolyma region) have practically lost their family traditions, whereas the Kiselyovs (a father and son) living in the 20 th century in the Russkoye Ustye managed to remember a large collection of bylinas that they wrote down. The Sedyh family living in the midstream Lena River area managed to preserve an insignificant amount of epic texts due to the fact that this folklore genre was not wide-spread in the area.

Highlights

The article gives an overview of some features of Russian folklore which developed in the Allaikhovsky and Nizhnekolymsky regions located in the north-east of Yakutia and in the midstream part of the Lena River
On the basis of the folklore text records, we revealed that there were lists of famous folklore storytellers
During the time of the first recordings of oral folklore, the pieces were recorded from people who were generally unknown to the public as storytellers; in the middle of the 20th century, folklore compilers observed the presence of such important features as the storyteller, place of residence, age and family relations

Summary

Introduction

The article gives an overview of some features of Russian folklore which developed in the Allaikhovsky and Nizhnekolymsky regions located in the north-east of Yakutia and in the midstream part of the Lena River. The significance of this research topic is justified by the fact that the author of the article is making an attempt of tracing the consecutive process of collecting works of oral folklore art in specific areas of Yakutia where the Russians resided on a permanent basis; this research fits the general framework of the Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North Studies aimed at analyzing the folklore materials gathered by the researchers of the Institute during the expedition in the 20th century. Novikov (Novikov, 2000; 2007; 2013)

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