Yakut-Even Folklore Correlations in Epic Genres of the Evens of Yakutia

• Published in: Journal of History Culture and Art Research
• Main Author: Alexey Alexeyevich Burykin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Arabic; English; French; Turkish
• Published: Karabuk University 2018
• Subjects: yakut folklore; yakut epics; olonkho; tungus; even legends; fairy tales; History of scholarship and learning. The humanities; AZ20-999; Social Sciences; H; Social sciences (General); H1-99; Ust-Maya; Yakutia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7596/taksad.v7i4.1818; https://doaj.org/article/5930425b2fdb4bdc8f5a8a67129f6fe5

The topic of article focuses on the examples of epic and fantastic genres interaction represented in the Yakut and Even folklore traditions. The author takes examples from the texts and describes some fragments of Yakut and Even epic texts in which there is an ornitomorphic feature connected with the name Yoksyokyu, and in the Evens texts – with the name Yugseki or Yevseki. This feature is present in various examples of epic texts of the Yakut traditional epic olonkho and in some folklore texts of the Dolgans; it can be seen in the epic legends of the southeast Evens, living in the Khabarovsky Krai, who have come there from the east of Yakutia and are presently living in the neighboring regions with the Yakut people. Apart from epic texts, the image of a bird of Yoksyokyu occurs in examples of Dolgan and Yakut fairy tales. In our research, the descriptive method was used providing a large scope of primary textual data analysis; as well as the categorizing method allowing to show specific features of each text and its details; the comparative method aimed at defining similarities and differences in the context of both – the Yakut and Tungus folklore traditions and texts, representing different genres – the epic olonkho and fairy tales. A text material was selected using the method of computer analysis of large scope of texts, allowing taking texts containing proper names, age and social signs of characters, living beings and subjects as well as these subjects' names. Occurrence of such a character as a predatory fighting bird Yugseki similar to an eagle – Yevseki in the Even legends – is an unequivocal cultural borrowing from the Yakut folklore tradition: the group of Evens where these legends have been written down, is native to the Ust-Maya ulus (administrative division) of Yakutia and their dialect is close to the Even dialects of eastern Yakutia. In all Yoksyokyu referred to in the texts – the ornitomorphic character with a number of heads ranging from 1 to 8, capable of turning into a well-built human being ...