Tsybikova Badma-Khanda Badmadorzhievna

Түлхүүр үг:  үлгэрүүд, үлгэр-туулийн уламжлал, Монголын буриадууд, өгүүлэмж, сэдэв, ерөнхий, өвөрмөц

Keywords: uligers, epic tradition, Buryats of Mongolia, plots, motives, general, distinctive

Abstract

The report analyzes two sources - uliger texts recorded in 1927 by Sanzhaizhin Danzano on the banks of the Kerulen River from Dugar Manzaron, a poor man of the Buryat khoshun Khan Khentei aimag (district) of Mongolia. One of them is called “Urdyn sagai naiman tumen nahatay nayan tohoy beeteney ueyn Buhair khubun Bogda Zhangaray tuukhe” - “The story of Buhair’s son Bogdo Zhangar, [happened] in ancient times, when [people were] eight thousand years old, [height] eight toha (one toha equals 0,32 (zero point thirty two) meters)". The name of the second uliger sounds like this: “Urdyn urda, ertyn enkhe sagay nayan tohoy beeteney, naiman tumen nahatanay uyeyn uber Shodor Shoolin nyutagtai uber Mergeney khubuun Yoro Yogsholoy tuukhe” - “History of Yoro Yog” Shola, the son of Uber Mergen from the locality of Uber Shodor Sholin, [happened] in long, distant, early halcyon times, when [people were] eight thousand years old, [height] eight toha”.

They were discovered by the famous philologist Ts-A. N. Dugar-Nimaev in the manuscript department of the state library of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia. Together with his Mongolian colleague Ch. Dagvadorj, they carried out work to search for biographical information about the storyteller Dugar Manzaron in the Central Historical Archive of Mongolia. As a result of the information found, it was established that the cattle breeder Manzaron was born in 1889 or 1890. According to the assumption of Ts-A. Nimaevich, at the time of the uliger performance, the storyteller was 37 years old. The translation of the uligers into Cyrillic writing was carried out by Dugar-Nimaev Ts-A.N. with the assistance of Mongolian expert G.N. Ochirova. These uligers were published in Ulan-Ude as a separate edition in 1992[1].

The analysis of the epic works of Dugar Manzaron showed that at the time when the Buryats began to settle in Mongolia, traditional folklore, in the conditions of separation from the metropolis, had not yet lost its maternal traditions, and no traces of significant transformation of the genre epic system were found. The implementation of the plot core is characterized by stability, it is developing around the matrimonial theme - the main character’s search for his betrothed; a colorful description of the adventures of the main character to achieve the goal. What is common is the presence of key components of the uliger tradition: overcoming obstacles, eliminating enemy pests, punishing deceivers, and the hero’s marrige.

Motives that are important for the plot development in the analyzed texts are also present in other uligers of the maternal tradition: delivery of life-giving water from the celestials for the owner by horse; the hero's violation of the rules of behavior imposed on him in the khan's palace; transformation of the hero’s and his horse’s appearance; reduction in the size of the father; an arrow reporting to its owner after achieving its goal.

At the same time, in the works of Dugar Manzaron, which are an integral part of the Khori-Buryat epic, some variations in the implementation of individual motifs have been identified, which takes place in the performing practice of storytellers. The artistic innovations of the uligershin include the saturation of the plot by Buddhist inclusions (characters, attributes, rituals), which go along with characteristic mythological elements. Besides, some individual motifs filled with mythological semantics have no analogues in the Khorinsk uligers: the location of the soul of the mangadhai (mythological monsters); metamorphosis of the main character, his reincarnation as a relative of mangadhai, etc. So, the plot semantic structures and motif units inherited from the general epic fund of the Hori-Buryats are reflected in the uliger texts of the Buryats of Mongolia, while they differ in their local features. It is significant that the continuity of tradition, the semantic integrity of narrative units, and the constructive elements of text generation are preserved.

Thus, the plot semantic structures and motivic units inherited from the general epic fund of the Khori-Buryats are reflected in the uliger texts of the Buryats of Mongolia, while they differ in their local features. It is significant that the continuity of tradition, the semantic integrity of narrative units, and the constructive elements of text generation are preserved. The uliger works brought from their historical homeland are characterized by the completeness of the plot and motive fund, which can serve as an indicator of the richness of the Buryat folk culture in the past. The uligers, recorded among the Buryats of Mongolia, are characterized by the Buddhist-shamanic synthesis, and a Buddhist picture of the world is superimposed on the ancient mythological basis of the epic. The material explored is rich in the elements of Buddhist themes, in which one can reveal the traces of the influence of the Mongolian epic tradition.

[1] Mongoldokhi buryaaduudai ulgernyud. Byridhegshe Ts-A.Dugar-Nimaev (Uligers of the Buryats of Mongolia. The compiler is C-A.Dugar-Nimaev). Ulan-Ude: Publishing House of the BSC SB RAS, 1992.  96 p.