The Function of the Thing in the Motif of the Path (based on the material of the Kalmyk fairy tale)

Abstract

Introduction. When studying a thing, the main defining principle of it is the main property or function that it performs. Function is the basis for the systematics of things in research. Results. The analysis of the texts of Kalmyk fairy tales showed that when setting out on a journey, the characters take with them things that once accompanied a person at a funeral, the transition to another world. The length of the path in the fairy tale is conveyed through the description of iron, implying strength, objects that wear out by the end of the path. On the Kalmyk material, there is a case of adding a staff and shoes with other things made of iron (a three-layer shell from a boiler, a three-layer helmet from a flat-bottomed boiler). The material of the Kalmyk fairy tale provides an expansion of the number of iron objects, which, under the influence of fairy-tale tradition, along with a staff and shoes, also appear to be iron. When setting off on a long journey to another world, the wonderful spouse gives him a ball of threads, which performs a guiding function in the fairy tale and things-attributes (a golden comb, a yellow-mottled handkerchief and a golden ring) that have the function of identification. In the motif of the way, the Kalmyk fairy tale complements the magic carpet with two more objects and gives the trinity of these things one function — transport. When escaping from man-eating mousses, things are used that transform the fabulous space received from parents. The grindstone, the chopping block and the skimmer turn into insurmountable mountains and a dense forest. From his father, the hero, who sets off on a journey, also receives a sword, which is stealthily used by a magical assistant for its intended purpose and imperceptibly returned to the hero. The texts on the “Grateful Dead” plot type show that the hero, the begged son of wealthy parents or the khan’s son, sets off on a journey with gold and silver, money that has a stable associative connection with the “other” world. When considering the function of an item in the motif of the Kalmyk fairy tale path, universal objects (staff, shoes, food, money) used in traditional rites of passage by many peoples, including the Kalmyks, as well as a specific one borrowed from the culture of the Russian people — the clay pot buhsh, which is unconventional for the life of the Kalmyk people, are noted.