Мотив пути в калмыцких сказках, включающих сюжет ATU 300 The Dragon-Slayer

Abstract

Introduction. In the oral tradition of Kalmyks, type ATU 300 The Dragon-Slayer serves an episode to magic and heroic folktales. In Kalmyk narratives, the main character slays a serpent to save a maiden from death. Such tales begin with that a hero takes the road to eliminate some shortage/trouble, the action be based on the former’s spatial movement. So, the to-be serpent-slayer travels through worlds: he descends to the lower world, returns to the human-inhabited middle one, undergoes some difficulties, and finds a bride. Thus, the motif of way proves central to the considered plots. Goals. The study aims to examine the motif of way in ATU 300-based (The Dragon-Slayer) Kalmyk folktales. Materials. The paper analyzes texts of published Kalmyk folktales. Results. In The Son of Khan Gal — Otkhon Shara (Kalm. Һал хаана отхн шар көвүн), the main character — like a tuuli-uliger hero — sets off on a journey after receipt of a message from his betrothed. And it is the traditional formula ‘good advice, or a palm-sized skin’ that provides a stage for the hero to meet the messenger. When it comes to describe the hero’s departure, the narrative involves the genre of yöräl (‘good wishes’) which goes back to magic folk poetry rooted in the belief word has power, a successful arrival in the other world be guaranteed by certain preparatory action and appropriate attributes that had once accompanied the deceased on their last journey. Another motive for a hero to start on a trip is that his reigning father loses eyesight. In The Story of Tögseg Khaan (Kalm. Ном Төгсг хаана туск тууҗ) sons are supposed to leave and dare see what their father never saw for his sight to recover. In this text, the function of adviser and donor is performed by a Buddhist priest — gelong — who replaces the image of zayachi (‘guardian genius’). The hero’s return journey from the lower world to the middle (human) one is associated with the image of Khan Garuda. Conclusions. The motif of way in ATU 300-based (The Dragon-Slayer) folktales tends develop in accordance with magic folktale morphological patterns (according to Propp) and within the framework inherent to oral (tuuli-uliger) traditions, paralleled by that Buddhist representations replace the earlier ones.