Two ”Geser” Songs Translated by Benjamin Bergmann: Russian Translation and Discussion

Abstract

Introduction. In 1802–1803, Benjamin Bergmann made a trip to the Kalmyk steppes to collect historical, literary, and folklore material on the Kalmyks and the Kalmyk culture. The result of this journey was the 1804–1805 publication of “Nomadische Streifereien unter den Kalmüken in den Jahren 1802 und 1803” (Nomadic wanderings among Kalmyks in 1802–1803) in Riga, which up to the present day has not lost its importance as a source of information on the culture and life of the Kalmyks in the 18th and 19th centuries. The four-volume work contains translations of various texts from Kalmyk into German, including the two songs of the “Geser” epos. This is in fact the earliest translation of “Geser” songs into a European language. Data. The German translation of the two “Geser” songs published by Bergmann in his work has been used as the material for the present research. The aim of the article. Bergmann’s translation of the songs is often mentioned in scholarly publications, but so far, no Russian translation of the songs in full has been made. To facilitate the research of the Oirat-Kalmyk “Geser” and especially of the songs in question, this article presents their scientific translation into Russian made by the present author. Also, the article discusses the character of the Kalmyk originals of the epic songs. So far it has been believed that an oral retelling was the source for the German translation of the songs. However, there is sufficient evidence for a new hypothesis because the analysis of the data undertaken in this study indicates that apparently there was a written Oirat source for the translation. Conclusions. Besides the complete Russian translation of the “Geser” sagas offered here, the article puts forward the hypothesis of the written nature of the original source, which served as the basis for Bergmann’s German translation.