The Hero’s Type in Heroic Legends of the Evenk But Clan

Abstract

The article considers the type of a hero from the heroic legends of the Evenk But clan. The heroic legend of the But clan is an archaic epos, the epos of the tribal community which is shown in plots and images of the epic narrators. The legends of the Evenk clan But have high-quality records and are voluminous in content. During the study, the author reveals the features reflecting the material and spiritual culture of the Evenks, which manifest themselves in military-hunting equipment, housing, and heroes’ clothing. By analyzing images of heroes of the But clan, the author highlights the features that reflect the Evenk ethnic culture. The author describes hero’s dwelling, typical to the ancient population of Siberia, describes his clothing (dressed appropriately for the conditions of the nomadic lifestyle of the Evenks; military and hunting gear) and his methods of hunting. The author concludes that the legens of the Evenk clan But describe a typical type of an Evenk epic hero, i.e., “evenki-beye”, “uryangkay-Evenks”. The type of a hero from the heroic legends of the But clan reflects the material and spiritual culture of the Evenks, which manifest themselves in military-hunting equipment, housing, and heroes’ clothing and deeds. For example, the clothing of the hero - mukuke is determined by the conditions of the nomadic way of life of the Evenks (the type of hunting on foot); the hero hunts using the most ancient Evenk way of hunting - by the way of rut, etc. The aim of this work is in the description, identifying the type of the Evenk warrior in the heroic legends of the But clan.