The Structure of Olonkhos in the Northern Regional Tradition of the Yakut People: the Introduction

Abstract

The article deals with introductory parts of olonkhos in the northern regional tradition of the Yakuts. The authors of the article divide the introduction into two segments as follows: a narrative part comes first and is followed by a descriptive one. Narrative parts of olonkhos within this tradition are classified into three groups. Compositions of the first group describe single heroes who have neither father, nor mother, nor sister, nor brother. The second group comprises plots according to which the main character has sisters and brothers but they live all alone without parents. And the third group consists of plots that begin with fairy-tale motifs. The most common plot of introductory parts of olonkhos within the northern regional tradition presented in seven texts describes the main character as a full orphan. The hero is reported never to have seen his revered parents and, thus, lives in the Middle World alone, unaware of his origin: he wonders whether he fell from the sky or appeared from under the ground. Still, in some olonkho texts of the tradition the main character has brothers and sisters. The distinct feature of northern olonkhos is that their introductory parts contain fairytale motifs. Such olonkho texts begin with descriptions of the lives of an old man and an old woman, or an old man with three sons. The descriptive part is divided in two, and it is the house of heroes that is described first: there are detailed descriptions of the building, its interior decoration, household utensils and facilities. The second section describes the Middle World with its mountains, ponds and rivers, plants, trees and grass. The final episode of the narrative includes a description of the Sacred Tree the main character runs across on his way of adventures. And there are different names used to denote the Sacred Tree. The paper concludes that introductory parts of olonkhos of this tradition differ from those of the central and Vilyuisky epic traditions. Narrative parts of olonkhos within the studied tradition are usually incomplete due to the lack of descriptions of the universe.