On Semantic Signs Of Characters In The Magic Tale Of Kalmykia's Hoshuts

Abstract

In the present article the authors use the experience of E.S. Novik in systematization of fairytale characters to reveal semantic features characterizing "individual status", "family status" and "class status" of the characters of magic fairy tales of Kalmykia Hoshut, which describes the system of characters "as they are presented in the most magic fairytale, regardless of the "roots" that gave birth to them". The source base for studying the semantic features of the characters of Hoshut's fairy tales is the texts of magic tales recorded by B.V. Menyaev and B.H. Borlykova at inhabitants of Sarpa settlement of Ketchenerovsky area, settlements Bergin and Tsagan-Aman of Justinsky area, and also published in collections "Kalmytsky folk tales" and "Altn honing kelmch Boktan Shanya". The "individual status" group consists of features of gender (male/female), age (old/young, adult/child); features related to the individual qualities of the character (natural/wonderful, anthropomorphic/not anthropomorphic, living/dead, wise/ stupid, etc.). Signs of family status are built up over attributes of gender and age. These are native/marital, parent/child, native/non-natal and "birth status", which serve only for additional distribution of some characters. As a result of the analysis of semantic features of characters of magic fairy tales of Hoshut of Kalmykia, it is established that they determine the nature of fairytale collisions and create conflict situations, which are played within the whole plot or episode. The results obtained will serve as a basis for further study of the characters of the Kalmyk fairy tale and compile a database of "Kalmyk fairy tale characters".

Keywords: Magic talescharactersKalmyksindividual statusfamily statusbirth status

Introduction

The study of Hoshut folklore heritage as a part of the traditional heritage of the entire Kalmyk people is relevant in the conditions of revival of national culture. The samples of oral folk art (legends, legends, fairy tales, songs, proverbs, etc.) reflect the peculiarities of the national worldview. The oral heritage of the Hoshut people is one of the least developed themes in Mongolian studies.

Proceedings available in scientific literature on the oral heritage of the Hoshut people of Kalmykia are few. In 2010, the series "Heritage of ancestors" by scientists of KIGI RAS (now KalmNC RAS) published a collection of "Altn honoring kelmch Boktan Shanya" (Boktaev, 2010). The collection includes legends, fairy tales, myths, proverbs of the narrator Boktaev (1933), a representative of the subethnos Hoshut. However, no complex study of the oral heritage of the Hoshut was conducted.

Problem Statement

The main character of the Kalmyk fairy tale is central to the character system, around which all events take place and other images are revealed. But to date there is no complete description of the characters of Kalmyk fairy tales. The works of Jimgirov (1970), Basangova (2010), Nadbitova (2011), Goryaeva (2011) and others are devoted to some problems in studying the description of the characters of Kalmyk fairy tales. Jimgirov's (1970) monograph "On Kalmyk folk tales" gives a general characterization of the characters in Kalmyk fairy tales: younger brother, "Cinderella", orphan and hero. Folklorist Nadbitova in her work (2011) "Plots, images and style traditions of Kalmyk fairy tales" considers the characters of the Kalmyk fairy tale in two categories: by social status (younger brother, orphan, hero hero hero) and by origin (miraculous heroes, opponents of the hero, assistants - anthropomorphic, zoomorphic characters).

Research Questions

The essence of the scientific problem is to study the semantic features of the characters in the magic fairy tales of the Kalmykia Hoshut, which define "individual status", "family status" and "class status". The source base for studying the semantic features of the characters of Hoshut's fairy tales is the texts of magic tales recorded by Menyaev and Borlykova (2017) among the inhabitants of Sarpa settlement of Ketchenerovsky district, settlements Bergin and Tsagan-Aman of Justinsky district (2006-2009), and also published in collections "Kalmyk folk tales" (1974) and "Altn honing kelmarch Boktan Shanya" (Boktaev, 2010).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the present article is to describe semantic features of characters of magic fairy tales of Hoshut of Kalmykia defining "individual status", "family status" and "class status" on the basis of known work of Novik (1975) "System of characters of Russian magic fairy tale".

Research Methods

The methodological basis for the study of this article was provided by the principles set forth in the works of domestic researchers Propp (1969), Novik (1975), Jimgirov (1970), Nadbitova (2011), Goryaeva (2011), Basangova (2010), Borlykova (2017) and others. The present article uses the experiment on systematization of fairytale characters by Novik (1975) to reveal semantic features characterizing "individual status", "family status" and "class status" of the characters of magic fairy tales of Hoshouts, which describes the system of characters "as they are presented in the most magic fairytale, regardless of the "roots" that gave birth to them". A systematic approach to the study of the characters of the Russian fairy tale was previously presented in the work of Propp (1969) "Morphology of the fairy tale", the author of the monograph investigated fairy tales on the functions of the character, established seven characters: hero, pest, donor, assistant, tsarevna, sender and false hero.

Findings

Thus, let's consider the features characterizing "individual status", "family status" and "class status" of the characters of Kalmykia's magic fairy tales from the repertoire of Kalmykia's Hoshut.

Group I. Individual status", "family status" and "class status" characters from the repertoire of Kalmykia Hoshut tales.

Supernatural beings are represented on the material of the magic fairy tales of the Khoshut people of Kalmykia by an extensive group of anthropomorphic characters ( mousse "werewolf, monster", usn khadyn khaana күүкн "daughter of the sea king", oradan or һанцхн нүдтә күн Ulada "cyclops Ulada", mekla дүрстә көвүн "young man in the guise of a frog", etc.). To nonanthropomorphic characters of the Kalmyk magic fairy tale we include Ulman Agsg Ulan "a frisky red horse", тоһстн "peacock", Khan һәрд "bird Khan Garudi, mythical king of birds in buddhist tradition", chortenho һалзн моһа "poisonous light snake", хөн "sheep", хурһн "lamb", noha "dog", etc.).

The appearance of the characters of magical fairy tales Hoshut is filled with signs of gender ("male / female") and age ("adult / child" and "old / young"): emgn "old woman", өвгн "old man", көвүн "son, young man", egg "sister", ah "brother", дү "younger brother", egg "father", күүкн "daughter", etc.). Often there are characters that cannot be classified by gender: Burhn Bagsh "Buddha Shakyamuni", mousse "werewolf, monster", Khan һәрд "bird Khan Garudi, mythical king of birds in the Buddhist tradition", chorten kho һалзн моһа "poisonous light snake", and others. Unlike the Russian fairy tale, in magic tales of Hoshut, when a human being is turned into an object or an animal, their correspondence by gender is not observed: in the fairy tale "Nom Төгсг khaana tusk тууҗ" ("The Tale of Nomo Texeg khan") the Khan's youngest son Mazan turned into alchik ( шаһа ). Informant Boktaev S.V., in the fairy tale "Mekla дүрстә көвүтә emgn өвгн khoyr" ("Old man and old woman with son in the guise of a frog") a young man in the guise of a frog turned into a yellow-blooded swan ( ball толһата khun ) (Halmg tuuls, 1974, p. 13). It should be noted that the fairytale repertoire of the Hoshut has a fairytale "Sharada shar Mergn" ("Sharada shar Mergn"), where when a khan's son turns into a bad bald boy ( mu tarha көвүн ), his gender compliance is observed.

In magic fairy tales of Hoshut characters can be divided into "old" and "young". "Old" characters act as testers and advisers: So, in "The Tale of Nomo Texeg Khan" khan on the advice of an evil old man constantly tests the youngest son of Nomo Texeg Khan - Mazan. Khan sends Mazana to find a peacock ( тоһстн ), a golden throne of hare's knee-hounds ( tulan төӊ төрл altn shira ), a bird Khan Garudi (Khan Һәрд), the daughter of the King of the Sea ( Usn Hadyn Khaan күүкн ). In the fairy tale "An old man and an old woman with a son in the guise of a frog", an old man and an old woman help the found son in the guise of a frog to marry his Khan's daughter. "Tiigad бәәҗәһәд choir-һурв konad kelnad kelnad: Nat, hadmud khannand! Hadmud Kenya: "Ardk ard baa neg khaana күүкнд зәӊг өгтн, Hadmud Kenya! Hood boli! - guinear. Edak tsaran унҗ avad һарад yovna. En odak өмнк толһа deyer һарад, khaanad odhan әәҗәхов ter, khaana naadk толһа deyer һарчаһад: "Khan, khan, hud boli!" - гиһәд hackrckad, gedrgan һарад zulva". (Two or three days later, [son in the guise of a frog] tells his father: "Well, [Father] go and get together ". Match up with the daughter of a Khan who lives on the northern island. Father sat down on the ox and drove to the south hill. He went up the hill and shouted out: "Khan, khan, let's get together." He shouted and ran away.) (Halmg tuuls, 1974).

Young characters of the magic fairy tale Hoshutov act as a hero or his rivals. For example, in the fairy tale "About a boy who knows the serpent language" the main character is the son of a poor man working as a servant for a rich man, in the fairy tale "The Tale of Nomo Texeg Khan" the main character is the youngest son of Khan Mazan, and in the role of rivals - his own older brothers and sisters, etc. Often, for the protagonists the "loss of family" is compensated by the "creation of a new family". Thus, at the beginning of the fairy tale "An Old Man and an Old Woman with a Son and a Daughter" a boy and a girl lose their parents, and at the end of the fairy tale a brother gets married and creates his own family. “ Кезәнә бәәҗ. Көвүн күүкн хойрта эмгн өвгн хойр бәәҗ. Тигәд нег сө көвүн күүкн хойрнь хотна захд унтсн, эмгн өвгн хойриг малта гертәһинь нүүлһәд авад уга болҗ оч, йовҗ оч. Тегәд арднь көвүн күүкн хойр босхла, хоосн нутг бәәдг гер мал уга ” ("Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman with a son and daughter. One night, while the children were sleeping on the edge of the choton, the old man and the old woman and the whole household rolled out of nutuk. The children woke up and saw their nutuk empty.") (Halmg tuuls, 1974).

The further classification of characters of a magic fairy tale of Hoshut is carried out on the basis of the system of signs developed by E.S. Novik (1975). These are: "alive / dead", "healthy / sick", "whole / dismembered", "true / transformed", "strong / weak", "wise / stupid", "good / evil", "big / small". The "alive/dead" opposition is often found in Hoshut tales. The main character faces death: the bird Garudi swallows Nomo Texeg Khan's son Mazana, the younger brother's brothers are pushed into a deep hole, the sister kills her brother with a mousse bone, the khan kills an old man - the groom's father - because of his daughter's matchmaking, etc.

Dead characters in Hoshut tales are often represented by dead people, body parts (bones). The operators of the death are magic objects: frog's skin ( Meklā дүрсн ), mousse bone ( mousin yasn ), sword ( eld/үлд ), saber ( cup ), etc., the objects of animation are a white kerchief ( цаһан alchur ), double-edged leaves ( khoir үзүртә hamthasn ), blood of seven forty ( dolan шаазһан tsusn ), etc., and the objects of animation are the white kerchief ( цаһан alchur ). In "The Tale of Nomo Texeg Khan", the blind khan is given back his youngest son's sight when he sees something his father had not seen before (the golden throne of hare's knee cups and the Lower World).

Dead and sick require certain services from other characters: a blind father asks for help from his sons, sick Mazan is helped by the bird Garudi, to revive the dead is helped by animals and birds, etc.

Opposition "whole / dismembered". Dismemberment is identical to murder: in the fairy tale "The Old Man and the Old Woman with Son and Daughter", the sister kills her brother and, having dismembered, scatters on both sides of the river (Halmg tuuls, 1974); The final, not temporary, death comes only when the character is "scattered on a poppy seed" or burned. In this fairy tale, a brother who has come to life executes his sister by tying sixty foals to the tails and marking her body in the steppe (Halmg tuuls, 1974).

The "true/true/transformed" opposition is associated with numerous forms of change in appearance that the character himself resorts to. In the magical fairy tales of Hoshut, the main characters often change their appearance: a frog turns into a young man, a young man turns into a yellow-headed swan, a young man turns into an alchik, a young man turns into a bald boy, a horse turns into a boat, and so on.

Opposition "good / evil" is very typical for fairy tales Hoshutov these features are the basis for dividing characters into heroes, those who are on his side (donors, assistants - horse, bird Garudi, daughter of the King of the Sea, wives of werewolves, bear, fox, swans, etc.) and his antagonists (brothers, sister, old man, khan, mousse).

The opposition is wise/dumb connected with such characters as Mazan, Ulman Agsg Ulan horse, Nomo Texeg khan, a young man who knows snake language, Othon Hara girl, etc.) and his antagonists (brothers, sister, old man, mousse, old woman with copper beak and gazelle legs, snake, etc.). The wise khan Nomo Texeg advises the younger son not to kill his elder brothers who tried to kill him by pushing him into a deep hole (Boktaev, 2010).

Signs strong/weak determine the properties of physical strength. These attributes are embodied in characters such as Sharada Shara Mergen, Mazan, a young man from the fairy tale "The Old Man and the Old Woman with his Son and Daughter" who fought with mousse, etc.

Oppositions of "big / small", "beautiful / ugly" are often recorded in the character characteristics. For example, ik gyg mus "huge monster", mur tahrha көвүн "bad bald boy", neg sakhn көвүн "one handsome young man", neg zes хоӊшарта "old woman with a copper beak and legs of a gazelle" and others.

Group II. "Family status." Signs of family status are built up above gender and age. This is clearly stated in traditional formulas, such as in the fairy tale "The Old Man and the Old Woman with the Son and the Daughter", the tied mus (monster) asks the girl to release him: " Күүкн, namag tavich tavich tavalad, aavchn bolsv " ("The girl release me, I will be your father"). However, the girl does not agree, saying that you will not replace my father. Moose addresses the girl again, " Күргнчн bolsuv, tevlchn!" ("Release, I'll be your fiancé.") The girl freed the mousse.

Each Kalmyk fairy tale begins with a description of a family that has parents, children, brothers and sister. For example, " Kezan бәәҗ. Көвүн. күүкн heurta emgn өвгн heur бәәҗ " (An old man and an old woman with a son and daughter lived long ago) (Halmg tuuls, 1974). " Kezan бәәҗ Көк теӊгсин көвәд neg emgn өвгн khoyr оһтр ulan tsarta бәәҗ (A long time ago, a grandfather with a grandmother with two red oxes lived near the Blue Sea) (Halmg tuuls, 1974).

The magical fairy-tale repertoire of Hoshut has fairy tales where parents appear childless. For example, in the fairy tale "An old man and an old woman with a son in the guise of a frog", childless old men with an old woman catching a frog find a son (Halmg tuuls, 1974). Parents and children in a magic fairy tale can be relatives (father, mother, son, daughter) and unborn (son in the guise of a frog).

Relations between relatives of the same generation are defined by the following contraindications: for the parents' generation, this is the difference between the old father (kalm. aav ) and mother (kalm. ээҗ ), who often appear as a single character (kalm. ээҗ-aav "parents", өвгн emgn khoir "old people"), and young people, who usually appear in the fairy tale as husband (hall) and wife ( gerin ezn hergn ), or khan and khansha ( khatn ); for a generation of children, this is the opposition of older siblings ( ahern ) or sisters ( eggchr ) to younger siblings ( дү ).

It is necessary to note that in a magic fairy tale of khoshut the relations of relatives and proprietors determine the basic action of a fairy tale plot. Conflicts between parents and children are extremely rare for texts in a Hoshut tale. In the fairy tales in question, there are more frequent conflicts between brothers and sisters: older sisters torment the younger one to show them the appearance of her frog husband, after which they burn the frog's skin.

Hoshut tales often describe the relationship between supernatural creatures and animals and humans. For example, in the image of the groom, son in the fairy tales in question are presented: меклə көвүн "a young frog", mousse (a monster); in the image of the father-in-law: Uns Hadyn Ezn "King of the Sea"; in the image of the wife is described a zoomorphic creature - an old woman with a copper beak and legs of a gazelle, daughter of the King of the Sea and others.

Group III. Proportional status. This group of characters' characteristics includes features of class affiliation: khan "tsar", гелӊ "gelung, buddhist monk", yalch "servant", etc., profession or craft: хөөч "shepherd", gurtyn amtn "gurta workers", etc.; property status: һуульһ һуудг өвгн "beggar, proprashayka- old man", ugatya "poor man" and others. The pedigree status in the magic fairytales of Hoshut serves only for additional distribution of some characters. Very often in the fairy tales we consider a character with low birth status at the end of the fairy tale reaches a high position himself, or becoming of a man's son-in-law khan. For example, in the fairy tale "The old man and the old woman with the son in the guise of a frog" the son of the poor, having overcome the challenges, becomes the khan's son-in-law.

Conclusion

Thus, as a result of the analysis of semantic features that determine the "individual status", "family status" and "class status" of the characters in Hoshut's fairy tales, it was established that they determine the nature of fairytale collisions and create conflict situations that are played out within the whole plot or episode. The results obtained will serve as a basis for further study of the characters of the Kalmyk fairy tale and compile a database of "Kalmyk fairytale characters"

Acknowledgments

The reported study was funded by RFBR according to the research project № 19-012-00640 А.

References

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