Olonkho - the ancient epic of the Yakuts

Innokenty Vasilyevich Pukhov was born on March 12, 1904 in the 1st Kurbusakhsky nasleg of the Borogonsky ulus of the Yakut region in the family of a middle peasant.

In 1923 I.V. Pukhov took part in the liquidation of the gangs of Kolchak's General Pepelyaev as a liaison commander of the armed forces of the Yakutsk region and the Northern Territory K.K. Baikalova, participated in the release of the group of I.Ya. Strode in the Sasyl-Sysyy area.

In 1926 I.V. Pukhov graduated from the Yakutsk Pedagogical College and entered the Department of the Russian Language and Literature of the Pedagogical Faculty of the Irkutsk State University.

While still a student, I.V. Pukhov was actively involved in scientific work. He was a member of the Yakut section of the East Siberian Department of the Russian Geographical Society, published a number of scientific articles. At that time (together with N.M. Alekseev) he published a translation of the terms of the Yakut leather production. This work was noted by E.K. Pekarsky in his three-volume academic Dictionary of the Yakut language.

In 1930 - 1936 I.V. Pukhov, while working as a teacher at the Yakutsk Pedagogical College, was at the same time compiling programs and textbooks for schools in the republic. I.V. Pukhov is the compiler of the first printed stable program of the Yakut language for elementary school, the author of the first grammar of the Russian language for the fifth grade of the Yakut school, and also the co-author of the Yakut primer P.G. Grigoriev (after his death he completed the work to the end). This primer went through more than ten editions.

Working in Moscow as an editor of textbooks, with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he joined the ranks of the defenders of the capital. For military merit he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. Upon returning from the front, I.V. Pukhov worked in public education bodies. Having a great craving for science, he entered the graduate school of Moscow State University, specializing in folklore.

Since 1947 I.V. Pukhov connected his life with science. In 1947 - 1954 worked as a junior researcher at the Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Yakut Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1954, by special order of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, he was transferred to work in Moscow at the Institute of World Literature. A.M. Gorky of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, where he conscientiously, with the highest productivity, worked for 25 years until the end of his days as a junior, then a senior researcher. At the world famous Institute I.V. Pukhov, along with such prominent specialists as V.I. Chicherov, I.S. Braginsky, U.B. Dalgat and others was the founder of the sector of folklore of the peoples of the USSR. The main direction of his scientific interests I.V. Pukhov considered a comparative analysis of the Yakut olonkho and the heroic epic of the Altai-Sayan peoples (Altaians, Shors, Khakasses, Tuvans, as well as the peoples of the North of Yakutia). He made a significant contribution to the study of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples and the peoples of the North in terms of the ethnogenesis of the ancient Yakuts, typology and epic style.

In 1956 I.V. Pukhov defended his Ph.D. thesis on the topic “Ideas and images of the olonkho of Dmitry Mikhailovich Govorov “Myuldew the Strong”. In 1962 I.V. Pukhov published the first monograph "The Yakut heroic epic olonkho", which had a positive response from specialists in the USSR and abroad.

Significant merits of I.V. Pukhov translated by V.V. Derzhavin olonkho P.A. Oyunsky “Nyurgun Bootur Swift” into Russian. He was a consultant, scientific editor of the translation, was the author of a large scientific article "Olonkho - the ancient epic of the Yakuts" and wrote a commentary of great cognitive, scientific value. It is no coincidence that a great friend of I.V. Pukhova, people's writer N.E. Mordinov-Amma Achchygyya said, “It is unlikely that this great translation would have taken place without Innokenty Vasilyevich, and only for this he should erect a monument.”

Simultaneously with the scientific work of I.V. Pukhov took an active part in the literary life of Yakutia. People's poet of Yakutia S.P. Danilov considered him the ambassador of Yakut literature in Moscow. In 1944 I.V. Pukhov together with A.E. Mordinov was the editor of the book by G.P. Basharin “Three Yakut realists-enlighteners”. In 1957, he took part in a discussion on issues of Yakut literature, which ended in 1962 with a resolution of the bureau of the Regional Committee of the CPSU “On the correction of some errors on issues of Yakut literature”.

I.V. Pukhov was a consultant on the Yakut literature of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia and the Brief Literary Encyclopedia, taught at the Literary Institute. A.M. Gorky. Under his leadership, 15 Yakutians defended candidate and doctoral dissertations.

I.V. Pukhov for many years worked on the study and coverage in the press of creativity and literary activity of P.A. Oyunsky. He published about ten major works about him. I.V. Pukhov took part in the first post-war translation into Russian of his works, in the preparation and publication in Russian of his selected works in 1963, the publication of his large olonkho “Nyurgun Bootur the Swift” (1975), prepared the publication of translations of poetic works by P.A. Oyunsky in the large series “Poet's Library” (1978).

I.V. Pukhov until the end of his life acted as an ardent defender of the good name of A. Kulakovsky, A. Sofronov, N. Neustroev, P. Oyunsky, G. Basharin, P. Sokolnikov and others. This is evidenced by his letter to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU M.V. Zimyanin with an appendix “on political slander”, written six months before his death. I.V. Pukhov, according to his colleagues from the Institute of World Literature. M. Gorky, “a unique specialist”, the author of more than fifty scientific works in the field of literature and folklore, an expert and recognized researcher of the Yakut folk heroic epic olonkho.

In 1935 I.V. Pukhov takes part in the first chess championship of Yakutia and out of 18 possible, having received 15 points, becomes the first champion of the republic in chess and in the same year takes part in the All-Siberian chess and checkers tournament in Ulan-Ude. Since 1998, by decision of the Chess Federation of the RS (Y) and the administration of the Ust-Aldan region, a memorial to I.V. Pukhov, the first YASSR chess champion. In 1976 I.V. Pukhov was awarded the title "Honored Worker of Science of the Yakut ASSR".

DI. Pukhov, journalist

The article uses illustrations by E. Sivtsev, V. Karamzin, I. Koryakin

It is believed that the ancestors of the Yakuts before moving to Yakutia lived in the northern Baikal region and in the Angara region. It is not known how long they lived there. And did they live in more remote times somewhere else? It is quite possible that the distant ancestors of the Yakuts lived (or extended their range) and much to the west of the Baikal region. In any case, it can be considered certain: they were in close contact with the peoples of not only the Sayan, but also the Altai. The legendary ancestors of the Yakuts, the Kurykans1, are mentioned in the Orkhon inscriptions of the 6th-8th centuries.

1 The origin of the Yakuts from the Kurykans is proved in a number of works by Academician A.P. Okladnikov (see especially: History of the Yakut ASSR, vol. 1; A.P. Okladnikov. Yakutia before joining the Russian state, M.-L., 1955).

As can be seen from the content of their heroic epic, the ancient Yakuts were engaged not only in cattle breeding, but also in hunting and fishing. It is characteristic that fishing in the epic is carried out by those who have nothing but fish, i.e. those who in later times in historical reality were called the extreme poor - "balyksyts" ("fishermen").

It is generally accepted that the Yakuts moved to their current homeland under pressure from stronger neighbors. Intertribal wars, of course, played a big role. It was under the pressure of neighbors that the weak tribes of the ancestors of the Yakuts left their inhabited places. But besides this, apparently, there were "peaceful" reasons for the gradual movement to the north and northeast of small groups of forest hunters and fishermen. Probably the poorest strata moved first - in search of abundant hunting and fishing grounds. These early "settlers" must have had little or no cattle and horses. Historical legends mark the arrival in Yakutia not only of the rich Omogoi, who had a large number of cattle and people, but also of the poor Elley, who arrived alone2.

2 This poor Elley (and not the rich man Omogoy), according to legend, laid the foundation for most of the Yakut tribes.

In general, it was a heterogeneous element - not only of Turkic, but also partially of Mongolian origin. They assimilated part of the local tribes, and centuries later the modern Yakut people formed, calling themselves "Sakha" and giving their name to Yakutia3. Russians also played a certain role in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts through mixed marriages.

3 The word "Yakut" comes from the self-name of the people - "Sakha". The Tungus (Evenks) called the Yakuts "yako" and passed this pronunciation to the Russians, whom they met before the Yakuts. The Russians who arrived in Yakutia in the thirties of the 17th century initially called the Yakuts “Yakol people”. Gradually, phonetic replacements led to the modern name "Yakuts".

The Yakut language developed on the basis of Turkic with some element of Mongolian. In part, it also contains the roots of the vocabulary of the local peoples of Yakutia; the modern Yakut language has many words that have penetrated from the Russian language or through it. This is understandable: from the very first years of communication with the Russians, the Yakut custom included many objects and concepts, cultural terms that were previously unknown to the Yakuts.

Their names were mastered by the Yakuts in their phonetic design, and they gradually entered the vocabulary of their language as “their own words”. This can also be seen from the olonkho: it contains many words that came from the Russian language, for example, “teriekke” (plate), “hobordooh” (frying pan), “chaasky” (cup).

The Yakuts lived in their new homeland in very difficult conditions. It was necessary to adapt to terrible climatic and other natural conditions, to keep livestock in these conditions. They were tormented by inter-tribal skirmishes, blood feud 4.

4 Blood feuds and tribal clashes were stopped by the Russians, who, as can be seen from the judicial acts, from the very first years of their arrival in Yakutia, fought against them.

Gradually, the class of bais (rich men) and toyons (masters) began to emerge. Their arbitrariness and oppression was the most wild and cruel. Later, this was joined by the oppression of tsarist officials, the robbery of merchants. So the Yakuts lived their pre-revolutionary life under a double oppression - "their" bais and tsarist officials and merchants. By the time of the October Revolution, the population was almost completely illiterate. There was no writing. The people languished in poverty and lack of rights, dying of hunger and disease. According to one pre-revolutionary scientist, not only the Yakut himself, his wife and children were starving, but even a mouse in his barn was starving.

This complex and difficult historical path of the Yakut people reflected its richest folklore. Passed down orally from generation to generation, it replaced literature, history, and family chronicles, preserving precious grains of folk experience.

Here there is no way to stop at least briefly and talk at some length about the genres of Yakut folklore. We will mention only some of them.

In ancient historical legends, blood feuds and intertribal wars and strife that corroded the people are told. Later stories (XVIII - XIX centuries) tell about the unbearable oppression and arbitrariness of wild toyons, about the daring "noble robber" Manchara, who took revenge on the beys and robbed them, and then distributed the loot to the poor 5.

5 Vasily Fedorov - "Manchars" (affectionate nickname). A real historical figure (lived around 1805 - 1870). It can be seen from the judicial acts that he exiled many times and each time fled, without fail returning to his native places. Separate legends about Manchars were published at different times in Russian in various publications (in Soviet and pre-revolutionary ones). About the rebel Manchara and the dissatisfaction of the Yakuts with their plight, see G.P. Basharin, “History of agrarian relations in Yakutia (60s of the 18th - mid-19th centuries), M., 1956, pp. 307 - 327.

Folklore has preserved for us the songs that the Yakut people sang for centuries. Long everyday songs reveal the daily life and way of life of the people. In these songs, the life of people is described in a peculiar way: by describing the “life and activity” of household items (for example, a broom), draft animals, etc.

The Yakuts have widely developed genres of ritual folklore, comic songs, fairy tales, anecdotes, proverbs and sayings, stories and legends about remarkable people, etc.

The crown of the verbal art of the Yakut people, their favorite and most characteristic type of creativity are great heroic tales called olonkho.

Olonkho is the common name of the heroic epic of the Yakuts, consisting of many great tales. Their average size is 10 - 15 thousand poetic lines. Large olonkho reach 20 or more thousand poetic lines. Through the contamination of various plots, the Yakut olonkhosuts (narrators of olonkho) in the past created even larger olonkho, but they remained unrecorded.

Now no one knows how many olonkho were in the period of the highest heyday of its existence. Here it is most appropriate to say: "innumerable multitude." It is extremely difficult to count all the olonkhos that existed at the same time. The fact is that any plot from one olonkho can be more or less painlessly transferred to another. On the contrary, it can be shortened without much damage by throwing out entire plots or individual details, episodes, and various descriptions.

"Interpenetration" and the possibility of reducing or increasing the volume of olonkho without much damage. For its content and the logic of the development of events, they constitute a characteristic feature of the Yakut epic, as a result of the similarity of legends.

Yakut olonkho is an epic of very ancient origin. Their origins date back to the times when the ancestors of the Yakuts lived in their former homeland and closely communicated with the ancient ancestors of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples of Altai and Sayan. This is evidenced by the commonality of the plot of the olonkho with the plot of the epic of these peoples, the similarity in the structure of the language and vocabulary. There are common elements in the names of heroes (khaan - khan6, mergen, bootur, etc.).

6 Later Yakut history did not know the concept of “khan”. Apparently, the ancient Yakuts did not have khans either. The word “khan” could enter the olonkho in ancient times as a designation of the title of tribal leaders and military leaders of neighboring Turkic tribes, and then survived as a part of the name of the first ancestor (Kharakh Khaan) or a hero-warrior (Khaan Dyargystai). In everyday life, it, like a foreign word, was forgotten.

A permanent element of the name of the heroine of the olonkho is the word “kuo”, forgotten by modern Yakuts. In the epic of other Turkic peoples, the similar word "ko" means "beauty".

The particle “alyp” is sometimes added to the name of a hostile hero in olonkho, meaning “evil wizard” (Alyp Khara). It is known that "Alp", "Alyp" among the Turkic peoples means "hero". This means that the Turkic “alp” (“alyp”) acts in the olonkho as an evil enemy. In olonkho there is the concept of "yotyugen (yotyuget) terde". This is the place where underground monsters (a synonym for hell) live, where they take their captives from the human tribe and torture them. It is clear that the concepts of "alyp" and "etyugen" entered the olonkho as echoes of past battles with the ancient Turkic-Mongolian peoples.

There is a lot in common between the olonkho and the epic of the Altai-Sayan peoples both in the construction of the verse, and in the nature of the visual means, and even in individual episodes7.

7 On the “southern” connections of the olonkho, see A.P. Okladnikov, decree. cit., chapter "The Yakut epic (olonkho) and its connection with the south" (pp. 257 - 277). And also I.V. Pukhov, “On the question of the genetic commonality of the Yakut heroic epic olonkho with the epic of other Siberian peoples”, Sat. "National and International in Literature, Folklore and Language", Kishinev, 1971, pp. 200 - 210.

This commonality can help to determine approximately the time of creation of the fundamental principle of the olonkho. The commonality of the olonkho and the epic of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples of Siberia could only arise during the period of direct ties between the ancient Yakuts and the ancestors of these peoples. Arriving in modern Yakutia, the Yakuts, due to the colossal distances and impassability, completely lost all ties with their former neighbors and forgot them. Something remained only in their ancient epic.

As indicated above, the ancestors of the Yakuts, the Kurykans, had contact with the ancient Turks in the 6th - 8th centuries. From the historical legends of the Yakuts and Buryats, it can be seen that the last Mongol tribe that the Yakuts encountered (probably in the northern Baikal region) were the Buryats. This may have taken place no later than the 15th century. Between these rather distant dates, one must look for the original origins of the olonkho. Considering that there are echoes of connections with the ancient Turks in the olonkho, it is quite possible that these "origins" date back to the end of the first millennium, somewhere around the 8th - 9th centuries.

The stadial Yakut epic refers to the late birth period. The fact that this is an epic of the tribal period is evidenced, for example, by the mythology of the olonkho, which reflects patriarchal-tribal relations, remnants of animistic views, plots (fighting monsters), remnants of the general tribal division of prey (preserved in some olonkho), exogamous 8 marriage.

8 Marriage is out of kind.

This is also evidenced by the bow and arrows as a weapon of battle and a tool of labor (when hunting). And the fact that this is an epic of the late birth period - the time of "military democracy" among the Turkic-Mongblian peoples of Siberia is indicated by the nature of the pastoral activities of the heroes - the predominance of developed cattle breeding, especially horse breeding: the hero on horseback, the horse is his main friend and helper. On the contrary, his opponent is often depicted on a bull in a sledge or riding a monstrous beast. Fishing and hunting - in the shadows, in the background (the hero hunts only at the beginning of his life). The tribal society is actually divided into heroes (tribal aristocrats and leaders) and their servants - domestic slaves who belong to inferior members of the family and society. The hero is the leader of his entire tribe, the younger heroes, of course, obey him. There are signs of the division of labor that has begun - a blacksmith and a blacksmith's craft are singled out. Blacksmiths forge iron objects of labor and combat. The fact that olonkho is an epic of the late birth period is also evidenced by a rather highly developed and harmonious religious system. The “Olympus” stood out - a host of good deities led by Yuryung Aar Toyon (White Great Lord). Good deities are opposed by evil underground deities (the world is dualistic) led by Arsan Duolay. His people - abaasy do evil and violence.

In addition to the Upper World (heaven) and the underworld, the Lower World, there is the Middle World, that is, the earth itself. People live in the Middle World, as well as the spirits of various objects, called "ichchi". In olonkho, every living being, every object has its own spirit "ichchi". The goddess Aan Alakhchyn Khotun, the spirit of the earth, is especially significant. She lives in the family sacred tree Aar-Luup-Mas ("Great Oak-Tree"). The goddess of the earth helps the hero and his people, intercedes with the gods in favor of the people, blesses the hero going on a campaign, instills strength in him, giving him milk to drink from her chest. The hero, who is on a campaign, really needs spirits - "ichchi" of various places, mountain passes, rivers, seas. He has to give them gifts so that they safely let him through their territory, do not interfere with him.

The olonkho describes the original life of a person from his first appearance on earth. Man, having appeared on earth, begins to organize life on it, overcoming various obstacles that stand in his way. These obstacles are presented to the creators of the olonkho in the form of monsters that have filled the beautiful country. They destroy it and destroy all life on it. Man must cleanse the country of these monsters and create in it an abundant, peaceful and happy life. These are the lofty goals facing the first man. Therefore, they must be an extraordinary, wonderful hero with a fate predetermined from above, specially sent:

So that the uluses are sunny

protect,

So that people from death

Protect 9.

In all olonkho, the first person is a hero.

9 "Nyurgun Bootur Swift" P.A. Oyunsky, per. V.V. Derzhavin. Song one.

The hero and his tribe of divine origin. Therefore, the hero's tribe is called "aiyy-aimaga" ("relatives of the deity"). The name of the tribe "aiyy-aimaga" refers to the ancestors of the Yakuts - the creators of the olonkho.

According to his high purpose, the hero is depicted not only as the strongest, but also handsome, stately. In olonkho, the external appearance of a person reflects his inner content. Therefore, the hero Nurgun Bootur the Swift:

Built in a camp, like a spear,

Fast as an arrow

He was the best among people

The strongest among people

The most beautiful among people

The bravest among people.

He had no equal

There are 10 heroes in the world.

10 "Nyurgun Bootur Swift" P.A. Oyunsky. Song two.

But the hero, first of all, is a powerful hero leading a mortal struggle. Therefore, he is drawn even majestic and formidable:

He is huge as a rock,

He has a terrible face,

His bulging forehead

Cool and stubborn;

His thick veins

Act throughout the body;

They beat, his veins swell -

It's blood running through my veins.

His temples are sunken

His nerves are trembling

Under the golden skin

His nose is elongated

He has a cool disposition 11.

11 "Nyurgun Bootur Swift" P.A. Oyunsky. Song two.

The images of olonkho are sharply contrasted. If the hero is a good defender of people, saving all those in trouble, then the representatives of the tribe “abaasy-aimaga” (literally: “relatives of the devil”12) are drawn as evil and ugly monsters - these are one-armed and one-legged cyclops.

12 Despite this name, the bogatyr of the Abaasy tribe in the olonkho is not a shamanic devil, but an epic bogatyr.

They are endowed with all conceivable vices (malice, cruelty, lust, uncleanliness). Abaasy warriors attack people, rob and destroy their country, kidnap women. The abduction of women in the olonkho is shown as a symbol of all insults, insults and humiliations of people. With all this, the abaasy heroes have indisputable human features. Their relations with each other are built according to the type of human tribal relations. Arsan Duolay bears the signs of the head of a patriarchal family. In the course of events, the heroes enter into negotiations with them. These negotiations are similar to negotiations between representatives of warring tribes. Heroes with bogatyrs and shamans13 abaas make various deals: temporarily reconcile, give each other an oath not to attack during the truce.

13 All Abaas women are considered shamans.

Sometimes the heroes of the abaasy bogatyrs defeated by them do not kill, but let them go in peace, taking the word not to attack people anymore, or turn them into slaves. Marriage deals between the defeated aiyy bogatyrs and the powerful abaasy shamans, their winners, are interesting in this respect. Abaasy shaman women are lustful, besides, they have an unbearable desire to marry an aiyy hero. To do this, they are ready to betray even their own brother - the main enemy of the hero. Taking advantage of this weakness of theirs, the aiyy hero defeated by them gives a false promise to marry the victorious shaman and makes various deals with her against her brother. This agreement is fulfilled by the abaasy shaman, but the aiyy bogatyr does not. Sometimes aiyy and abaasy bogatyrs become twin brothers, which, however, is temporary, since permanent friendship and twinning with abaasy in olonkho are considered impossible.

All this suggests that the image of the abaasy bogatyrs, albeit in a mythologized and fantastic form, reflects the features of real ancient tribes with whom the ancestors of modern Yakuts once fought.

All the other characters of the olonkho are grouped around the heroes and bogatyrs of the abaasy: parents and relatives, good and evil deities and spirits, shamans and shamans, messengers, slaves, "guardians" of different places and many other minor characters.

Among all these characters, the image of a female heroine stands out - the bride, wife, sister or mother of the hero and other aiyy heroes. The heroine of the olonkho is idealized as the embodiment of femininity, beauty and human kindness. She can be a hero herself and fight, protecting herself or others. The heroic woman fights not only against the abaasy bogatyrs, but also against the hero and other aiyy bogatyrs. She fights with the abaasy bogatyrs for the same motives as the bogatyr - the hero of the olonkho, that is, in defense of people (especially in those olonkho, the main character of which is a woman). The battles of the heroic woman against the heroes occur, of course, for other reasons. These motives are very diverse. Especially frequent are cases of "marriage fights" between the hero and the heroine, which are part of the motive of "heroic matchmaking" - the hero's marriage as a result of heroic fights. The heroine heroine does not want to marry a weak hero who is not able to protect his family and people at the right moment. Therefore, she first tests the hero in battle - she tests his strength and courage. But most often, the heroine tests the hero by treacherously pushing him against the abaasy heroes. At the same time, she not only tests the hero groom, but also destroys the monster with his hands before marriage - a happy life without the destruction of monsters in olonkho is considered impossible. The hero, according to the olonkho, weakens after marriage and is not able to protect the family from abaasy (in such cases, the parents are saved by their son, the hero of the second generation). There are times when the hero, for one reason or another, does not want to marry the heroine. Then between them there are long fights. At the same time, the woman also confronts the hero with the abaasy heroes, seeking their destruction. In all such cases, the heroine asks the hero abaasy to "save" her from the hero pursuing her, promising to marry him. The abaasy bogatyrs who believed her enter into battle with the hero and die. It also happens that the heroine - an aiyy shaman - magically entangles the hero and carries him, bound, with her. From time to time, she drops it to the abaasy bogatyrs “for a snack” - to be eaten. The hero in such cases breaks the fetters, enters the battle and destroys the abaasy hero who tried to eat him. The motives of the conflicts and fights of the hero and the heroine are very diverse. In all cases, the conflict between the hero and the heroine ends happily, they eventually get married, have children and live in peace and happiness.

In general, in the olonkho the character of the female heroine is given in a more varied way than that of the hero. The hero is first and foremost a warrior. A woman is shown not only in a combat situation, but also in everyday life. In everyday life, she is a good housewife and mother. In battle, she is in no way inferior to the hero. A woman shows special resourcefulness, ingenuity of mind and heroism in captivity at the abaasy heroes. For contrast (and according to the tradition of olonkho) before captivity, at home she is shown weak, helpless and pampered. In captivity, she is transformed. To save herself and the child (often also the fetus, since the monster takes the pregnant woman prisoner as well), the heroine becomes unusually inventive and ingenious ways to protect her honor and the child (whom the monster is going to eat), and then with smart advice helps the hero who has come to save her .

Such a characterization of a woman has firmly entered the olonkho tradition and represents the idealization of the heroine - the subject of the struggle and competition of the olonkho heroes. In the pre-revolutionary period, when Yakut society was becoming a class society, a woman was oppressed and powerless (although even then her position in the family, especially as a girl, was quite independent). But in the tribal society, in the difficult conditions of life of the ancient Yakut - a small-scale cattle breeder, not constrained by the fetters of established religious ideas about a woman, she occupied a significant place in the family. She demanded as much as a man. All this complicated the characterization of the image of a woman in the olonkho. If the heroes of different olonkho differ little from each other, then the image of a woman is to some extent individualized. This “individualization” is incomplete - the women of the olonkho differ not in their individual properties, not in their mind and psyche, but in the role that they got: some women are only beauties, the subject of the claims of heroes, others are captured, revealing their character there, still others - the heroes themselves, etc. There are several characteristic images in the epic, which in all olonkho perform the same function and are depicted almost identically, without change.

These images primarily include a blacksmith, whose name is "Kytay Bakhsy Uusa" ("Blacksmith Kytay Bakhsy"). He is mythologized, which is typical for a representative of a prominent craft. The blacksmith is one of the most powerful characters in the olonkho. He can not only forge weapons and heroic clothes for the hero (as well as his opponent), but he can also reforge him. In the olonkho "Unstumbling Muldu the Strong" D.M. Govorov's blacksmith reforges the hero into a self-propelled iron pike so that he can safely cross the fiery sea. This peak, having crossed the sea (and through the traps set by the enemy) and arriving at the target, can automatically take on both the image of the hero himself and the image of his enemy (the latter - to deceive the vigilance of the enemy guard, set to guard, for example, living and dead water ).

The image of the sage Seerkeen Sesen is also interesting. This image has much in common with the image of the elders-aksakals - the elders of the epic of the Turkic peoples, wise in life and experience. It is characteristic that Seerkee Sesen is “wise” not only because he knows everything that happens in the world and can give the hero advice “on any issue”, but also (even mainly) because he can accurately show the hero the way to the enemy: where, when he drove, where he is now and how to find him. This is a typical taiga sage, a connoisseur of roads. The image is unique, created by the taiga people. He is depicted as a very small (“with a thimble”), dried-up old man: his body has gone into wisdom. But this withered old man can be stronger than any strongest hero. Everyone fears and respects him.

In olonkho, slaves do not have their own names. They are named only for the work they do. These are nameless characters that no one pays attention to. But among the slaves, two remarkable images stand out in the olonkho. This is the image of the herd boy Soruk Bollur and the cow-maid, the old woman Simehsin. Both of them are comic characters, even caricatured comic. But both of them are distinguished by an exceptionally stormy temperament, cheerfulness, extraordinary resourcefulness and perseverance. The witty and mocking herd boy Soruk Bollur constantly shames his arrogant masters, often leaving them in the cold. And the humiliated, dirty, despised old woman Simehsin shows resourcefulness in the most difficult moment and saves the situation in such cases when the gentlemen are confused and helpless. According to the inexorable logic of events, even in the conditions of patriarchal slavery, the forces of the people broke through the bonds that bound them and made their way out. This is reflected in the olonkho in the image of the herd slave Soruk Bollur and the cowmaid slave old woman Simehsin.

Olonkho reflects not only mythologized images of the distant past, but also images of later times, when a representative of another tribe was already called by the name of his tribe. In the olonkho, the image of the Tungus hero is given. He is in most olonkho the rival of the hero in marriage and is defeated in the fight with him because of the bride. Although the image of the Tungus hero (usually called Ardyaman-Dyardyaman, in Oyunsky he is called Bohsogolla Bootur) is also fantastic and mythologized, but he already has some real features (he is a taiga resident, hunts, rides a deer). The Tunguska hero fights the hero only because of the bride, they have no other conflicts. As a hero, he is shown to be very dexterous, cunning and insidious. In the relationship between the hero and the Tungus hero, there are also distant echoes of the peaceful ties between the Yakuts and the Tungus (exchange in kind, common festivities). It is difficult to establish the time of the appearance in the olonkho of the image of the Tungus hero as an opponent of the hero. This could also be in the current homeland of the Yakuts (at the first time they arrived in Yakutia, there were various clashes between them and the local tribes, as historians' research suggests). But the Yakuts with the Tungus could still be found in the Baikal region. Be that as it may, the heroic epic reflected these ancient connections between the Yakuts and the Tungus in terms of "heroics" - fantastic military clashes.

Some olonkhos tell about the friendship and alliance of the hero with the Tungus hero. There are olonkho in which the Tungus hero acts as the main character. He fights against the abaasy heroes and saves people. It is quite possible that the image of the Tungus hero as a hero or an ally of the hero is the result of the later creativity of the people, reflecting its higher consciousness14.

14 See I.V. Pukhov. Yakut heroic epic olonkho. Basic images. M., 1962, pp. 162 - 166.

A significant place in the olonkho is occupied by the speaking and singing heroic horse - the hero's helper and adviser, an active participant in all the events in which the hero is involved in the course of the action. He not only advises the hero at a difficult moment what to do, but on occasion he himself enters into battle with an enemy horse and defeats him. The heroic horse saves the defeated owner, carrying him out of the battlefield, and fulfills all his orders.

The races of horses are described in an exciting way. The one whose horse arrives first must win, and the heroic horses rush through the mountains, forests, through the sky and under the earth. They are endowed with the ability to experience - they rejoice in victory and grieve in case of defeat. The heroic horse is one of the most striking and fascinating images of olonkho. The Olonkhosuts lovingly describe it in every detail, sparing no color, depicting its power, beauty, and mind in hyperbolic terms. Finally, it is precisely in the depiction of the horse that the image of the creator of the olonkho himself stands out most prominently - a true cattle breeder, a passionate connoisseur and lover of the horse, a representative of the pastoral culture.

We see that the role of the fantastic element as a means of expressing the heroic is great in olonkho. The plots of the olonkho (in which there is a lot of both fantastic and mythological) reveal this heroic character of the exploits of the main heroes. The exploits of the heroes of the olonkho are not limited to the family. The problems of olonkho are much broader: it deals with the struggle for the happiness and well-being of the entire tribe - the highest social organization of its time. The bearer of this idea of ​​happiness is the hero of the olonkho, who fights against the forces of evil and is in the center of everything that happens: everything is focused around his fate.

Therefore, the composition of the olonkho is characterized by the development of the action in the biographical plan: from the birth of the hero to his return to his native country after the completion of all the feats. The hero's life is described as a chain of feats performed by him to establish a happy life on earth. Separate links of this chain make up various episodes of olonkho. The main links may be interrupted by stories about the misfortune that befell other bogatyrs of the aiyy-aimag as a result of monsters attacking them. Separate episodes and insert stories receive a complete form only in the chain of all events of the olonkho, as a result of which they do not break up into independent incoherent stories. They are an integral part of a single whole - the exploits of the hero, as the history of certain individual events associated with these exploits. And here the Yakut olonkhosuts show colossal ingenuity, inventing an infinite number of various plots and imperceptibly and deftly introducing them into the living fabric of the narrative. This is the structure of all olonkho.

In connection with the above, it should be noted that one of the main features of olonkho as a genre is its peculiar historicism. Olonkho is conceived, created and presented as a kind of history of the entire human tribe, in the broadest sense of the word - the entire human society. True, this story is not real - it is fantastic, and only the epic tribe Aiyy-Aimaga (by which, as it was said, the ancestors of the Yakuts are meant) appears as “human society” in the olonkho. But the bottom line is that any olonkho is presented as the history of a human tribe from the time of the emergence of the universe, “at least” - from the time of human settlement of the earth - the “Middle World”. That is why the life and struggle of the first people on earth, especially the main character of the olonkho, is described in detail, in all details (and, of course, in fantastic colors and in mythological design), because his fate and his struggle are the embodiment of the fate of the human tribe.

In accordance with the significance of the events described in it, the olonkho was created in the "high style". Events at first unfold slowly, at a slow pace, but, all intensifying both in scale and in pace, they turn into a turbulent stream of various meetings and clashes. The olonkho has a lot of symbolism, archaic words and phrases, fantastic images. His style is distinguished by hyperbolization, contrast, parallel and complex constructions, traditional, long-established ready-made poetic formulas - “common places”, figurative words and expressions passing from one olonkho to another. Olonkho is rich in various pictorial means, especially comparisons and epithets. In almost every large description (and there are many of them in olonkho, because it is mainly a descriptive work), one can find not only individual, so to speak, single comparisons, but also complex constructions - an extended chain of comparisons (similar in construction to several or many comparisons, with a large the number of words adjoining them, in which, in turn, more comparisons can occur). Epithets in olonkho are also often complex. Sometimes similar syntactic constructions that make up a list of objects or phenomena are headed by epithets that characterize them, constituting a whole “chain of epithets”. All this, taken together, creates a bizarre pattern, a kind of verbal arabesque. But this pattern is not scattered at random, but subordinate to its own internal logic, a strict system.

It is not possible here to dwell on all this in more or less detail. To confirm some of the provisions of the above, we will give only two examples15.

15 The translations are taken from the olonkho recorded from the folk olonkhosuts. Similar stylistic patterns are found in many in “Nyurgun Bootur the Swift” by P.A. Oyunsky. But, having taken examples from other folk poems for analysis of the olonkho style, we tried to demonstrate the identity of the style of the Oyunsky olonkho with the style of the olonkho recorded from folk storytellers.

The first of them16 describes the flaring anger of the hero, who considers himself offended:

16 Samples of Yakut folk literature, edited by E.K Pekarsky, III. Texts. Samples of Yakut folk literature recorded by V.N. Vasiliev, vol. I. “Kuruubai Khaannaah Kulun Kullustuur” (“The Recalcitrant Kulun Kullustuur”). Petrograd, 1916, p. 10.

After that, our man (out of anger)

dorsal tendons began to tighten,

arching like a resilient tree;

his legs began to cramp,

like a ray of a chirkan17;

on his powerful silver fingers,

like ten gray stoats,

clamped head to head,

the skin began to burst,

and his bright pure blood

splashed with trembling streams,

like fine hairs

torn from a horse with a soft mane and tail,

(skin) on both temples began to wrinkle,

like a bearskin bedding (when bent),

from both his temples, hissing and flaring up,

fires with a blue flame went up,

similar to a broken fire;

danced at the very top of his head

a large fire, the size of an average pot;

sparks rained down from both of his eyes,

like sparks of sparkling flint;

when the blood is on his back

boiled, bubbling,

and approached (to the throat),

he, spitting, spat

red blood clots 18.

The above picture is symbolism (Olonkhosuts, of course, understand that nothing like this can happen to a person). Its purpose is to exalt the hero as an extraordinary, incomparable, fantastic hero.

17 Cherkan (chaarkaan) - a hunting tool for small animals, rodents, etc.

The flaming and ever-increasing anger of the hero is shown by a change in his appearance.

18 Translation by A.A. Popova and I.V. Pukhov.

Comparisons produce a great effect, although for comparison, not “spectacular”, but the simplest and most ordinary household items are taken: cherkan, ermine, hairs from a horse’s mane, bedding from a bearskin, a fire, a pot, i.e., what in the past surrounded Yakut on the hunt and at home (it is these similar comparisons that create the “parallelism” of the parts of the whole phrase). The effect is enhanced by the fact that these simple, homely objects are compared with the extraordinary phenomena that occur with the hero at a tense moment of his highest affectation. This is the effect of the contrast of the paintings - the convergence of the ordinary with the unusual.

The epithets that describe the state of a person and characterize objects taken for comparison serve the same purposes.

Let's take another example 19:

19 D.M. Govorov. Unstumbling Muldu the Strong (in Yakut, language), recorded by A.F. Boyarova, M. - Ya., 1938.

Built a winter shelter

On the distant south coast

of the everlasting sea

Kyys-Baigal-Khatyn,

throwing out beach fish

The size of a three year old horse

Arising on the edge of the earth

And snowy white skies

Hanging, touching (with the sea),

Like sharp scissor blades

Sowing thick powder

With buttons of bright stars

With a scourge of formidable lightning,

Accompanied by crashing thunder

Oversalted with crimson clouds,

(Similar) to flattened in a row

wings and tail

The boundless heights of the white crane

With a painted beak

With rims around the eyes20.

20 Translation by I.V. Pukhov.

The whole picture is based on a simple idea: a winter road has been built. But this simple idea has become a kind of springboard for creating a whole picture of space and a fantastic sea bordering the sky and throwing out monstrous fish. The idea that the sea, on the shore of which the winter road is built, borders on the sky, undoubtedly arose from observing the horizon. The image is intended to emphasize the huge, hyperbolic dimensions of this sea.

21 The sea itself is described in more detail in another part of the introductory description of this olonkho.

At the same time, they are not limited only to indicating that the sea borders on the sky, but also a description of this sky is given by describing its “objects”. This is connected with the tradition of olonkho and the entire Yakut folk song art: all the items mentioned in folk songs and important in the development of their plot are described in more or less detail. But in this case, not only tradition plays a role. The fact is that the winter road was built by the first man on earth. Built in a beautiful country, which is the center of the land, intended for a happy life and sung in detail in the introductory description of the olonkho. Thus, the "description" of the sky connects the dwelling and the country in which it is built with the whole universe, is part of the praise of the country and the person lowered by the gods to live on it.

The text begins with the epithet of the white crane22, which is included in the comparison group with the word "cloud".

22 In order to bring the meaning of the text into line with the structure of the Russian language and make the meaning of the text clear, the translation had to seriously restructure the construction of the phrase, which here is, as it were, a unit of thought. In the text, a group of sentences related to the sea is in the second part and ends with the main thought: "he built a winter building." And the “sky group” is in the upper part and begins with a comparison of a cloud with a white crane.

In Yakut folk songs and in olonkho, to characterize the boundless expanse of the sky, it is customary to involve the image of a high-flying white crane - the most beloved bird of the Yakuts. Many songs are dedicated to the white crane, in which the formula is:

Endless sky white crane

With a painted beak

With rims around the eyes -

is a common place 23.

23 In this case, this “common place” characterizing the white crane (Siberian Crane) is abbreviated. Often the characterization of the white crane is more complete (up to ten or more lines) and is given in the form of a chain of epithets.

If in the first example (about the hero’s anger) everything was built on a chain of comparisons, then in this example the main constructive role belongs to the chain (or nest) of epithets characterizing individual “objects” of the sky: clouds, snow, lightning, thunder, stars. Such a construction of the description - in the form of a list, turning into parallel constructions with complex visual means - is one of the main stylistic features of the olonkho.

The above example also gives a case, which is typical for olonkho and for the entire Yakut song folklore, when they resort to describing nature in connection with the description of an object (in this case, a dwelling) that is not related to nature proper.

A large place in olonkho is occupied by repetitions. The most frequently repeated epithets are to the names of heroes, heroines, aiyy and abaasy warriors, as well as to the names of countries and worlds, to the names of heroic horses. These epithets are complex and contain a whole characteristic. The epithets of heroic horses are especially complex, colorful and full of bizarre fantasy. This is explained by the fact that the characteristic of the heroic horse is included as an integral part in the characteristic of the hero himself, and the more beautiful and powerful the heroic horse, the stronger and more majestic the hero is his owner. The constant list of horse epithets at each mention of the hero's name is an olonkho tradition.

Entire pieces of the epic can be repeated (moreover, many times), making up many dozens of poetic lines. These repetitive large segments of the text usually contain the key moments of the epic: stories about certain major events, about the history of the struggle of heroes, about the origin of heroes. Therefore, such repetitions are most often found in large monologues of various characters, which set out their attitude to ongoing events, the motivation for their actions, etc. In monologues, describing events, each character repeats almost exactly what he has already said on this about his predecessor (usually an opponent), and sometimes - what is already known and stated more than once in the course of previous events. But, what is especially interesting, the same events in the mouths of different characters look completely different.

Repetitions contribute to the memorization of the text, which is very important with the huge size of the olonkho and oral performance. They also have great compositional value. Repetitions are, as it were, strongholds of the legend, fastening its text, focusing the attention of listeners on the most important places, connecting events that took place at different times and separated by other episodes, help to consolidate the characterization given to actors and events.

The olonkho is characterized by large introductory descriptions: the country of the hero, the estate and buildings on it, the dwelling and its interior decoration. Particular attention is paid to the description of the central place of the country - the sacred tree "Aar-Luup-Mas" ("Great Oak-Tree"). Introductory descriptions sometimes reach one and a half to two thousand poetic lines.

There are many descriptions in the course of the further deployment of the olonkho. This is a description of other countries where the hero comes or passes through, the appearance of friends and enemies, the bride and her parents, Ysyakhs, heroic battles and campaigns, etc.

What has been said about the interpenetration of olonkho plots, which determines their fluidity and creates the possibility of their free reduction and increase, also applies to descriptions. They can also be reduced and expanded. Often, olonkhosuts not only significantly shorten introductory descriptions, but even omit them altogether, saying: “They had the same land as in all olonkho, they had the same country as in all olonkho.” The long independent existence of various olonkhos on the vast territory of Yakutia, some parts of which were very divided in the past, created the conditions for the emergence of various traditions of performing both the entire olonkho and its parts, in particular, introductory descriptions.

Olonkho were performed earlier by master storytellers (olonkhosuts) without musical accompaniment. The monologues of the heroes of the olonkho are sung, the rest is recited at a fast pace, but in a singsong voice, close to recitative. All olonkho is performed by one person: olonkho is a theater of one actor. Olonkho songs are characterized by different timbre and tone performance of roles. They try to sing the songs of heroes in bass, young heroes - in tenor, and abaasy - in a deliberately incorrectly delivered rough voice. The songs of the heroines, the elders - the parents of the hero and the heroine, the sage Seerkeen Sesen, the horse-herd slave, the slave Simehsin, the aiyy shamans and the abaasy shamans (the voices of the abaasy shamans; differ from the melodic voices of the aiyy shamans by special rudeness and some kind of reckless unbridledness), etc. e. In the songs of the olonkho, onomatopoeia of the neighing of a horse, the voices of various birds and animals is noticeable. The outstanding olonkhosuts succeeded in such a variety of sounds, aroused the admiration of the listeners and gave the performance of the olonkho an unusually bright, picturesque character.

Previously, every Yakut knew many different stories from childhood and tried his hand at telling olonkho. There were many “professional” olonkhosuts. They were specially engaged in singing olonkho. Some of them went to other uluses to sing olonkho in autumn and winter and during the hungry period of spring. They were paid little, more in kind: a piece of meat, butter, or some grain. The performance of olonkho for them was only an auxiliary business. All olonkhosuts were engaged in their peasant economy, as a rule, the poor. For the poverty of the olonkhosuts, besides social ones, there were also purely professional reasons: they were folk itinerant artists, poets. They were fond of their art, devotedly engaged in it, lost a lot of time memorizing the text, listening to other olonkhosuts, memorizing their olonkho in whole or in part and composing “their own” from them.

And then - a long training in singing and recitation. Therefore, they poorly monitored the state of their meager economy, often simply abandoned it. Such a “professional” had a family that rarely saw its head in winter, lived in great need, often went hungry. So lived, for example, one of the largest Yakut olonkhosuts, well known to me, Dmitry Mikhailovich Govorov (1847 - 1942) from the 2nd Oltek nasleg of the present Ust-Aldan region. It was only towards the end of his life, already in Soviet times, when he began to receive royalties for recording and publishing his olonkhos and joined the collective farm, that he lived in abundance. But on the other hand, these illiterate poor Yakut olonkhosuts created and conveyed to our time the largest epic creation of world significance.

Recently, due to the wide distribution of literature, theater, and radio, the live existence of olonkho has been sharply reduced, and in many areas it even disappears. But people continue to love and appreciate him. Newborns are given names in honor of their favorite heroes of the olonkho: Nyurgun, Tuyaaryma. The distribution and existence of olonkho took on new forms: books, theatre, radio, concert halls. The performance of olonkho becomes the property of the theater and stage.

Being the center of the national culture of the past, the olonkho had a great influence on the origin and development of Yakut literature and art.

Platon Alekseevich Oyunsky (November 10, 1893 - October 31, 1939), who recorded the olonkho "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift", was a major poet24

24 Collected works of P.A. Oyunsky was published in Yakutsk in seven volumes in 1958 - 1962. (in Yakut language).

the founder of Yakut Soviet literature, a prominent public and statesman, an active participant in the revolution and civil war, one of the first organizers and leaders of Soviet power in Yakutia 25.

25 P.A. Oyunsky was the chairman of the Gubrevkom, the Yakut Central Executive Committee, a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the first convocation, a delegate to the X Party Congress, a participant in the First Congress of Writers of the USSR, where he was elected a member of the board of the Union of Writers of the USSR. He was chairman of the board of the Union of Writers of the Yakut ASSR, worked as director of the Yakut State Publishing House, director of the Scientific Research Institute of Language and Culture under the Council of People's Commissars of the Yakut ASSR and executive editor of collections of works of this institute.

P.A. Oyunsky - one of the first Yakut scientists of the Soviet era, philologist, ethnographer, folklorist, literary critic26.

26 In 1935 he received the degree of candidate of philological (then "linguistic") sciences.

He was the greatest connoisseur of Yakut folklore, especially mythology and olonkho, and the author of many scientific works 27.

27 One of the most significant is his work “The Yakut fairy tale (olonkho), its plot and content”. Sobr. cit., vol. VII, Yak., 1962 (the article is written in Russian).

At the same time, P.A. Oyunsky himself was a very large olonkhosut. It should be noted here that without exception, all the first Yakut writers and poets (both pre-revolutionary and Soviet times) were great connoisseurs, lovers and connoisseurs of olonkho. It can be said with full confidence that all of them in childhood must have known many plots, and even the full texts of olonkho, sang and said it. Many of them became real olonkhosuts and, having become writers, along with literary activity, they were engaged in singing and saying olonkho. Olonkhosuts were, for example, a contemporary of P.A. Oyunsky writer Semyon Stepanovich Yakovlev (Erilik Eristin)28, writer Mikhail Fedoseevich Dogordurov. Olonkhosut is the People's Poet of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Vladimir Mikhailovich Novikov (Kyunnyuk Urastyrov)29.

28 Erilik Eristin left a record of several of his olonkho, which are kept in the manuscript fund of the Yakut branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

29 Kyunnyuk Urastyrov, a student of the famous olonkhosut Timofey Vasilyevich Zakharov (“Cheebia”), recorded and published a large olonkho “Toyon Dyagaryma”, which went through two editions (1941 and 1959).

People's Writer of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Dmitry Kononovich Sivtsev (Suorun Omollon) is the author of the drama and the libretto of the opera based on the plot of the olonkho. The poet Sergei Stepanovich Vasiliev wrote olonkho for children.

The fact that the first Yakut writers of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet period were connoisseurs and lovers of olonkho and even were olonkhosuts themselves is not surprising: olonkho, as already mentioned, in the past occupied a large place in the life of every Yakut from childhood30.

30 Even the author of these lines at preschool age learned from the son-in-law of our family, Vasily Nikolaevich Okhlopkov (from the Byart-Usovsky nasleg of the Borogonsky ulus), who was a good olonkhosut, a lot of olonkho and amused the elderly grandparents by saying them. But I did not have a hearing and, having entered school, I was forced to leave the olonkho saying: the schoolchildren ridiculed me.

Olonkho was, as mentioned above, one of the sources of Yakut literature.

As for P.A. Oyunsky, it is known about him that in his youth he already became a professional olonkhosut. His childhood friend K.A. Sleptsov recalls: “In childhood, Plato had one serious hobby, which he managed to keep for the rest of his life. It left a serious imprint on all his work. He was very fond of listening to songs and olonkho stories. The boy often ran away to his neighbor Panteleimon Sleptsov, a great connoisseur of olonkho, entertainer and songwriter. For hours Plato sat with his wise grandfather and listened to his improvisations. By the age of 8-9, he himself began to say olonkho and sing songs to his peers. A little later, adults, the owners of yurts, began to willingly invite the boy to their homes. Everyone thought that he had a good voice and an extraordinary gift for words.

31 K.A. Sleptsov. "From the childhood years of the writer", Sat. “P.A. Oyunsky. Articles and memoirs. Yak., 1969, p. 100.

People's Artist of the Yakut ASSR V.A. Savvin cites the words of a resident of the village of Churapcha, which he said in 1920 in the volost revolutionary committee: “Platon was still quite small, but he already spoke olonkho well. I thought that the famous olonkhosut would come out of him” 32.

32 V.A. Savvin. "Big friend of the theatre", ibid., p. 119.

The statements of P.A. Oyunsky: “As a child, I had a rich, colorful imagination, I spoke eloquently. I received invitations from the Toyons, who at their leisure enjoyed my stories during the long nights.

33 Party archive of the Yakut regional committee of the CPSU, f. 3, op. 177, d. 5567, l. 8 (quoted from article 3. P. Savvin “On the revolutionary and socio-political activities of P.A. Oyunsky”, collection “P.A. Oyunsky. Articles and memoirs”, pp. 3 - 4).

All this was customary among the pre-revolutionary Yakuts: talented children first listened to singers and olonkhosuts, then told their peers, then close neighbors or relatives. And when they grew up and gained some fame, they were invited by bai. The teenager Platon Oyunsky followed the same path.

P.A. Oyunsky was born in the Zhuleisky nasleg of the Tattinsky ulus (now Alekseevsky district) in a poor family. There were famous singers and olonkhosuts in the Oyunsky family on the maternal side. And about the Zhuleisky nasleg, the writer D.K. Sivtsev (Suorun Omollon) says: “Zhuleisky was famous for masters of oral folk art: songwriters, olonkhosuts and storytellers” 34.

34 D.K. Sivtsev (Suorun Omollon), People's Writer of Yakutia. “His truth is the truth of life”, Sat. “P.A. Oyunsky. Articles and memoirs”, p. 144.

The famous olonkhosut Tabakharov emerged from the Zhuleisky nasleg, whose portrait was painted at one time by the famous Yakut artist I.V. Popov. It is characteristic that it was from the Tattinsky ulus that the most famous singers and olonkhosuts in all of Yakutia came out. The largest Yakut writers also come from Tatta: A.E. Kulakovsky, A.I. Sofronov, S.R. Kulachikov (Ellyay), N.E. Mordinov (Amma Achchygyya), D.K. Sivtsev (Suorun Omollon).

Becoming a major poet and public figure, P.A. Oyunsky did not forget the olonkho (which is now being printed), he continued to be carried away by it and sang it among his friends.

But, as already mentioned, P.A. Oyunsky knew and was fond of not only olonkho: he was the greatest connoisseur of all Yakut folklore. Folklore had an exceptional influence on all his work and was that native soil, relying on which, he soared to the heights of creative achievements.

The development of the themes and plots of folklore led him to create remarkable works, among which we see: the dramatic poem "Red Shaman" (1917 - 1925), the story "The Great Kudansa" (1929) and "Nikolai Dorogunov - the son of Lena" (1935) .

A special place in the work of P.A. Oyunsky is interested in the drama "Tuyaaryma Kuo" (1930), which is a dramatization of the olonkho "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift" and named after the main character. In the drama "Tuyaaryma Kuo" Oyunsky takes the main plot of the olonkho about Nyurgun - the struggle of the hero with the monster Wat Usutaaki (Fire-throwing). The main ideological motive is also preserved: the hero saves people in trouble. "Tuyaaryma Kuo" was, as it were, a prelude to the great work of P.A. Oyunsky based on the recording of "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift" and is an example of a successful dramatization of olonkho. It may well be that it was the dramatization of the olonkho that led P.A. Oyunsky to the realization, probably, of his long-cherished idea to give a complete record of the entire olonkho. Oyunsky, of course, understood that no literary processing, no dramatization could give a complete and accurate picture of the entire great Yakut epic. Hence the idea: write down all the olonkho “in kind”, as it is…

In the thirties, the drama "Tuyaaryma Kuo" was staged at the Yakut National Theater and enjoyed great success with the audience. She subsequently became one of the sources for the creation by the writer D.K. Sivtsev (Suorun Omollon) of the libretto of the first Yakut opera "Nyurgun Bootur".

The works of P.A. Oyunsky were published more than once in Russian 35.

35 See, for example: P.A. Oyunsky. Selected, translated from Yakut (compiler of the collection - S.P. Danilov, introductory article "P.A. Oyunsky - the founder of modern Yakut literature" by I.V. Pukhova), M., 1963; Plato Oyunsky. Poems of different years, zhurn. Novy Mir, 1957, No. 12, pp. 97 - 107.

About P.A. Oyunsky has a large literature. Let's name some books: "Essay on the history of Yakut literature", M., 1970, pp. 113 - 141; "Platon Alekseevich Oyunsky (1893 - 1939). Reports on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of his birth. Yak., 1959; “P.A. Oyunsky. Articles and memories. (1893 - 1968)", Yak., 1969; "The founder of the Yakut Soviet literature", Yak., 1974. For bibliography, in addition to the works mentioned, see: V. Protodyakonov, N. Alekseev. "Writers of Yakutia, 2nd supplemented edition", Yak., 1972.

In 1970, olonkho P.A. Oyunsky "Nyurgun Bootur Swift" performed by Honored Artist of the Yakut ASSR G.G. Kolesov was published in Leningrad (abridged, in a set of 9 records) by the all-Union company Melodiya. The records are accompanied (in Yakut, Russian and English) by articles by I.V. Pukhov "Yakut olonkho and "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift" P.A. Oyunsky”, G.M. Krivoshapko "Yakut music and olonkho" and annotation of the text of the plates, compiled by I.V. Pukhov, as well as inset photo portraits by P.A. Oyunsky and G.G. Kolesov and illustration by the artist V.R. Vasiliev.

"Nyurgun Bootur Swift" is one of the best and most popular Yakut olonkho. In his entry, P.A. Oyunsky reproduced it with maximum completeness.

Apparently, he recorded it very quickly. The beginning of work on it is not exactly established. The first canto (a total of nine36 cantos) was completed and printed in 1930, but he accurately indicated the end of the work at the end of the ninth canto: “1932, August 31. Moscow".

36 Such a division “according to songs” is conditional and is practiced only in books.

In general, he wrote this olonkho (according to calendar time) for no more than two and a half years. During the years of work on the olonkho, he served (in Yakutsk), studied at graduate school (in Moscow), and carried out intense social, party and creative work. Therefore, he had very little time left to write the olonkho. Apparently, it helped that, being an olonkhosut, he knew the olonkho by heart and quickly wrote down what had long been deposited in his memory.

Everything that was said above about the Yakut folk olonkho also applies to P.A. Oyunsky "Nyurgun Bootur Swift". Oyunsky did not change the verse, the style in general, the traditional pictorial means, the archaic language, the whole mythology and images, transferring them in full as it is sung by the people. But recorded folk olonkho often combine verse with rhythmic prose - small prose inserts (for example, in replicas). Oyunsky wrote the entire olonkho in verse.

According to the size of the olonkho P.A. Oyunsky is almost twice as large as the largest of those recorded (it contains over 36,000 poetic lines). Among the people, there were also larger olonkhos. Previously, olonkho was determined not by the number of poetic lines, as it is now, but by the duration of the performance. Moreover, the performance within one night37 was taken as the basis for measuring the volume of olonkho.

37 Olonkho usually began to sing after dinner. The performance lasted almost all night - on average, about 8 - 10 hours, with short breaks, during which the olonkhosut smoked or rested. There were times when they sang for more than 10 hours in a row.

It was believed that olonkho performed during one night were short (or rather, one must think, shortened), during two nights they were medium, and during three or more nights they were large. Neighbors D.M. Govorov is told that he sang the olonkho "Unstumbling Muldu the Strong" depending on the circumstances (he and his listeners were tired, the need to work for tomorrow, etc.) for two or three nights. And this olonkho, as mentioned, has over 19 thousand poetic lines. According to the olonkhosuts, the largest olonkhos were sung for seven nights.

If desired, the olonkhosuts could increase the volume of the olonkho. There were many ways to do this. One of them is an increase in the volume of descriptions (landscapes, the furnishings of the yurt, heroic battles and campaigns, etc.). To this end, the olonkhosuts added details, increased and complicated visual means (for example, added additional comparisons) - in a word, they resorted to endless stringing of "decorative" techniques. This required from the olonkhosut not only virtuosity (which P. A. Oyunsky had in abundance), a huge memory (and he had it), but also colossal training, continuous practice in singing olonkho (and this is exactly what the adult Oyunsky did not enough). The fact is that all these “decorative” techniques, various descriptions of the olonkhosut were not just invented at the table in the order of improvisation (although improvisational talent was required and was inherent in the Yakut olonkhosuts), but they were in ready or almost ready form in a multitude of hovering “in the air olonkho". And an experienced, trained master, in the process of singing and reciting, inserted them into his text, “pasted” them so that they organically entered the olonkho as a long-sung whole.

There were absolutely amazing masters of such "improvised" endless descriptions. This was famous for, for example, the Bogon olonkhosut from the Byart-Usovsky nasleg Ivan Okhlopkov, nicknamed "Chochoiboh" 38.

38 In the past, the Yakut olonkhosuts were better known by their nickname - it was, as it were, their pseudonym.

There is a story about how he once sang olonkho in Yakutsk with local rich people. He dragged out the introductory description so much that he didn't finish it even by midnight, bringing it only to the description of "kyohyo" (the hangers in the yurt). In other words, in 5 - 6 hours I. Okhlopkov recited only about three-quarters of the introductory description and did not sing a single song, did not tell a single plot.

Another way to increase the size of the olonkho, practiced by the olonkhosuts, is the contamination of plots. Additional pieces from other olonkho were interspersed in the main plot. This was practiced when both the olonkhosuts and the listeners had plenty of time.

P.A. Oyunsky, apparently, went more along the second path, since the descriptions in his olonkho, in general, do not exceed the usual ones in terms of volume. This does not mean that it has few descriptions. On the contrary, he has, one might say, a complete set of all kinds of descriptions, but they are not as sophisticated, not as complicated as, say, D.M. Govorov or (as they say) from Ivan Okhlopkov.

Among the recorded olonkho there is one that can be considered the basis of the Oyun olonkho “Nyurgun Bootur the Swift”. This is an olonkho, also "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift", recorded by an illiterate Yakut K.G. Orosin 39 in 1895 at the request of the politically exiled E.K. Pekarsky - later a famous scientist.

39 Konstantin Grigoryevich Orosin came from a well-known Bai family. But he was close to the people, was fond of olonkho and folk songs, constantly lived in a circle of singers and olonkhosuts. He was friends with representatives of the political exile, seriously helped them in collecting folklore material. About him, see: G.U. Ergis, “Olonkhosut and singer K.G. Orosin" in the edition of his olonkho "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift", pp. 363 - 364 (see further footnote to the edition of this olonkho).

E.K. Pekarsky spent K.G. Orosin a great textual work and placed in his "Samples" 40.

40 Samples of Yakut folk literature, edited by E.K. Pekarsky. Texts. Samples of Yakut folk literature collected by E.K. Pekarsky. SPb., 1911.

It is interesting that all other recorded olonkho under the same name “Nyurgun Bootur” have nothing to do with the plot of the olonkho by K.G. Orosin and P. A. Oyunsky.

In Soviet times, the famous folklorist G.U. Ergis published this olonkho as a separate edition, dividing the text into verses (but without affecting the foundations of the textual work of E.K. Pekarsky) and providing a parallel translation into Russian and a scientific apparatus 41.

41 “Nyurgun Bootur the Swift”, text by K.G. Orosina, text revision, translation and comments by G.U. Ergis. Yak., 1947.

First of all, the testimony of E.K. Pekarsky that this is olonkho K.G. Orosin learned from one olonkhosut from the Zhuleisky nasleg 42 (the native nasleg of P.A. Oyunsky). This means that the variants of Orosin and Oyunsky have one source. A comparison of the olonkho text shows that these are indeed variants of the same olonkho.

42 “Samples…” E.K. Pekarsky, building 1.

Here I do not touch on all the similarities and differences between these two olonkho, I will focus only on the main thing. The descent from heaven to earth of Nurgun Bootur to protect people, the struggle of Nurgun Bootur and his brother Yuryung Uolan with the monster Wat Usutaaki, the rescue of heroes captured and imprisoned in the underworld and many other moments, as well as the descriptions and songs of the heroes associated with them are basically identical . This happens only in olonkho, existing in the same singing environment, when several olonkhosuts, who came out of one or neighboring naslegs, sing one original text.

But in the version of P.A. Oyunsky, there are many plots, private details and descriptions that are absent in the version of K.G. Orosina. I will point out the main ones. In Orosin's olonkho, for example, there are no plots related to the struggle against the hero Wat Usumu, there are also no plots related to the birth, growth and struggle of the young hero Ogo Tulayakh - the son of Yuryung Uolan and Tuyaaryma Kuo. In Orosin's olonkho there are no episodes connected with the Tungus hero Bohsogolla Bootur.

Now it is difficult to say whether these plots were original in the olonkho “Nyurgun Bootur the Swift” or whether Oyunsky took them from other olonkho. In any case, it should be borne in mind that in the poetic introduction to his olonkho he writes that “Nyurgun Bootur the Swift” was created “from thirty olonkho”. That he allegedly created his own olonkho “out of thirty olonkho” is a poetic hyperbole, and the number “thirty” is an “epic” figure. By the way, in the past such hyperbole also existed among the folk olonkhosuts. To show how great and significant their olonkho is, the olonkhosuts said: “Uh, I created it by combining thirty olonkhos.” Even taking this into account, it must be admitted that Oyunsky introduced plots from other olonkho into his olonkho. This, as already mentioned, is a practice that is characteristic and traditional for the Yakut olonkhosuts.

It can be said with a high probability that Oyunsky took the story about the slave Suodalba from the olonkho “Shamans Walumar and Aigyr”43.

43 See “Samples…” by E.K. Pekarsky, pp. 148 - 194. Translation: S.V. Yastremsky, “Samples of Yakut Folk Literature”, Proceedings of the Commission for the Study of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, vol. VII, L., 1929, pp. 122 - 152; A.A. Popov, Yakut folklore, M., 1936, pp. 104 - 156 (here olonkho is called "Two shamans").

Moreover, in this olonkho Suodalba is the uncle of young heroes, while in Oyunsky he is a hero-servant, into which the hero Nurgun Bootur turns. Usually the hero, arriving at the bride, because of whom the struggle is going on, disguises himself and turns into a slave boy, the son of the old woman Simehsin. He does this so that the enemies, who arrived at the bride before him, at first did not notice his appearance and were not the first to take any decisive measures.

In the olonkho "Shamans Walumar and Aigyr" the image of Suodalba is associated with avunculate 44 - honoring the maternal uncle and helping his relatives.

44 Avunculus - maternal uncle.

It is interesting that the avunculus of Suodalba in the olonkho about shaman women is actually turned into a slave, not only taking care of his nephews, leading the whole struggle for them, but also meekly fulfilling all their whims. And only at the very end of the olonkho, the slave Suodalba rebels and leaves his young nephews-masters. This wonderful image of the mighty slave P.A. Oyunsky (and, possibly, his predecessors from Zhuleisky or neighboring naslegs) used in his olonkho. The fact that the image of Suodalba in "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift" was introduced from another olonkho is evidenced by the fact that the transformation of the hero into a slave boy is a primordial plot in all olonkho in this situation.

But here's what is characteristic: the image of Suodalba in "Nyurgun Bootur" does not seem to be somehow introduced from outside. It is merged with the whole context of olonkho. These are the features of the olonkho and the exceptional skill of the Yakut olonkhosuts.

In the Oyunsky version, in the introductory part, there is a wonderful picture of the war of the gods and the division of the three worlds by them. This picture is absent not only in Orosin's version, but also in all olonkho known to me. Apparently, this episode was once in the olonkho, then it was forgotten and restored by P.A. Oyunsky, who used to listen to such major olonkhosuts as Tabakharov and Malgin.

All this suggests that Oyunsky recorded his own version of the olonkho about Nyurgun Bootur (which he practiced in live performance and perceived in the process of live performance), and did not simply “mix” or borrow someone else’s.

These are some of the most significant features of the olonkho P.A. Oyunsky "Nyurgun Bootur Swift". They show that this olonkho is entirely within the tradition of the Yakut olonkhosuts and is one of the variants of the folk olonkho, and not just a “consolidated text” arranged by the poet at the table.

Olonkho "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift" was translated into Russian by the outstanding poet-translator V.V. Derzhavin. He created this work after translating many works of classical poetry of the peoples of Central Asia, Iran and the Caucasus (Navoi, Firdowsi, Nizami, Khagani, Khayyam, Rumi, Saadi, Hafiz). The works of these classics of the East, translated by Vl. Derzhavin was repeatedly reprinted. Peru Vl. Derzhavin owns widely known translations of "David of Sasun", "Kalevipoeg", "Lachplesis", "Raushan" and other works of the epic. About the work of V.V. Derzhavin as a poet-translator, the Uzbek writer academician Kamil Yashen says: “V. Derzhavin’s translation skills are based on an exceptionally respectful attitude to the original, careful, scrupulous study of the peculiarities of the spiritual culture of the people to whom this artistic monument belongs, the ability to penetrate into the historical essence of the author’s worldview, to recreate the original intonations, the unique colors of his poetic world - in a word, the ability to make the Russian reader feel the aroma of poetry born in another language" 45.

The same can be said about the translation of V.V. Derzhavin of the Yakut olonkho, on which he worked for many years. During all this time, I consulted his translation of the olonkho "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift" and I can note his exceptionally attentive attitude to this epic monument.

Before proceeding with the translation, V.V. Derzhavin re-read the works on the history, ethnography and mythology of the Yakuts, studied in detail all the translations of their epic and folklore, as well as works on Yakut folklore. On all emerging issues he consulted with me in detail, trying to deepen his understanding of the epic, still unknown to Russian and European readers. During all these years, V.V. Derzhavin met with me many times (often also with Yakutian writers) and discussed all aspects and details of the Yakut epic and its translation, and the difficulties encountered in the process of work.

His translation faithfully and artistically justified conveys the spirit and figurative system of olonkho and its plots. Keeping the style of the original, he recreates a parallel system that tones the poetic system of the olonkho.

It is my deep conviction that the translation by V.V. Derzhavin olonkho "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift" is a wonderful (I would say classic) example of a poetic translation of the ancient epic of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples.