Ключевые слова.
Миф, эпос, пространство, время, структурное поле.
Researching the pecularities of typological relations between myth and epic has two directions
which have special role in modern folkloristics science. First: to investigate a plot, a motive, a character,
a title covered conceptual field and social, esthetic, aesthetic aspects covered ideological concept;
second: a composition, a time, a space dimension, a sign, a symbol, pertaining to the structure of the
text and research group directing to define the system of semantic structural concepts.
On the third hand these two directions seem to be nothing with each other, but it is not difficult to
notice that practically their research methods and ways are changing and completing each other. Unless
social importance of stories, plot and motives, relating to meaningful concept, are combined with
concepts in terms of composition and structure relating to structural concept or on the contrary unless
compositional structural system is grouped in time and space dimension of the plot, word order of
combined parts are defined in synchronic, diachronic, paradigmatic and syntagmatic aspects, research
and target (text), object and subject are corresponded with each other.
However, practically most researches directing to conceptual analysis can make great conclusions
without paying attention to the structural concepts and fields. It is a main disadvantage of research
works on this direction. We can say their results are neither systematic nor considerable. They only
collect the meaning of the texts.
Aspiration of collecting the same phenomenon, originated by the concept of research form in
structural direction is rather productive than mentioned above. As structuralists criticize each other
about their tendency to the formalism, it can not be noticed their pursuit to conceptual field.
French structuralist Claude Levi – Strauss criticized the work of V.Y. Propp «The Morphology of
Fairytales», as for him «the nature of the myth is defined neither a style and the form of narration nor
a syntax, but a history told in it, his conclusion showed the importance of the meaning [1, 187 p.]. The
problem is how to describe that meaning.
Whereas two scientists, the base of structuralism, had significant differences in approaching to
define and describe structural system, their main purpose was to go from empirical collection to
historical meaning, from structural unit to big combined unit or group of relations. Because every image
of the meaning based on narration, is realized by its form or structure. In this case, scientists proved not
only such genres as myth, fairytale, and epic but also their appearance by unified structural form of the
meaning or group of meaning, which was reorganized, changed, transformed and as a result undergone
determination treatment.
It is out of argument that the main purpose of investigations on structural description is to come to
the field of meaning, to define stable and unstable dimensions originated from the meaning. Therefore,
in the materials of V.Y. Propp’s fairytales, he concluded that «most plots may have one composition in
their subtext or on the contrary in one composition there may be a lot of plots». According to the
scientist, a composition is stable, a plot is changeable factor [2, 143 p.].
МЕЖДУНАРОДНАЯ КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ «МОДЕРНИЗАЦИЯ СОЗНАНИЯ:
ХАРАКТЕР ПЕРЕДАЧИ ОБРАЗА «ӘЛЕМ» В ДУХОВНОМ НАСЛЕДИИ
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To consider Turkic people’s myths and heroic epics in a typlogical aspect, it is important to
research according to a structural form which has more stable description. Because, we need an
approach to define transformation and determination form, in the course of changing from myth to epic,
of a plot developing in definite structure. In this case, it gives an opportunity to consider such consepts
as unified structural system in the form of time and space dimension, dynamic and statistic signs and
relation of this element with the whole.
V.Y. Propp’s opinion about development of epic from shamanic myth, which was written in his
work, where he compared chukot’s shamanic myths and gilyak’s (nivkh's)
folks (nastund) close to their
first epic according to compositional structure, gave an opportunity to investigate this problem by
historical typological point of view. [2, 300 p.]. To compare the appearance of epics and their changes
in historical period, let’s take V.Y. Propp’s compositional structure of chukot’ myths.
All stories of these myths are formed by thoughts about two world based on beliefs and worldview
of Chukots. First is an own world of shaman (environment of people), second is a world of strangers (a
world of sky and under the ground). Shaman as a hero with definite reason travelled from his own world
to another world to get married or to return kidnapped bride. Travelling is described either fantastic
way (going up with the help of a
rope or a tambourine or going down by the water and etc.) or just
walking way. On the way, he met an old man (sometimes animals). He took from them a thing, which
would help to overcome obstacles or advices which would help him to win enemies. V.Y. Propp named
the service of the character «grantor». Hero shaman went to another world with the help of shamanic
power and things taken as a present. There he was passed the test by father of the bride or with opponent
monster. The shaman won in this fight, took a bride and went to his district. Sometimes he was followed
by enemies, shaman escaped with the help of shamanic activities [2, 301 p.].
One of the main problems in this myths’s structure based on shamanic beliefs is that shaman seeks
a bride in another world (in the world of spirits). When shaman travelled to the world of spirit, getting
into trouble, his meeting with the spirit of a woman and thier reunion is phenomenon mentioned in Far
East, Siberia and Central Asia’s people’s shamanic concepts [3, 42 p.]. The interesting one is a bride
from other world agreed with the shaman, after reunion she served as a protector of other spirits.
Structural order and scheme of these stories in myths are repeated in gilat epics with definite
meaningful changes. Then this structure is used in archaic and heroic folks of Far East and Siberia’s
people with different meaningful changes.
The importance of V.Y. Propp’s work for us is to have proved a scheme of myth’s plot changed
into the epic. The main problem is changing of shaman into epic hero and taking shamanism concept
imagined the world of spirit as a ghost to the space surrounded by people. Of course, this space can not
be an equivalent of real truth.
The main problem we have to take into account, concepts, investigated by K. Levi-Stross, related
symmetrically with each other are not occurred in the myth but also kept in the epic as a structural form.
It is known that mythical thinking system is realized by a lot of binary opposition concept and it is also
close to the nature of the folklore texts [4, 467 p.].
To classify binary opposition concepts into semantic fields gives an opportunity to analyze the
model of the myth and the plot of the epic, spreading them into relations and fields according to their
structure. Those fields and relations are classified into objective, characters, time, space and
foundational groups by T.V. Tsivyan [5, 191 p.].
Mentioned above shamanic myth and epic grouped into semantic fields, first of all are described
with space and time unity. Semiotic opposition my own/strange, which has universal meaning, took
place in the space where shaman (hero) went to unknown place from his country (home, residence,
environment of people) and came back. A time form was seen in the biographic plan as shaman (hero)
competed in his first journey or when he brought a woman with him and came back to his places. A
story has to be originated one after another, happening by its time one by one, placed in one line
according to thee chronological orders.
Such structural form practically is peculiar to archaic and classical heroic epic of Turks. In first
places took yakut’s heroic epic by its olonkho antiquity. Travelling of the hero devotes to the fight with
mythical monsters of another world. When Timir Yiysty Khara (Khara who could swallow a metal) in
«САНАДАҒЫ ЖАҢҒЫРУ: «ӘЛЕМ» БЕЙНЕСІНІҢ РУХАНИ МҰРАЛАРДА БЕРІЛУ СИПАТЫ»
АТТЫ ХАЛЫҚАРАЛЫҚ КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ
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olonkho «Nurgun-Bootur Ekpendi» and Kytygyras Barancha in olonkho Kaisar Kulyn Kullustur were
coming, there was a storm from the North, a snowstorm between sky and earth was heavy, fire and
water mixed (or a snow) and fire or a thick snow covered around [6, 28].
To describe an enemy as a monster is considered as one of ancient signs of Siberia Turkic
Mongolian epic. Further development of historical life and social relation of Altai, Khakas, Tyva, Shor
people are continuing to demythify the image of the enemy from the myth. Monster was replaced by
violator khan or rapist man and etc. [6, 26 p.]. As a model we can take the epic of Aldai – Buuchu
where an image of a monster Kara-Bula humanized. He was a terrible and horned monster. After
defeating he turned to the man and became man’s ally [6, 28 p.].
In the epic of Siberia and Central Asia Turks the enemy was imaged as a man but in his behaviour
and power, action and moving that scared even a nature, we noticed determination form of mythical
concepts. It can be added a fortress where no enemy could enter, a witch, monsters around, wonderful
things and mythical animals as well.
In epic poems of Siberia Turkic people the connection of enemy image with mythical monsters,
their behaviors in mythical concept is obvious and these epics are in the middle of Central Asia Turk’s
folklore and mythical world view of Turks in ancient periods. In the epic of Altai «Maadai-Kara», when
Kara – Kula khan was coming, there was a storm because of some branches lying under his foot, when
he breathed there was a freeze covered all trees [7, 985-1008; 1034-1043 p.]. «It was a breath of furious
Kara – Kula Khan who made a heavy severe cold, dragging broken branches. It was severe cold of his
shirt – tails like a freeze which broke growing tress. It was greedy Khan’s spit that made a heavy snow.
When Kara- Kula Khan was coming shouting, because of his severe cold Altai was frozen seven days
before he came. Because of his breath Altai mountains were frozen six days before he came».
In comparison with Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Karakalpak, Uzbek epics the image of the enemy is close to
historical truth, real human merit. Of course, to give a special description to their appearance, strength
and heroism, artistic methods such as hyperbole and synecdoche are used. The power of both enemy
and hero can be equal.
We can see the changes, exchanged one by one in further development of epic traditions and went
to the epic from the myth in binary opposition my own.
When the main character in the myth shaman or primal forefather, cultural hero and demierge
types approached one by one to historical social changes and other genres in spite of myth, they were
changed into hunter, shooter, hero and fair khan and researched in fairy tale and epic materials
[8, 23 p.]. Of course when the concept my own goes from mythical world view to historical
consciousness, exactly it is covered with a view of social environment, a tradition of hunting and
nomadic life, moral – ethic form, signs given by feeling of defending his country from the enemies.
One of the name or definition of main character in the heroic epics and fairytales of Yakut, Altai
and Tyva people is shooter (mergen, bergen, mirgen). This name or epithet is often met in Central Asia
Turks’s and in folklore models (myth, fairytale, ancient epic) which considered to be ancient one.
Turning a mythical hero, engaged in hunting, to heroic shooter, fought with the enemies in poetic epic,
practically proves the continually connection of folklore tradition [9, 261 p.]. Ancient epic of Kyrgyz
«Kozhashash», in Kazakh’s epic «Kulamergen, Zhoyamergen», epics of «Dotan Batyr» and in «Edil-
Zhayik» fairytale have two descriptions showing hunting and heroism.
So equal concepts such as my own or strange in binary opposition got through the myth and were
newly presented in historical social context and genre classification closely connecting with each other
in different development stages of epics.
Sacralized description of myth and epic inculcated their own pecularities. In another way an
environment which originated a myth and an epic, admitted stories presented in both of them as a true
story in spite of any imaginative content. Therefore even though a model of the myth kept in the epic
its content was changed unrecognizably. Historical development inculcated the truth of its own period.
Fairytale genre has kept its structure and contextual field close to some myth in comparison with
this [10, 442 p.]. Because when another period, that did not believe in mythical stories, had come the
fairytale changed the status of a story as if it did not happen but described it interesting and marvelous.
МЕЖДУНАРОДНАЯ КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ «МОДЕРНИЗАЦИЯ СОЗНАНИЯ:
ХАРАКТЕР ПЕРЕДАЧИ ОБРАЗА «ӘЛЕМ» В ДУХОВНОМ НАСЛЕДИИ
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It would give an opportunity to keep the myth in fairytale genre in more detail and continue a model of
myth [2, 149 p.].
In epic a content of a myth is getting to historical truth gradually. Therefore, their natural genetic
connection formed for narration kept in structural form.
Another peculiarity of my own or strange opposition in myth and epic structure their concepts are
always separated by the border. The border consists of endless sea, lake, river, water, big mountain,
high hilltop, desert, sandy hill, wild forest and other natural obstacles. Having collected their border
view, it is noticed that binary opposition systemizes in up and down space. They meet with each other
in one concept as high or flat and sometime separately. Let’s describe their collected typical view with
stable formula combination in Kazakh heroic epic:
From high and high mountains,
From tranquil waters of a lake [9, 261 p.].
In the myth a shaman goes through such obstacles with the help of tambourine in the world of
ghosts, in the myth his instrument serves as a transport that can fly, in the epic this work is obliged to
a horse.
The work of speed in mythical space is done by flied fast horse in the epic. Mythical
characteristics of the horse is presented distinctly in the epic. The description of a way and volume in
the epic is measured mythical distance, it can be overcome only by a flied horse whose nature is love.
In Yakut and Altai epics, the horses are associated with peculiarities of sun, moon, cloud and other sky
images. The length of a horse lasted one day and its width lasted one kilometer, it showed that the horse
was enormous. Hero travelled mythical space that is the world of sky and underground with that horse.
In Kazakh shamanism myth Koilybai shaman joined his kobuz (musical instrument) to horse racing
and it came first [11, 95 p.]. In the epic of Altai «Alyp-Manash» when a hero died for the moment, his
horse went to the sky and turned to the star. When a hero came to life, his horse turned to the horse
back [12, 249 p.].
We tried to carry out a short review to make sure of equal typological common system took place
in structural form of the space description on developing way from the myth to the classical heroic epic.
In future to stabilize the results of such directed investigations, the number of epics must be increased
and to put them in different semantic fields, the extensive research work has to be done.
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