E-mail: mbbairta@yandex.ru Tel.: +7 (84722) 3-55-06
8, I. K. Ilishkin str., Elista, 358000, Russian Federation
DSc in Philology, Leading Researcher, Department of Folklore and Literature, Kalmyk Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences
This research was carried out within the framework of the state supported project “The Oral and Written Heritage of the Mongolian Peoples of Russia, Mongolia and China: Transboundary Traditions and Interactions” (No. АААА-А19–119011490036–1).
This article examines the song “Shara Gyurgyu” in three recordings made at different times: in the Maloderbet cycle (1862); a recording by the dzhangarchi Teltya Lidzhiev (1970); and one by Mikhail Mandzhiev (1971). The author examines the degree of stability and variability of the text among the different storytellers. Comparative analysis of the plot-compositional structure, motifs and typical moments in the recordings reveals that over more than a century the core of the song “Shara Gyurgyu” — that which “binds” all verbal embodiments of this or that formula into a “bundle” — has been preserved. The dzhangarchi (singers of the Kalmyk epic “Dzhangar”) Lidzhiev and Mandzhiev adhere to the main points of reference, but in the process of reproducing the text they apply the knowledge and skills which they learned from their predecessors. In quantitative terms, the number of commonplaces differs. Thus, of the 43 commonplaces in the Maloderbet cycle, 36 occur in the Lidzhiev text and 24 in that of Mandzhiev. In the later recordings the dzhangarchi tried to convey the main content of the song while omitting such phrases as: holding back а horse (vystoika loshadi); saddling a horse; dressing a warrior; a warrior’s departure; his weapon; receiving news; the horse reminding the hero of his native land; a picture of a devastated country; branding; a feast. The reduction in number of these commonplaces did not affect the harmony and conciseness of the song because the plot-compositional structure and cluster of motifs were preserved almost in full.
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