The olonkho Khardaachchi Bergen by A. T. Titarov: features of recording variants

   The relevance of the research topic is due to the ever-increasing interest in the structural analysis of epic texts and its variants, in particular, in the study of the patterns of functioning of plot construction, the interpretation of peculiar plot motifs and epic characters.

   One of these texts is the olonkho Khardaachchi Bergen by A. T. Titarov, which has several recordings of different times, but known in the scholarly community in two versions of the recordings. The first version is the full text transcribed from the tape recording by Yu. I. Sheikin and M. L. Didyk (1986) and published in 2022 in three languages as part of the XV Republic’s Olonkho Ysyakh in Verkhnevilyuisky district. The second option is an incomplete handwritten text recorded by P. N. Dmitriev (1987). The article is devoted to the structural analysis of these two recording options.

   The aim of the study is a comparative study of the versions of the records of the olonkho Khardaachchi Bergen in terms of plot and motif composition, poetic features of the formula for the name of epic characters and the language of olonkho.
   To achieve the goal of the study, a textual description of the manuscript, a comparative method and structural analysis were used. The methodological basis was fundamental research on the problems of textual criticism and variability of epic texts, the poetics of epic narration and some aspects of mythology. As a result of a comparative analysis of two versions of the recording of the olonkho Khardaachchi Bergen, we came to the conclusion that the variability of the texts is synonymous, since the olonkho-teller’s manner of performing depends on the place, time, audience, and even on the focus of the recording specialist. Both recording options, complementing each other in terms of content, quite fully reveal the originality of A. T. Titarov. In the course of the study of plot motifs, their organic inclusion and variability in both records was traced, the epic formulas are the same in terms of content, figurative and structural foundations. Specific motifs associated with ritual and ceremonial actions and the individualization of the narrator are found. There is a transformation in the system of epic characters, in particular towards mythological heroes. In general, the olonkho is notable for its small volume, dynamic plot, the presence of characteristic motifs of the epic tradition of the Vilyui region, and the variation in the names of the characters.

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