Article

Name: Genre of the algys good wishes in the context of Khakass family rituals

Authors: Valentina V. Mindibekova

Institute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Study of folklore

Abstract:

Family rituals are closely connected to important milestones in an individual’s life, such as birth, marriage, and death. In the traditional Khakass culture, ritual poetry plays a significant role. Algys, a ritual of good wishes, is a multifunctional phenomenon in Khakass folklore. People believed in the power of words and were convinced that good wishes could influence human life and promote well-being. The research aim was to study the algys that accompany family rituals. The relevance is due to the lack of modern folklore research addressing traditional rituals. The novelty is in identifying the genre features of good wishes in the Khakass family rituals and ritual poetry. The material for this study includes samples of ritual poetry from recordings by N. F. Katanov, archival materials from the Manuscript Fund of the Khakass Scientific Research Institute of Language, Literature, and History (Abakan), and the Institute of Philology, SB RAS (Novosibirsk). Over one hundred poetic texts of Khakass ritual poetry have been collected, and a file of 80 stable poetic formulas has been compiled. This paper presents the results regarding the genre specificity of algys good wishes in the context of Khakass family rituals. The genre features, poetics, and semantics of good wishes in family rituals have been determined. The abundance of epithets, comparisons, and other poetic devices indicates the artistic development of the investigated poetic style. Stable poetic formulas for making sacrifices to the tayyg fire, spirits-masters of mountains and water have also been identified.

Keywords: Khakass ritual poetry, good wishes, blessings, poetics, semantics

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