Article

Name: The image of the spirit-mistress of the earth in the olohkho epic. Part 1: Static and dynamic characteristics

Authors: M. T. Satanar

North-Eastern Federal University named after M. K. Ammosov, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

In the section Повествовательный фольклор

Abstract:

Currently, there appears to be a significant demand for addressing the image of Mother Earth. This study was intended to identify the main characteristics of the image of the spirit–mistress of the earth, Aan Alakhchyn Khotun, in the olonkho epic. Use was made of the structural, functional, and semantic analysis, as well as of the review and generalization, with the principle of historicism being the key one. The analysis has revealed the following stable signs of the image: being a female, a predominance of white color, nudity of breasts, elegant clothes, localization in the world tree, divine origin, and the functions of a nurse, protector, or adviser. A cane and a ladle in her hands or a shamanic tambourine and a mallet have been found to be characteristic attributes of the appearance. The natural prima materia and, in some texts, the anthropomorphic images (little people) of Ereke-Dyereke tend to accompany the arrival of Aan Alakhchyn Khotun. Emphasis is placed on the ornithomorphic hypostasis of the spirit of the words of the image in the form of a cuckoo. The early records demonstrate the phytomorphic hypostasis of the image in question in the form of a fusion of the images of the spirit of the tree and the hostess of the place. A conclusion is drawn that the semantic features of the image of Aan Alakhchyn Hotun reflect the multi-temporal nature of their historical appearances, suggesting further genetic studies to explore the archaic image of the spirit-mistress of the earth.

Keywords: spirit-mistress of the earth, mythological image, characteristic features, anthropomorphic composition, epithet, attribute, function

Bibliography:

Alekseev N. A. Etnografiya i fol’klor narodov Sibiri [Ethnography and folklore of the peoples of Siberia]. Novosibirsk, 2008, 494 p. (In Russ.).

Ergis G. U. Ocherki po yakutskomu fol’kloru [Essays on Yakut folklore]. Yakutsk, 2008, 400 p. (In Russ.).

Kulakovskiy A. E. Nauchnye Trudy [Scientific works]. Yakutsk, 1979, 484 p. (In Russ.).

Losev A. F. Antichnaya mifologiya v ee istoricheskom razvitii [Antique mythology in its historical development]. Moscow, 1957, 620 p. (In Russ.).

Popov A. A. Materialy po istorii religii yakutov byvshego Vilyuyskogo okruga [Materials on the history of the religion of the Yakuts of the former Vilyui district]. In: Sbornik muzeya antropologii i etnografii [Collection of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography]. Moscow, Leningrad, 1949, vol. XI, 276 p. (In Russ.).

Propp V. Ya. Russkiy geroicheskiy epos [Russian Heroic Epos]. Moscow, 1999, 636 p. (In Russ.).

Pukhov I. V. Yakutskiy geroicheskiy epos olonkho: osnovnye obrazy [Yakut heroic epos olonkho: the main images]. Moscow, 1962, 255 p. (In Russ.).

Satanar M. T., Illarionov V. V. Miroponimanie epicheskoy formuly aҕys iileekh-saҕalaakh aan iye doydu v svete fizicheskoy teorii edinogo polya [The worldview of the epic formula aҕys iileh-saҕalaah aan iye will reach in the light of the physical theory of a single field]. Social Sciences. 2017, no. 3, pp. 247–256. (In Russ.).

Tolkovyy slovar’ yakutskogo yazyka = Саха тылын быhаарыылаах тылдьыта [Explanatory dictionary of the Yakut language]. P. A. Sleptsov (Ed.). Novosibirsk, Nauka, 2006. Vol. 3 (Letters G, D, Dj, I). 844 p. (In Yakut, in Russ.).

Troshchanskiy V. F. Evolyutsiya chernoy very (shamanstva) u yakutov [Evolution of the Black faith (shamanism) among the Yakuts]. Kazan, 1902, 219 p. (In Russ.).

Utkin K. D. Istoki yakutskogo shamanizma [The origins of Yakut shamanism]. Yakutsk, 1994, 19 p. (In Russ.).

Vinogradova L. N. Narodnaya demonologiya i mifo-ritual’naya traditsiya slavyan [Folk demonology and the mytho-ritual tradition of the Slavs]. Moscow, 2000, 432 p. (In Russ.).

Vinokurov V. V. Ichchi (dukhi-khozyaeva) v yakutskom geroicheskom epose olonkho [Ichchi (master spirits) in the Yakut heroic epic olonkho]. Epic Studies. 2017, no. 3 (07), pp. 38–51. (In Russ.).