Article

Name: Poetics of Koryak-Nymylan personal songs: a case study of the works by Lydia Innokentievna Chechulina

Authors: E. L. Tiron

Institute of Philology of the SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia

In the section Песенный фольклор

Abstract:

The paper details the poetic content of the Koryak-Nymylan personal songs known as ӄuliӄul. The data for this study are the recordings of the musical works performed by Lidia Innokentievna Chechulina (Koryak name Ӄyvnyutaӈav) taken at different times. These are fourteen songs, with one being sininkin ӄuliӄul (own personal song) and the others paninatyn ӄuliӄul (ancestral songs). The repertoire of Lidia Innokentievna includes songs from three generations of her family (grandfathers, parents, and siblings). The analysis explores the vocabulary of personal songs, indicating a sacred view of this musical phenomenon within Koryak-Nymylan culture and validating the accuracy of the song performance. The authenticity of the performed song is confirmed by the verbs ivi (spoke) and direct speech constructions. Invocation of ancestors during song performance is conveyed by the verb myng’eŋavyn (to call). The frequent use of the phrase gyrap myntalivyn (we will roll the melody downhill) is attributable to the transmission of ancestral songs from hilltop burial sites. Ancestors are portrayed as a defined group, denoted by paninalu (ancestors) and ӄaytumguv’v’e (relatives), residents of Koryak settlements (for example, Alutalu (residents of Olyutorka), and as the environment of a particular ancestor, with his name used in plural). Furthermore, the texts reveal the song performance context (tambourine playing, dancing, exquisite traditional women’s attire, and exuberant spirits) alongside vivid auditory and visual representations of the surrounding world of Kamchatka. Typical characteristics include the usage of interjections, exclamations, reindeer herding vocalizations, chanted syllables and words, and onomatopoeia imitating animal and bird sounds.

Keywords: North-Eastern Paleoasiates, Koryaks, Nymylans, Alutorian language, indigenous peoples of Kamchatka, Koryak folklore, the musical tradition of the Koryaks, personal songs, ethnomusicology

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