Article

Name: Knives of Yukaghir fairy tale characters: ethnographic realities and folklore context

Authors: P. E. Prokopeva

The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of the SB RAS, Yakutsk, Russian Federation

In the section Фольклор: этнографический аспект

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the contemporary issue of the objective world in fairy-tale prose. Analysis of its ethnographic basis may facilitate a deeper understanding of the substantive and artistic features of the folklore text, including its symbolic context. An ethnographic and semantic analysis of Forest Yukaghir fairy tales is presented, with particular attention paid to the portrayal of knives. The corpus of this research comprised the fairy tales of the Forest Yukaghirs, assembled from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries. Examination of ethnographic and folklore sources related to the Forest Yukaghirs reveals the multifaceted nature and diverse applications of their knives. Ethnographic realities are prominently featured in the remarkable Yukaghir folklore, particularly in descriptions of knives with diverse materials and uses. Featured in the texts are knives of bone, wood, and iron. The practical application of knives by fairytale characters mirrors that of humans, encompassing fishing, preparing food, crafting, and sewing. Alternatively, within folklore imagery, knives can symbolize character size, gender, or a trickster’s personality. In fairy-tales, a knife can take on an unreal appearance, corresponding to the image of its owner and the logic of the plot. Plots sometimes feature semantically significant segments that involve a knife. The multifaceted nature of knives provides a basis for figurative comparisons.

Keywords: Yukaghir folklore, Yukaghir ethnography, Forest Yukaghirs, knife, tale

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