The Kalmyk Folk Tale of Father, Sons and Broken Canes (Arrows) in the Context of Folklore and Ancient Literature of Eurasia

Abstract

This article is about a widespread plot in which the rods and arrows easily break apart, but it is impossible to break their bundle. The author compares this plot, recorded in the Kalmyk fairy tale, with the plots of The Secret History of the Mongols, a collection of annals of Rashid-ad-Din and a Japanese fairy tale. The author investigates in detail the texts of the ancient fabulist writers Aesop and Babrius, which are considered to be the most ancient and represent the source of the distribution of these stories throughout Eurasia. The fixation of these plots in East Slavic fairy-tale folklore is noted, the author’s texts of Leo Tolstoy based on Aesop’s fable are analyzed in detail.

Keywords

• folklore
• mongols
• kalmyks
• japanese
• chinese
• fairy tale
• fable
• parable
• genghis khan
• broken rods (arrows)
• edification of posterity
• the idea of maintaining power