Nigmat Hakim, manuscript, “Idegey”, dastan, variability, textual studies, written sources, version

Abstract

The dastan “Idegey” gained popularity in all regions where Tatars lived. This article will focus on the variants of the dastan collected in the Tatar villages of Western Siberia and the Teleutes. The object of the work is to explore variants of the Tatar version of the folk epic “Idegey”. The subject of the work is the area of distribution of the dastan and the variants found in the specified territory, their ideological and thematic – as well as lexico-stylistic and dialectal – features associated with local affiliation. The aim of the work is to identify all the variants recorded in Siberia, as well as to provide information about folklore researchers who collected and studied dastan, assessing the contribution of each of the researchers and describing historical inaccuracies of fragments and excerpts published in different years. The research materials were archival and published versions of the Tatar dastan “Idegey”. Information from literary and historical sources and scientific research was used. The works of famous folklorists were involved, in particular numerous studies and publications of recent years. We propose to analyze the variants of the Tatar version which were found orally or in wri­ting in different settlements of Siberia and the border regions. They were recorded by informants belonging to different ethnic groups of the Siberian Tatars and preserving dialectal features. The second part was recorded by immigrants from the Volga region, more precisely from villages belonging to the regions of Tatarstan, or copied from texts preserved in their manuscripts. The article considers each option separately, highlights the main motives and plot features, and provides the most complete information about each option to date.

Keywords

• dastan
• idegey
• variants
• siberian tatars
• dialectal features
• motives