Reconstruction of Olonkho “Tyobyo Tyoryuyokh hero” of Olonkhosut I.M. Zhendrinsky

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that in the Yakut epic studies there has not yet been an experience of reconstructing the epic text, and the problem reflected in the article is previously not specifically studied and promising. The purpose of the undertaken study is to describe the principles of reconstruction of the text of the Yakut olonkho “Tyobyo Tyoryuyokh hero” by I. M. Zhendrinsky, produced on the basis of the manuscript and audio recording (live performance of the narrator). The study applied a textological approach within the framework of the methodology developed in the field of epic plot construction and variability. The arguments of V. N. Toporov and S. Yu. Neklyudov on the methodology of the historical reconstruction of folklore traditions were fundamental. First of all, an olonkho plot common to the manuscript and transcription of the audio recording was revealed, which made it possible to establish their connection. Based on this, the stories were combined into two texts. As a result of the reconstruction, the text of the olonkho increased in volume to 1772 poetic lines, which significantly exceeded the number of lines in the manuscript (980 lines). It has been established that the reconstruction of the olonkho text is theoretically substantiated and possible, especially if both textual material and an audio recording of the performance are available, which can be considered as complementary equivalent options. The reconstructed text of the olonkho was published in the book “Olonkho of the Verkhnevilyui Ulus at the Turn of the 20th-11th Centuries” (Yakutsk, Dani-Almas, 2022).

Keywords

• yakut heroic epic olonkho
• epic text
• plot
• variability
• reconstruction
• verification