Traditions of folk medicine in the motif of Kalmyk fairy tales

Abstract

The traditions of Kalmyk folk medicine appear in folklore in various forms, and not all of those have received enough attention from researchers. The motifs of healing and revival have been studied in detail on the material of the heroic epic and tales. At the same time, Kalmyk fairy tales have never been considered in this aspect and are analyzed for the first time in this article. For sources, we rely on both published texts of fairy tales and their unpublished versions, preserved at the research archives of the Kalmyk scientific center of RAS. Kalmyk fairy tales, as well as the heroic epic and tales, often have motifs of magical resurrection and healing of the hero. Representatives of other worlds (either upper or lower) may have magical powers to revive and heal. Sometimes healing is performed by chthonic beings of the underworld against their will. The tales reflect two main methods of treatment of traditional medicine: medicinal and non-medicinal types of therapy. Among the non-medicinal means, we can single out the charm as one of the potent remedies, the saying of which was accompanied by additional actions involving fire, water, and silver. By their source, medicines were divided into vegetable, animal and mineral ones. The examples found in fairy tales complement the picture of the Kalmyk folk medicine traditions, and at the same time help trace the world picture of their traditional culture.

Keywords

• калмыки
• народная медицина
• волшебная сказка
• мотив исцеления
• заговор