Epic motifs of the Mongol-Oirat epic story of Parchen and their parallels in the national versions of Dzhangar epic
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center, MANDZHIEVA Bayrta 
Published: December 2024

The article is devoted to the consideration of epic motifs of the Mongol-Oirat epic of the epicteller Parchen. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that, despite the wide coverage of the range of problems of the epic of the Mongolian peoples, the issues of studying the motifs of the Mongol-Oirat epic tradition still remain insufficiently studied. The novelty of the study lies in the consideration of the epic motifs of the Mongol-Oirat heroic epic in a comparative aspect with the national versions of the Dzhangar epic. The purpose of this article is to consider the epic motifs of the heroic poems of the Mongol-Oirat epic of the epicteller Parchen, which were recorded, translated into Russian and published by Boris Vladimirtsov. The objectives of the study are to characterize the epic repertoire of the epicteller Parchen, to identify epic motifs in the Mongol-Oirat heroic epic and to consider them in a comparative aspect in the Xinjiang-Oirat and Kalmyk traditions of the Dzhangar epic. The work uses descriptive, comparative and contrastive methods, and textual analysis methods are used in the study of epic texts. The material of the study is the texts of the Oirat epics: Bum-Erdeni, Daini-Kuryul, Kigiin-Kiytyun-Keke-Temur-Zeve, Egil-Mergen, Ergil-Tyurgul, Shara-Bodon, the texts of the epic songs of the Xinjiang Oirat version of Dzhangar, published in China in 1986–2000, translated into the modern Kalmyk language by the orientalist Bulyash Todaeva, as well as the texts of the Kalmyk version of Dzhangar. The examination of the epic motifs of the Mongol-Oirat epics showed that in the process of historical development of peoples from the patriarchal-clan to the feudal system, archaic motifs (the motif of the first creation, miraculous birth, naming, the destined bride, the “external soul”, “difficult tasks”, three competitions, etc.) were transformed and inherited by the heroic Dzhangar epic. The motif of the first creation, present in the Mongol-Oirat epic Egil-Mergen in the Xinjiang-Oirat version of Dzhangar depicts the mythological early time, which passes to a hierarchically higher level, receiving the status of the original water chaos. The image of this chaos, taking an intermediate form, opens the next phase of the existence of the universe. The motif of naming, being an important component of the epic biography of the hero, is accompanied by a ritual in the Turkic-Mongolian epic, and in the national versions of Dzhangar – by a yoryal-good wish, which is a magical blessing and a prediction of the future heroic path of the hero. The miraculously born hero of the Oirat epics, performing heroic deeds in the interests of his family, in the national versions of Dzhangar is transformed into the heir of the epic ruler, a member of the family of heroes, the first among equals (Dzhangar-bogdo) in selfless service to the fatherland – the Bombay state.
The study of the epic of the Mongolian peoples in this direction seems promising for further research into the problems of epictelling, motifs, poetics and style of folklore text.