Article

Name: “Zones of silence” in the Altai historical legends: genesis and evolution in time

Authors: E. V. Koroleva

In the section Повествовательный фольклор

Abstract: The article is devoted to the review of “zones of silence” of Altai historical legends describing the events from the second half of the XVIII century to the 1920s. Under the term "zones of silence" the author understands the stories and motives, which are based on historical events that deserve conflicting interpretations among contemporaries, as well as events that go beyond the aesthetic or ethical ideals of storytellers. The author suggests that the presence of zones of silence demonstrate such phenomena as: 1) mutually contradictory ethical interpretations of the same plot in different transmission lines; 2) significant differences in the interpretation of individual motives and generally accepted social strategies, depending on the unfolding events in “their” or “foreign” ethical group. In some cases, but not always, a sign of silence can serve as a synthetic image of the hero, where his prototypes are several historical characters. The author considers in detail the image of Oirot-Khaan as an example of a synthetic hero who hides the contradictions of his prototypes: the rulers of the Oirot state and the pretenders to the throne, such as Kongodoi (Cevan-Rabdan), Kaldan-Khaan (Galdan-Ceren), Shunu-Baatr (Lobsang Shono), Tabachi (Dabachi), Amyr-Sanaa. Various lines of transmission of the legend about the Shun-Baatyr, apparently, go back to political opponents and supporters of the real historical character. The problem of demarcation between allies and opponents on the battlefields of the civil war is considered in details on the example of the following legends and the cycles of legends: Chagan-Narattan and Amyr-Sanaa, Eskus-Uul and Tuukei, Aba-Yarynak, The suns of Solton and others. The article illustrates the process of creating a synthetic image of a “foreign-ethnic invader” based on relatives and political opponents, as well as former allies, who fought on the side of the Emperor of Qing China. The theme of captivity and captives is covered. Enslaving opponents is a common practice of warfare. It is noteworthy that the captives acquire individuality in the legends only if they are considered as relatives by the narrator. The article presents the evo-lution in time of the stereotype “we are the victims of the attack”. Thus Altai historical legends, recorded in the XX century, still bear traces of the complex social and political events. At the same time, there is a clear trend towards the formation of the body of historical legends as the basis of national self-recognition of the modern Altai people, and therefore there is a merger and transformation of some traditional motives and oblivion of others. This process is ongoing, far from complete and is an integral part of the political processes in the region at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries.

Keywords: Altai, Altai folk, Altaian historical legends, oral history, ethnic history, Oirot Kaganate, civil war, forbidden topics, silence zones

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