“Dzhangar” cycle by Eelyan Ovla in the Xinjiang-Oirat tradition: on the question of the relationship between the versions of the epic

Abstract

The patterns of formation of the Kalmyk and Xinjiang Oirat versions of “Dzhangar”, their development and interaction are historically determined by the unity of this epic tradition in the past, migration and isolation of some ethnic groups, as well as by later cultural contacts between them. The succession of related traditions is also revealed, based on the cultural influence of Kalmyk book texts with the epic folklore of the Oirats of Xinjiang. It is obvious that the widespread publication of the texts of Eelian Ovla at the beginning of the 20th century and later at that century gave an additional impetus to the development of these plots in the Xinjiang Oirat tradition itself. The work is devoted to the study of the Xinjiang Oirat versions of the Eelian Ovla cycle and the identification of their regional differences. Despite the significant similarities with the Kalmyk version, transformations of the texts are also found at the plot-compositional and stylistic levels. In the process of performance, the storytellers vary the plot, omitting discrete parts or including new ones. The inserted episodes, individual motifs and epic formulas of the Xinjiang Oirat version are specific and exhibit regional distinctiveness. New combinations of motifs and episodes generate new editions and plot versions with relative stability of the key plot elements. Innovations can have a significant or insignificant impact on the development of the narrative, and in the case of typical places, they may have no impact at all. As a result of textual variation, an update of the vocabulary of the epic is also observed.