Defining the structure of the epic Khan Kharangui
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2023.2.11Keywords:
Mongolian epic; epic structure; syntagmatic analysis; paradigmatic analysis; legitimation; binary opposition; spatial transferenceAbstract
The article analyzes the syntagmatic and paradigmatic structure of “Khan Kharangui” as the origin of Mongolian epics. In doing so, through syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis each meaningful narrative in the epic is traced on the sentence level and consolidated in a chart grouping all these narratives. The theoretical and methodological significance of this study is to demonstrate how to apply the techniques of structural and syntagmatic analysis while studying epic poetry.
The manuscripts of “Khan Kharangui” from Okin (Buryatia, Russia) and Kyzyl (Tuva, Russia) as well as “Rinchen” (published in Hungary) and “Tod Üseg” (St. Petersburg, Russia) are known to researchers. It was concluded that all the manuscripts of “Khan Kharangui” are originated from one source, namely from the source written in ancient script tod üseg. Since that source was substantially damaged, the other sources are used in this study. The Okin and the Rinchen manuscripts match almost word for word while the Kyzyl manuscript is more literary both in stylistic and orthographic aspects, but some episodes are rendered in a somewhat more shortened form compared to the former manuscripts. There are slight differences in their size, but they are same in terms of substantive functions and structures.
When analyzing the syntagmatic structure of the epic by means of the functions described in Vladimir Propp’s “Morphology of the Folktale”, the following functions are not identified in the epic about Khan Kharangui: branding (J), unrecognized arrival (O), unfounded claims (L), difficult task (M), solution (N), recognition (Q) and exposure (Ex).
As for the paradigmatic structure of the epic, it could be analyzed by the method proposed in “The Structural Study of Myth” by Claude Lévi-Strauss. A particular feature in the paradigmatic structure of the epic is that it legitimizes how one ripostes and what the ultimate results will be when the established relationships and attitudes are violated. That is why each column on the left constitutes a premise or condition for the column on the right, and each column on the right becomes a consequence or implication for the left one with respect to the two columns on the right and left in the illustrated chart.
References
Burdukov, A. V. (1966) Oirad khalimagiin tuul'chid [Oirat-Kalmyk epic narrators]. In: Mongol ardyn baatarlag tuul'syn uchir [The very meanings in the heroic epic of the Mongolian peoples]. Ulaanbaatar, Khel zokhiolyn khüreelen. 126 p. (In Mongolian).
Campbell, J. (1960) The masks of God: Primitive mythology. London, Secker & Warburg. viii, 504 p.
Cassirer, E. (1955) The philosophy of symbolic forms. Vol. 2: Mythical thought. New Haven ; London, Yale University Press. xviii, 269 p.
Dulam, S. (2012) Mongol domog züin dür [The characters of Mongolian mythology]. 3rd ed. Ulaanbaatar, Bitpress. 380 p. (In Mongolian).
Dundes, A. (1962) The binary structure of “Unsuccessful Repetition” in Lithuanian folk tales. Western Folklore, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 165–174. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1496955
Dundes, A. (1963) Structural typology in North American Indian folktales. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 121–130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/soutjanth.19.1.3628926
Dundes, A. (1964) Texture, text, and context. Southern Folklore Quarterly, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 251–265.
Dundes, A. (1968) Introduction to the second edition. In: Propp, V. Morphology of the folktale. Austin, TX ; London, University of Texas Press. xxvi, 158 p. Pp. xi–xvii.
Eliade, M. (1963) Myth and reality. New York, Harper & Row. xiv, 204 p.
Eriin sain Khan Kharangui [Khan Kharangui, the best of men] (2003) / comp. by T. Bayasgalan ; Khel zokhiolyn khüreelen. Ulaanbaatar, Orchlon Print. 405 p. (In Mongolian).
Foley, J. M. (2005) Introduction. In: A companion to ancient epic / ed. by J. M. Foley. Oxford, Blackwell Publishing. xxv, 664 p. Pp. 1–7.
Freud, S. (2012) Totem and taboo. London, Empire Books. 154 p.
Hawking, S. (1988) A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes. London, Bantam Press. x, 198 p.
Köngäs, E. and Maranda, P. (1962) Structural models in folklore. Midwest Folklore, vol. XII, no. 3, pp. 133–192.
Levi-Strauss, C. (1955) The structural study of myth. The Journal of American Folklore, vol. 68, no. 270, pp. 428–444.
Levi-Strauss, C. (1960) Four Winnebago myths: A structural sketch. In: Culture and history : Essays in honor of Раul Radin / ed. by S. Diamond. New York, Brandeis University Press. xxiv, 1014 p. Pp. 351–362.
Levi-Strauss, C. (1966) The savage mind. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press. xii, 290 p.
Luvsanbaldan, Kh. (1977) Tod üsgiin Khan Kharangui [Clear script version of Khan Kharangui]. Studia Folclorica, vol. X, fasc. 1–13, pp. 124–131. (In Mongolian).
Narantuiaa, R. (1988) Mongol tuuliin bürtgel [The records of Mongolian epics]. Studia Folclorica, vol. XVIII, fasc. 1–6, pp. 79–153. (In Mongolian).
Nekliudov, S. Yu. (1984) Geroicheskii epos mongol'skikh narodov: ustnye i literaturnye traditsii [Heroic epic of the Mongolian peoples: Oral and literary traditions]. Moscow, Nauka. 309 p. (In Russ.).
Nordmongolische Volksdichtung (1973) / comp. by G. J. Ramstedt ; ed. by H. Halén. Helsinki, Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. xvi, 287 p.
Propp, V. (1958) Morphology of the folktale. 1st ed. Bloomington, Research Center, Indiana University. x, 134 p.
Propp, V. (1968) Morphology of the folktale. Austin, TX ; London, University of Texas Press. xxvi, 158 p.
Propp, V. (1976) Spetsifika fol'klora [Specific features of folklore]. In: Propp, V. Fol'klor i deistvitel'nost' [Folklore and reality] : Selected articles. Moscow, Nauka. 325 p. Pp. 16–33. (In Russ.).
Propp, V. (2008) Morphology of the folktale. 2nd ed., revised. Austin, University of Texas Press. xxvi, 158 p.
Propp, V. Ya. (1928) Morfologiia skazki [Morphology of the folktale]. Leningrad, Academia. 152 p. (In Russ.).
Qan Qarangġui: Faksimile des Rintchen-Ms (1988) / Rinchen ; introd. by P. Lágler, comm. by U. Dzagdsüren. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó. 113 p.
Rinchen, B. (1966) Manai ardyn tuul's [Our folk epics]. In: Mongol ardyn baatarlag tuul'syn uchir [The very meanings in the heroic epic of the Mongolian peoples]. Ulaanbaatar, Khel zokhiolyn khüreelen. 126 p. Pp. 5–16. (In Mongolian).
Rinchinsambuu, G. (1960) Mongol ardyn baatarlag tuul's [The heroic epics of the Mongolian peoples]. Studia Folclorica, vol. I, fasc. 7. 154 p. (In Mongolian).
Sanzheev, G. D. (1937) Mongol'skaia povest' o khane Kharangui [The Mongolian tale of Khan Harangui]. Moscow ; Leningrad, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 170 p. (In Russ.).
Sanzheev, G. D. (1960) Kyzyl'skaia rukopis' mongol'skoi epicheskoi povesti «Khan-Kharangui» [The Kyzyl manuscript of the Mongolian epic tale “Khan Harangui”]. In: Tiurko-Mongol'skoe iazykoznanie i fol'kloristika [Turkic and Mongolian linguistics and folklore studies] / ed. by G. D. Sanzheev and R. A. Aganin. Moscow, Publishing House of Oriental Literature. 350 p. Pp. 265–350. (In Russ.).
Sebeok, T. A. and Ingemann, F. J. (1956) Structural and content analysis in folklore research. In: Sebeok, T. A. and Ingemann, F. J. Studies in Cheremis: The supernatural. New York, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. 357 p. Pp. 261–268. (Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology, no. 22).
Traditions of heroic and epic poetry (1980) / ed. by A. T. Hatto. London, The Modern Humanities Research Association. Vol. 1: The traditions. xiii, 378 p.
Tserensodnom, D. (1984) “Khan Kharanguin” tuuliin neriin garal üüsliin asuudald [On the issue of the origin of the epic “Khan Kharangui”]. Shinzhlekh ukhaany akademiin medee, vol. II. pp. 59–69. (In Mongolian).
Ulanov, A. I. (1974) Vliianie epicheskikh traditsii na literaturu mongoloiazychnykh narodov [The influence of epic traditions on the literature of the Mongolian-speaking peoples]. In: Problemy altaistiki i mongolovedeniia [Problems of Altaic and Mongolian studies] : Proceedings of the All-Union conference. Elista, May 17–19, 1972. Elista, s. n. 253 p. Pp. 123–131. (In Russ.).
Waugh, B. (1966) Structural analysis in literature and folklore. Western Folklore, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 153–164.
Published
How to Cite
Nyamsuren T., Dagzmaa B. and Dulam S. Defining the structure of the epic Khan Kharangui // Новые исследования Тувы. 2023. № 2. С. 153-165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2023.2.11
For citation:
Nyamsuren T., Dagzmaa B. and Dulam S. Defining the structure of the epic Khan Kharangui. New Research of Tuva, 2023, no. 2, pp. 153-165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2023.2.11
Issue
Section
Author Biographies
Tserennadmid Nyamsuren, National University of Mongolia
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia.
Postal address: 206, II Bldg., University St. 1, Baga toiruu, Sukhbaatar district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
E-mail: nyamsuren.ts@num.edu.mn
Baldoo Dagzmaa, Монгольский государственный университет
PhD, Professor, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, School of Arts and Sciences, National University of Mongolia.
Postal address: 206, II Bldg., University St. 1, Baga toiruu, Sukhbaatar district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
E-mail: dagzmaa@num.edu.mn
Sendenjav Dulam, Монгольский национальный университет искусств и культуры
Doctor of Philology, Professor, The School of Dance Arts, Mongolian National University of Arts and Culture.
Postal address: 26, Baga toiruu, Chingeltei district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
E-mail: sosedula@gmail.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Author(s) license holder(s) grant rights for their work to the journal (grantee of a license) under the simple non-exclusive open license in accordance with Art. 1286.1 «Open license for a research work, work of literature or fine arts», Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
New Research of Tuva publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license (CC BY-NC).
Since it is an open license, author(s) reserve the right to upload the article to their institutional repository, submit it to another journal (if it allows republications), or republish it on their own website (in full, or in part).
However, several conditions apply here:
a) The republished version must always contain the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s), the original title and the hyperlink to the original version on the New Research of Tuva website;
b) It must be in open access, free of charge, and no category of readers must be in any way whatsoever advantaged over general readership.
c) should the contribution be submitted elsewhere by its author(s) without substantial modification (30% or more of original text unchanged), the body of the article should contain a disclaimer that the original version was published in New Research of Tuva (with a link to the respective page)
The CC-BY-NC is a non-revocable license which applies worldwide and lasts for the duration of the work’s copyright.
