Models of the Socio-Communicative Space in the Folklore of the Peoples of Siberia (Based on Materials of Collections Edited by Grigory Potanin)

The aim of the article is to reveal the specifics of the reflection of the sociocommunicative space, caused by the phenomenon of the “moving border”, in the traditional creative works of the peoples of Siberia. Folklore appears to be representative material for solving the problem related to the reconstruction of the cultural and linguistic landscape of Siberia as a transboundary region. The sources for the research were publications of Siberian folklore, edited by the famous scientist and public figure Grigory Potanin at the turn of the 20th century. The publications include verbal folklore not only of the Russian population in Siberia, but also works of the Yakuts, the Buryats, and the small peoples of the Altai and Ob regions. The analysis of these diverse sources using historical, typological and comparative methods made it possible to find several spatial models, distinguished according to the genre-specific principle. Legends reflect the reaction of the aboriginal inhabitants of Siberia to the arrival of the Russians; they present a model of historical adaptation to the new sociocommunicative situation in the region. All the texts are united by the problems associated with the change of the patriarchal way of life, the established perception of the world of the small peoples. Spatial representations of Siberians are revealed in small genres - riddles, proverbs, and sayings. Following legends, they also emphasize historical coexistence of a large number of indigenous peoples of Siberia. Riddles demonstrate options for an artistic rethinking of space, perception of near and far boundaries; however, negative judgements of the transboundary situation are weakening here and are manifested only in an ironic subtext. A tendency to localize the artistic space, uncharacteristic for the genre, as well as a clear opposition of the capital and local chronotopes, is manifested in fairy tales. The model of a “spatial state” presented in fairy tales is associated with the comprehension of the entire territory of Siberia. The central image of many songs is the Siberian Route, in which traditional motifs merge with new sociopolitical content reflecting the reforms of the 1860s. The Siberian Route represents a link between the home area of the song creators and the power that intrudes upon the lives of ordinary people. The analysis confirms the author’s hypothesis about the special significance of the socio-communicative space in Siberian folklore. The detected models allow analyzing the Siberians’ specific self-consciousness, which is expressed, not least, in spatial self-identification.

Keywords

Authors

References