A hero and his horse in the Altai and Buryat epic: behavioral stereotypes and values of the peoples

The paper deals with the behavioral stereotypes of the hero and his horse in the Altai and Buryat epics. While analyzing the ethnic stereotypes the author attempts to identify the values of these peoples. The analysis is based on the texts of all available Russian translations of the Buryat and Altai epics: 20 and 13, respectively. In the course of the analysis 11 recurrent episodes involving a horse were selected and the frequency of their occurrence in the texts was calculated. The results obtained show that the horse appears in all major events of the hero’s life, accompanying him from birth to death. The basic functions of the horse in the epic of the two peoples the horse have been found to be: 1) vehicle; 2) visionary; 3) adviser; 4) fighter; 5) participant of the hero’s resurrection; 6) teacher of the infant hero; 7) messenger. The analysis of the episodes with he horse has also revealed the values common to the Altaians and Buryats. These are: life itself; need to follow advice of a more experienced, elder friend; family ties; native land; restitution of a prosperous life of the kin; mutual aid. A specifically Altaic value expressed in the episode of presenting the hero with a horse is the trust. Pointed out as distinctively Buryat values are determination, physical strength, physiological endurance, procreation, reputation (name).

Keywords

Authors

References