On Some Aspects of the Image of Dzerassa in the Ossetian Nartiada

The aim of the research is to determine the mythological content of the image of Dzerassa and try to identify its areal relations. The achievement of this aim involves an extensive use of comparative material from other folklore and mythological traditions in the Indo-European area and beyond. The source base of the research is the most authoritative scientific edition of the Ossetian Nart legends, as well as materials of Ossetian ethnography. Comparative material is represented by the data of the German-Scandinavian epos, fairy tale folklore of the peoples of Europe, and medieval chivalry novels. The study is based on a comparative methodology. The combination of a comparative mythological method and historical typological analysis allows a comparison of the Nart tales with texts belonging to other folk traditions in order to create a more complete picture of the Ossetians' traditional worldview. The study examined the motives of the tales of Dzerassa, which until now have not been developed to a sufficient degree. (1) The transformation of Dzerassa into a fox finds close matches in the folklore of Northern European peoples, especially of the Saami, which is probably due to the contacts between the Indo-Iranians and Finno-Ugric tribes. (2) Dzerassa's healing with a miraculous apple can be traced to the Ossetian funeral ritual, in which the apple was associated with a set of ideas about immortality. (3) The theme of the "symbol ofpurity" (an unsheathed sword) is similar to European epic tales and medieval chivalric novels. The context of the Dzerassa legend provides evidence in favor of the fact that this motif dates back to the ancient legal tradition. (4) Twins as a twofold character. In the legend of Dzerassa, the twins Akhsar and Akhsartag act as a single character. Dzerassa gets pregnant simultaneously from the two brothers and gives birth to twins, who are considered to be sons of both Akhsar and Akhsartag. These motives find typological conformity far beyond the existence of the Nart epic tales. There is no doubt that the legend of Dzerassa and the Nart twins is part of the archaic mythological legacy. The image of Dzerassa has distinctive traits of the ancient Mother Goddess, which can be seen in the motif of Dzerassa turning into a fox, as well as in that of Akhsar and Akhsartag acting as a dual character and as the progenitors of the main characters. The sword between Dzerassa and Akhsar/Ahsartag has numerous folklore and ethnographic analogies, but the question of its origin is still not resolved and requires a further study.

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