Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
| Created: | 2014-09-15 12:40 |
|---|---|
| Institution: | Department of Archaeology and Anthropology |
| Description: | The Kalmyks have a rich fairy-tale tradition. Fairy-tales were composed by tuulchi, or story tellers, who lived in great numbers in Kalmykia until the mid-20th century.
In the study of Kalmyk folklore there is a convention to divide fairy-tales into the following genres: magical, heroic, every-day fairy-tales and those about animals. Although many Kalmyk fairy-tales are universal, they have their specificity stemming from the nomadic lifestyle, traditions, worldviews and history of the Kalmyks. In terms of story length, which correlates with the number of events in a given fairy-tale, Kalmyk fairy-tales are divided into 'long' (ut tuul') and 'short fairy-tales' (ahr tuul'). Magical and heroic fairy-tales usually belong to the former category, with everyday fairy-tales and those about animals to the latter. Many fairy-tales start with stories originating in the real world – for example, at the khan’s court or in the steppe – and then shift to the afterlife or to other worlds, such as the so called 'upper' and 'lower' worlds, or to the 'water kingdom'. The central character or hero of a story is sent off on a difficult mission to carry out the orders of, for example of the khan himself, an evil step-mother, his parents or those of his older brothers. The fairy-tales have happy endings, with good triumphing over evil, a poor man becoming wealthy, a fool becoming wise, an ugly man becoming handsome, etc. Heroes in Kalmyk fairy-tales are blessed with extraordinary skills, can move between different worlds with ease, can understand the language of animal and birds, and can transform themselves into creatures of various types. Regrettably, the tradition of telling fairy-tales and their oral transmission are gradually disappearing, being increasingly replaced by other forms of entertainment and methods for imparting knowledge. 72 Fables Among Kalmyk fairy-tales a genre called the '72 Fables' stands out with its originality and humour. Uttered either in poetic or prosaic form accompanied by short poems, this genre has enjoyed great popularity among the Kalmyks. It has the following content. The khan announces that his daughter is to be married to a man who can tell seventy two fables in the most entertaining manner. A commoner takes up the challenge and does a brilliant job in storytelling. The khan, however, refuses to give his daughter away, arguing that the commoner had told seventy three fables instead of only seventy two. The fables consist of a series of absurd, impossible, comical situations and events. The happenings, actions and objects in the fables do not reflect earthly reality. For example, time runs backwards, both animate and inanimate objects share the same characteristics, etc. |
Media items
This collection contains 44 media items.
Media items
Alena Lidzhieva, A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time a Buddhist monk set out on a journey to a distant settlement. The road was long and the weather smoggy. As he had been travelling longer than it usually took to...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 12 Jun 2015
Alexandra Sanzheeva, The Daughter-In-Law and the Plucked Hare
That was a long time ago. One girl got married. At that time, it was customary for daughters-in-law to eat leftovers only. The girl’s in-laws ate well, leaving almost no leftovers...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 11 Nov 2018
Andrei Ochir-Goryaev, 72 Khudl
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Thu 30 Apr 2015
Baatr Mandzhiev, About Mazan Baatr
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Wed 20 May 2015
Badma Narmaev, About the Heroic Epos Geser
Badma studies a Tibetan version of the epos Geser which is stored at the Russian National Library in St Petersburg. One of the oldest versions of this epos, the Tibetan version,...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 24 Sep 2016
Baira Goryaeva, About 72 fables
Baira says the following: Professor A. Sh. Kichikov classifies ‘72 fables’ as myths. Another famous Kalmyk folklorist, M. E. Dzhimgirov, sees them as fairy tales about animals,...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Wed 19 Sep 2018
Baira Goryaeva, About Kalmyk Fairy Tales and Myths
An expert on Kalmyk folklore, Baira talks about Kalmyk fairy tales and myths.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Wed 19 Sep 2018
Bembya Fedorov, About the Heroic Epos Geser
Bembya displays two pictures of Geser and explains that there are many legends about this epic hero. In 1802 during his trip to the Volga Kalmyks, the German scholar Benjamin...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Mon 30 Jan 2017
Bembya Fedorov, The Cow and the Well
Once upon a time there was a Kalmyk man who lived by a dried up well. He had an old cow that had stopped giving milk. One day the old cow fell into the well. Since he was thinking...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Mon 30 Jan 2017
Bembya Fedorov, The Great Khan and His Friends
Once upon a time there lived a khan. His name was Naran Arslan meaning ‘a solar lion’. He had three dear friends – his younger brother, a yellow elephant that could fly, and a...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Mon 30 Jan 2017
Bulya Nyudeeva, Fairy Tale
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 27 Dec 2019
Darina Gedeeva, About a Kalmyk Fable
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 20 Oct 2017
Dordzhi Nandyshev, The Two Friends
Dordzhi relays a legend about two best friends: One day the angel of death takes one man and flies with him to the afterlife. Not wishing to depart with the man, his best friend...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 8 Aug 2017
Feodosia Inzhieva, The Fisherman
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Wed 20 May 2015
Galina Goryaeva, Hatuch Bayn
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 16 May 2015
Galina Koldaeva, Khatuch Bayn
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 23 May 2017
Gennadiy Korneev, Arza-Burza Khan
Once upon a time, there lived a khan called Arza-Burza who judged people’s disputes. One day Arza-Burza misjudges two cases just to be corrected by the boys who were herding...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Thu 11 Jul 2019
Gennadiy Korneev, The Fox, the Bull and the Crow
A fairy tale: Once upon a time, there lived a fox, a bull and a crow. One day, envious of the bull’s ability to find food easily, the fox decides to kill it by sending it to a...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Thu 11 Jul 2019
Ivan Mengleev, A Fairy Tale About the Wolf
Once upon a time there lived an old man with his wife. They had a fat red-haired daughter, a son, 5 goats, and a red cow. Since his son did not have any toys, the old man made a...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 21 Aug 2018
Ivan Ulyumdzhiev, About Fairy Tales
Ivan says that in the past old people were very knowledgeable and knew many fairy tales, legends and riddles. Ivan’s favourite fairy tales are ‘The stingy rich man (Khatuch...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (FAIRY TALES)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 22 Oct 2017