Фольклор ненцев: В записях 1911, 1913, 1946, 1953, 1965-1987 годов. - 2001. (Т. 23.)

on the earth. Those worlds a re intertwined. The world of Tirny-Vesako and Yandekhe-Vesako have the features of the t r aditional mode of life of the Nenets people. Descriptions of the mode of life in the towns of the Youth of Thunder and the Tzar of Wind feature the elements of culture which are similar to Russian culture. The main character — the Son of the Oecumenica l Old Man — tum s into Yav-Mal — one of the deities held raost sacred Ьy the Nenets people. The myth-fairy tale “How Yav-Mal Conquered the Giants” also narrates about the adventures of Yav-Mal and is the -301E* subject. At the beginning the narration features the way of life of the settled people who hun t for partridges and hares in winter and fish in summer. Suddenly there was no more fish, Yav-Mal went to look why it happened, it turned out that the river was blocked by a giant whom he joined and went further. The hero and the giant met more giants, joined them and continued their way. In a competition with the giants he created a golden house with golden furni- shings and conquered Yaminya in the same house who was trying to eat his whole stoclc of bread. Soon he found himself in Yaminya's underground world, in her magnificent golden house where he conquered her once more. Having got out from the world of chthonian beings to the town, which resembled settlements of Russians known to the Nenets people, the hero returned to his place at the end of the narration and settled not far from the place where he had lived with his grandmother in the golden house. It should be noted that in Nenets myths-fairy tales the motif of meeting towns is permanent and, probably, is a strong emotional experience of some- thing which was lost, something far away and mysterious, their deity Yav-Mal lives in a golden house. Yav-Mal appears in myth-fairy tales in the shape of a man, but as soon as events unfold his unusual essence manifests itself in constant transformations — he can turn from a man into a boy, youth, shaman, iron wasp, fibre, sledge and hill covered with reindeer moss. As a rule, he does not have living parents, his orphanhood can be regarded as a weaker version of the heavenly birth. Yav-Mal’s wives can be both mythical beings and women with a high social status. As a rule, he has no children. He lives on the Ob River. His dwelling is a house. Almost nothing is known from folklore texts about Yav-Mal’s clothes, the only thing which is known is that he procured red foxes on his own and made a hat and a scarf of their pelts. His means of conveyance include a fire-spitting horse, a simple horse, skis, a copper boat, a simple boat, reindeer, sometimes he walks or flies in the skies. Yav-Mal is now a cultural hero, now a trickster, now a magician. His opponents are chthonian beings, celestial beings and people, he fights with them protecting the interests of inhabitants of the earth. Yav-Mal’s attributes echo culture of Southern components of the Nenets people.