Несказочная проза алтайцев. - 2011. (Т. 30)

star ( A ltyn Kazyk), Pleiades {Ulker, Mechiri), the moon (ai), and the sun (kiln) resemble stories found widely in the folklore o f other Turkic and Mon­ gol peoples. Thus, the onset of cold weather is connected with Ulker (the Pleiades) in texts 14—15. Ulker enjoys lying on the bottom of a cold river un til the end of August. The animals decided to kill th is creature when he was sleeping on the river bottom. A cow tried to crush him, bu t Ulker es­ capes ou t from under the cow’s cleft hoof and rises up into the sky, where he tu rn s into a constellation. The three brightest stars of Orion (Uch Myigak) are th ree female red deer th a t were swept up into the sky while fleeing a hun ter named Kyogyutei. The hun ter in pursu it shot arrows at the animals and rose up in to the sky after them. While chasing the th ree deer across the sky, the hun ter and his th ree dogs became one of the stars in the constellation Orion (texts 16—17). The stars o f Ursa Major ( D’eti-Kaan ) are seven brothers, the sons of a khan, were taken by kuda i (an Altai word meaning «a deity») up into the sky because of their laziness (text 1 1 ). Several texts (19—22) were recorded among th e Altai about how the moon, acting together with the sun, saves humanity by seizing the mythi­ cal monster D'elbegen (also recorded as Jelbegen or Yelbegeri). The variant recorded by W . Radlov states that each time D'elbegen «devours the moon», Ulgen «forces him to disgorge it again» [Radlov, 1989, p. 220]. O ther versions o f the same text contain distinctive motifs: the monster D'elbegen takes a bird-cherry tree away to the sky (versions 1 , 5, 6 , 8 of text 20), a bush (version 3 o f tex t 20), or an iron poplar tree (version 7 of tex t 20). More common is a version where the moon takes D'elbegen away to the sky to ­ gether with a tree (texts 20 , 22 ). Alongside w ith kep -kuuchynda r about the flood there exist prophe­ sies telling about th e fu tu re destruction o f humanity as a result of catac­ lysms o f global proportions: earthquakes, fires, the destruction of mountains, or epidemics triggered by climate change (texts 34, 35). A significant place in Altai mythological prose is occupied by kep- kuu ch ynda r about animals (texts 36—64). Some explain why a particular animal or bird possesses its special characteristics or coloration. Others tell about wounds suffered by animals during fights, exchanges of body parts (antlers, tails), the origin of characteristic animal traits or bird calls. Mythological stories about mountain spirits ( tag eezi, or tu u eezi), rivers, lakes ( suu eezi, or sug e e z i ) are connected with ancient animistic worldviews and the worship o f na tu re (texts 71—83). In the past, each Altai clan had its own sacred mountain, which was worshipped as the clan pro