Тувинские народные сказки. - 1994. [Т. 8.]

Ш * 2 . Z y ----------------------^ SUMMARY The volume of 'Tuvinian Folk Tales" is the first complete edition to introduce a vast reader to one of the most interesting and original traditions of Central Asia. Tuvinian tales are characterized by the genre and thentatic syncreticity, they incorporate the elements of myths, legends, epos, proverbs and sayings, riddles and well-wishes. The deepest archaic layer, i.e. mythological and tricster personages, ancient rituals and customs, are preserved in Tuvinian tales almost in their original form. Originality of the Tuvinian tale tradition attracted V.VAadlov, N.FXatanov, G.N.Potanin, F.YXon and other scholars who discovered it in the 19th century. They were the first to publish these tales. While preparing the volume, we used these records and chose from all the versions we had the most original and valuable. Preference was given to the tales recited by the most talented performers and those that had never been published before. For this purpose we studied the whole folklore archive of the Institute of Tuvinian language, literature and history - 1112 tale versions (372 fairy tales, 432 novel and everyday life tales, 165 tales of animals and others) and 70 tape records. The volume includes 32 texts recorded from 1938 to 1977 and representing all the regions of Tuva. Among them are the records of such tale-masters as Chanchy-Khoo, Baazanai, Mannai and Chanzan. Their tales reveal the most ancient subjects and motifs. All the tales are given in their authentic form with the dialectal peculiarities preserved. In the commentaries every text is compared to all the versions availiable, including the later records of the same performers. Thus the tale "Chechen-Maanai and Tenek-Tulun" (N 11) was recorded from Salchak Chansan twice, the second recording coming 20 years after the first. "Karaty Khan from Aldyn-kys" performed by Kyrgys Dadar-ool was recorded for the second time 16 years after its first record. The tales are typologized according to the international Aarnes-Thompson motif- index. Six subjects have no analogies (NN 1, 8,13,14, 20, 23) The volume is opened with a unique bogatyr’ tale "Khaiyndyrynmai Bagai-ool" (N 1) that was carefully recorded by the performer himself Khertek Maadyr-ool, the brother and pupil of a well-known Tuvinian tale-teller Kherteke Sortui-ool. Of the three variants that exist the text published is the most valuable. It has 3.470 verse lines. It is in fact the first publication of the full text of a Siberian folklore bogatyr’ tale with its verse system preserved (earlier such tales were published in their prosaic form). Stylistics of the tale demonstrates the interaction of epos and fairy tale. Its artistic means often resemble those of epos: "He began drawing the bow-string in the morning and was drawing it till the evening, he was drawing it since the evening to the morning" or "when he got over sixty ridges and crossed seventy rivers", etc. Considerable part of the Tuvinian tale repertoire are fairy tales (about 34 %) that are represented in the volume by 7 tales of various motifs. Among the tales of a hero fighting with