Фольклор шорцев: В записях 1911, 1925-1930, 1959-1960, 1974, 1990-2007 годов. - 2010. (Т. 29.)

They are united in their similarity of form and poetic techniques: repe­ titions syntactic parallelisms, and often by their shared rhythm. Often the singer combines several short songs ( Icyska saryri) during their per- fomance. Song lyrics in Mountain Shoria are represented not only by examples of saryn , but also the tapkan. Contemporary performers, it seems, are already forgetting the traditional way of performing tapkan and for this reason they have come to resemble Russian chastushki (a folk genre of four-line ditties, often with humorous concent. — Translator’s note). According to the traditional worldview of the Shor and other Tur­ kic-speaking peoples of Siberia, the universe conisists of three parts: Upper World, Middle World, and Lower World. Each realm is inhabited by peoples, animals, as well as various gods and spirits from the sky or underworld. The shaman served as a medium between gods, spirits and humans and was thought to possess supernatural abilities. Among the Shor, sha- manic practices and ritual traditions have survived to the present day and are also evident in Shor folklore. Shamans still remember how to perform the old rituals. The present book contains one example of a shamanic seance entitled «Catching the soul» (34). Appendix One contains texts that are either variants of the works included in the main book or, like the heroic tale «Kara Myoke», give an idea about a genre that was once widespread but today is encoun­ tered very rarely. Appendix Two includes the archival materials of A.V. Anokhin, which are also reproduced in sound on the compact disk accompanying the volume. The verbal texts in this collection are transcribed only partially due to the poor sound quality of the originals. Thus, the folklore of the Shor people, which developed over the course of many centuries, has now become a multifaceted and unique phenomenon that juxtaposes archaic traits descended from the most an­ cient of times alongside modern inclusions. These creative works of oral folklore nave been preserved and han­ ded down by many generations of talented bearers of the native cul­ ture. L.N. Arbachakova E.N. Kuz'mina Translated by E. Wajda