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

The myth-fairy tale “The Old Woman's Crumpet” is contamination of subjects -296*, -20F* 21A* 56, 56A, -150C* and -545F* which have one and the same through character — the Dog-Fox which appears at the end of the first subject “Kolobok” (a round loaf). The lca l eidoscope of subjects has a well- known subject — the animal helps the hero find a wife and wealth. The work ends like a fable. The Dog-Fox confesses to the hero that he is Num and that he came to his stinking house as he had seen his sufferings, while he had given him the riches of two tzars in retaliation for their greed and cruelty. Num is the supreme deity of the Nenets people and one of the most important folklore characters. Num in folklore is a spirit, anthropomorphic deity, cultural hero and judge. Being the owner of the natural wealth and human happiness, he most often patronizes people. The myth-fairy tale “The Eight-Eared Old Woman” is the -550В* subject and is referred to the so-called lutsa lakhanako — Russian fairy tales. It is indubitably reminiscent of “The Fire-Bird and Vasilisa the Beautiful”, but even an unsophisticated reader can see that it is not an authentic translation of the Russian fairy tale but a new work It features a sacred larch, an eigh- teared she-bear who breast-feeded the hero, the Tzar of Fire, the Tzar Who Has Golden-Shaped Horses and the Sunny Tzar. The main hero — the Fool who is the youngest son of a merchant — calls himself the Son of the Tzar of Heaven which is in line with the Nenets folklore tradition. However, in the end he does not turn into a deity in accordance with the laws of a Russian fairy tale. The volume features two types of epic songs — syudbabts and yarahts. SyudЬaЬts songs are represented by the following texts — “Husband the Dead Man”, “Syandyo-Yevalyo”, “Girl the Orphan” and “The Three Nokho.” Yarabts songs are respresented by “The Woman, Woman the Orphan”, “Two Inhabi- tants of Mountains” and “The Sister of Seven Pyalsya”. They describe tundra reindeer-breeding and hunting types of business, real Nenets tribal names (surnames) are given, one can come across social institutes, such as a tribe, vendetta, exogamous marriage, polygamy and patriarchal slavery, which are known by Nenets ethnography. A theme of match-making — heroic, mytho- logical and customary — is developed in the texts “Husband the Dead Man”, “Syandyo-Yevalyo” and “Girl the Orphan”. The world of Nenets epos is both mythological and historical, “Syandyo-Yevalyo” is particularly striking in this respect. The text is full of mythologems. The personified image of the word, which is typical of folklore of the Samody and several other peoples of the North, is also present in this work. Vada-syudbabts (word-song — syudbabts) is a messenger, while the heroes rush to help each other at his call. Some time later, Sister Syandyo-Yevalyo, her reindeer and sledge turn into stone. Transformation of the characters into stone is one of permanent mytholo-