On the issue of early types of plot in Olonkho within the Vilyuy epic tradition

The subject of the research article is the plot of the Sakha heroic epic. The object of the research is the olonkho "Erbekhtei Mergen" by B. A. Alexeev from the Vilyui region, recorded in 1938 during the Vilyui expedition. The text was prepared for publication by the author of this article in 2017. The relevance of the article is determined by the reassessment of established classifications of olonkho: using the text "Erbekhtei Mergen" as an example, it is argued that the criterion of historical memory is more significant than the presence of archaism, and the thesis about the absence of early plots in the Vilyui tradition is refuted, demonstrating its complex cultural synthesis. The goal of the work is to justify the attribution of the olonkho of the Vilyui storyteller B. A. Alexeev "Erbekhtei Mergen" to the plot-thematic cycle dedicated to the settlement of the Middle World, as well as to identify the features of the Vilyui epic tradition. The work uses structural, structural-semantic, and comparative analysis methods. The methodological basis of the work is the classification of the plots of the Sakha epic developed by N. V. Emelyanov and the analysis of the plot model proposed by I. V. Yershova. The conclusions of the research may find application in folkloristics in the study of the poetics of epic texts and in the development of educational courses on Sakha folklore. The research introduces for the first time the text of an olonkho from the Vilyui tradition into scientific circulation, representing an early plot layer, which defines its main novelty. The study of the olonkho "Erbekhtei Mergen" by B. A. Alexeev revealed the presence of early plots about the settlement of the Middle World in the Vilyui epic tradition. Previously, it was mistakenly attributed to plots about ancestors; however, this tale reveals a conflict in family relationships, where close people become a source of discord. The widely spread motif of courtship of a girl-werewolf, found from the Kolyma to Vilyui, confirms the ancient origin of the plot. The analysis revealed typological similarities with central Sakha versions ("The Son of the Horse Dyiray Byogyo" by I. I. Burnashev—Tong Suorun, "The Son of the Horse Dyiray Berken" by U. G. Noksorov, "The Son of the Horse Dyiray Hero" by G. K. Vasiliev) and northeastern versions ("Erbekhchin Mergen" by D. G. Zhirkov). However, the Vilyui tradition has its own specificity: a concise structure (a brief introduction and a reduced ending), the absence of the image of the sacred tree, as well as linguistic-cultural borrowings from Tungus and Russian traditions in the poetics of the text.

Yakut heroic epic, Olonkho, plot, plot-thematic group, early type of Olonkho, narrative model, structure, poetics, Vilyuy epic tradition, settlement of the Middle World