Folklore and mythological images in modern Buryat literature as a means of expressing ethnic identity

the article analyzes folklore and mythological images and plots used in modern Buryat literature and serving as a means and mechanism for expressing ethnic identity. The purpose of the article is to review the folklore image of a storyteller – uligershin and shaman, as well as the mythological image-archetype of the White Elder (Sagaan Ybgen) in the works created by Buryat prose writers, poets and playwrights in the 2000-2010s. The article highlights the most recognizable folklore and mythological images and motifs perceived by the modern reader as "native". The author emphasizes the communicative aspect in such interpretation of these images, with could influence the emotional and value attitude of the reader towards them. It is concluded that the choice of folklore images that are easily perceived by the reader allows us to consider them as belonging to a national, ethnically specific phenomenon that reflects the spiritual values and features of the ethnocultural self-awareness of the Buryats. The conducted research can contribute to the further development of the problem of Buryat ethnicity in an interdisciplinary context.

folklore images, mythology, ethnic identification, ethnic self-awareness, modern Buryat literature