Birtalan Ágnes: Kalmyk Folklore and Folk Culture in the Mid-19th Century: Philological Studies on the Basis of Gábor Bálint of Szentkatolna’s Kalmyk Texts.
FOLKLORE GENRES
NINTH TALE (Bálint 9. Utu ÍM//) 69 5 Once upon a time 1'"' there lived a seven thousand seven hundred-year-old man, 69 7 [called] Dösh Khar." 9 8 His wife 69 9 was six thousand six hundred years old. They did not have any daughters or any sons. Meanwhile a son was born. That son was supposed to die when he became seven years old. If he did not die at the age of seven years, he would not be overcome by anybody in the sunny world. Meanwhile his mother and father died. Thereafter the boy lived alone at home. While living this way, the boy reached the age of seven. Once the boy was lying in his bed, when the furniture of the yurt collapsed. 70 0 Thereafter the boy: - It's so, when one is an orphan! - He said crying and climbed on the yurt. - Why didn't my parents leave a horse for me?! - He said and when he looked around, 70 1 there was a horse tethered close to his yurt. The boy took that horse. He entered into the yurt and opened one of his chests; there was a saddle [in it]. He put that saddle on his horse. He opened another chest; there was a sword of nine spans in length and three spans in width in it. The boy took it and girt it. He opened another chest; there was whip in it. Its outer surface 7" 2 was made of the skin of eighty oxen, its handle 7"' was made of fifty oxen [76]; its strap 70 4 was made of the skin of five oxen. The boy took that whip. He opened another black chest; there were clothes. He took one of the dresses and put it on. He closed the yurt, 70 5 and left. The boy made his horse gallop for a long time, then pulled at his horse's mouth and stopped. He looked around and [recognised] that he was standing halfway [of his domain] among his dependants. 70 6 The boy shouted: - Old women who are similar to my mother, old men who are similar to my father live in health until my return! - And the boy galloped off. All his dependants bowed behind him and said: - Come back in health! - Thereafter the boy galloped for a long time, arrived on a hill, pulled at the mouth of his horse and stopped there. As he looked southwards, there were two mountains to be seen. Thereafter his horse said to the boy: - [One of those] two mountain-like things is a man that is coming to fight with you. One mountainlike [thing] is [the enemy] himself, the other mountain-like [thing] is his horse. Thereafter the boy galloped off and arrived [at them]. The boy arrived and compared his horse to the [enemy's] horse, and they were alike; compared his body to [the enemy's] body, and they were alike; compared his weapons to [the enemy's] weapons and they were alike. Thereafter the boy said: - His strength might also be like that of mine. - And he fell asleep by his side [77]. When they both got up, they laughed heartily 70 7 and started to wrestle bang, bang. 70 8 They wrestled for long 70 9 and they 6, 5 Manuscript pp. 75-81. 6 % Bálint kezänä sänji bolna. 69 7 Bálint abaya lit. "uncle, elder man", cf. this lexeme in notes to the Sixth tale. 69 8 The whole name, containing all the attributive expressions is: Bálint: dolän mingyan dolän zun nasuta Döä Xara abaya. Kalm. Dolän mingyn dolän zun nast DOS xar awy "Seven thousand seven hundred-year-old Anvil Black uncle". 69 9 Bálint emegen lit. "old woman, grandmother". 7"° Bálint cacagda-, cf. Kalm. cac- "besprengen, besprühen, streuen, auseinenderspritzen" (R. 423). 70 1 Bálint endän tendän xäläji, lit "looked here and there", cf. Kalm. end-tendän xarx "smotret" po storonam" (Mun. 699). 70 2 Bálint, yadar, Kalm. yadr "die äußere Seite" (R. 141). 7 I" Bálint yol, lit. "axis". 70 4 Bálint saldryä, Kalm. saldryan "kurzer Haltriemen od. Haltschlinge an der Peitsche od Zeltstang; der Kehlriemen der Mütze od. des Halters" (R. 309), saldry "remjonnaja zastjoika (pod uzdoj)" (Mun. 437). Khal. sagaldraga. 70 5 Bálint önisöl/i, Kalm onislxa "mit einem Sehloss zuschließen, verschließen; zuriegeln" (R 286), on slxa "zamykat', zapiraf " (Mun. 398). 7"" Bálint alaptain'i lal dundun'i zoksoji, Kalm. alwlän n ' tal dund n ' zoksj, tale formula, a hyperbolic expression depicting the heroes' domain. Cf. notes to Sixth tale 70 7 Bálint angyar angyar iniägäd, cf. 6 l h tale, for the formula, cf. Sixth tale. 70 8 Bálint las bas bäritdäd cf. Kalm. las bas gej nöldw "klatsch-platsch rangen sie" (R 382/ las-bas bärldx "svatit'sja v borbe, naiat' borot'sja" (Mun. 483). 70 9 On the wrestling among the Kalmyks cf. chapter Horse racing, wrestling, robbing 105
