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
- Father, I'll graze these goats today. - Thereupon his father said: - Graze them! - Thereafter the lad drove the goats and as he arrived at the steppe, a huge black wild boar appeared running and ate three-four goats' kids. The lad saw it, ran at it and cut that huge black wild boar in two. As he cut it in two a wooden case fell out from its inside. That black wild boar itself said: - One rests this way (?) 88 8 - And ran away. Thereafter that lad opened that wooden case, there was a silver case inside of the wooden case, there was a golden case inside of the silver case, and there were three little nestlings in the golden case. [125] Those three nestlings flew away. Thereafter the lad lit a fire in his both hands and pulled a whirlwind 8 8'' so that the three nestlings were pushed down [by the whirlwind] and flew back [to him]. The lad caught and put them into the flap of his garment and returned. After he returned home to his father, gave the goats to him and went to the three yellow monsters. When he arrived, he killed those three monsters' soul-nestlings and those three monsters died as well. Thereafter the lad took all his dependants, got them moved and returned home. After returning home, he lived in joy peacefully as before. FIFTEENTH TALE 890 (Bálint 15. Utu tüli) [126] Once there lived a Hero called Ketsüü Berkh 8" Who defeated the people of one country When he was one year old, Defeated the people of two countries When he was two years old. Defeated the people of three countries When he was three years old, Defeated the people of four countries and in addition Converted four khans to the [Buddhist] religion 89 2 When he was four years old, Defeated the people of five countries When he was five years old. Destroyed the brass [palace?] of Tangsal khan 8 9' and Tried a fall 89 4 with Erlig the ruler of the Hell. 89 5 He had a wife, Namjil Ulaan, 89l > who knew [what would happen] in the coming ninety-nine years, and who revealed without making any mistake [about the happenings] of the past eighty years. She had 88 8 Bálint elgefi amardik ma, Kalm. tgf amrdgm. cf. Khal. amardagyum: usual contraction in the spoken Mongolian idioms. 88 9 Bálint nädaki biyedün 7 surya tatji orkoba. the above approximate translation needs further elaboration. 89 0 Manuscript pp. 126-139. 89 1 Bálint Kecü Berke, Kalm. Kecü Berk "Heavy Hard". 89 2 Bálint dörbön üzügtn xägl norndän orülokson, Kalm. dörwn üzgin zügin xänTg nomdän orülsn is a typical expression in the Jangyr epic, cf Basngga, B B. (ed.): Jangyr. Xal'mg bätrlg epos. Eist 1990. [Jangar. Kalmyk epics], Dön orgé nasndan In his four year old age Dörwn ik bdrin am ewdj He defeated the people of four great countries Dördng ik sar mangys xäg nomdan orulsn. Converted to the religion the great, robust, yellow Monster khan. Converting to the religion is comprehended as converting to Buddhism (Kalm., Khal nom "book, teaching, religion"). 8 9' Bálint Tangsal xän 'i kürül ebdeksen, cf. Tangsl xänl kürl ewdsn. Kalm. kürl "brass" the attributed lexeme is missing from the syntagm: kürl örgä (?) "brazen palace (?)". However this solution needs parallel texts to be proven Tangsal resembles the name of the grandfather of the main hero of Jangyr epics: Tangsg xöni aí "The grandson of Tangsg Khan", jangyr. 89 4 Bálint tengsel bulaldaksan. Kalm. tengsl buldldgsn. cf. Kalm. tengsxe "einander prüfen (ob man gleich od. ebenwürdig ist), vergleichen, untersuchen" (R. 392). 89 5 Bálint Erlek nomin xän, Kalm Erlg nomin xän, the ruler the hell. Cf. notes to Tenth tale. 127
