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
- It will bring ill fame, send that twenty-five warriors. - And [his father?] sent them away. Thereafter the boy rode his blood-coloured chestnut and led his brown horse with eight wings. While he was going his chestnut horse he was riding stopped. Thereafter the boy left his chestnut horse and rode his brown horse. While he was going, his chestnut horse was coming from behind with a man wearing a gown and a naked man without a gown on its back. Upon arriving those two men said to the boy: - Have you given this horse of yours to me wearing a gown or to him without a gown? - The boy said: - I give it to you wearing a gown. - And he gave it to the man wearing a gown. Thereafter those two men left and disappeared. The boy went further and opposite him there was sitting a man with hair and a man without hair holding his horse. Thereafter they said: [85] - Will you give this your horse to me having hair or to him without hair? - The boy said: - I will give it to you having hair. - And he gave his horse. Thereafter the man without hair disappeared. That one without hair was a demon, 7 5 ' the one with hair was a man. That man said: - I am the fiddler of Erlg, the khan of the Holy Teaching. Now, go away from here. While you go for seven days and seven nights, there will be a dark black fog. While the fog stays, two armies will fight [there] in front of you. Between those two armies will stay the man you are going to fight with. Shoot into the right eye of that man, so that man will die. Thereafter that man's younger sister will run to her yurt and will try to escape. Then pursue that girl, catch her and rush in the direction of the Sun rise. A hole will be in front of you, kill that maid and throw her into the hole. If you run away [from that place], I will be again at the gap of that hole. - Said [that man ] and disappeared. Thereafter the boy went away. While going, seven days and seven nights passed and there was a dark black fog. There was a fog there and there were two armies fighting [in the fog]. Between those two armies Ulaadaa Hero was standing. Thereafter the boy shot him in the right eye. That man died. That man's younger sister ran to her yurt and escaped. [86] The boy pursued her form behind and caught her. Having caught her he ran further. There was a hole in front of him. He arrived at the hole and he was not able to kill at all, because she was so beautiful. Thereafter his horse said: - Kill her immediately! - The boy killed her and ran away. In front of him at the gap of the hole the previous young man was standing. Thereafter that young man turned the boy's horse into an anklebone and threw it away, put the boy himself into his bag and left. Erlg the khan of the Holy Teaching said: - He killed Ulaadaa hero and his younger sister. Is there anybody who could kill him and bring his soul ' 5 4 here? To the man who will bring that boy I will give half of my dependants. - Thereafter two demons said: - We two will bring him here. - How will you two bring him here? - Thereupon they said: - When that good young man who overcame his enemy returns, we both will transform into two nice arrows and lie [on his way]. He will pick us up in order to put us into his quiver. 75 5 and thereupon we will kill him. - Well, it's good. — And [the khan] let them go. Thereafter the fiddler came out [of Erlg's place] and asked the boy: - Have you heard these words? - The boy said: - First, I don't know their language, [87] secondly [I heard only] your fiddle's tune. - Thereupon the fiddler told him everything. 75 3 Bálint sulmus . Kalm. sulm. sulms. in detail cf. Ninth tale. 5 4 Bálint sümüsin'i. cf. Kalm. siinsn , siimsn, Mong. siinesiin , Khal siins one of the souls of living beings, the most commonly used expression for soul; in details, cf. Birtalan: Die Mythologie, pp. 1038-1039, 1045-1046. 75 5 Bálint biyedän dürükü, Kalm. bldän diirx, lit. "put it on his body". 110
