Editors
OLONKHO – NURGUN BOTUR THE SWIFT
Preface to the English Edition
Vasily Ivanov
Director, Olonkho Research Institute, Professor of Historical Sciences
The greatest spiritual heritage of the Yakut people – the heroic epic known as the Olonkho – ranks among other masterpieces of world folk arts. Olonkho is a special genre within Yakut folklore, comprising a collection of the ancient epics (sung odes), celebrating the brave deeds of boturs (warriors) for the sake of their Motherland, the protection of their friends from evil spirits, maintaining peace and neighbourly harmony, as well as the happiness of a beloved girl and that of the younger generation. Olonkho reveals the lifestyle, traditions, ethical principles, history, culture and world view of the Yakut people in a captivating and artistic form.
An Olonkho-teller improvising
Listeners could readily become acquainted with the world of Olonkho thanks to the olonkhosut as he is known, a man endowed with a unique gift of story-telling and vocalization. Each olonkhosut, was a talented story-teller with his own individual style of performing the epic, combined with his often renowned skill at improvisation. The size of the audience was not important to him. He would perform the songs with the same enthusiasm whether it be among his family, neighbours or in front of a big crowd.
A.E. Kulakovsky, an expert on the Yakut way of life and Yakut folklore, describes what might be the typical impact on a Yakut family listening to a rendition of the Olonkho:
Look at the Yakut family, on a long winter’s night listening to the story-teller. Everybody – old and young alike – is sitting around him, just like hungry children might gather around their mother. Here is the old grandfather, who loves resting on his bed most of all. Nothing but his favourite story could make him leave the comfort of his warm bed. Here is the father of the family, a practical, middle-aged man, who is no longer interested in such fantasy-like stories, who is tired after a day’s work and wants nothing more than to have a rest. Here is the mistress of the home, plying her needle. She is exhausted from all the bickering and her everyday work. She needs to sleep, since she gets up the first, goes to bed last, and is the most tired of all. Even the kids are sitting here, they sit still. Here are the teenagers, who do not understand the language of poetry well, but enjoy the plot and imaginativeness of the story. Here is the guest, who has to wake up early and set off on a long journey. They listen to the story from early evening until their ‘predawn sleep’, that is for 13-14 hours. (Sometimes rich people would ask the olonkhosut to tell their stories over a period lasting for three days and three nights with breaks only for sleep and meals.) Everybody listens intently, fascinated with what they hear, trying not to breathe a word… Everybody has forgotten about their problems, their grief and whatever else, and entered into the magical and wonderful world of enchanting dreams.
It is difficult to quantify the total number of Olonkho songs because the genre was spread widely throughout the region. However, according to the findings of two folklore research expeditions in 1941 and 1946 a total of 396 Olonkho and 83 olonkhosuts were registered. Each version of Olonkho differed from one another not only in the specific features of the plot and length, but also according to public opinion.
One of the most widely recognized and popular Olonkho is the epic Nurgun Botur the Swift, the text of which was recorded in 1930-1932 by Platon Alekseevich Oyunsky, the writer, scientist, scholar and statesman of Yakutia. Although he noted in the preface of the Olonkho that the text of Nurgun Botur the Swift comprised ‘thirty other Olonkho’, specialists think that it is not a unified text, but an epic masterpiece, created by P.A. Oyunsky according to the traditional canons of Yakut Olonkho-performers. It is known that P.A. Oyunsky was himself also a famous Olonkho-performer.
For the first time the full text of the main Yakut Olonkho Nurgun Botur the Swift was published in the Russian language in 1975. It was translated by V.V. Derzhavin, a distinguished poet and translator.
On 25 November 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho a ‘Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ thereby according it the highest cultural value of oral folk arts and confirming it as a significant contribution of the Yakut people to world culture. Furthermore, the historic UNESCO decision has prompted the publication of our great epic in the official languages of this leading world organization.
My dear reader, here in the pages that follow is the first full translation of Olonkho Nurgun Botur the Swift in the English language. The translation is intended for English-speaking readers everywhere, providing them with the opportunity to get acquainted with the wonderful epic heritage of the Yakut people and thereby help the world to understand the universal value of this unique masterpiece.
The translation was undertaken by a group of translators from the Institute of Foreign Philology and Regional Studies of M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University under the supervision of Dr of Philology, Associate Professor, Alina Nakhodkina.
Finally, dear reader, may I say that I very much hope you will enjoy the journey into the Olonkho’s fantasy world – full of new discoveries, new dimensions and new impressions!
An Olonkho-teller in traditional pose, with right arm to his ear and his left hand on his knee
Foreword
by
Anna Dybo
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Yakut
