ABOUT THE HEROIC TALES OF THE EVENKI
The Evenki epic is diverse, it includes different types of tales about bogatyrs and bogatyrs. Among the heroic tales, several characteristic types about heroes-heroes stand out, each of them, in turn, has typical features that indicate the unequal degree of development of the Evenk epic as a genre among different local groups of Evenks. Heroic tales reflect different stages in the development of the epic creativity of the Evenks. It is this fact that is very remarkable and interesting for the scientific world: in the epic folklore heritage of the Evenks, legends of different levels of development coexisted. The material of heroic tales of the Evenks in all its typical diversity allows the scientist not only to see and analyze the process of formation and development of the Evenki epic, but also, when comparing texts with samples of the epic of other peoples, to identify the general stages of development of the heroic epic as a genre.
First of all, let us briefly talk about folk terminology (used by the Evenki in relation to the works of their own folklore), its features and genres of folklore among different groups Evenks. In the general environment of all local groups of Evenks in Russia, there are two main definitions: 1) nimngakan, 2) ul-gur. The term nimngakan combines works that, from the point of view of a folklorist, belong to different genres: myth, fairy tale, heroic tale and the type of heroic tale. Ulgur - legend (historical, mythological, etc.), as well as oral stories of the Evenks (ulgur - lit.: story). However, the presence and existence of genres of Evenki folklore, as well as their designation by folk terms, is not the same everywhere (more precisely, not among all local groups). For example, we have not revealed the existence of heroic tales among the Evenks of the northern regions, namely, in Evenkia and in the north of Yakutia. They were not noted among these local groups by other, earlier, collectors of Evenk folklore. Heroic tales are predominantly common among the Evenks of Transbaikalia and eastern puppies (including the territory of South Yakutia), this is also confirmed by the published texts of scientific publications of Evenk folklore.
The folk terminology of the Western Evenks differs from the terminology of the Eastern ones, and also has its own characteristics among the Trans-Baikal (Buryat) Evenks. For example, the Western Evenki do not know the term of the Eastern Evenks nimngakama nimngakan (lit.: shamanic-singing nimngakan), the Eastern Evenki also distinguish epic narratives, which they define as gume nimngakan (lit.: spoken, narrated nimngakan) and correlated with heroic fairy tales. The presence of the type of the Evenk heroic fairy tale was first noted by the GM. Vasilevich in the introductory article to the collection "Historical folklore of the Evenks (tales and legends)". Speaking about the Zeya-Aldan tales about heroes, she writes that “the Zeya-Aldan tales are told.<...>They are closer to heroic tales and they contain many motifs from the epic of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples. However, she does not name the folk term, which in most cases defines this type of narrations by Evenki.
Connoisseurs of Evenk folklore, professional performers mark their epos with the term nimngakama nimngakan, which literally translates as “nimngakan, similar to shamanic singing nimngan” and is understood as “singing nimngakan”, since monologues of the heroes of legends are necessarily sung. Each hero has an individual melody and sung words that serve as his calling card. This is the main difference between the Evenki epic and the works that the Evenks define as gume nimngakan. For example, the storyteller Claudia Pavlovna Afanasyeva, before starting the performance of a particular plot, always stipulated: “Er nimkakama nimkakan, nunanman hegevkil ‘This is nimngakama nimngakan, they sing it’” or: “Er gume nimkakan, nunganman evkil hegere ' This is gume nimngakan, it is not sung.
Evenki narratives, defined as gume nimnga-kan, have much in common with a typical heroic tale. However, they have their own specifics, indicating that the Evenk heroic tale gume nimngakan is at an early stage of its formation and is a transitional stage to the developed epic of the Evenks. Our observations of existence, storytelling, performance different types Evenki folklore show that the form of performance (storytelling) of the gume nimngakan was accessible to a larger circle of people than the epic nimngakama nimngakan. Conventionally, the Evenk heroic tale can be called a more “democratic”, “profane” type of epic narration than the heroic tales of the nimngakama nimngakan, for the following reasons - in order to convey, tell the gume nimngakan, you do not need to: 1) have a special singing talent ; 2) ear for music (for memorizing all the musical-individual songs of the heroes of the epic); 3) to coincide with special events (as opposed to the performance of the epic); 4) to gather a large audience, they could be told to one listener (whereas the performance of the epic required collective hearing). The transmission of the gume of the nimngakans was not associated with sacred moments. Good performers of the epic had their own spirit, the patron of their talent (itchi), the narrator of the Gume Nimngakans did not need him. The narrator of the epic went through a kind of initiation to become the performer of the epic - nimngakalan, this popular definition-term is awarded only to the performers of the epic along with shamans, who are called nimngalans. Women, the narrators of the Evenki epic, in most cases went through a kind of “path of initiation”, most often through an illness that they got rid of by mastering the skill of performing heroic tales. For example, according to the story of K.P. Afanasyeva, by the age of 29, she began to get sick with “falling sickness”, fainting. Her grandmother was a storyteller of the Evenk nimngakama nimngakans. As a child, K.G. Afanasyeva learned many legends from her grandmother, but did not perform them in public. Grandmother took her to a shaman to cure her seizures. Pokamlav (to find out the way of healing), the then-famous shaman Fedot Timofeev showed her the way to get rid of the disease - she had to perform heroic tales in front of an adult audience for 7 days. So K.G. Afanasyeva was healed and became a nimngakalan storyteller.
Thus, the gume nimngakan was a democratic type of epic narration by the Evenks. The works of this genre, like the Ulgurs (legends), could tell everything. Many threads of Evenk folklore said: “Gume nimnakanma ulgugechinme niket sari bee ulguchendinen - tarlak bo. Nimnakama nimnakanma nimkakalan-nyun nimnakandyan. ‘Gume nimngakan, like the Ulgur, any knowledgeable person can tell — it’s true. Nimngakama nimngakan (heroic tale) is only a narrator - nimngakalan will perform-sing '.
There are no such requirements for the transmission (telling) of the gume nimngakan as for the performance of the Evenk epos, because the nimngakama nimngakan is sacred for the Evenk, and the gume nimngakan is, as it were, taken out of this sphere, like the Ulgur. For example, the storyteller Anisya Stepanovna Gavrilova spoke about it this way: - Nimkakama nimkakanma baldynal, gerbinel, alganal, ikevkil "Nimngakama nimngakan after giving birth, calling, singing the spell alga, perform-sing '". Speaking about how to perform nimn-gakama nimngakan ( epos), K.P. Afanasyeva explained to us that the storyteller’s narration should be like a strong and smooth flow of a river: “Eekte bira eektekechin ikenyvkil “The singing of a nimngakan should be like a powerful flow of a big river.” She spoke about the originality of the performance of the heroic tale as follows: “Nadalladu eendenny, nadalladu ikendenny, Bugava tokorihinmuvna ‘Seven days you swim with the flow of nimngakan, seven days you eat nimngakan, you circle around the entire Bug Universe with nimngakan’”.
V.M. Zhirmunsky put forward the concept of the "heroic tale" as the ancestral form of the heroic epic. The archaic features of the epic in the heroic tale are: 1) the fabulous image of the giant hero; 2) the miraculous nature of his exploits; I) a clear mythological background of many motifs and images. V.M. Zhirmunsky singled out the main structural parts of the heroic tale: the prologue, the heroic matchmaking, the adventures of the hero, the return home. All these structural parts are also present in the gume nimngakana. However, in most of them heroic matchmaking in his classical form no, which speaks of the archaic stage of the Evenk heroic tale. V, M. Zhirmunsky, on the basis of comparing the heroic tale of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples about Alpamysh with the epic about Alpamysh, deduced the theory of the epic, which later became generally recognized. The published and unpublished material of the Evenki folklore (available in the archives of contemporary Evenki folklore collectors A.N. Myreeva, N.Ya. Bulatova, G.I. Varlamova) testifies to one remarkable fact - the popularity of the same names of heroes for the sung heroic tales of the nimngakam nimngakans and gume nimngakans performed in narrative form. We list the names of the main characters (with variations of petting-diminutive, augmentative suffixes):
Male names
1. Umusli, Umusni, Umusliken, Umuslindya, Umusnindya.
2. Harpani, Harparican, Harpanindya, Harpas Harparican.
3. Torganai, Torganu, Torgandun.
4. Huruguchon, Hurukuchon, Hurukuchondya.
5. Altanay, Altanukan, Altanyndya.
Women's names
1. Sekankan, Sekak, Sekakindya, Sekalan
(the most common).
2. Nyungurmok, Nyungurdok, Nyungurmokchan, Nyungurdokindya.
3. Unyaptuk, Unyuptuk, Unyuptukchon, Uunyaptukindya.
For example, there is a heroic tale about Garparikan, as well as an epic about Garparikan among the Eastern Evenks. There are many works of the same name of both types, the epic itself (nimngaka-ma nimngakan) and the heroic fairy tale (gume nimngakan), among the Eastern Evenki. For example, we have recorded the heroic tale “The daring maiden Sekakchan-Seryozhka and her younger brother named Of those with strong veins, the most wiry, Iran-hero who never falls on his ribs” and the heroic tale “The daring maiden Sekak and the brother of Iran”. The legend was recorded in 1989 in the village. Udskoe from A.S. Gavrilova (native of the Selemdzhi River in the Amur Region). The heroic tale about Sekak and her brother Irana was recorded in 1984 from Varvara Yakovleva in the village. Ulgen, Amur region. The plots of the bogatyr tale and the legend coincide in the main points and belong to the same local territory. There are more characters in the heroic tale about Sekak and her brother Irana, the heroes have more trials than in the Boga-Tyr tale.
Among the heroic epic heritage of the Evenks, one can single out the earliest type, when the hero, although perceived as a hero, does not perform feats in the fight against enemies - he simply travels to unknown distant lands, finds relatives, participates in peaceful heroic fights, finds himself bride, returns to his native land and becomes the ancestor of the Evenks. Tales of this type are small in volume, the main character is a lonely hero who wants to find others like himself (a person, people), there are few minor characters here, some of them are represented by the animal helpers of the hero. The classic image of the early type of heroic tales is the text about Umusliken published in this collection.
There are many legends about a lonely hero named Umusliken (Umusmi, Umuslinei, Umuslindya) among the Evenki, this is one of the most popular heroes of the Evenki epic. We have chosen for publication the most striking example of the early type, when the hero, according to the plot, does not perform heroic deeds in the generally accepted sense (fight against enemies). His whole feat consists in the fact that he finds his relatives, having arrived in the Upper World with the help of an assistant deer (ancestral totem). Umusliken takes part in the Ikenik festival and finds a wife for himself. The hero overcomes certain difficulties, reaches the Upper World, and in the final part becomes the ancestor of the Evenks. The purpose of his campaign is the instruction that the deer will guide him:
You yourself will go to the Upper Land of Iray.
To that Upper Iray-land and heroes,
And the girls-birds of kidak arrive at the games of Ikenik.
Go to those games Ikenik yourself.
There you will find a friend.
I'll stay here, go.
If you find yourself a girlfriend, then you will become a man. You will become the root-ancestor of man,
You will kindle the fire-hearth,
You will give birth to a child.
Well, go
Become the root-ancestor of man!
Already at the very beginning of the tale, the lone hero is warned of danger by the arrival of a kidak bird:
— Kimonin! Kimonin!
Kimonin! Kimonin!
From middle-earth Turin-land
Residents hello let it be you!
Umusliney, listen!
Kimonin! Kimonin!
An orphan if you
From distant lands"
Arriving, traveling
From the country of the seven gorges of the earth,
I've arrived, listen!
Enemies from the Nether
In seven days
Your hearth-Kulumtan will be extinguished,
Run quickly, she said.
The next type includes legends, where the main characters are a single brother and sister. In this work, we publish one of them as a typical example of this type of legends: the main character is a heroic sister who arranges the fate of her younger brother. She is a daring hero to the same extent as her brother. The daring girl Sekakchan-Seryozhka, wanting to marry her brother to the daughter of the Sun, fights with the heroes of the Upper World, the daughter of the Sun herself, defeats her and forces her to marry Irana's brother. Parallel to the story of the exploits of Sister Sekak, there is a story about her younger brother Irana. Irani opposes the hero-enemy from the tribe of the Avakhs named Iron Root (Selame Nintani), he protects the heavenly old man named Gevan (Dawn) and his daughter from the encroachments of the hero of the Lower World.
An example of the developed epic of the Evenks is the story about Irkismond, offered in this book. The publication is the first cycle of the legend "Irkismond the Bogatyr", the whole legend consists of four cycles. The first cycle tells about the hero Irkismond from the moment of his birth, his heroic campaign to other worlds and countries in search of his native roots, his betrothed, in order to continue his family, his native Evenk tribe. As a result of the victory over the enemies of the heroes of other tribes and worlds, the hero of the Middle World Dulin Buga, the hero of the Evenk tribe Irkismondya finds his betrothed in the Upper World Ugu Buga and wins the right to become her husband. He brings her with a rich dowry to his Middle World and becomes the ancestor of the Evenks.
At the beginning of the story, an epic picture of the appearance of the Middle World - the earth is given. With this, as usual, all traditional tales of the Evenks begin. This is a traditional beginning, which is also characteristic of the epic of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples. In this legend, Irkismondi has a mute blacksmith brother, who makes hunting and fighting weapons for him.
Three cycles of the legend were first published in the scientific publication "Folklore of the Evenks of Yakutia" in 1971, the last cycle (fourth) has not yet been published. The first cycle tells about the life and deeds of the first ancestor of the Evenks, Irkismondi, then about his son, grandson and great-grandson. The legend about Irkismond in 1971 was the first experience of publishing the heroic epic of the Evenks, the text has not yet been divided into stanzas of the narrator's correspondingly rhythmic speech. The characters' monologues are also printed in continuous prose text. Scientific transcription was used in publication. In this book, for the first time, the poetic text of the heroic legend about Irkismond meets the requirements for publishing a heroic epic, and the practical writing of the Evenks is used to read the legend to a wide range of readers.
A special type of heroic tales of the Evenks are tales close to heroic tales. It should be noted that the heroic tale of the Eastern Evenks often has a brief beginning. This opening is inherent only in the Gume Nimngakans about lonely heroes: it is similar to the beginning of an epic, it always has its own specific rhythm, which makes it easy to write it down as a poetic-rhythmic text:
Dulin Buga dulkakundun,
Egder Yane Hulidun,
Umun bee baldychan.
Eni guneri enine achin,
Ami guneri amina achin.
Emukkokon bidechen.
Tyken Bidechen.
Gorovo-gu,
Ahakana-gu tyken bidecheng,
N "i-kat ehin sara.
In the very middle of Middle Earth,
On the edge of the taiga big river,
One person was born.
There is no mother called mother,
There is no father who is called father.
Alone lives.
That's how he lived.
How long
How little did he live
No one knows.
Further narration is more often conveyed by simple speech (non-rhythmic).
Singing about the brothers Tyvgunai Urkeken and Cholbon Chokuldai, recorded from the native Aldan Evenk from the Dyovulga clan, belongs to special types of heroic tales of the Evenki. It was passed down from generation to generation only in this genus. I.T. Marfusalov (b. 1895), from whom this nimngakan was recorded in 1965, from childhood heard it performed by his father Dulei Timofei, a famous shaman and storyteller. Nimngakan has the features of a heroic fairy tale, for example, the presence of magical objects that turn into various insects, birds, etc. In terms of its characteristic features, this text has something in common with the legends of the neighboring Upper Aldanose Evenks. Nimngakan is filled with everyday details of the traditional life of the Evenks: for example, a method of dressing skins using boiled brains and livers of ungulates is described. However, with all this, this work is characterized by elements characteristic of the epic. Nimngakan has an original opening that is not found in the legends of the Evenks of other regions:
In the wilds of the ancients lay down,
In the depths of bygone years
At the mouth of five deep-water rivers
With thundering valleys
with blazing capes.
Under a spreading tree
Born-appeared Tyvgunai-young man.
As in many gume nimngakans, here the hero is lonely:
He did not know at all whether he was born by his father,
Is it lifted by thunder
Did it come from the mother
Did he come out of the cradle.
He was an orphan.
The characters are bogatyrs, who are called bukunor, from the word buku ‘strong’, in all other Evenki legends, bogatyrs are called mata or soning. The assistants of the rich-rey are magical horses-atyga, such a name is recorded only in this nimngakan, in all other Evenki legends they are called the general Tungus murin ‘horse’.
The noted features give grounds to assume that this legend, as a genre, is at the stage of transition from a heroic tale to a heroic epic and represents a special type of Evenki heroic tales.
This book is addressed both to specialists in folklore and to a wide range of readers. The purpose of the publication is to expand the idea of the heroic epic of the Evenks. Studies on Evenki folklore and samples of works are published in insufficient quantities, for this reason the Evenks do not have the opportunity to get acquainted with their folklore in more detail. We hope that this collection will allow representatives of the Evenki ethnic group to learn more about their native folklore, one of the fundamental foundations of the spiritual culture of the people.
G. I. Varlamova, Doctor of Philology
A.N. Myreeva, candidate of philological sciences
Historical folklore of the Evenks: Tales and legends / comp. G.M. Vasilevich. — M.; L., 1966. - S. 15.
V.A.Dutkina tells the Evenki fairy tales "Three Suns", "Ryabchik"
Shooting P.V. Sofronova
Evenk literature "grew" out of folklore. At the basis of the formation of "young-written" literatures (literature of the peoples of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Tatar, Yakut, literature of the peoples of the Ural-Volga region) lay an early written tradition. Monuments, writings of these peoples became a source of literature. The works of epic poetry (primarily heroic epics) were an artistic form of self-identification of ethnic groups, understanding themselves in their history through the deeds of cultural heroes.
In the heroic epics of the Kirghiz "Manas", the Karakalpaks "Kyrk-Kyz", the Turkmens "Ger-Ogly", the Yakuts "Olonkho", the Buryats "Geser", the Azerbaijanis "Ker-Ogly", the Armenians "David of Sasun", in Karelian runes and Caucasian "Narts" mighty images destroyed the closed community-tribal psychology of ancient mankind. The epic shaped the mentality of the peoples. Other "youngly written" literatures have a folklore source of their development. These include the literature of the small peoples of the North, including Evenki literature. Among the "newly written" peoples, oral literature replaced literature in its own way. Over the centuries, the artistic thinking of the people was formed in folklore, its ideological and aesthetic fund was developed.
Folklore ideological and aesthetic principles prevailed at the first stage of the formation of "youngly written" literatures. Folklore motifs, images determined the content of the first literary images of the experiments of the founders of Evenki literature. The most common genre - the song - preserves the folk tradition of the entire region, where the creativity of each of the authors was formed. It was the song that was the "transitional" genre from oral poetry to written literature. Perhaps this explains the large number of poetic debuts of young authors among the founders of Evenk literature. Retelling, processing folklore motifs, the influence of ideas, themes and figurative system of oral folk art is generally characteristic of the literatures of the peoples of the North.
The first works of the northerners were directly dependent on the archaic poetry of folklore, and the language of the first written works was still poorly developed, and therefore was saturated with oral poetic figures and images. The founders of Evenki literature turned to folklore as a source of themes, plots, images later. as an arsenal of artistic and visual means. The heroes of the first poems, stories and stories are outlined, the main thing is emphasized in their character, which is usually characteristic of the folklore tradition,
For the works of the 20-40s of the 20th century, the connection with folklore was expressed in a kind of "ideological and aesthetic adaptation" of the artistic text. Firstly, this was manifested in the fact that poets and prose writers gave their works a form that was as accessible as possible for perception - a kindred reader. The first Evenk prose writers and poets created their works with the help of traditional genres and images borrowed from folklore - it was easier to influence the reader.
The first poems of the northerners are in many ways similar to old folk songs, the content of which fit into the framework of "what I see, I sing." Second hallmark Folklore influence is genre continuity, This is a consequence of the prevailing folk tradition, or an artistic technique consciously used by the author.
But the rejection of the old traditional methods and forms did not occur immediately. For some poets and prose writers, next to declarative verses, works with pronounced folklore poetics appeared. So, A. Salatain, one of the founders of Evenki literature, wrote the poem "Gegdalluken and Ulgerikken", which is close to folklore works in terms of problems and structure. This poem is a literary and artistic processing of the legend of the Angara Evenks about inter-clan and tribal clashes. A deep knowledge of the folklore and everyday life of the Evenks allowed A. Salatkin to convey the love of Gegdalluken and Ulgerikken in a vivid figurative form. Salatkin A. Introduced figurative words and paths into poetic vocabulary. The poem ends with verses revealing the power of affection, friendship and gratitude of the fearless hunter to his beloved Ulgerikken.
The founders of Evenk literature, turning to contemporary reality, sought to understand the essence of life changes and social contradictions. The basis of the structure of most of the first stories and stories is one of the most common conflicts of that time - the class struggle. The polarization of images, characteristic of a folklore work, is noticeable in most of the first stories and stories of Evenk prose writers.
Evenk literature moved from folklore universalism to individualization, freeing itself from the polarization of images. In the future, the perception of the traditions of oral poetry takes on other forms. The folklore heritage becomes an object of conscious study and use by its writers (G. Keptuke, A. Nemtushkin and others).
On the present stage folklore influences the composition and style of works. In the novels and stories of our contemporaries (G. Keptuke, A. Nemtushkin, A. Latkin) one can trace the connection with the motives, plots and images of Evenk heroic tales, songs and legends. The figurative and stylistic impact of the oral-poetic system on modern literature continues to be one of the ways of folklorization of national literatures, incl. including the Evenki.
The system of religious beliefs of the Evenks-Orochens
Speaking about the system of religious beliefs of the Evenks-Orochens, the researchers note a combination of shamanic and pre-shamanic mythology. Archaic beliefs and ideas about the world were transformed by shamanism. Religious ideas and beliefs were under the control of shamanism. This is observed among the Nenets, Selkups, Nganasans, Kets, Nivkhs, Eskimos, Dolgans, Evenks.
Among the stars and planets, the Evenks - born hunters and reindeer herders - especially singled out the Polar Star, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The attention of the Evenks attracted very much bright Star- Chalbon (Venus). The entire territory of the Chalbon star is divided into tribal plots, where only dry larches (mugdyken) grow. Many of the trees have broken tops. All of them are hung with bird's nests,. where Omi's souls are placed. Omi souls of ordinary people look like titmouse chicks (chipie-chiche). The souls of shamans are in the hollows of larch trees. Shamanic souls look like chicks of migratory birds (eagles, swans, loons, waders...). All these unborn souls of people feed on the unborn souls of animals and birds that Enekan-Buga (the mistress of the Universe and the human race) sends them.
The Evenki-Orochen represent the moon (running) in the image of the Enekan-Bug mirror. In clear weather, dark spots are visible on the moon. Evenks believe that they look like an image of a standing old woman with a bag (champul). That is why the shaman orients himself in appearance during the ritual and looks for Enekan-Bug when he "flies" to her with his requests.
overworld
In the second tier of the upper world, according to the Evenks, life is the same as on earth. It has camps, settlements. There are swamps, rivers and taiga here. Only live here are not real birds, animals, vegetation, but the living souls of dead or dead ancestors. On the third tier of the Upper World (or the first from the earth) lives Enekan-Buga, the mistress of the Universe. The initial idea of Enekan-Buga was associated with an elk or a deer (at present, an elk or a deer during the rut is called Buga-divine), but with the development of shamanism, Enekan-Buga acquired an anthropomorphic appearance. The most revered assistant of Enekan-Bug is Enekan-Togo (grandmother-fire). According to the beliefs of the 3 Evenks, fire had a supernatural power to drive out evil spirits. With the help of fire, they cleansed the yurts from evil spirits. Evenki often. turned to the fire with small requests: send the beast, well-being and: health to the family. At the same time, they made sacrifices to the fire - they threw a tasty, piece of food. The hearth was the permanent habitat of Enekan-Togo. In this regard, the Evenki developed a benevolent attitude towards fire, as well as all sorts of prohibitions:
Do not spit in the fire, if you spit, you will smear your grandmother, she will punish: ulcers will appear on the lips and tongue.
Do not throw a fresh willow into the fire, she will pinch her grandmother's eyes - she will be offended.
In the representations and rituals associated with the cult of fire, he acted as the owner and head of the clan, on the other hand, as the guardian of the souls of the members of this family or clan.
lower world
The lower world, according to the Even-Orochen, has three tiers. On the first tier (farthest from the earth) is the land of the dead ancestors (buni). Life is the same there as on earth. Evenks believe that the souls of their ancestors always dance. The second tier of the lower world is the Tuneto River (literally, "debris"). Only a shaman can cross the Tuneto River. The third tier of the lower world (the closest to the earth) is the possession of the kharga, Khargi is the most evil spirit. He always brings grief to people. If not for the good spirits - Enekan Buga and her assistants - he would have killed all people and useful animals. The third tier of the Lower World is inhabited not only by evil spirits, there are also benevolent spirits there - guardians of peace on earth and assistants of shamans when walking in the Lower World: a frog (Baha), a mammoth (seli) and a snake (kulin). Malicious creatures led by the owner of the lower world Khargi and his assistants constantly pursued the person.
They were the source of misfortune, sickness and death. To resist them, the Evenks developed all sorts of prohibitions, amulets, beliefs, and eventually magical actions. These "representations developed in ancient times, when it seemed to hunters and reindeer herders that the world filled with confrontation between good and evil principles, literally penetrating all life and economic activity person.
Middle world - earth
There are two ideas about the origin of the land among the Evenks-Orochens. Some believe that they owe the appearance of the earth to the frog (baha), others prefer the loon (ukai). Here is how the legend says: 1 "Once upon a time there was water and sky, A snake and a frog lived in the water. 1 sun, moon, star Chalbon shone in the sky, Enekan-Buga lived there with her assistants. The snake was already old, often tired and frozen in the water.
One day she asked her frog helper to get earth and fix it on the water so that the snake could rest and bask in the sun. 1 The frog dived and took out the ground. When she began to strengthen it, then 1 the earth began to sink. At this time, a snake swam up. The frog was afraid that 1 snake would scold her for helplessness, turned over and began to hold the ground with her paws. So it has remained to this day, "The Evenki-Orochens represented the earth as flat. In the east of the earth, where the sun rises, there is a world where it sets - the lower one.
Materials on Evenk folklore
Evenk folklore retains its "survivability" even today. According to the well-known folklorist, scholar-philologist and Evenk prose writer Galina Varlamova-Kaptuke, Evenk folklore has not only an aesthetic function, but "retains its main feature - vital functionality. This "forces" and makes it live. "
The entire epic arsenal of Evenk folklore, according to researchers, is historically differentiated and is divided into two large groups epic texts: 1) nimngakana; 2) Ulgurs.
The Ulghurs include stories "telling about real events that happened both in the past and in the present". Basically, the Ulgurs: represent tribal traditions. They were told in the usual colloquial language - just like ordinary stories about life. The heroes of the legends are foot or deer hunters. The predominant theme in the Ulgurs is inter-tribal clashes . hallmark Ulgurs is their focus on the authenticity and reality of the events that took place. One of the most common stable plots is the meeting of an Evenk man with headless people. The Ulghurs are opposed to the Nimngakans. According to the concepts of folklorists, the nimngakans include:
1) myths; 2) heroic tales; 3) all kinds of fairy tales.
Evenki myths are grouped around three cycles:
1) totemic, which reflects ethnonymic themes (the origin of certain clans);
2) cosmogonic myths (creation of the universe, its model, flora and fauna);
3) animistic myths (the theme of the relationship between the master spirits of nature, the elements and man).
In the early 1920s, the well-known researcher of Tungus cultures G.M. Vasilevich, studying Evenki myths, singled out two periods in them; preshamanic and shamanic. To the first, she attributed myths about the origin of the earth, about its position in space, myths about the deities of the Upper World and the Lower World, myths about celestial bodies - the Sun, the moon, the North Star, about the constellation Ursa Major and Milky Way, myth. about what is happening and the origin of the earth's relief, man and animals.
The cultural heroes of these myths are static, do not have a socio-psychological characteristic. Communication between man and nature is based on magical rites and mysteries aimed at ensuring good luck in hunting. The next period in the development of the Evenki myth is associated with shamanic mythology. According to G.M. Vasilevich, a cosmogonic myth is developing. In shamanic myth, the structural arrangement of the worlds looks different; the worlds are located horizontally (and not vertically), and the Upper and Lower worlds are connected to each other by a shamanic river. At the same time, mythological heroes no longer move around all the worlds, but are limited to staying only on Middle Earth.
According to Galina Keptuke, the awareness of oneself as an inseparable part of the world, the Universe sets the scales of time and space for the Evenki folklore. And we find all this in the Evenki heroic tales - Ningakans. In them the whole world and the man himself in it. The dominant theme in the epic system of the Evenks is the themes of heroic matchmaking and a clash with an enemy hero. In the epic monuments of the Tungus-speaking peoples (Evenks, in particular), the origins go back to mythology, the narrative is full of mythological fantasy, motives for miraculous transformations.
The storytellers themselves distinguish between singing ("true") nimigakans and non-singing ("speaking"). In Evenki folklore, the Nimngakans are divided into:
1) nimngakana of the first creation;
2) nimngakana of the time of the formation of the human race.
In the nimngakans of the first creation, the characters are mostly animals. The Nimngakana of the first creation were accompanied by rites of the mysteries. The person is not. the main character of the Nimngakan is the first creation. Nimngakans about animals preserve the properties of myths, where animals are anthropomorphic creatures. In Evenki folklore, animals are initially anthropomorphic and man is similar to them. And talking animals are like the Creator. Over time, nimngakans about a fox, a bear, a hare, in connection with the generalization and typification of heroes (a hare is a braggart, a fox is a cunning and a deceiver ...) turned into fairy tales about animals.
In the nimngakans of the time of the formation of a person, the starting point is the person himself. This time also "refers to the beginning times, but it is already marked by folklore formulas, where the starting point is a person, or by formulas indicating the further flourishing and development of the earth, "In ancient times, when the earth, like a skin from the head of a one-year-old deer, was spread out, when the upper sky, like a rainbow in six rows, was established ... "
Nimngakan at the time of the formation of the human race acts "a lonely hero who does not know his origin, who has never seen a person other than himself, who has never heard a human speech", who does not know his origin, who has neither a dog nor a deer. This is typical of the ancient mythological concept of man: "... If I were from the bowels of the middle earth. Dulin donne came out, - it would grow from my right rib, if I came out of a tree - the bark would stick to the middle of my spine, if I fell from a barely visible rainbow sky - I would have frost on the top of my head ... "
It reflects the mythological ideas of the Evenks about the earth, the sky, associated with the images of the spirits-deities, who in the imagination of the Evenk have a resemblance to the image and likeness of a person, as well as the whole world, the universe: the head is connected with the Upper World (sky), the body is the Middle Earth , the spine is a tree.
A lone hero, wondering: "Where was I born from, if I have neither mother nor father?" according to the texts of Evenk legends, try to connect your origin either with the earth or with the sky (the Upper world).
The mythological representations of the ancient man are reflected in the legend from Kodakchone, where his dwelling uten is thought of as the earth, and the earth as common Home for people: "his house-uten was unprecedentedly large * from one edge of it one could not see the other edge of it ..." Uten - dwelling is thought of as the earth-homeland: the house is the earth, and the earth is the hero's homeland. And this is a clear connection between the place of residence, the house - the dwelling with the perception of the earth itself as the parent of man.
A lone hero grows up in a chume-uten, which is defined by such a formula - "an old soul-kut uten". That is, a lonely hero does not grow up in a simple dwelling that has its own guardian spirit. The dwelling has a spirit, and therefore a lonely hero does not die, he is guarded and protected by the dwelling itself. The spirit of the utene dwelling is thought of in the legends of this type as a patron and, as it were, the parent of the hero. When a lonely hero sets off on his journey, he will definitely say goodbye to uteiom, addressing him as something alive, as a person. "Old utevchik, live well. If I'm alive, I'll return. Follow my crossbow, by the crossbow you will know my return, or my death." (From the legend of "Middle Earth Delonikan").
In the nimngakans of the first creation and in the nimngakans of the period of the formation of the human race, the ideas about man are fixed: Man, by his creation, is a creator of two in nature. He is a spirit that has a corporeal shell. lone hero is left with halves of the food eaten. The strangeness of a lonely hero can be understood as the incompleteness and inferiority of a lonely hero. Lonely and, according to the logic of a nimngakana, still not real, an inferior person who eats half food - must become full, find his other half.
Typification of the hero goes in the direction of singling out a person from the natural environment. The complete formula of loneliness emphasizes such highlights in human development, like communication and human speech, the motive that allows one to start the development of the plot in nimngakans with a lonely hero is based on a lack of communication. In many legends, this is literally spoken of as follows: "... This person lives there alone. Talking - there is no friend, asking, talking - there is also no one. This person living there alone, got very bored. He was very tired of living alone ... "
The main motive forcing a lonely hero to go on a journey is the desire to find his own kind, that is, a person begins to seek communication with his own kind, and the motive for finding a couple also appears. the plot usually begins.
The Evenki epic is the story of the hero's wanderings. It has more traveling than fighting. It is more like the "Iliad" than the epic of the Turks (the Kyrgyz "Manas", the Yakut "Olonkho", the Buryat "Geser").
The heroic tales of the Evenks are structurally constructed as follows:
1) The impetus for the development of the plot is the "shortage" - the hero lives alone, grew up alone, "he has never seen a person - he decides to see the world, travel, i.e. eliminate this shortage;
2) The impetus may be "sabotage" - a brother and sister live, a husband and wife, and suddenly he takes away, steals his sister, wife, - Violation of a rite or taboo can serve as the tie-in of an action;
3) All the travels and adventures of the epic hero are justified and ensured by the "replenishment" of this shortage. "intimidation" of sabotage;
4) The epic hero travels through three worlds: Middle, Upper, Lower. The epic hero at the beginning of the action is in Middle Earth. In order to eliminate the "shortage" and eliminate "sabotage", they are forced to begin their journey to the Upper World. It is not uncommon for an epic hero to travel to the Nether in pursuit of an enemy. The epic hero then returns to Middle Earth.
Heroic tale - nimngakan was performed according to the old well-established principles (in song form and accompanied by rituals). Over time, some Nimngakans absorbed the borrowed tale about animals, where the types of characters - animals - are typified. These nimngakans are simply narrated - the "spoken" nimngakan.
Khazakovich Yu.G., Evenk literature
Evenk folklore in modern life
In the social life of the Evenks, the folklore process was influenced by many factors, covering both material and spiritual culture. The socio-economic development of the last 70 years in the North and Siberia (collectivization, the transfer of the nomadic population to settled life, the consolidation of settlements, the intensive development of industry) has led to the disruption of the traditional system of settlement, the centuries-old way of life, the language and culture have been largely lost .
In 1988-1989 Interest in the problems of the North increased noticeably thanks to the activities of the national intelligentsia, scientists, and journalists. Dozens of articles appeared in the mass press, work began on the creation of public organizations of the peoples of the North.
The process of loss of national culture and languages is typical not only for the Evenks. According to a survey by the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation, in 1991. most of the assessments of the development of their culture by the peoples of the North are negative, because there are more losses than gains. In the Evenk Autonomous Okrug, this opinion is shared by 68.5% of respondents. However, over the past 10 years, a system of various organizations has been created dealing with the problems of survival and development of the peoples of the North, including non-traditional ones, headed by representatives of the peoples of the North. This plays a big role in strengthening the self-awareness of each, as well as their totality as a whole community.
The efforts of the peoples of the North in the struggle for their survival in modern conditions are analyzed in the article "The peoples of the North of Russia in the context of economic reform and democratic transformations." The true state (existence and liveliness of folklore) can be indicated by factors related to modern development Evenks as an ethnic group. In order for the Evenki to continue to exist as an ethnic group, the relative stability of the social organism is necessary. But what is the state of this ethno-social organism?
The Evenks are characterized by a historically sparse territory of residence. This fact accompanied the Evenks on the long path of their historical development and did not interfere with being Evenks, and their spiritual culture to live and develop. But in the current situation, the situation was aggravated by the fact that the former traditionally worked out in the process of life social institutions communication between different groups of Evenks:
1. With the departure of nomadic life, contacts between different groups were lost, exogamous marriages were destroyed, which ensured the connection of various clans, etc.
2.As a result of the enlargement of collective and state farms, dialects and dialects were mixed. From the moment of collectivization and the transition to a settled life, the factor of territorial dispersion in the development of the spiritual culture of the Evenks has already played a negative role - disunity and destabilization.
All this made it possible to talk about the gradual loss of their spiritual culture and folklore in particular. The life situation of our days is a turning point and critical for the Evenks and their folklore: the last bearers and creators of ancient folklore are leaving, due to urbanization, folklore becomes, as it were, an appendage of modern life, it seems to no longer play its former active role in shaping the worldview younger generation. However, we dare to assert that this is only a superficial and cursory look at the life of Evenki folklore.
The ethno-political and cultural situation in the Siberian region is reflected most often in random and far from always objective publications in the media. mass media which superficially interprets the processes of life of northerners. Only recently a program of fundamental scientific research has been developed on the topic "The peoples of the North and Siberia in the conditions of economic reform and democratic transformations."
This program is distinguished by new theoretical approaches to the study of the questions posed, which is very gratifying. In our opinion, the opinion of I.V. Ssorina-Chaikov that “it is possible to understand the Evenki society of this century more adequately from the point of view of a different theoretical approach, for which ethnicity does not survive, but is formed in modern times ...” and “a careful reading of the social history of the Evenki creates the impression that ethnicity as a principle of social organizations do not so much survive as are formed in the context of a very specific relationship with the state.
Despite the complexity of the existence of the Evenki language, it continues to live and be a means of communication. The activation of self-awareness is accompanied by an increased interest among young people in folklore, in which they want to see not entertaining fairy tales, but their own ethnic history. For example, communities as traditional types of management today unite members primarily on the basis of kinship. So, in the village In Iengra, tribal communities are organized with a focus on traditional types of management (reindeer breeding, hunting for fur-bearing animals - the communities of "Keptuke", "Buta", etc.). For this reason, the younger generation shows interest in ancestral roots. If 10 years ago, belonging to a clan was of little interest to young people, but now each of them can say what kind of descendant he is, since this knowledge has not yet been lost. Oral stories about recent ancestors for the younger generation are now of great interest.
Other literature and knowledge of other peoples, Russian in particular, if they have become an integral part of the consciousness of the Evenki, are nevertheless part of them for them. outer life but not deeply internal. Firstly literate and educated is only the generation of Evenks, whose age group can be defined as 40-50 years old, and a small number of 50-60-year-olds. But even this part of the Evenks was brought up in the spirit of the traditional worldview, on which Evenki folklore was based and exists to this day.
Secondly, only the generation of young people under 30 is cut off from the traditional worldview due to their upbringing in boarding schools. These Evenks were brought up in the European traditions of perception of the world and life. However, in addition to comprehension and perception of the world at the modern urbanized level, the genetically embedded folklore memory still lives on. This memory is expressed in the desire to create modern Evenk songs using folk traditions- folklore choruses of circular dances, ancient melodies, etc.
Thirdly, adherence to the traditional type of management and life remains. This is typical for all northerners. As Z.P. Sokolov" "83.2% of all respondents (of which only 3% are engaged in hunting and fishing) believe that traditional industries should be their main occupation (in Evenkia, Taimyr, Yakutia, they are 90-93%), only 8% are to this is negative.
As long as traditional life is preserved, the role and functions of folklore should not be diminished. It is not enough for a scientist to note the apparent extinction of folklore traditions among the Evenks and other peoples of the North, because this process has not yet been completed and Evenk folklore continues to exist. What kind modern processes lives feed it and keep it from disappearing altogether? In this regard, the observations of N.V. Ssorina-Chaikova regarding the exchange and mutual assistance among the Evenks in 1988-1989.
The policy of collectivization, during which the traditional gift exchange (nimat "gift") was banned as a custom, made the traditional division semi-legal. The exchange became characterized by such an organization that did not allow the product to fall out of the circle of “friends”. A stranger, once a welcome guest, can now "betray". "Own" and "them" have become clearly demarcated groups. As the author of the article writes, a group of Evenks, among whom he worked in the late 1980s. “represented one of these circles, fenced off from “strangers” by suspicion and including “ours” according to the principle of biologized origin, much less flexible than before.”
We also note similar behavior of the Evenks in relation to folklore - it is used only in its own circle and consciously hides from "strangers". It is subject to such a form of existence, which corresponds to the formula - "only for internal (own) use." The same happens with the hunting and household rituals held in the taiga. For this reason, it is difficult to collect and record Evenk folklore, not even every Evenk succeeds. It is now possible to collect material on folklore and rituals only if you are recognized as “one of your own” and enjoy confidence.
One of the reasons for the deliberate isolation and "hiding" of their folklore was the perception by others in the recent past of the culture of the Evenks as primitive and primitive. From this side, the position of the carriers is as follows: for “strangers” it is primitive, but for “ours” it is not, so let it live only in “our” environment. Even before the revolution, P.P. Malykh very correctly noticed this feature among the Evenks: “... therefore, the most intimate thing - the soul of their nationality - folklore - is hidden as far as possible, kept as secret as possible in order to know in his circle, for himself, that he also has there is something that makes him equal to these powerful neighbors, something of his own, thanks to which the Orochen are "although not real, but still people," as one old Orochen told me.
Folklore is still functioning, since at least half of the Evenks out of the total number continue to live a traditional life: they retain a traditional worldview due to the specifics of life in the taiga, their own psychology, moral and value orientations.
The modern actively existing genres of folklore include ritual genres and songwriting, as well as the work of shamans in the sense that if there are not many shamans (for example, two practice in the village of Iengra), the Evenks used and use their services quite actively, only secretly . All this still lives, as in previous years, in an isolated atmosphere impenetrable to others, is seriously done for the Evenks and only in the taiga, i.e. in the society of those who still lead a traditional way of life; hunts, roams, has deer, etc. Thus, even many Evenks are excluded from the circle of users of this part of the spiritual culture.
It should be noted that there is a clear division of folklore genres according to their existence at the present stage. The Evenki epic still lives in a passive form, there are few true storytellers left. It is performed in polysty only at the request of those who are interested in the epic.
Everyday life of an Evenk was permeated through and through with rituals, reflecting his worldview and worldview. And at present, the Evenks, especially those living in the taiga, strictly adhere to se. Neither prohibitions, nor the urbanization of the younger generation, nor the educational work of the period of the Soviet system, nor the growing educational level of the Evenks could destroy everyday rituals.
AT last years rituals began to take on a collective character. The spring holiday Ikechik is constantly held in Iyengra, Khatystyr and even in Yakutsk. True, its main goal is to actively communicate with each other, establish contacts between representatives of different regions (delegations from all regions are invited), activate and revive the Evenki language, and familiarize children with traditional culture. All this has a very good effect on the self-consciousness of the Evenks, and, perhaps, will not allow the Evenk hearth to go out. Rites of purification are performed through chicshshan, introducing children to birth centers, feeding fire, rivers, accompanied by poetic formulas of ritual poetry.
The newly revived rites are given a renewed meaning, for example, the city community of the Evenks of Yakutsk has been celebrating the Bakaldyn "Meeting" holiday for several years now. The rite of Singkelavun is traditional, but it is no longer hunting luck that is obtained, but luck in life, as they themselves say. It is quite clear that the centuries-old traditions could not disappear so quickly, and the rehabilitation of rituals in the life of the Evenks today has received an unexpected surge for many.
In the modern life of the Evenks, many factors influence the folklore process, which characterizes the development of folklore according to general criteria covering both material culture and the sphere of social organization of society. The clearest example of this is Evenki literature. We can already talk about cultural dualism - the parallel existence of folklore and non-folklore forms, even if we remember that all this is still only at the initial stage.
Evenk folklore is no longer the only sphere that generates verbal texts that constitute the cultural tradition of the ethnic group. In Yakutia, for more than 30 years, there has been a radio program "Gevan", broadcasting in the Evenki language. There was a TV show with the same name. Thus, the penetration of folklore forms of art and folklore texts into the Evenki environment is still growing, i.e. there is a change in the communication mechanism. Direct and live contacts, of course, continue to live. It is interesting that the folklore heritage, as well as other forms of traditional Evenki culture, are beginning to be considered among the Evenks themselves as one of the most valuable assets of their culture.
If one can agree with a certain trend in the disappearance of Evenk folklore, then the following correction should be made: not all genres die, and they die unequally, for example, ritual genres will not disappear soon.
Researcher of song culture Evenkov A.M. Aizenstadt, realizing the complexity of the situation of Evenk folklore, wrote: "Time, however, hurries researchers: every year many unique tunes are lost, with decades - entire song layers." However, in the field of Evenk songwriting, he noted: "There is also an intensive process of creation new samples". In the process of work, having visited the Evenks of all regions, he saw how the Evenks respect the true connoisseurs of their folklore, but are wary of amateurs, protecting their oral heritage, which indicates a special attitude to folklore even now.
With full confidence we can say that:
1. Evenk folklore, even in the conditions of modernization of the aboriginal way of life, fulfills its social function, at the same time, being a memory of the past (remember the example of the gift-exchange of pimat), it is the subject of relations and even forms them in the present: it affects social relations Evenks both in their environment and with the outside world.
2. The adaptive properties of national culture and folklore, in particular, turned out to be stronger than could be expected.
3. Folklore is estimated by the Evenks as one of the most important assets of their culture.
4. Influences the songwriting of the Evenks, which indicates the transformation of folklore genres.
Thus, despite the fact that we cannot deny the extinction of folklore traditions, the gradual oblivion of individual folklore genres (epics, for example), Evenk folklore continues to live, adapting to new conditions. But in the future, its active viability depends primarily on whether the Evenks retain their language and whether it will be a means of communication. True Evenki folklore can only exist in the Evenki language. This problematic issue is connected in many respects with socio-historical conditions that are not dependent on the Evenks - primarily with progressive assimilation.
Let's try to make some prediction about the future life of the Evenki folklore on the example of Yakushi. In terms of their quantitative composition, most of the Evenks live here - about 15,000, with a total composition approaching 25,000. The areas of their settlement: Oleneksky, Zhigansky (northern Yakutia), Ust-Maisky, Olekminsky, Aldansky, Neryungrinsky (southern Yakutia).
The degree of proficiency in their native language is as follows: in the northern regions of Yakutia, Evenks know only the Yakut language, while maintaining traditional types of occupations - reindeer herding, hunting and fishing. Only household vocabulary remained, reflecting the Evenk life associated with reindeer herding - the names of clothing, harness, and hunting vocabulary. But this vocabulary is included in the spoken Yakut language. Almost no one can speak Evenk, understand it. And the folklore that was truly Evenki is transmitted and told in the Yakut language, preserving all the plots, the names of the characters, etc. Evenk folklore changed its language, and this happened relatively long ago, let's recall the Khosun epic of the northern Yakuts.
In the southern regions of Yakutia, the situation is more favorable - here the knowledge of the Evenki language has not yet been lost, along with the excellent command of the Yakut language by the Aldan and Olekminsky Evenks. Most of the Ust-May Evenks do not speak their language. And only in the Neryungri region the Yakut language has not yet penetrated, the Evenks do not speak it and do not know it. This is facilitated by close contacts with the Evenks living in the regions of the Chita and Amur regions bordering Yakutia.
In modern conditions of life, when marriages between Yakuts and Evenks, especially in the northern regions, are a common thing, everything depends on what language the children will speak. Our practical observations are not in favor of the Evenki language and folklore. On the territory of Yakutia, most representatives of the younger generation switch to the Yakut language in communication due to social conditions.
Since recently, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), office work has been conducted in the Yakut language along with Russian, and in uluses, where there are few Russian-speaking and other populations, in Yakut. Television and radio broadcasting, as well as the mass media, now use the Yakut language much more than 8 years ago.
In mixed marriages with Russians and others, the younger generation communicates in Russian, passively retaining knowledge of their native language.
As a result, another problem is also very relevant - can the folklore in the north of Yakutia be called Evenk folklore, if in essence and content it is Evenk, and in terms of existence it is already Yakut in terms of language? The forecast for the Evenki is disappointing, because if they now know that the folklore text they transmit (in the Yakut language) was created in Evenki, then this knowledge will soon be lost. Gradually, the samples of folklore that were truly Evenki will enrich the Yakut.
Already in the 1960s. the famous Evenki rhapsodist N.G. Trofimov performed the Evenki epic in two languages, he could sing the same heroic nimigakan both in Evenki and in Yakut. And if such a situation suddenly arose when his records in the Evenki language would not be preserved, then it would be difficult to prove even to the Evenki that this is truly their Evenki epic.
A. N. Varlamov,
Yakutsk.
The most developed, complete and complete cycle of myths about the creation of the Evenk creator deity Seveki has developed in the eastern region. Here are all the myths about the first creation of the earth,
man, animals are united under the name of the creator Seveki in a single complete cycle. His name as the creator of the middle land of Dulin Bug and all life on it in this region is the same for the Evenks of the Amur Region, the south of Yakutia, the Khabarovsk Territory and Sakhalin. Due to the diversity of Evenki dialects, the Seveki of the “shacking” Evenks corresponds to “Sheveki”, the “hacking” ones - Heveki, and the “okays” - Scoops, Shovoki, Hovoki.
SEVEKI, khveki, sheveki, sevki, in the myths of the Evenks,
Evens and Negidals are the creator of the earth, animals and humans, the spirit is the master of the upper world, the patron of people and deer; his other names: Amaka ("grandfather"), Ekseri (Eksheri), Buga. According to the myths, in the beginning there was only water, Seveki and his older brother Hargi. Seveki took out some earth from the bottom (according to the variants, this was done at his direction by a loon and a goldeneye or a frog), put it on the surface of the water and fell asleep. Khargi, wanting to destroy the earth, began to pull it out from under his brother, but only stretched it so much that it took on modern dimensions. In the myth of equestrian groups from the Nerchi-Chita region, a frog was an assistant to the creator of the earth. She brought the earth in her paws to the surface of the water, but the evil brother of the creator (according to later versions - a heavenly shaman) shot at her. She turned over, and since then began to support our land in the middle of the water with her paws. Shamans hung her later image from their costume as a symbol of the earth. To this myth was added the motif of a fire, borrowed from the southern neighbors and spread across the taiga by reindeer herders. According to the myths of the Ilimpiysk, Ayan and Transbaikal Evenks, the earth grew, it burned for a long time, and rivers and lakes appeared on the burned areas. In the struggle with water, drained tracts of land appeared. Having created a stone and a tree, Seveki ordered them to grow, but they, arguing who would be higher, threatened to prop up the sky, then Seveki brushed off the excess with his hand, and since then the rocks have crumbled, and the overgrown trees have dried from the top. Then the brothers made figurines of animals (Seveki
– useful to man, edible, and the older brother is harmful); Seveki fashioned figures of people from clay and stone and, leaving them under the supervision of a sentry (raven, dog or bear),
retired to the upper world, from where he continued to monitor the behavior of people through his assistants. Ideas about the appearance of Seveki are very contradictory - an old man, an old woman, an elk or a moose cow. It was believed that during the annual spring ceremony (savekan, ikenipke) Seveki gave sacred power (musun) and souls (omi) of wild animals and domestic deer, ensuring the revival of nature, successful hunting, and the health of people and deer herds. In case of illness and failures, Seveki dedicated a deer of light color (sevek).
KHARGI, in the myths of the Evenks, the spirit is the master of the lower world, the elder brother of Seveki, who competed with him in acts of creation. Khargi created animals harmful to humans and blood-sucking insects, spoiled the figurines of people molded by his brother: having seduced the guard of the figurines with food (or warm clothes) and gaining access to the figurines, he spat (blew, smashed) on the statues, because of which people began to get sick and die . Having left after a quarrel with Seveki in the lower world, Khargi continues to send his assistants to the earth - evil spirits that prevent people from hunting, bring illnesses, etc. Some groups of Evenks also called Khargi spirits-helpers of shamans who had a zoo-anthropomorphic appearance and accompanied him while traveling to the underworld.
The texts about the creations of Seveki, collected in the Far East region, are not only united by the name of Seveki, but they represent a more complete and in terms of plots
picture of the creation of the earthly world:
1. The cycle of Seveki's deeds in the east ends with the fact that, before leaving for the upper world, Ugu Buga Seveki leaves commandments to the Evenks, called the term Ity, which means
"traditions", "law", "accepted order of moral behavior of a person".
2. In this regard, texts appear in the plots about the deeds of Seveki, where Seveki visits from time to time
earth. He visits the people he created, multiplied on
the middle earth in order to find out if they follow the rules - the precepts of Ita. Sometimes he does not personally "inspect" the earth and man, but sends his messengers for this.
3. The spread of Christianity in the Evenk environment brought amazing interpretations to this cycle of myths. Some Eastern Evenks later replaced the names Seveki and Khargi in true Evenk stories with Christ and Satan. It should be mentioned that the voluntary adoption of Christianity by the Evenks has an exact historical date- 1684, when the Evenk prince Katana voluntarily accepted Russian citizenship, having arrived from Manchuria (the territory of China), then converted to Christianity - he was baptized with all his household members. The idea of the resurrection of Christ among the Eastern Evenki was interpreted in its own way. According to the worldview of the Evenks, the human soul was immortal. A person died, his soul remained alive, went to other worlds, but after a few days could not again fit into the same body in order to revive him. Having passed her certain circle, she could be reborn again, but in a different body, that is, a different person. The soul could not enter the mortified body of a person again so that the person would come to life. According to Christianity, it turned out that Christ came to life after a short time, this resurrection of Christ did not fit into the framework of the traditional Evenki worldview. But Christ came to life, so the preachers said, and the Evenki did not deny this, but came up with their own myth, confirming that Christ is alive, because. a fly saved him. The text was recorded in 1989 from A.S. Gavrilova in the village of Udskoye, Khabarovsk Territory: “Christos was caught to be killed. Tied to a cross. Then, in order to nail them down, they followed them. Then a fly flew in, saw Kiristos, called other flies. And then one fly sat on the forehead, two on the palms, two on the legs (feet). The killers are here. Flies sit - as nails seem from afar. Those: “Eh, why, we already nailed it!” - so to speak, gone away. Not nailed down. It was the fly that saved Kirista.” The plot of Christ's salvation by a fly is built in accordance with the logic of the cycle about Seveki: Seveki is alive, no one killed him - so Christ was not truly crucified at all, he did not die at all.
Evenk myths also require a certain
"interpretations" of texts, i.e. hermeneutic approach to the analysis of their creation, plot and the original text itself.
In the myths about the creation of the world by the creator Seveki, the game and the process of the game occupy important place. In one of the options
the myth says: “Seveki evikerve olcha: beekerve, ororokorvo,
bingelve." - Seveki began to make toys: little men, Oleshki, little animals. In a text written in Evenkia in 1986, G.I. Varlamova (p. Ekonda) from Khristina Filippovna Hirogir, the following is said: “Seveki hemekerve, eviker-ke bingkil nonon, olcha: beekerve, beingelve, orororvo. - Seveki hemekery (ritual toys), toys used to be like this before, I started making: little men, little animals, oleshki.
In our opinion, these are the oldest texts of myths about the creations of Seveki, because the process of creating a myth is conceived as a game, and the future inhabitants of the earth are thought of as evikeremi toys. The game
here is meant as a magical action, as a result
which all future inhabitants of the middle land of Doolin will appear
The creator of Seveki is opposed by his antipode brother Khargi, who, repeating the actions of Seveki, creates, as it were, “not real”, things of nature that are harmful to humans. Kharga's game of creating inhabitants and vegetation on the middle earth is negative - everything he created has some kind of flaw. Seveki creates the world and its inhabitants, Harga's brother also creates, he seems to "play" the same game with Seveki. The plot of the game: Seveki creates - Khargi spoils. And actually the general process of creating the world is set out in the process of competition between two brothers and it contains an element of the game.
The opposition between Seveki and Kharga is similar to the opposition between God and Satan. But the obvious opposition of Seveki and Kharga takes place during the final formation of the cycle about the creation of the world and the middle earth Dulin Bug. This is the later layering and characteristic of this cycle.
According to the Evenk worldview, life is always based on
- lies - binarity is laid. And the cycle about the creation of the world is initially binary, it is created by two.
In the early stages of this cycle,
obviously Khargi is not a figure like Satan. And according to the worldview of the Evenks, two principles coexist in the world, the world cannot be created without the principle of “unity of opposites”. This is how the world works, this is how a person and everything connected with him is arranged - and this is reflected in many worldview aspects of the Evenks. According to many versions of the well-known plots of this cycle, Khargi does not want to do evil at all, he does not even have this in his thoughts. On the contrary, he wants to help his brother complete the work of creating the world faster. He says: “Ke, bi yum targachina okta. "Well, I'll do the same." But, repeating all the actions of Seveki, he makes mistakes, and the result is a completely new creation. And not everything is completely bad that he creates. The alder and pine he created are beautiful and useful trees.
The main postulate in the Evenk worldview, based on the philosophical principle of "the unity of opposites", is the unity of the world, and this is reflected in the texts about the creations of the world by two brothers, Seveki and Khargi. Most of the texts of myths are neutral in assessing the actions of Seveki and Khargi, even more should be said - they do not contain any evaluative characteristics in the sense that Seveki creates useful, and Hargi creates harmful. The appraisal characteristics of the actions of Sevaki and Khargi is a later layering, when the following analogy arises with the introduction and spread of Christianity in the Evenki environment: Sevaki = to Christ, Khargi = to Satan. That's when a sharp opposition of Seveki and Kharga arises in the texts of Evenki myths. But in the worldview of the Evenki this is still not the case - Khargi (the master of the lower world) is also necessary, like Seveki, because the world is incomplete and incomplete, cannot be whole and united without the lower world, its owner and inhabitants. Many helper spirits of shamans are "khargi", they help him in his travels to the Lower World, when they treat a person from an illness.
If we turn to the etymology of the word “khargi” itself, then it is basically ambiguous, it did not initially contain an evil inclination. "Khargi" can mean: 1. Forest, taiga, 2. Land - among the Kurmian and Nerchinsk Evenks, 3. Wild deer.
Unlike the Evenks, the Evens' creator Sevki has many brothers and sisters. At the beginning of his creation of the world, he makes them natural phenomena and luminaries. Evenks do not have this very original act of creation by Seveki. Perhaps they once had it. The Even version is as follows: Sevki lives upstairs. He has brothers and sisters. The eldest of the sisters is called Neltek, the other is Beganar, the third is Gevak. The brothers' names are Dolbini and Kureni. Sevki decides to create and first of all asks everyone about his name and finds out why they are called that. The names of his brothers and sisters reflect their features and qualities. Having such names, they are all similar to their brother in appearance, but what appearance Sevka has is not clear from the text.
“Why were you called that? Sevki asks
Because I am darkness, I have no light.
Then you will go to work with me, - saying, he blows on Dolbini, and he becomes night. This is how night appears on earth - dolbini.
Gevak also asks his sister about her name, she
replies that she was given such a name because she has light.
Savki asks:
“- And you, Gevak, will you go with me to work on the ground?”
She agrees, Sevki blows on her, and she becomes a day on earth. Then he asks another sister, named Beganar:
“Why do you have such a name? What are you thinking of doing? -
I am the moon, my light is weak.
I'll give you a job. It's too dark at night, will you work by the moon?
Then he blows on her and speaks to her, she turns into the moon, the heavenly night star. Since then, it has been shining on people at night.
“Neltek, you must help me too,” Sevki says to another sister. “There is no sun on earth, you will be the sun.”
And Tuksani's younger brother was a crybaby, he always cried when Sevki and everyone else went to work. Sevki and adapted him to work, saying:
You will work as rain when you cry. The earth needs rain for everything to grow.
So there were clouds from which rain pours.
One of Sevka's brothers was called Kureni. He was a big prankster, he liked to put out the fire. The wind came out of him, he began to work with the wind.
(Recorded in 1990 by G.I. Varlamova in the village of Topolinoye,
Yakutia, from D. Golikova, a native of the Khabarovsk Territory).
The Even myth completes the picture of the creation of the world by the Evenk creator Seveki. Sevki changes his brothers and sisters - remakes, recreates them, and they become natural phenomena and luminaries that help a person to live in the created world. The Evenks did not preserve such a myth, but, apparently, something similar existed, since ideas about the sun and moon were preserved, testifying to this: a story about the sun as the mistress of the sky; about the moon as a younger brother; the sun as the creator of the seasons of the year; they explained the reason for the appearance of the moon at night by the fact that the moon - the wife forgot the hook for hanging the boiler on the roam, so she returned for it. AT
1985 recorded in the village of Ekonda Krasnoyarsk Territory story about Seveki and Thunder. Seveki needed water to let it into the empty riverbeds made by the heli mammoth. Seveki goes to
search for fresh water, meets Grom and asks why
that's his name. He replies that his name is that because he has a lot of water. Seveki asks him for water and lets it into the empty riverbeds. And he makes Thunder himself a real natural phenomenon - thunder and thunderstorm. This Evenk plot, by analogy, adjoins the above-mentioned Even plots about Sevki.
The cycle about the deeds of Seveki is a sacred story for the Evenki about the origin of the Evenk man and his middle land.
Doolin Bug. The sacred history set forth in a single cycle of myths about the deeds of Seveki has much in common with humanity and aspects of Christianity. Both the Evenks and the Christians consider man to be a “creation of God”, “a creature of the earth”.
Literature
1. Vasilevich G.M. Evenki. - L., 1969.
2. Varlamova G. I. Epic and ritual genres of Evenki folklore. - Novosibirsk, 2002.
3. Keptuke G.I. Bipedal and cross-eyed,
black-headed Evenk man and his land Dulin Buga: Myths - in Evenki and Russian languages (Dyur khalgalkan, evunyki halkan, kongnorin dylilkan Evenki-bee taduk daldydyak bugalkanin Dulin Dunnengin). - Yakutsk, 1991.
4. Materials on Evenki (Tungus)
folklore. - L., 1936.
5. Myreeva A.N. Rays of Sigunder (Sigunder harpalin).
- Yakutsk, 1992.
7. Folklore of the Evenks of Yakutia. - L., 1971.
Evenki (the self-name Evenkil, which became the official ethnonym in 1931; the old name is Tungus from Yakut. Toҥ uus) is the indigenous people of the Russian Federation (Eastern Siberia). They also live in Mongolia and northeast China. Separate groups of Evenks were known as Orochens, Birars, Manegri, Solons. The language is Evenki, belongs to the Tungus-Manchurian group of the Altai language family. There are three groups of dialects: northern, southern and eastern. Each dialect is subdivided into dialects.
Geography
They live from the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk in the east to the Yenisei in the west, from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Baikal region and the Amur River in the south: in Yakutia (14.43 thousand people), Evenkia (3.48 thousand people), Dudinsky district of the Taimyr Autonomous District, Turukhansk district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (4.34 thousand people), Irkutsk region (1.37 thousand people), Chita region (1.27 thousand people), Buryatia (1.68 thousand people .), Amur Region (1.62 thousand people), Khabarovsk Territory (3.7 thousand people), Sakhalin Region (138 people), as well as in the northeast of China (20 thousand people, spurs Khingan Ridge) and in Mongolia (near Lake Buir-Nur and the upper reaches of the Iro River).
Language
They speak the Evenki language of the Tungus-Manchurian group of the Altai family. The dialects are divided into groups: northern - north of the lower Tunguska and lower Vitim, southern - south of the lower Tunguska and lower Vitim, and eastern - east of Vitim and Lena. Russian is also widespread (55.7% of Evenks are fluent, 28.3% consider it their native language), Yakut and Buryat languages.
The Evenki language, along with Manchu and Yakut, belongs to the Tungus-Manchu branch of the Altaic language family.
In turn, the Tungus-Manchu language family is something intermediate between the Mongolian (the Mongols belong to it) and the Turkic language family(where, for example, Tuvans belong, although many do not perceive Tuvans as Turks (such as Tatars, Uighurs, Kazakhs or Turks), because Tuvans do not profess Islam, but are partly shamanists, like the Yakuts and Evenks, and partly Buddhists, like the Manchus and the Mongols, It should be noted that the Manchus also partly profess Buddhism). Evenks are very close to the Manchus, but unlike them, they did not create famous state formations. And in this they are similar to the Yakuts close to them.
Evenks, both in Russia and in China and Mongolia, with the help of scientists from the respective countries, adapted the writing system adopted by the titular peoples of these states to record their language. In Russia, the Evenks use the Cyrillic alphabet, in Mongolia they use the Old Mongolian script, and in China they use the Old Mongolian script and hieroglyphs. But this also happened recently, in the 20th century. Therefore, in the following excerpts from the material of the Chinese foreign broadcast, it is said that the Evenks do not have a written language.
Name
Perhaps it sounds strange, but even the very name of the Evenki people is fanned with the spirit of myths and doubts. So, from the time of the development of the vast territories occupied by the Evenks by the Russians, until 1931, it was customary to call this people (and at the same time their kindred Evens) with the common word "Tungus". At the same time, the origin of the word "tungus" is still unclear - whether it comes from the Tungus word "kungu", meaning "a short fur coat made of deer skins, sewn with wool up", or from the Mongolian "tung" - "forest", then whether from the Yakut "tong was" - "people with frozen lips", i.e. speaking in an unknown language. One way or another, but the name "Tungus" in relation to the Evenki is still used by a number of researchers, which confuses the already confusing history of the Evenk people.
One of the most common self-names of this people - Evenki (also Evenkil) - was recognized as official in 1931 and acquired the form of “Evenki”, which is more familiar to the Russian ear. The origin of the word "Evenki" is even more mysterious than "Tungus". Some scholars argue that it comes from the name of the ancient Transbaikal tribe “uvan” (also “guvan”, “gyui”), from which the modern Evenks supposedly have their roots. Others completely shrug their shoulders, refusing to attempt to interpret this term and pointing out only that it arose about two thousand years ago.
Another very common self-name of the Evenks is "orochon" (also "orochon"), literally meaning "a man who owns a deer", "deer" man. That is how the Evenks-reindeer herders called themselves in a vast territory from Transbaikalia to the Zeya-Uchursky region; however, some of the modern Amur Evenki prefer the name "Evenki", and the word "orochon" is considered just a nickname. In addition to these names, among the various groups of Evenks there were also self-names "Manegri" ("Kumarchens"), "Ile" (Evenks of the Upper Lena and Podkamennaya Tunguska), "Kilen" (Evenks from Lena to Sakhalin), "Birars" ("Birarchens" - i.e. living along the rivers), "khundysal" (i.e. "owners of dogs" - this is how the deined Evenks of the Lower Tunguska called themselves), "salts" and many others, often coinciding with the names of individual Evenk clans.
At the same time, not all Evenks were reindeer herders (for example, the Manegry, who lived in the south of Transbaikalia and the Amur region, also bred horses), and some Evenks were completely on foot or sedentary and were engaged only in hunting and fishing. In general, until the 20th century, the Evenki were not a single, integral people, but rather a series of separate tribal groups that sometimes lived at a great distance from each other. And yet, at the same time, they were connected by a lot - a single language, customs and beliefs - which allows us to talk about the common roots of all Evenks. But where do these roots lie?
Story
II millennium BC - I millennium AD - human settlement of the Lower Tunguska valley. Sites of ancient people of the Neolithic era of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the middle reaches of the Podkamennaya Tunguska.
12th century - the beginning of the resettlement of the Tungus along Eastern Siberia: from the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk in the east to the Ob-Irtysh interfluve in the west, from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Baikal region in the south.
Among the northern peoples not only of the Russian North, but of the entire Arctic coast, the Evenks are the most numerous language group: on
On the territory of Russia, more than 26,000 people live, according to various sources, the same number in Mongolia and Manchuria.
The name "Evenki" with the creation of the Evenki district has firmly entered the social, political and linguistic everyday life. Doctor of Historical Sciences V.A. Tugolukov gave a figurative explanation of the name "Tungus" - going across the ridges.
Tungus from ancient times settled from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Ob. Their way of life made changes in the name of the genera, not only on geographical grounds, but, more often, on household ones. Evenks living along the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk were called Evens or, more often, Lamuts from the word "lama" - the sea. The Trans-Baikal Evenks were called Murchens, because they were mainly engaged in horse breeding, and not reindeer breeding. And the name of the horse is “mur”. Evenk reindeer herders who settled in the interfluve of the three Tunguskas (Upper, Podkamennaya, or Middle, and Lower) and the Angara called themselves Orochens - deer Tungus. And they all spoke and still speak the same Tungus-Manchu language.
Most Tungus historians consider Transbaikalia and the Amur region to be the ancestral home of the Evenks. Many sources claim that they were driven out by more warlike steppe people at the beginning of the 10th century. However, there is another point of view. The Chinese chronicles mention that even 4,000 years before the Evenks were forced out, the Chinese knew about the strongest people among the "northern and eastern foreigners." And these Chinese chronicles testify to the coincidence in many ways of that ancient people - the sushi - with the later one, known to us as the Tungus.
1581-1583 - the first mention of the Tungus as a nationality in the description of the Siberian kingdom. The first explorers, explorers, travelers spoke highly of the Tungus: "helpful without servility, proud and brave." Khariton Laptev, who explored the shores of the Arctic Ocean between the Ob and Olenek, wrote:
“The Tungus surpass all those living in yurts with courage and humanity and sense.” The exiled Decembrist V. Kuchelbecker called the Tunguses “Siberian aristocrats”, and the first Yenisei governor A. Stepanov wrote: “their costumes resemble the camisoles of the Spanish grandees ...” But we must not forget that the first Russian explorers also noted that “their spears and spears are stone and bone", that they do not have iron utensils, and "tea is brewed in wooden vats with red-hot stones, and meat is only baked on coals ... "And one more thing: "there are no iron needles and they sew clothes and shoes with bone needles and deer veins."
Second half of the 16th century - the penetration of Russian industrialists and hunters into the basins of the rivers Taz, Turukhan and the mouth of the Yenisei. The neighborhood of two different cultures was interpenetrating. The Russians were trained in the skills of hunting, survival in the northern conditions, they were forced to accept the norms of morality and the hostel of the natives, especially since the newcomers took local women as wives and created mixed families.
Gradually, the Evenk tribes were forced out by the Yakuts, Russians and Buryats from part of their territory and moved to Northern China. In the century before last, the Evenks appeared on the lower Amur and Sakhalin. By that time, the people had been partially assimilated by Russians, Yakuts, Mongols and Buryats, Daurs, Manchus and Chinese. To late XIX century total strength Evenki was 63 thousand people. According to the 1926-1927 census, 17.5 thousand of them lived in the USSR. In 1930, the Ilimpiysky, Baikitsky and Tunguso-Chunsky national
the districts were united into the Evenk national district. According to the 2002 census, 35,000 Evenks live in Russia.
Life of the Evenks
The main occupation of the "foot" Evenks is hunting. It is carried out mainly on a large animal deer, elk, roe deer, bear, however, fur hunting for smaller animals (squirrel, arctic fox) is also common. Hunting is usually carried out from autumn to spring, in groups of two or three people. Evenk reindeer herders used the animals for riding (including for hunting) and for packing, milking. After the end of the hunting season, several Evenk families usually united and migrated to another place. Some groups had sleds of various types, which were borrowed from the Nenets and Yakuts. The Evenks bred not only deer, but also horses, camels, and sheep. In some places, seal hunting and fishing were common. The traditional occupations of the Evenks were the processing of skins, birch bark, blacksmithing, including to order. In Transbaikalia and the Amur region, the Evenks even switched to settled agriculture and the cultivation of large cattle. In the 1930s, reindeer herding cooperatives began to be created, and with them stationary settlements. At the end of the last century, the Evenks began to form tribal communities.
Food, housing and clothing
The traditional food of the Evenks is meat and fish. Depending on the type of occupation, Evenki also eat berries, mushrooms, and settled people - vegetables grown in their own gardens. The main drink is tea, sometimes with reindeer milk or salt. The national dwelling of the Evenks is the chum (du). It consists of a conical frame of poles covered with skins (in winter) or birch bark (in summer). In the center there was a hearth, and above it there was a horizontal pole, on which the boiler was hung. At the same time, various tribes used semi-dugouts, yurts of various types, and even log structures borrowed from Russians as dwellings.
Evenki traditional clothing: cloth natazniks, leggings, a caftan made of reindeer skin, under which a special bib was put on. The women's bib was distinguished by beaded decoration and had a straight lower edge. Men wore a belt with a knife in a sheath, women - with a pincushion, a tinderbox and a pouch. Clothing was decorated with fur, fringe, embroidery, metal plaques, beads. Evenk communities usually consist of several related families, numbering from 15 to 150 people. Until the last century, the custom was preserved, according to which the hunter had to give part of the prey to his relatives. Evenks are characterized by a small family, although earlier polygamy was common in some tribes.
Beliefs and folklore
Cults of spirits, trade and tribal cults, shamanism were preserved. There were elements of the Bear Festival - rituals associated with butchering the carcass of a dead bear, eating its meat, and burying bones. Christianization of the Evenki has been carried out since the 17th century. The influence of Buddhism was strong in Transbaikalia and the Amur region. Folklore included improvisation songs, mythological and historical epic, animal tales, historical and everyday legends, etc. The epic was performed
recitative, often listeners took part in the performance, repeating separate lines behind the speaker. Separate groups of Evenks had their own epic heroes (soning). Constant heroes - comic characters were also in everyday stories. From musical instruments known harp, hunting bow, etc., from dances - a round dance (heiro, sadyo), performed to song improvisation. The games were in the nature of competitions in wrestling, shooting, running, etc. Artistic carving on bone and wood, metal processing (men), beadwork, silk embroidery, applique with fur and fabric, embossing on birch bark (women) were developed among the Eastern Evenks.
Evenki of China
Although it is generally believed in Russia that the Evenks live in Russian Siberia, in the adjacent territory of China they are represented by four ethnolinguistic groups, the total number of which exceeds the number of Evenks in Russia: 39,534 versus 38,396. These groups are combined into two official nationalities living in the Evenk Autonomous Huoshun Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia and neighboring Heilongjiang Province (Nehe County):
- Orochons (literally "reindeer herders", Chinese 鄂伦春, pinyin: Èlúnchūn Zú) - 8196 people according to the 2000 census, 44.54% live in Inner Mongolia, and 51.52% live in Heilongjiang province, 1.2% - in Liaoning province. About half speak the Orochon dialect of the Evenki language, sometimes treated as a separate language; the rest are only in Chinese. At present, Evenk reindeer herders in China are a very small ethnic group, numbering only about two hundred people. They speak a dialect of the North Tungus language. The existence of their traditional culture is under great threat.
- Evenki (Chinese: 鄂温克族, pinyin: Èwēnkè Zú) - 30,505 in 2000, 88.8% in Hulunbuir, including:
- a small group of Evenki proper - about 400 people in the village of Aoluguya (Genhe county), who are now being moved to the suburbs of the county center; they call themselves "yeke", the Chinese - yakute, since they erected themselves to the Yakuts. According to the Finnish altaist Juha Janhunen, this is the only ethnic group in China that practices reindeer herding;
- The Khamnigans are a strongly Mongolized group that speaks the Mongolian languages - the Hamnigan proper and the Hamnigan (Old Barag) dialect of the Evenki language. These so-called Manchurian Hamnigans emigrated from Russia to China within a few years of October revolution; about 2500 people live in the Starobargut khoshun;
- Solons - together with the Daurs, they moved from the Zeya River basin in 1656 to the Nunjiang River basin, and then in 1732 partly went further west, to the Hailar River basin, where the Evenk Autonomous Khoshun was later formed with 9733 Evenks. They speak the Solon dialect, sometimes treated as a separate language.
Since both the Hamningans and the "Yakut-Evenks" are very small in number (about 2000 of the first and probably about 200 of the second), the vast majority of persons assigned in China to the Evenk nationality are Solons. Salons were estimated at 7,200 in 1957, 18,000 in 1982, and 25,000 in 1990.
Great people of the Evenk people
GAUDA
Aguda (Agudai) is the most famous historical figure in the early history of the Tungus, the leader of the Tungus-speaking tribes of the Amur region, who created the powerful state of Aisin Gurun. At the beginning of the second millennium, the Tungus, whom the Chinese called Nuizhi (zhulichzhi) - Jurcheni, stopped the domination of the Khitan (Mongolian tribes). In 1115, Aguda declared himself emperor, creating the empire of Aisin Gurun (Anchun Gurun) - the Golden Empire (Chinese "Jin"). In 1119, Aguda decided to start a war with China, and in the same year the Jurchens took Kaifeng, the capital of China at that time. The victory of the Tungus-Jurchens under the leadership of Aguda was won by a number of 200 thousand soldiers against a million Chinese troops. The empire of Aisin Gurun existed for more than 100 years before the heyday of the Mongol empire of Genghis Khan.
Bombogor
Bombogor - the leader of the union of the Evenk clans in the Amur region in the fight against the Manchu conquerors in the 17th century. Under the leadership of Bombogor, the Evenks, Solons, and Daurs opposed the Manchus of the Qing Dynasty in the mid-1630s. Up to 6 thousand warriors gathered under his banner, who fought for several years with the regular Manchu army. Only 5 years later, the Manchus were able to capture Bombogor and suppress the resistance of the Evenks. Bombogor was captured by the Manchus in 1640, brought to the capital of the Manchu emperor - the city of Mukden and executed there. With the death of Bombogor, the Evenks and all the peoples of the Amur region in China were subordinated to the emperor and the Qing dynasty.
Nemtushkin A.N.
Nemtushkin Alitet Nikolaevich is a famous Evenki writer and poet. Born in 1939 in the camp of Irishki in the Katangsky district of the Irkutsk region in the family of a hunter, he was brought up in boarding schools and his grandmother Ogdo-Evdokia Ivanovna Nemtushkina. In 1957 he graduated from the Erbogachenskaya high school, in 1961 the Herzen Leningrad Pedagogical Institute.
After studying, Alitet Nikolaevich comes to work in Evenkia as a correspondent for the Krasnoyarsk Rabochy newspaper. In 1961 he became the editor of the Evenk Radio and worked in journalism for over 20 years. His first book, a collection of poems Tymani Agidu (Morning in the Taiga), was published when Alitet Nikolaevich was still a student in 1960. Since then, more than 20 books have been published by Nemtushkin, which were published in Krasnoyarsk, Leningrad, Moscow, Yakutsk. Nemtushkin's poems and prose have been translated into dozens of languages former USSR and socialist countries.
The most significant and popular works of Alitet Nemtushkin are the poetry collections “The Fires of My Ancestors”, “The Breath of the Earth”, the prose books “I Dream of Heavenly Deer”, “Pathfinders on Deer”, “The Road to the Underworld”, “Samelkil - Marks on a Deer Ear "etc. In 1986, A. Nemtushkin was elected executive secretary of the Krasnoyarsk Writers' Organization; in 1990 he was awarded the title of "Honored Worker of Culture"; in 1992 he was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature; member of the Writers' Union since 1969.
Chapogir O.V.
A well-known composer, author and performer of many Evenki songs. Oleg Vasilyevich Chapogir was born in 1952 in the village of Kislokan, Ilimpiysky District, Krasnoyarsk Territory, into a family of Evenk hunters. From childhood, he heard folk tunes from his mother and other Evenks, which, together with a natural gift, later influenced his life choice.
After graduating from the eight classes of the Turin secondary school, Oleg Vasilievich entered the Norilsk Music College in the class of folk instruments of the northern department. Having received a diploma, in 1974 the future composer returned to his native Evenkia, where he began to create his works. He worked in the Ilimpiysky district department of culture, in an art workshop, in the district scientific and methodological center.
About the talent and activities of Oleg Chapogir, G.V. Shakirzyanova: “The works of an earlier period, written by him immediately after graduating from college, are mainly devoted to youth topics, they have an unstoppable rhythm and a clear pulse of time. Song works of the late period bear the imprint of a deep thoughtful attitude to folk poetry, to their historical roots, which noticeably distinguishes Oleg Chapogir's composing art from the work of other composers of Evenkia. Oleg Chapogir drew his inspiration not only from the unique beauty of the taiga nature, but also from the poems of our famous Evenki poets A. Nemtushkin and N. Oegir.” Oleg Chapogir is the author of over 200 songs and melodies. He released eight albums with songs about the Evenks and the North.
Atlasov I.M.
Atlasov Ivan Mikhailovich - a well-known public figure, one of the modern leaders of the Evenks, Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Evenk people of Russia. Ivan Mikhailovich was born in 1939 in the Ezhansky nasleg of the Ust-Maya region of Yakutia in the family of an Evenk hunter. From an early age, he worked on a par with adults, knowing the hardships of wartime. He graduated from the 7-year-old Ezhansky school, a secondary school in Ust-May. Graduated in 1965 Yakutsky State University in the specialty "engineer of industrial and civil construction", remaining to teach at the same faculty. Since 1969, he worked at the Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, then as Deputy Director of Yakutgorpishchetorg. From 1976 until retirement, he worked at Yakutagropromstroy, built the largest commercial and warehouse buildings of that time.
From the end of the 80s. 20th century is one of the founders of the social movement of indigenous peoples in Yakutia. For several years he headed the Association of Evenks of the Republic of Sakha, in 2009 he was elected Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Evenk people of Russia. Initiator of a number of legislative acts of republican significance aimed at supporting indigenous peoples, an active advocate environment and legal rights of small ethnic groups.
On Earth, black as the coal of an extinct fire, night has come; and a severe polar winter hung over the entire Middle World. It carried over its weather from Kharga's Nether. Then the Great Muhuchi decided to gather all the Evenks together for a suglan, call Khevaki and ask him for help to people and tell him that it had become completely bad for those walking across the ridges to live. There is no food, it is hard to get water, the deer have disappeared. Cold and hunger, disease and poverty reigned in the Middle Earth.
At the call of Muhuchi, everyone gathered for the suglan. Great shamans prayed and brought a sacrifice to Heveki with a request to help return people to their former happy and carefree life, return the Sun to people, it warmed them and allowed all living things to grow. Heveki answered the people: “It is your own fault, you behaved carelessly and missed your kuta (happiness). Now learn to correct your own mistakes. You have to fight for your happiness and protect it.” Having said this, Heveki left for his Upper World.
People thought hard after his words and decided that only one soning Main could help the Evenks. The people asked him to return the stolen Sun to the people of the Middle World. Main agreed and, standing on his heavy heroic skis, ran across the sky, looking for the trail of the heavenly moose haglan. The trace of his skis melted in the black sky and disappeared from view in the celestial ridges of the boundless Upper World. The blue-black night taiga of the Upper World hid him among their trees, like a summer gadfly in a deer skin.
And on the Middle Mother Earth, sleeping in a deep and heavy sleep, people continued to get sick and die in the midst of the eternal winter that had come - they were not used to such cold and frost, kese! (woe!). People had to break all prohibitions-amulets: chop wood in the dark and feed the fire. The mistress of the Lower World, Eni Buni, scolded Khargi: a lot of people were dying, and there was nowhere to hold their souls. The shaman, the carrier of dead souls, also fell asleep. Souls not accepted into the Lower World started a war. They began to seize the possessions of Kharga's assistants - the spirits of disease, hunger and cold. The spirits of diseases became worried and went with complaints to the Mistress of the Lower World. Hargi realized that he had made a mistake, but was in no hurry to correct it. He laughed maliciously with the hoot of an owl, flying noisily over the ancestral bonfires, extinguishing the sparks and killing the Spirit of Fire - Togo.
Frightened people wrapped themselves more closely in their warm skins. Sending spirits of illness to a person, failures in hunting, or doing any other petty evil, he still dreamed of becoming the Master of the Universe! Ebay (scary!).
Dead souls continued to fight with the spirits of disease and evil, and there was no time for them to rise to the Middle World and send curses on living people. Meanwhile, in the Middle Earth, the great Muhuchi healed people with the power of his Spirit - the Word, and with the departure of each Evenk to the Lower World, the walls of his big heart became thinner, they were erased from worries for their destitute people. He felt like he had done everything he could. Already very strong was Khargi with his assistants, who had no number, like falling hairs from a faded deer skin. It's hard, enuke (it hurts). But he continued to treat people doomed to starvation and cold death. Crying like a wolf howl stood on the ground, and there was no end to the tears and grief of mothers and widows. The terrible war of people and evil spirits continued, and the shadows of the dead Han people (ghosts) were already roaming the Earth.
From the understanding that people are doomed, the big heart of Muhuchi the storyteller could not stand it, it exploded. From this explosion, a tremendous force escaped, illuminating
black winter sky with bright multi-colored flashes. Illuminated the whole taiga - this is how the Northern Lights appeared. People began to feed children and the sick in its light, it became warmer and brighter in the plagues. In the light of the northern lights, the former dexterity and luck returned to the hunters, the vigilance of the eyes, and good prey appeared. In the ice of the rivers, people learned to make holes and fish. Live a little better, however!
And all the time people remembered the great Muhuchi with a kind word. And in response, his heart sang a thin silver song that only a person with a good heart could hear.
Many cross-eyed people still hear it. Those who want to hear, but cannot, those whose hearts are covered with black shaggy wool, which is called Stupidity, Cruelty, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Malice.
The great storyteller died in the arms of friends, and they put him a high storehouse. In the distant argish to the Lower World, his friends were well seen off: they killed the funeral deer, laid a saddle with a pack, clothes, dishes, food. The funeral pyre made of rosemary and juniper branches burned out for a long time, and the Spirit of Fire was also fed with pieces of fat from funeral deer. People did not forget about Mother Earth, and they fed her with pieces of fat, and people remembered the Great Elk-Haglan. Haglan lived well all this time. The sun was a good host to her plague. But, despite the glorious nature of Dylacha-Sun, they have recently begun to quarrel often. But is it possible to combine day and night?
After some time, Haglan had a small calf with a brightly shiny red skin, as she dreamed of - a sunny color.
And the ribbons of the Northern Lights, all wriggling, crawled and crawled into the depths of the Universe. It became brighter in the Universe, the hero Main saw clearly his cosmic path, and his heart heard the voice of the Great Muhuchi, who asked him to help people.
Suddenly he saw the chum of the Space Elk Haglan, a small sparkling calf was playing near him. Main fired a blunt arrow* that fell in front of Haglan's feet, announcing the arrival of a man. Having greeted her, Main asked: "Isn't it time for you, Haglan, to return the Sun to people?" From the loud animal roar of Losikha, a terrible rockfall began, high stones crumbled into red-hot volcanoes, and lava spilled onto the Earth. Main fired his heroic bow at Haglan's forehead, but she grinned, caught the arrow with her hoof and broke it. Then Main quickly raised his heroic spear-palm and struck Losikhe at the base of the head. Moose fell with a roar, breaking its branched horns. From this roar, the ice in the rivers cracked, and clear water appeared. Main freed the Sun and released him from the plague Haglen into the wild.
As Dylacha rose high into the sky, the earth became lighter and warmer. It became hot in the winter park and Mother Earth. She woke up, took off her winter clothes, and streams ran on Earth, the snow melted.
Main, however, decided to stay in the Upper World, and since then, cross-eyed people call him Heavenly Soning - the Guardian of the Sun.
People know this legend and pass it on from generation to generation.
Notes
A blunt arrow* is an arrow with a large wooden head, sheathed in soft fur. They hunted with her a small fur-bearing animal with valuable skins. It, getting into the head of the animal, caused a hemorrhage in the brain and a hematoma, a fracture of the cervical vertebra or skull, and thus the death of the animal, but the skin remained intact, there were no holes on it. If during hostilities one of the parties sent a blunt arrow - it was a sign of peace, truce, negotiations, in a word - a sign of unwillingness to fight. A sharp arrow spoke of the intention to continue hostilities.
