Archaic motifs of Oirat epic “Egil Mergen”

The article examines archaic motifs in the Oirat epic “Egil Mergen”. The heroic epic “Egil Mergen” was written down by B.Ya.Vladimirtsov from the Derbet tuulchi, who came from the common people. The name of the storyteller is not specified, but the scientist notes that Tuulchi was revered in the area as a professional rhapsodist. The research material is the texts of the heroic epic “Egil Mergen” published by B.Ya. Vladimirtsov in the Oirat language and translated into Russian. The hero of the epic Egil Mergen manifests himself as a miraculously born hero, endowed with a complex of heroic qualities, such as bravery, courage, strength, dexterity, courage, etc. In the heroic fight against the black mangases, Egil Mergen, together with his sworn brother, destroys enemies and cleanses his native land of monsters. The study of archaic motifs in the Oirat epic “Egil Mergen” showed that in the motif of the first creation, individual “prototypes” - the sea of Boom, Mount Sumeru, the Milky Sea, the gray argali, the ray of the yellow sun, the inhabitants of the sunflower world, the beautiful kalpa, the Buddhist faith - occupy a central place in the epic picture of the world and serve as a mythological background for the birth of the main hero of the epic Egil Mergen. The motif of a miraculous birth reveals archaic elements (the child is born with a diamond black sword in his mouth, with a dried blood clot in his hand), which are a sign of his heroic future. The miraculous properties of the hero also include his magical invulnerability, which is found in the hero of the Uzbek, Altai and Kyrgyz epic traditions, which indicates the cultural and historical unity of the epics of the Turkic Mongolian peoples. The motif of the hero’s destined horse represents his miraculous steed, with the help of which the hero overcomes enormous distances and obstacles on the way, finds his betrothed, marries and returns to his native nomad camps.