The archetypes of seasonality in the representations of the Kalmyk people: an interdisciplinary approach (based on the material of small genres of folklore)

The article is devoted to the study of seasonality archetypes in the representations of Kalmyks based on the material of small genres of folklore. The research material, respectively, is published and unpublished small genres of folklore of the Kalmyk people. A continuous sample was used to extract research material that mentioned nominations denoting seasonality. The research used general scientific methods, as well as the reconstruction method, in addition, an interdisciplinary approach was used. As a result of the study, we come to the following conclusions. In the small genres of Kalmyk folklore, the layering of different pictures of the world about the seasons, its multi-stage nature, is very clearly manifested. Two lexemes in Mongolian languages have a good Altaic etymology (‘winter’ and ‘summer’), two other lexemes (‘spring’ and ‘autumn’) are found only in Mongolian languages. In the small genres of Kalmyk folklore, lexical rudiments of the opposition of two half-years are found: summer (including spring) and winter (including autumn). Lexical units reflect the layers of different periods at the beginning of the year: spring, autumn, winter in proverbs are marked in the proverb through a parallel with morning. There is also the idea that spring is the beginning of the year. Apparently, this is the most ancient understanding of the beginning of the year, which was replaced by later views, due to pre-Buddhist and Buddhist influence, although this proverb can be interpreted differently: both as a result of the ancestors of the Mongols borrowing the Turkic time system, and as one of the proofs of the existence of the Turkic-Mongol community. Small genres of Kalmyk folklore very clearly reflect the biological rhythms that are associated with the arrival of a certain time of year. Among them are bird migrations, birth cycles, and feeding of domestic animals. Through stable associations with the seasons an axiological picture of the world inherent to the Kalmyk people is built: parallels with wealth and labor are connected with summer and winter, parallels with abundance are connected with autumn, parallels with home are connected with spring. A parallel is drawn between autumn rain and the talkativeness of the older generation.