Functional and semantic features of typical motifs in the plot of Xinjiang-Oirat version of “Dzhangar”

One of the actual problems of the poetics of epic plot is the analysis of motifs as components of the plot system elements. The purpose of this paper is to study the functional-semantic parameters of a number of typical motifs in the plot of the Xinjiang-Oirat version of the epic “Dzhangar”. The study proved that in the Xinjiang-Oirat version of “Dzhangar” there is stable and repeating set of typical motifs that functions as part of the system and finds its own specific place in the plot structure. The following typical motifs are considered now: a feast, receiving news / messages, advice, catching a horse, saddling a horse, equipment of a hero, departure on a hero’s path, overcoming a path, battle / duel. The analysis identified a number of important functional and semantic components of typical motifs in the context of an epic plot. The feast motif frames the epic plot and is in the nature of the starting element in its development. The motifs of the message and advice have a pragmatic function on which the further development of the plot events depends. A stable chain of motifs capturing a horse - saddling a horse - equipment on the hero’s path - departure on the hero’s path, organizes plot addition, and the battle / duel motif shows a plot-forming significance. Despite the thematic diversity and variability the motifs we find typical properties at the structural and substantiating levels, and a universal model of constructing and deploying motifs is obvious. Typical properties are characterized by certain relevant features and marking elements, where obligatory actors, loci, temporal features, epic chronotopes and chronoacts play an important role. The semantics of typical motifs are reflected in archaic symbolism, mythology and representations, along with traditional ethnic rituals, rites and beliefs, the history and life of Mongolian nomads, as well as epic concepts.