Mythological elements in the Oirat legend of noyon Galdama: characteristics of the horse

Introduction. Folklore traditions of the Mongolian-speaking peoples comprise songs, legends and tales about Noyon Galdama (Kalm., Oir. Ьалдма, Ьалдмба; Mong. Галдамаа, Галдамбаа), the son of Khan Ochirtu-Tsetsen of the Khoshut, grandson of Khan Baibagas of the Khoshut and of Batur KhongTayiji of Dzungaria. Researchers have identified over thirty versions of songs and twenty texts of nonfictional prose narrating about Noyon Galdama in the oral tradition of Mongolia and China’s Oirats and Russia’s Kalmyks. The purpose of this article is to analyze the peculiarities of the characteristics of the Noyon Galdama horse presented in the Oirat legend, which was recorded among the Torguts of Xinjiang (PRC), in the context of the mythological characteristics of folklore texts about Galdama. Results. In the Oirat legends of Galdam, epic elements can be traced. These elements were included in folklore texts in the process of their composition. In the oral folk tradition, the historical character has acquired features of a mythological hero. In accordance with the epic nature of the texts about Galdam in the folklore of the Oirat peoples, the image of the horse is also endowed with appropriate features. In the legend recorded from Torghuts of China - descendants of the Kalmyks who migrated in 1771 from the Kalmyk Khanate to the east - like in a number of legends distinguished by the motif implying the hero had arrived from another world, the alien origin of the horse is emphasized by its unusual appearances (humpback) and extraordinary stamina. In a legend recorded among the Torguts of China, descendants of Kalmyks who migrated to the East in 1771 from the Kalmyk Khanate, the other origin of the horse (corresponding to the motif of the hero’s origin from another world) is emphasized by its unusual appearance (humpiness) and extraordinary vitality.