The motif of the hero's birth in the fairy tale and epic tradition of the Kalmyks

The systematization of folklore samples at the level of motifs seems relevant and significant for the study of the genesis and development of fairy tale and epic texts dating back to one ethnic tradition, as well as for further comparative typological research on a broader material. The purpose of this article is to consider the motif of the birth in the oral tradition of the Kalmyks on the material of fairy tales and epics in comparison with the motifs of the Mongolian epic, systematized by S.Yu. Neklyudov. Archival materials, volumes of “Hal’mg tuul’s” (Kalmyk fairy tales), volumes of the Kalmyk Folklore Corpus served as material for studying the motifs of the fairy tale and epic tradition of the Kalmyks. The analysis showed that the motif of the birth is semantically indecomposable, morphologically it breaks up into separate elements. Predicate (function) the birth of a hero in the fairy tale and epic tradition of the Kalmyks is accompanied by various motivations. The absence of an heir makes it necessary to take measures to eliminate this circumstance. The fairy tale shows in detail the circumstances of the appearance of a son from elderly parents. The motif of the hero’s birth in the fairy tale tradition is expanded by describing the countless number of pets of four species. In the epic, the situation of the absence of an heir is characterized by laconism of presentation - understatement. At the same time, the motif is transformed with the preservation of the conditions of the miraculous birth of the hero from the heavenly virgin. The epic text presents archaic myths about the maternal origin of the Earth, reflected in the rudiment of the petrogenesis motif. The motif of the birth, realized through the formula “wonderful children”, is complemented by the circumstance of the birth of the hero among childless old people, and the stable formula of this motif describe the character of the older generation of Altan Cheeji in the epic. In the fairy tale tradition of the Kalmyks, the late layer of ideas about the birth of a hero is associated with the views of Buddhism.