Motifs in the epic songs of Jangarchi Teltya Lidzhiev

The article examines with plot-forming motifs in the recordings of songs from the famous dzhangarchi Teltya Lidzhiev, a representative of the epic “school” of Eelyan Ovla. The research material was audio recordings of Teltya Lidzhiev’s songs transcribed by the author of this article, recorded by N.Ts Bitkeev in 1970 in the “Erdnievsky” village of the Justinsky district of KASSR (now the Republic of Kalmykia): “A song about the duel of Ulan Hongor with the frighteningly formidable Mangna Khan, who owns the roan horse Arag Manza”; “The Song of the Bogatyr Savar the Heavy-Handed”; “Song of Bulingir’s son - Swarthy Strict Sanal, who owns the horse Bural Galzan”; “The Song of How the Most Beautiful Mingyan in the Universe Captured the Mighty Kyurmen Khan”; “The Song of Khoshun Ulan, the Bogatyr Dzhilgan and Alya Shonkhor”. In the epic songs of Teltya Lidzhiev, motifs that are stage-by-stage attributable to the epic of the state formation have been preserved: the theft of a herd, an ultimatum, archery in pursuit, the pursuit of a hero, the hero’s stay at the headquarters of the antagonist, the Bumbai banner, the heroic duel, the oath of the heroes, the antagonist’s swearing, the branding of the antagonist, victorious return. The purpose of this article is to consider the plot-forming motifs in the songs of the Kalmyk epic “Dzhangar” of the late tradition in the records from the famous dzhangarchi Teltya Lidzhiev. To achieve this goal, we considered elements that are built on a single model of an epic plot and include a number of plot-forming motifs that form a stable sequence of several elements: 1) heroic conflict (the reason that prompts the hero to act); 2) the choice of a hero (departure on a campaign); 3) overcoming the path (understanding obstacles); 4) heroic deed; 5) restoration of the world. As a result of the analysis, we came to the conclusion that the plot-forming motifs in the songs of the late tradition of the existence of the Dzhangar epic, being part of the narrative structure, are built according to a single model of the epic plot and have an inextricable connection with each other. So, the motif of the ultimatum, which turned out to be the source of the conflict between the two warring parties, was the reason that prompted the hero to be sent on a military campaign, who, having overcome obstacles along the way, enters into a duel with the enemy, suffers a temporary defeat and, together with the heroes who came to the aid, wins, many times superior by the strength of the antagonist khan and restores peace in the Bumbai state.