The image of a bogatyr horse in the Xinjiang-Oyrat epic tradition “Jangar”

The article examines the image of a heroic horse in the Xinjiang Oirat version of the epic “Dzhangar”. The material of the study is the texts of songs of the Xinjiang Oirat version of the epic “Dzhangar”, published by the People's Publishing House of Xinjiang in China in 1986-2000 in the Oirat script “todo bichig” (“clear writing”), translated into the Kalmyk language by B.Kh. Todayeva, songs of the Kalmyk version of “Dzhangar”, and also in a comparative aspect the epic texts of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples are involved. An examination of the image of a horse in the heroic songs of the Xinjiang Oirat version of the Dzhangar epic showed that the heroic horse occupies a special place in the folklore tradition of the Oirats; it is one of the universal epic images that embodies strength, speed, endurance, agility and many other positive qualities. The hero of the epic is inextricably linked with the horse. At the same time as the heroic baby, his destined steed is born, which recognizes its owner only after testing his heroic strength. The appearance of the heroic horse in the epic tradition of the Mongolian and Turkic peoples is characterized by a variety of colors, the possession of unusual abilities and miraculous properties of the steed (possession of human speech, extraordinary ability to listen, the ability to fly above the ground, etc.). The semantics of the color designation of the coat color “zeerd” (red) of the main hero of the epic “Dzhangar” is interconnected with solar power, and the speed and agility of the horse symbolize wind and fire. In the heroic poems of the Xinjiang Oirat and Kalmyk tradition of the epic “Dzhangar” with the help of “decorating” epithets, stable comparisons and hyperboles characteristic of the epic creativity of dzhangarchi, the image of a heroic horse a loyal friend and assistant in the military affairs of the hero stands out brightly.