Song “About Ulan Khongor” by Don Kalmyk B. Obushinov in the record of I.I. Popov (1901)

The article considers the manuscript by I.I. Popov, the collector of the Don Kalmyks’ folklore. The epic song of the storyteller B.D. Obushinov, recorded in 1901, contains in its narrative mythological archetypes, medieval recalls, as well as relatively recent realia of the last century, sometimes interwoven. Despite the plot of the song reflecting historical realia, in general its narrative is very archaic, as proved by the mythological logic with its binary oppositions (double flow of the river, sun/moon, self/other) typical of more ancient systems, the clearly defined chthonic origins of the foes and the rudiments of archaic motifs about a good shot, stone bodies of the heroes, and winged war horses. The plot of the song is one-way, its structure corresponds to the traditional line of songs of the Kalmyk epos: prologue, feast, foes’ ultimatum, combat and a temporary death of the hero, healing, combat between two troops, victory and homecoming. The description of the country in the prologue is brief, but contains the main mythological archetype - mountain, ocean, river, palace. In favor of the archaic nature of the song, its prose form can also speak, which is also characteristic of the older forms. Likewise, one can explain the absence of huge descriptions, typical places in this song. Very interesting is the lack of traces from the Buddhist mythology in the sample, and a very modest use of titles of hierarchy, which may indicate the absence of any processing by the recorders. Thanks to the efforts of the collector 1.1. Popov, such a unique example of the Kalmyk epos “Dzhangar” has survived to this day.