Praise of the whip-Malya in Kalmyk folklore and lyrics of the 20th - early 21st centuries

The article examines the folklore tradition of praising the whip using representative examples of poems by Kalmyk poets of different generations of the past and present centuries. Works have been identified in which, despite the absence of a genre designation (magtal-praise), the form and content, in fact, correspond to a folklore analogue. Among the types of scourge, whip, scourge in Kalmyk oral folk art, magtal pays tribute to the lash as a military weapon of epic heroes, as a hunting arsenal, as a companion of the rider and horse. The titles of some poems by Kalmyk poets state the subject of praise in non-equivalent vocabulary (“Malya”), while others state an event associated with the whip (“Khofchin zerg” = “The Courage of the Shepherd”). The biographical and autobiographical perspective of most texts is associated with modernity, determined by the motive of family and personal memory, given as a story or memory. The function of a real thing is shown mainly through hunting and everyday stories. The scourge is also presented in a dialogue between a thing and a person, a monologue, and in the author's maxim. In terms of gender, the exception was one work in which the author, classifying this item as a symbol of oppression, punishment and shame, protested against its praise and fashion for it as a gift in everyday life. The texts include folklore constant formulas, proverbs and sayings, names of epic heroes and real people. The description of the whip in verse conveys the poets' knowledge of folklore, history, culture, and beliefs of the people. Literary translations of poems often differ in title, volume, content and form, but generally correspond to the author's intentions.