E-Book, Englisch, 576 Seiten
Colarusso Nart Sagas from the Caucasus
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4008-6528-4
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
Myths and Legends from the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs
E-Book, Englisch, 576 Seiten
ISBN: 978-1-4008-6528-4
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
The Nart sagas are to the Caucasus what Greek mythology is to Western civilization. This book presents, for the first time in the West, a wide selection of these fascinating myths preserved among four related peoples whose ancient cultures today survive by a thread. In ninety-two straightforward tales populated by extraordinary characters and exploits, by giants who humble haughty Narts, by horses and sorceresses, Nart Sagas from the Caucasus brings these cultures to life in a powerful epos.
In these colorful tales, women, not least the beautiful temptress Satanaya, the mother of all Narts, are not only fertility figures but also pillars of authority and wisdom. In one variation on a recurring theme, a shepherd, overcome with passion on observing Satanaya bathing alone, shoots a "bolt of lust" that strikes a rock--a rock that gives birth to the Achilles-like Sawseruquo, or Sosruquo. With steely skin but tender knees, Sawseruquo is a man the Narts come to love and hate.
Despite a tragic history, the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs have retained the Nart sagas as a living tradition. The memory of their elaborate warrior culture, so richly expressed by these tales, helped them resist Tsarist imperialism in the nineteenth century, Stalinist suppression in the twentieth, and has bolstered their ongoing cultural journey into the post-Soviet future.
Because these peoples were at the crossroads of Eurasia for millennia, their myths exhibit striking parallels with the lore of ancient India, classical Greece, and pagan Scandinavia. The Nart sagas may also have formed a crucial component of the Arthurian cycle. Notes after each tale reveal these parallels; an appendix offers extensive linguistic commentary. With this book, no longer will the analysis of ancient Eurasian myth be possible without a close look at the Nart sagas. And no longer will the lover of myth be satisfied without the pleasure of having read them.
Excerpts from the Nart sagas
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"The Narts were a tribe of heroes. They were huge, tall people, and their horses were also exuberant Alyps or Durduls. They were wealthy, and they also had a state. That is how the Narts lived their lives."
"The Narts were courageous, energetic, bold, and good-hearted. Thus they lived until God sent down a small swallow."
"The Narts were very cruel to one another. They were envious of one another. They disputed among themselves over who was the most courageous. But most of all they hated Sosruquo. A rock gave birth to him. He is the son of a rock, illegally born a mere shepherd's son."
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
Weitere Infos & Material
Preface xiii
Symbols and Abbreviations xix
Maps xxiv
Introduction 1
A Selection of the Circassian Nart Corpus 9
1. If Our Lives Be Short, Let Our Fame Be Great 11
2. The Tale of How Warzameg and Yimis Came to Be 12
3. How Warzameg, Son of Meghazash, Won the Damsel Psatina 17
4. Setenaya and Argwana 34
5. The Blossom of Lady Setenaya 48
6. Why the Sun Pauses on the Horizon at Sunset 49
7. Lady Setenaya and the Magic Apple 50
8. Lady Setenaya and the Shepherd: The Birth of Sawseruquo 52
9. How Setenaya Was Led Astray 55
10. The Childhood of Shebatinuquo 56
11. How Far-Seeing Setenaya Rescued Warzameg 67
12. The Ballad of Warzamegyuquo Shebatinuquo 79
13. Setenaya and the Great Nart Warzameg 85
14. Nart Wazarmeg and His Friends Decide What to Do about a Black Fox 87
15. The Old Age of the Great Nart 91
16. How They Made Tlepsh Fashion the First Sickle 96
17. Tlepsh and Lady Tree 99
18. The One Who Committed One Hundred Sins 104
19. The Lament for Nagura Tlepshuquo 106
20. How Nart Tlepsh Killed Bearded Yamina with the Avenging Sword 107
21. Tlepsh's Gold Cellar 107
22. The Story of Nart Totaresh and the Chinta Leader 109
23. Two Fragments of the Ballad of Sawseruquo 112
24. The Ballad of Sawseruquo 125
25. How the Horse of Setenayuquo Sawseruquo Was Killed 129
26. Lady Nart Sana 129
27. Adif 131
28. Wardana and Chwindizh Dwell in the White-Haired Forest 134
29. Warzamegyuquo Yasheruquo's Search for Courage 138
30. How the Nart Khimish Married and How He Was Killed 139
31. The Ballad of Khimishuquo Pataraz 143
32. How the Narts Sought to Reach the Sky 153
33. How Khimishuquo Pataraz Won the Three Magical Whetstones 154
34. How Pataraz Freed Bearded Nasran, Who Was Chained to the High Mountain 158
35. Bound Nasran 168
36. An Old Man Chained to Elbruz 169
37. A Cyclops Bound atop Wash'hamakhwa 170
38. How Bearded Nasran Visited Ashamaz 171
39. The Ballad of Ashamaz 172
40. Lashyn's Satirical Couplets about the Nart Men 175
41. Hymn to T'haghalej 176
42. The Shiblawuj, a Round Dance to the God of Lightning 177
The Abaza Nart Corpus 179
43. The Time of the Narts 181
44. The Burial Ground of the Narts 182
45. The Golden Apple Tree of the Narts 183
46. Satanaya 184
47. How Sosruquo Was Born 185
48. Satanaya and Bataraz 188
49. Satanaya and Tlepshw 190
50. Sosruquo's Sword 192
51. How Sosruquo Attended the Council of the Narts 196
52. How Sosruquo Brought Fire to His Troops 200
53. How Sosruquo Brought Back the Seeds of the Millet 202
54. Shardan 215
55. How Sosruquo Brought Sana to the Narts 216
56. Sosruquo and the Blind Ayniwzh 219
57. Sosruquo and the Inquisitive Ayniwzh 222
58. Sosruquo and the Giant's Skull 227
59. Sosruquo and Six Men 228
60. Sosruquo and Sotrash 236
61. Sosruquo and Sosranpa 244
62. Qaydukh of the Narts 249
63. Qaydukh Fortress 257
64. The Doom of Sosruquo 259
65. Sosran of the Narts 267
66. The Nanny Goat of the Narts 269
67. Badan and Badanoquo of the Narts 270
68. Badanoquo of the Narts 275
69. How the Barrel of the Narts Was Set to Boiling 277
70. The Dream of Ayniwzh, Nana's Son 279
71. Tataruquo Shaway 281
72. Chwadlazhwiya's Tale 290
73. Nasran and Shamaz 296
74. Khmish and Bataraz of the Narts 302
A Selection of the Abkhaz Corpus 321
75. The Mother of Heroes 323
76. The Birth of the Valiant Sasruquo 329
77. How Sasruquo Plucked Down a Star 335
78. The Ayirgs' Sister, the Sister-in-Law of the Narts 344
79. Sasruquo's Sorrow 352
80. The Light-Giving Little Finger 356
81. How Sasruquo Tamed the Wild Stallion 360
82. How the Narts Cultivated Fruit 361
83. Khozhorpas 364
84. Narjkhyaw 366
85. An Account of the Narts 379
The Ubykh Nart Corpus 385
86. The Birth of Soseruquo 387
87. Another Birth of Soseruquo 397
88. The Death of Soseruquo 399
89. Yarichkhaw 401
90. Three Brothers, Their Sister, and a Nart 406
91. The Adventure of Marchan Shaghy 409
92. A Marvelous Sword 411
Appendix: Specimen Texts 415
A. Kabardian East Circassian 417
B. Bzhedukh West Circassian (Adyghey) 455
C. Ubykh 490
D. Abaza (Tapanta Dialect) ("Northern Abkhaz") 500
E. Bzyb Abkhaz 526
Bibliography 543
