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Title of the article: |
WHY VOLKH INVADED THE INDIAN LAND? OR THE TRAILS OF THE ANCIENT HEROIC AND MYTHICAL TALES IN THE RUSSIAN EPIC TALE “VOLKH VSESLAVIEVICH” |
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Author(s): |
Alexander K. Sukharev |
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Information about the author/authors |
Alexander K. Sukharev — PhD in History, Moscow State Institute of Culture, Bibliotechnaya Str., 7, 141406 Moscow Region, Khimki, Russia. E-mail: Sukharev_AK86@mail.ru |
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Section |
Philological sciences |
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Year |
2018 |
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Volume |
Vol. 48 |
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Pages |
Pp. 179–199 |
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Received |
September 25, 2017 |
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Date of publication |
June 15, 2018 |
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Index UDK |
398.22 |
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Index BBK |
82.3(2Рос=Рус) |
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Abstract |
This article inquires two principal episodes in the Russian epic tale “Volkh Vseslavievich”, which relates about the Volkh's campaign against Indian kingdom. The first episode is the joint hunting of Volkh and his warriors on different animals, including forest wild beasts, birds and sea fish, before or on the march to the borders of Indian land. The second is the Volkh's secret visit to the Indian land before his invasion. The material of second episode reveals some initial features of Volkh linking him with others heroes of traditional world-known heroic fairy tales. Like those figures in the archaic core of the tale Volkh visited the other world alone with the purpose of getting some useful objects by the means of robbery, abduction or theft. During this adventure he had to oppose supernatural force of the other world's lord, using his own magical abilities not to vanquish but to deceive this powerful creature. The second episode of the tale gives material for reconstruction of main features of the old creation myth, where Volkh played a role of the creator of humans and different animals. Perhaps this was the oldest role of Volkh known to us, which links him with similar totem-creators presented in the tales of Siberian hunting peoples. |
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Keywords |
Volkh, culture hero, creation tale, totem, heroic tale, Russian folklore, epic tale, epic hero. |
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References |
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