|
|
DOI: 10.46698/v4656-0111-4632-e
IRANIAN EPIC MOTIVES IN «TARAS BULBA» BY NIKOLAY GOGOL
Rakhno, Konstantin Yu.
Kavkaz Forum. 2020. Issue 2.
Abstract:
The article is devoted to the analysis of folklore-epic motifs of Iranian origin,
which can be traced in the historical novel «Taras Bulba» by Nikolay Gogol. They
find parallels both in the Narts’ epos of the Ossetians, and in Firdousi’s poem
«Shahname», the tales of Tajik Sistans and the Tats of Dagestan. It is concluded
that the plot and many details of this famous story, like many other works by
Gogol, reflect the epic tradition of the Iranian-speaking population of the Black
Sea steppes, which has become the ethnic substrate of the Ukrainians.
The first to point to this parallel was Vasily Ivanovich Abaev, comparing the
descriptions of the everyday life of the Zaporozhye Cossacks, as is the case in the
work of N. V. Gogol’s «Taras Bulba», with a similar description of the lifestyle of the
Narts in the Nart epic. The described everyday life includes not only the practice of
military campaigns, but also fun, including the specific nature of songs, dances,
a system of values, a pagan worldview. As a comparative material, the author
uses the ritual dances of the Massagets in the description of Herodotus, as well
as the Saka in the description of Strabo. A parallel is drawn between Gogol’s
Taras Bulba and Iranian epic heroes — Nart Batradz, Rustam from Firdousi’s
poem «Shahname». Similar features are revealed in the zoonymy associated with
otherworldly forces, in the nature of the execution of murderers, in relation to this
word and the reaction of the consequences for its violation. Undoubtedly, the story
reflects the ancient epic motifs of the steppes of the Black Sea, dating back to the
Iranian-speaking nomads, later assimilated by the Slavs. They find parallels both
in the Nartian Ossetian epos, which has Scythian and Sarmatian-Alanian roots,
and in the Persian literary epos, the traditions of the Sistans, and tales of the Tats,
related to the South Iranian epic tradition, possibly having Scythian-Saka sources.
Keywords: Narts’ epos, Nikolay Gogol, Taras Bulba, Firdousi, the Cossacks, the Ossetians, the Persians, Tat people
+ References1. Abaev, V. I. Izbrannye trudy. V 2‑kh t. [Selected works. In 2 vols]. Т. I. Religiya,
fol’klor, literatura [Vol. I. Religion. Folklore. Literature]. Vladikavkaz, Ir, 1990.
640 p.
2. Gogol’, N. V. Izbrannye proizvedeniya. V 2‑h t. [Featured Works. In 2 vols].
Kiev, 1979, vol. I. 414 p.
3. Skazaniya o nartakh. Osetinskii epos [Tales of the Narts. Ossetian Epic].
Translation from ossetian Ju. Libedinskogo. Moscow, 1978. 512 p.
4. Gorlenko, V. Bandurist Ivan Kryukovskii. Tekst devyati dum, s biograficheskoi
zametkoi [Bandura player Ivan Kryukovsky. Text of nine thoughts
with a biographical note]. Kievskaya starina [Kiev old]. Kiev, 1882, december,
pp. 481–518.
5. Grushevs’ka, K. Ukraїns’kі narodnі dumi [Ukrainian people’s thoughts].
Kiev, 1927, vol. I. Texts no 1–13 and the introduction of Katerina Grushevskaya.
176 p.
6. Vajskopf, M. Ja. Syuzhet Gogolya: Morfologiya. Ideologiya. Kontekst [The
plot of Gogol: Morphology. Ideology. Context]. Moscow, 2002. 686 p.
7. Karpenko, A. I. O narodnosti N. V. Gogolya. Khudozhestvennyi istorizm pisatelya
i ego narodnye istoki [About the nationality N. V. Gogol. The artistic historicism
of the writer and his folk origins]. Kiev, 1973. 279 p.
8. Vajl’, P., Genis, A. Sobranie sochinenii. V 2 t. [Collected works. In 2 vols].
Yekaterinburg, 2003, vol. I. 960 p.
9. Tuganov, M. S. Literaturnoe nasledie [Literary heritage]. Ordzhonikidze, Ir,
1977. 238 p.
10. Gerodot. Istoriya v devyati knigakh [History in nine books]. Translation
and notes by G. A. Stratanovsky. Leningrad, 1972. 600 p.
11. Strabon. Geografiya v 17 knigakh [Geography in 17 books]. Translation,
article and comments by G. A. Stratanovsky. Moscow, 1964. 944 p.
12. Dzhabbarov, I. Uzbeki. Etnokul’turnye traditsii, byt i obraz zhizni [Uzbeks.
Ethnocultural traditions, way of life and lifestyle]. Tashkent, 2007. 287 p.
13. Vysotskaja, T. N. Neapol’ — stolitsa gosudarstva pozdnikh skifov [Naples
is the capital of the late Scythian state]. Kiev, 1979. 207 p.
14. Veresaev, V. Sobranie sochinenii. V 4‑h t. [Collected works. In 4 vols] Moscow,
1990, vol. 4. Gogol in life. 638 p.
15. Miller, Vs. Osetinskie etyudy. CHast’ pervaya. Osetinskie teksty [Ossetian
studies]. Uchenye zapiski imperatorskogo Moskovskogo universiteta. Otdel istoriko-
filologicheskij [Scientific notes of the Imperial Moscow University. Department
of History and Philology]. Moscow, 1881, iss. 1. 154 p.
16. Firdousi. Shakhname. V 6 t. [Shahnameh. In 6 vols]. Edition prepared by
C. B. Banu, A. Lahuti, A. A. Starikov. Moscow, 1957, vol. 1. From the beginning of
the poem to the tale of Sohrab. 675 p.
17. Satcaev, Je. B. Nartovskii epos i iranskaya poema Shakhname (skhodnye
syuzhetnye motivy) [Nart epic and Iranian poem Shahnameh (similar plot motives)].
Vladikavkaz, 2008. 159 p.
18. Zolotoi sunduk. Skazki tatov Dagestana [Golden chest. Tales of the tats
of Dagestan]. Compiled, translated from the Tatian Amaldan Kukullu. Moscow,
1974. 319 p.
19. Dziccojty, Ju. A. Voprosy osetinskoi filologii [Issues of Ossetian philology].
Tskhinval, 2017, vol. I. 464 p.
20. Chibirov, L. A. Traditsionnaya dukhovnaya kul’tura osetin [Traditional
spiritual culture of the Ossetians]. Vladikavkaz, Ir, 2008. 600 p.
21. Chibirov, L. A. Osetinskaya Nartiada. Mifologicheskie istoki i areal’nye svyazi
[Ossetian Nartiade. Mythological sources and areal connections]. Vladikavkaz,
2016. 463 p.
22. Pamyatniki narodnogo tvorchestva osetin. Digorskoe narodnoe tvorchestvo
v zapisi [Monuments of folk art of Ossetians. Digorian folk art in the recording
of M. Gardanti].Vladikavkaz, 1927, iss. 2. 355 p.
23. Narty kaddzhytæ. Iron adæmy epos [Nart legends. Epos of the Ossetian
people]. Compiled by T. A. Hamitsaeva, Sh. F. Dzhikaev. Dzæudzhykh’æu, 2004,
vol. 2. 896 p. (in Ossetian).
24. Narty kaddzhytæ. Iron adæmy epos [Nart legends. Epos of the Ossetian
people]. Compiled by T. A. Hamitsaeva, Sh. F. Dzhikaev. Dzæudzhykh’æu, 2010,
vol. 5. 767 p. (in Ossetian).
25. Bagaev, A. B. Kon’ v nartovskom epose osetin [Horse in the Nart Ossetian
epic]. Voprosy literatury i fol’klora [Questions of literature and folklore]. 2018,
iss. 10, part II, pp. 4–21.
26. Firdousi. Shakhname. V 6 t. [Shahnameh. In 6 vols]. Translation of
N. B. Banu-Lahuti, comments by A. Azer and C. B. Banu-Lahuti. Moscow, 1965,
vol. 3. From the legend of the battle of Rostem with Hakan Chin to the reign of
Lochrasp. 601 p.
27. Rahno, K. Ju. Kazn’ ubiitsy na Zaporozhskoi Sechi. Istoki obychaya [The
execution of the killer in the Zaporizhzhya Sich. The origins of custom]. Voina
i voinskie traditsii v kul’turakh narodov Yuga Rossii (VI Tokarevskie chteniya).
Materialy Vserossiiskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii (Rostov-na-Donu, 4‑5
maya 2017 g.) [War and military traditions in the cultures of the peoples of the
South of Russia (VI Tokarev readings). Materials of the All-Russian Scientific and
Practical Conference (Rostov-on-Don, May 4‑5, 2017)]. Rostov-on-Don, 2017,
pp. 196‑203.
28. Chudakov, G. I. Otnoshenie tvorchestva Gogolya k zapadnoevropeiskim
literaturam [The ratio of Gogol’s work to Western European literature]. Kiev,
1908. 182 p.
29. Firdousi. Shakhname. V 4 t. [Shahnameh. In 4 vols]. Translation of
C. B. Banu Lahuti, comments A. A. Starikova. Moscow, 1994, vol. 2. From the
legend of Rostem and Sohrab to the legend of Rostem and the Hakan of Chin.
643 p.
30. Korogly, X. G. Vzaimosvyazi eposa narodov Srednei Azii, Irana i Azerbaidzhana
[Interconnections of the epic of the peoples of Central Asia, Iran and
Azerbaijan]. Moscow, 1983. 335 p.
31. Skazki i legendy Sistana [Tales and legends of Sistan]. Translation from
Persian, compilation and commentary by A. L. Gruenberg and I. M. Steblin-Kamensky.
Moscow, 1981. 271 p.
32. Matyushina, I. G. Perebranka v drevnegermanskoi slovesnosti [Hassle in
Old German Literature]. Moscow, 2011. 304 p.
33. Ivanov, V. V. Izbrannye trudy po semiotike i istorii kul’tury [Selected works
on semiotics and cultural history]. Moscow, 2000, vol. 2. Articles about Russian
literature. 881 p.
34. Bubenok, O. Alany-asy v Zolotoi Orde (XIII‑XV vv.) [Alans-aces in the Golden
Horde (XIII‑XV centuries)]. Kiev, 2004. 324 p.
35. Rakhno, K. Yu. Iranskie mifologicheskie motivy v povesti Nikolaya Gogolya
«Noch’ pered Rozhdestvom» [Iranian mythological motifs in Nikolai Gogol’s
novel «The Night Before Christmas»]. Aktual’nye problemy gumanitarnogo
znaniya v XXI veke. Sostoyanie i perspektivy razvitiya. K 90‑letiyu akademika
G. G. Gamzatova. Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii (Makhachkala,
5‑6 maya 2016 g.) [Actual problems of humanitarian knowledge in the XXI
century. State and development prospects. To the 90th anniversary of academician
G. G. Gamzatova. Materials of the International Scientific Conference
(Makhachkala, May 5‑6, 2016)]. Makhachkala, 2016, pp. 171–175.
36. Rakhno, K. Yu. Puzatyi Patsyuk i nartovskii Syrdon: rodstvo obrazov [Puzaty
Patsyuk and Nartovsky Syrdon: the kinship of images]. Adygskii epos
«Narty» i mirovoe epicheskoe nasledie. Mezhdunarodnyi nauchnyi simpozium,
posvyashchennyi 95‑letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya uchenogo-nartoveda A. M. Gadagatlya
(Maikop, 20‑23 sentyabrya 2017 g.) [Adyghe epic «Narts» and the world
epic heritage. International scientific symposium dedicated to the 95th anniversary
of the birth of the scientist-narrator A. M. Gadagatlya (Maykop, September
20‑23, 2017), Maykop, 2017, pp. 144–147.
37. Rakhno, K. Yu. Tanatologicheskie motivy «Strashnoi mesti» Nikolaya Gogolya
v kontekste etnokul’turnykh svyazei ukraintsev [Tanatological motives of
the «Terrible revenge» of Nikolai Gogol in the context of ethnocultural relations
of Ukrainians]. Studia mythologica slavica. Ljubljana, 2019, vol. 22, pp.
143–161.
38. Abaev, V. I. Izbrannye trudy. V 2‑kh t. [Selected works. In 2 vols]. T. 2. Obshchee
i sravnitel’noe yazykoznanie [Vol. II. General and comparative linguistics].
Vladikavkaz, 1995. 724 p.
39. Abaev, V. I. Skifo-evropeiskie izoglossy. Na styke Vostoka i Zapada [Scythian-
European isoglosses. At the junction of East and West]. Moscow, 1965.
168 p.
← Contents of issue
|
