Content-structural features of epics of Hori Buryats of Russia

Abstract

This article examines the plot-compositional structure of uligers, epics of Hori Buryats. The composition of Hori Buryat uligers is centered on a primary epic core that forms the basis of the plot for each text. The events in these texts are organized into semantic blocks, each comprising motifs or sets of motifs. The content-structural features of the epics are characterized by analyzing the sources from the eastern regions of Ethnic Buryatia. Emphasis is placed on the local peculiarity of uligers of Hori Buryats of Russia, with fewer records of the Eastern Buryat texts compared to the Western Buryat epics. An attempt is made to identify the plot-motif units used in the Hori uligers in the context of the main narrative core. These are the search for a betrothed or kidnapped wife and the process of matchmaking or passing repeated tests. Systematizing and describing the plots and motifs of the Hori Buryat uligers required the identification of the concept of “epic motif.” According to the theoretical judgments of scholars, a motif is the smallest narrative unit that serves a specific function in the plot development and has its own semantics within the implementation of the narrative outline of the epic tradition. The plot is formed by combining different motifs. The plot is defined as a certain model combining different motifs.