Nart saga
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The Nart sagas (
Etymology
The term nart comes from the
Characters
Some of the characters who feature prominently in the sagas are:
- Sosruko or Soslan (Ubykh, Abkhaz and Adyghe: sawsərəqʷa (Саусырыкъо); Ossetian: Soslan (Сослан)) – a hero who sometimes also appears as a trickster
- Batraz (Ossetian: Батырадз) – the leader and greatest warrior of the Narts
- Satanaya (Ubykh: satanaja; Adyghe: Setenej (Сэтэнай); Ossetian: Satana (Сатана)) – the mother of the Narts, a fertility figure and matriarch
- Tlepsh (Adyghe and Abaza: [ɬapʃ]; Ossetian: Kwyrdalægon (Куырдалæгон)) – a blacksmith deity
- )
- Pkharmat (Chechen: Pẋarmat (Пхьармат)) – in the Nakh peoples' Vainakh epos, a blacksmith figure who steals fire from the gods for the mortals[3]
- Akhsar and Akhsartag (Ossetian: Æхсæр, Æхсæртæг) are twin brothers who are heroes in Ossetian mythology and sons of Warhag. Akhsartag is also the father of the narts Uryzmaeg and Haemyts.
- Dzerassae (Ossetian: Дзерассæ) – daughter of the sea-god Donbettyr, and mother of many Nart heroes.
- Uryzmaeg (Ossetian: Уырызмæг, Орæзмæг, Урузмæг, Adyghe: Орзэмэдж/Озырмэс, Kabardian: Уэзырмэс, Chechen: Орзми, Ingush: Урузман, Abkhazian/Abaza: Уазырмас, Karachay-Balkar: Ёрюзмек) is the hero of the Nart saga, son of Akhsartag and Dzerassae.
- Haemyts (Ossetian: Хæмыц, Adyghe: Хъымыщ, Kabardian: Хъымыщ, Chechen: Хамчи, Ingush: Хамча, Abkhazian: Хмышь, Abaza: Хъмыщ, Karachay-Balkar: Хымыч) is the hero of the, son of Akhsartag and Dzerassae, the father of the hero Batraz and the twin brother of Uruzmaeg, with whom they often went on conquest campaigns together.
Study and significance
The first Westerner to take note of the Nart stories was the German scholar
It is generally known that all of the Nart corpora have an ancient Iranian core, inherited from the Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans (the latter being the ancestors of the Ossetians).[5] However, they also contain abundant local North Caucasian accretions of great antiquity, which sometimes reflect an even more archaic past.[2]
The Ossetes consider the Nart epic to be a central feature of their national identity.
The Northwest Caucasian (Circassian, Abkhaz-Abasin and Ubykh) versions are also highly valuable because they contain more archaic accretions and preserve "all the odd details constituting the detritus of earlier traditions and beliefs", as opposed to the Ossetian ones, which have been "reworked to form a smooth narrative".[2][5]
Connections to other mythology
Some motifs in the Nart sagas are shared by Greek mythology. The story of
In the book From Scythia to Camelot, authors
Differences between Nart legends
There are some differences between the various versions of the Nart legends. For example, the Ossetian versions depict the Nartic tribe as composed of three distinct clans that sometimes rival one another: the brave Æxsærtægkatæ (to whom the most prominent Narts belong), the rich Borætæ, and the wise Alægatæ; the Circassian versions do not depict such a division. The Abkhaz versions are unique in describing the Narts as a single nuclear family composed of Satanaya's one hundred sons.[7] All of these versions describe the Narts as a single coherent group of (mostly) "good" heroes.
Some Nakh (
Shayan Javadi, the Persian translator of "Nart" by matching the Ossetian, Abkhaz, Abaza, Circassian, and Ubykh versions, has been able to identify the lineage of some characters who have only been named. For instance, by recreating a character named "Qânzezâd (Abaza: Qanzhoquo)," he believes that he is the son of Azaukhan in the Ossetian version.[9]
See also
- Chechen-Ingush mythology
- Epic poetry
- Norse Saga
- Ossetian mythology
- Scythian mythology
- The Magic Pipe (film)
- Uastyrdzhi
- Kurdalægon
- Bogatyr
- Shahnameh
References
- ^ Abaev, V.I., ed. (1973), ИСТОРИКО-ЭТИМОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ СЛОВАРЬ ОСЕТИНСКОГО ЯЗЫКА [Historical-Etymological Dictionary of Ossetian language] (in Russian), vol. II (L-R), p.158-9 "Nartae, Nart"
- ^ a b c Colarusso 2002, pp. xxiv, 552.
- ^ Tsaroieva 2005, p. 199.
- ISBN 9780755618453.
- ^ a b c Colarusso 2002.
- ISBN 9780755618453.
- ^ Tokarev, S.A., ed. (1980), Mify narodov mira [Myths of the World] (encyclopedia) (in Russian), vol. 2 (K-Ya), Narty
- ^ Tsaroieva 2005, p. 215.
- ^ Iryston.tv (6 April 2022). "Ирайнаг горæт Ахвазы цæрæг Шаян Джавади персайнаг æвзагмæ тæлмац кæны ирон фысджыты уацмыстæ".
Sources
- Nogmov, Schora Bekmursin (1866), Bergé, Adolf (ed.), Die Sagen und Lieder des Tscherkessen-Volks[The legends and songs of the Circassian peoples] (in German), Leipzig, P. Wigan
- Colarusso, John, ed. (2002), Nart Sagas from the Caucasus: Myths and Legends from the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs, Princeton University Press, ISBN 9781400865284
- Also published as Nart Sagas: Ancient Myths and Legends of the Circassians and Abkhazians, Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-691-16914-9, with an introduction by Adrienne Mayor
- Also published as Nart Sagas: Ancient Myths and Legends of the Circassians and Abkhazians, Princeton University Press, 2002,
- ISBN 9780755618453.
- Tsaroïeva, Mariel (2005), Anciennes Croyances des Ingouches et des Tchetchenes [Old beliefs of the Ingush and Chechens] (in French), Maisonneuve et Larose, ISBN 2-7068-1792-5
Further reading
Circassian Nart sagas
- More Nart Tales, archived from the original on 13 January 2017 , English translations
- Нарты. Адыгский эпос [Narta. The Adyghe epic] (in Russian) , Russian translations
- Articles:
- Colarusso, John (Dec 1989), "Myths from the Forests of Circassia", The World & I, archived from the original on 11 February 2007
- Colarusso, John (Dec 1989), "Prometheus among the Circassians", The World & I, archived from the original on 24 May 2011
- Colarusso, John (1989), "The Woman of the Myths: the Satanaya Cycle" (PDF), The Annual of the Society for the Study of Caucasia, 2: 3–11, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007
Ossetian Nart sagas
- Colarusso, John, ed. (2016), Tales of the Narts: Ancient Myths and Legends of the Ossetians, translated by May, Walter, Princeton University Press, ISBN 9780691211527
- КАТАЛОГ [Catalog] (in Ossetic), three collections of legends (Dzhanayev, Gutiev and Skodtayev/Kibirov, the latter from the Digor dialect area). The first collection (the 1946 Dzhanayev edition) is also available in the form of older and newer audio recordings
- Калоев, Б.А.; Либединский, Ю. (eds.), СКАЗАНИЯ О НАРТАХ [Tales of the Narts] (in Russian): a translation, with slight modifications, of the Dzhanayev edition at the previous link
- "Ossetic Nartic Tales", TITUS (Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien) (legends collected from the Digor dialect area, edited by M. Gardanti)
Abkhaz Nart sagas
- Инал-ипа, Ш.Д.; Шакрыл, К.С.; Шинкуба, Б.В.; Инал-ипа, Ш.Д.; Гулия, Г.; Солоухина, В. (eds.), Приключения нарта Сасрыквы и его девяноста девяти братьев [The Adventures of the Sasrykva Nart and His Ninety-nine Brothers] (in Russian), archived from the original on 28 September 2007
Karachay-Balkar Nart sagas
- Tavkul, Ufuk (2000), "A Good Sample For Cultural Diffusion - A Hero Who Carries The Characteristics Of Prophet David In The Nart Epos Of Karachay-Balkar People - Nart Debet, The Smith", The International Symposium of "NART EPOS", archived from the original on 1 March 2012
- Чиппаевич, Джуртубаев Махти (ed.), Balkaria.info Героический эпос о нартах [The heroic epic of Narta] (in Russian), archived from the original on 30 September 2007 , detailed set of tales
- Russian translations from Липкина, С., ed. (1987), Дебет златоликий и его друзья [Debet the golden haired and his friends] (in Russian)
- Нарты РАЧИКАУ, СЫН ЧУЖЕЗЕМЦА (in Russian), archived from the original on 28 February 2006 , (part 1)
- Наш героический эпос о нартах - КАК ЁРЮЗМЕК УБИЛ КРАСНОЛИКОГО РЫЖЕБОРОДОГО ФУКА, archived from the original on 26 July 2011 , (part 2)
Chechen-Ingush Nart sagas
- Abdulayeva, Kh.R. (2002), "18. The Inception of Chechen artistic writing: ethni-historical and aesthetic prerequisites" (PDF), The Culture of Chechnya: History and Modern Problems, pp. 129–147, archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2009, retrieved 9 August 2007
- Accounts of Chechen and Ingush beliefs by Ch.E.Akhriev
- Akhriev, Ch.E., [various] (in Russian), archived from the original on 1 April 2008
- Akhriev, Ch.E., [various] (in Russian), archived from the original on 2 April 2008
- ЧЕЧЕНСКИЕ СКАЗАНИЯ [Chechen Tales] (in Russian), archived from the original on 1 March 2012
Miscellaneous
- "[Category: Causcasus]", Wanana sculun Frankon - Linguistics, History, Mythology and More , Causcasian folklore articles
- Dudziak, Arkadiusz; Payunena, Marina (June 2019). "Индоевропейские антропологические и культурные источники осетинского героического эпоса как пример номадизма идей и ценностей (к постановке проблемы)" [Indo-European anthropological and cultural sources of the Ossetian heroic epic as an example of nomadism of ideas and values (problem statement)]. Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski (East European Review) (in Russian). 10 (1). doi:10.31648/pw.4525.
- Дувакин Евгений Николаевич. "Кельто-кавказские фольклорные параллели и возможные сценарии их происхождения" [FOLKLORE PARALLELS BETWEEN CELTIC AND CAUCASIAN TRADITIONS: THE EURASIAN CONTEXT AND POSSIBLE SCENARIOS OF THE ORIGIN]. Индоевропейское языкознание и классическая филология, no. 23–1, 2019, pp. 295–307. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kelto-kavkazskie-folklornye-paralleli-i-vozmozhnye-stsenarii-ih-proishozhdeniya (дата обращения: 29.09.2021). (In Russian)
External links
Media related to Nart Sagas at Wikimedia Commons