Once upon a time there lived a badger. He slept during the day and went hunting at night. One night a badger was hunting. Before he had time to get enough, the edge of the sky had already brightened.
The badger hurries to get into his hole before the sun. Without showing himself to people, hiding from the dogs, he walked where the shadow was thickest, where the ground was blackest.
The badger approached his home.
Hrr... Brr... - he suddenly heard an incomprehensible noise.
"What's happened?"
The dream jumped out of the badger, its fur stood on end, its heart almost broke its ribs with a pounding sound.
"I've never heard such a noise..."
Hrrr... Firrlit-few... Brrr...
“I’ll quickly go back to the forest, I’ll call clawed animals like me: I alone don’t agree to die here for everyone.”
And the badger went to call all the clawed animals living in Altai for help.
Oh, I have a scary guest in my hole! Help! Save!
The animals came running, their ears to the ground - in fact, the earth trembles from the noise:
Brrrrrrk, hrr, whew...
All the animals' hair stood on end.
Well, badger, this is your house, you go first.
The badger looked around - ferocious animals were standing all around, urging, hurrying:
Go, go!
And they put their tails between their legs out of fear.
The badger house had eight entrances and eight exits. "What to do? - the badger thinks. - What should I do? Which way to enter your house?”
What are you worth? - Wolverine snorted and raised her terrible paw.
Slowly, reluctantly, the badger walked towards the main entrance.
Hrrrr! - flew out of there.
The badger jumped back and hobbled towards another entrance and exit.
There's a loud noise coming from all eight exits.
The badger began to dig for the ninth hole. It’s a shame to destroy your home, but there’s no way to refuse - the most ferocious animals have gathered from all over Altai.
Hurry, hurry! - they order.
It’s a shame to destroy your home, but you can’t disobey.
Sighing bitterly, the badger scratched the ground with its clawed front paws. Finally, almost alive with fear, he made his way into his high bedroom.
Hrrr, brrr, frrr...
It was a white hare, lounging on a soft bed, snoring loudly.
The animals couldn't stand on their feet laughing and rolled on the ground.
Hare! That's it, a hare! The badger was scared of the hare!
Ha ha ha! Ho-ho-ho!
Where will you hide from shame now, badger? What an army he gathered against the hare!
Ha ha ha! Ho-ho!
But the badger doesn’t raise his head, he scolds himself:
“Why, when I heard noise in my house, didn’t I look in there myself? Why did you go screaming all over Altai?”
And the hare, you know, is sleeping and snoring.
The badger got angry and kicked the hare:
Get out! Who allowed you to sleep here?
The hare woke up - his eyes almost popped out! - the wolf, the fox, the lynx, the wolverine, the wild cat, even the sable are here!
“Well,” the hare thinks, “whatever happens!”
And suddenly - he jumped into the badger's forehead. And from the forehead, as if from a hill, there’s a leap again! - and into the bushes.
The white hare's belly turned the badger's forehead white.
White marks ran down the cheeks from the hare's hind legs.
The animals laughed even louder:
Oh, barsu-u-uk, how beautiful you have become! Ho-ha-ha!
Come to the water and look at yourself!
The badger hobbled to the forest lake, saw his reflection in the water and began to cry:
“I’ll go and complain to the bear.”
He came and said:
I bow to you to the ground, grandfather bear. I ask for your protection. I myself was not at home that night, I did not invite guests. Hearing loud snoring, he got scared... He disturbed so many animals and destroyed his house. Now look, from the hare’s white belly, from the hare’s paws - and my cheeks have turned white. And the culprit ran away without looking back. Judge this matter.
Are you still complaining? Your head used to be black as the earth, but now even people will envy the whiteness of your forehead and cheeks. It’s a shame that it wasn’t me who stood in that place, that it wasn’t my face that the hare whitened. What a pity! Yes, it’s a pity, it’s a shame...
And, sighing bitterly, the bear left.
And the badger still lives with a white stripe on its forehead and cheeks. They say that he has become accustomed to these marks and is already boasting:
That's how hard the hare worked for me! We are now friends forever.
Well, what does the hare say? Nobody heard this.
Literary processing by A. Garf.
Resentment of the deer
A red fox came running from the green hills into the black forest. She hasn’t dug a hole for herself in the forest yet, but she already knows the news from the forest: the bear has become old.
Ay-ay-ay, woe is trouble! Our elder, the brown bear, is dying. His golden fur coat has faded, his sharp teeth have become dull, and his paws no longer have the strength they once had. Hurry, hurry! Let's get together, let's think about who in our black forest is smarter than everyone, who is more beautiful, who we will sing praises to, who we will put in the bear's place.
Where nine rivers united, at the foot of nine mountains, above a rapid spring, a shaggy cedar stands. Animals from the black forest gathered under this cedar. They show off their fur coats to each other, boast about their intelligence, strength, and beauty.
The old bear also came here:
Why are you making noise? What are you arguing about?
The animals became silent, and the fox raised its sharp muzzle and squealed:
Ah, venerable bear, be ageless, strong, and live a hundred years! We argue and argue here, but we can’t solve the matter without you: who is more worthy, who is more beautiful than everyone else?
“Everyone is good in his own way,” the old man grumbled.
Ah, wisest one, we still want to hear your word. To whomever you point, the animals will sing his praises and place him in a place of honor.
And she spread her red tail, groomed her golden fur with her tongue, and smoothed her white breast.
And then the animals suddenly saw a deer running in the distance. With his feet he trampled the top of the mountain, his branched horns led a trail along the bottom of the sky.
The fox had not yet had time to close his mouth, but the deer was already here.
His smooth fur did not sweat from the fast run, his elastic ribs did not move more often, and the warm blood did not boil in his tight veins. The heart is calm, beating evenly, shining quietly big eyes. He scratches his brown lip with his pink tongue, his teeth turn white, and he laughs.
The old bear slowly stood up, sneezed, and extended his paw to the deer:
That's who is the most beautiful of all.
The fox bit its own tail out of envy.
Are you living well, noble deer? - she sang. - Apparently, your slender legs have weakened, there is not enough breath in your wide chest. The insignificant squirrels got ahead of you, the bow-legged wolverine has been here for a long time, even the slow badger managed to arrive before you.
The deer lowered his branch-horned head low, his shaggy chest swayed and his voice sounded like a reed pipe.
Dear fox! The squirrels live on this cedar, the wolverine slept on the neighboring tree, the badger has a hole here, behind the hill. And I passed nine valleys, swam across nine rivers, crossed nine mountains...
The deer raised his head - his ears were like flower petals. The horns, covered with a thin pile, are transparent, as if filled with May honey.
And you, fox, what are you worrying about? - the bear got angry. - Are you planning to become an elder yourself?
I ask you, noble deer, take a place of honor.
And the fox is already here again.
Oh ha ha! They want to elect a brown deer as an elder and are going to sing his praises. Haha, haha! Now he is beautiful, but look at him in winter - his head is hornless, hornless, his neck is thin, his fur hangs in clumps, he walks crouched, staggers from the wind.
Maral could not find words in response. He looked at the animals - the animals were silent.
Siberia is rich in more than just snow. There is also endless space, harsh nature and the Novomarusino residential complex. And the people here are in tune with the surrounding climate and even in 35 degrees of heat they wear jackets with serious faces. Because anything can be expected, the region is wild, although developed. But there were times when trolleybuses had not yet traveled across Siberia, and cities had not yet been built for them. In these times, even convicts were not sent here, because they simply did not know the way here. And completely different people lived here. Those who could proudly fight now for the rights of the “indigenous population”. And they had completely different values. They lived in forests, along rivers, hunted bears and didn’t care about the oil price. Everything that now occupies most of the consciousness of a modern Siberian was indifferent to his ancestor.
Survival is what people did when placed in such harsh conditions. But it cannot be said that from dawn to dusk they fought only for life. They still managed to reproduce, cook stews, and even update each other’s news feeds by encoding the experience gained into fairy tales. Moreover, they are always instructive and meaningful, and not like now - in brochures before the elections. We were very inspired by the folklore of our ancestors and would like to bring to your attention one of the old fairy tales of the peoples of Siberia.
Itte was little when he became an orphan. The mother died the year Itte was born. The father is a hunter, he went to hunt the beast and never returned.
Grandmother Itte - her name was Imyal-Pay - took him in with her.
He's become a big boy, but he's afraid of everything. He doesn’t leave his grandmother’s side, he clings to his grandmother’s hem.
Grandmother thinks:
How to wean Itte from being afraid of everything, so that Itte goes fishing, hunts animals, and becomes a brave hunter?..
A fruitful year has arrived for pine nuts. When the nuts are completely ripe, they can be collected.
Grandmother Imyal-Pai says to Itta:
Let's go, Itte, collect nuts.
What is it? Let's go, grandma!
Grandma sat down with a smile. She sat her down, pushed the little boy, and off we went.
It was a clear day. The sun is shining. Urman makes a quiet noise. The Tym River runs from sand to sand.
Granny and Itte drove across three sands, went ashore, climbed a mountain, and went into the taiga.
Birds sing in the taiga. You can hear the nutcracker knocking in the distance. The bird chooses nuts from the cones.
Grandmother and Itte began collecting nuts. The cedars raised their heads high and hid their cones in the branches. Old Imyal-Paya hits a twig with a mallet - the cones fall off on their own.
They poured a full load of nuts and got ready to go home. Grandmother left one birch bark bag with nuts on the mountain.
Oh, Itte, you forgot your wallet. Run and get it.
Itte ran up the mountain, and Imyal-Paya pushed the cloud away from the shore.
Itte looks from the mountain - grandma has left! Itte began to scream, began to cry:
Why did you leave me, grandma?..
Imyal-Paya did not look back even once. She rowed the oar hard, and soon the cloud disappeared from sight.
Itte was left alone in the taiga. He started running along the shore, looking for somewhere to hide. I searched and searched and found a hollow. He climbed into the hollow, curled up into a ball, and lay quietly.
The sun began to go down, the wind blew, and it began to rain. Taiga is noisy. Cedar cones fall and knock on the hollow.
Itta became scared. He thinks that the animals have come and will eat him.
Out of fear, Itte began to shout:
Eat everything, just don’t touch your head!
And no one touched him. There was just a knocking noise all around - the pine cones were falling.
No matter how afraid Itte was, he fell asleep little by little. No matter how much I slept, I woke up. He looks - it has become light. The sun is high. The birds are singing. Taiga makes a quiet noise.
Itte began to feel himself - was he safe?
He extended his left hand - here is the hand. Right hand He held out his hand. Itte jumped out of the hollow and stood up. He looked - cones were attacking all around. Oh, so many cones!
Itte began to collect cones and forgot his fear. No one to fear!
Itte collected a large pile of cones. He looked at the shore: he saw - grandmother
Imyal-Paya has arrived. He waved his hand at grandma and shouted:
Why did you leave me alone? Grandmother tells him:
Don't be angry, Itte. You are human. Nobody can do anything to you. Human
Everywhere the owner. Now you won't be afraid of anything. And I spent the night not far from you, in the forest.
Itte thought:
Grandma says the truth - don’t be afraid
Itte made peace with his grandmother. They started collecting nuts again. Again we got a full blast. Let's go home.
The Tym River runs from sand to sand. The sun is shining high. Taiga makes a quiet noise.
Since then, Itte has become brave. Wherever he wants, he goes alone. So Grandma Imyal-Pai taught her granddaughter Itte not to be afraid.
Year after year time has passed. Itte grew up. He became a hunter - he became the bravest hunter.
What does “Russian Siberian fairy tale” mean? Is this a special fairy tale, different from those that existed in the European part of Russia or in the Russian North? Of course not. Any fairy tale has its roots in ancient times, in pre-class society, when nations and nationalities had not yet formed. This is one of the reasons that many fairy tales are international.
“To some extent, a fairy tale is a symbol of the unity of peoples. Peoples understand each other in their fairy tales,” wrote the wonderful fairy tale researcher V.Ya. Propp. The fairy tale is structurally incredibly stable, it is anonymous, it has no authors. This is a collective product. Folklore studies have recorded the names of unique storytellers, but not the authors.
The fairy tale, like other folklore genres - songs, riddles, proverbs, traditions, legends, epics - came to Siberia along with the pioneers and settlers from beyond the Urals. “When going to their new fatherland, the settlers took with them, as the treasured heritage of their ancestors, beliefs, fairy tales and songs about the epics of former times,” wrote one of the first collectors and researchers of Siberian folklore S.I. Gulyaev. He believed that “beliefs, fairy tales and songs” are common to the entire Russian people “across the entire immeasurable expanse of the Russian land,” “but in Siberia there are almost more of them than in all other places.”
These lines date back to 1839, but such a view was not typical for many researchers, ethnographers, fiction writers - researchers who wrote about Siberia. A look at the oral tradition poetic creativity in Siberia was, rather, the exact opposite until the end of the 19th century.
Specifics of the Siberian fairy tale
First of all, it must be said that a fairy tale, especially a fairy tale, is very difficult to undergo any significant changes. You can read dozens of fairy tales written down in Siberia, but still not be able to determine either the place or time of their recording.
Nevertheless, the Russian Siberian fairy tale has certain specific features. These features are determined by the specifics of Siberian life and economic life of the past. The fairy tale reflects the worldview of its speakers. The very preservation of the fairy tale tradition in Siberia, especially in the taiga village, is explained by the presence here of a relatively archaic way of life in the recent past. The lack of roads, the almost complete isolation of many settlements from the outside world, hunting life, artel work, lack of education, secular book tradition, remoteness from cultural centers - all this contributed to the preservation of traditional folklore in Siberia.
Siberia with late XVI V. became a place of exile, this also left its mark on the fairy-tale tradition. Many storytellers were exiles, settlers or vagabonds who paid with tales for lodging and refreshments. Hence, by the way, one very striking feature of the Siberian fairy tale is the complexity of the composition, the multiplicity of plots. A tramp who wanted to stay longer with his hosts had to try to entice them a long tale, which would not end before dinner, would not end in one evening, or even in two, three or more. The storytellers, invited to artel work specifically for the entertainment of the artel workers, did the same. They often combined several plots in one narrative so that the tale was told all night or several evenings in a row. The storytellers enjoyed special respect from the artel workers; they were specially allocated a portion of the spoils or proceeds.
Details of local life penetrate into the Siberian fairy tale. Its hero, often a hunter, ends up in the wrong fairy forest, and to the taiga. He comes not to a hut on chicken legs, but to a hunting winter hut. In a Siberian fairy tale, there are names of Siberian rivers, villages, and this or that area; the typical motif of vagrancy and wandering is typical. In general, the Siberian fairy tale is part of the all-Russian fairy tale wealth and belongs to the East Slavic fairy tale tradition.
Analysis of some fairy tale plots will help to better understand on what basis and why exactly such plots arose in the fairy tale tradition. It must be remembered that the fairy tale is included in the system of folklore genres; in isolation, it does not exist on its own. The genres of folklore are interconnected by many sometimes subtle connections; discovering and showing them is an important task for the researcher. I took one of the aspects of folklore - secret speech and fairy tales associated with it.
Majority fairy tales, especially fairy tale, talking about " far away kingdom, the thirtieth state" and various miracles are incomprehensible to the reader. Why do certain heroes and wonderful helpers act in a fairy tale, and why does everything happen exactly this way and not otherwise? Sometimes even the characters’ dialogues seem overly exotic and contrived. For example, in the fairy tale “The Rich and the Beggar,” it is not clear why the master needs to call the cat “clarity,” the fire “red,” the tower “height,” and the water “grace”:
A beggar came to a rich man to hire himself as a worker. The rich man agreed to take him on the condition that he solve the riddles given to him. The rich man shows the beggar the cat and asks:
- What is this? - Cat.- No, this is clarity.
The rich man points to the fire and says:
- What is this? - Fire.- No, it's red.
Indulges in the attic:
- What is this? - Tower.- No, height.
Points to water:
- What is this? - Water.- Thank you, you guessed wrong.
The beggar left the yard, and the cat followed him. The beggar took it and set her tail on fire. The cat ran back, jumped into the attic, and the house was occupied. The people came running, and the beggar returned, and said to the rich:
- Your clarity has brought redness to the heights; grace will not help - you will not own the house.
Such fairy tales need to be specially studied, looking for those ideas in the real life of the past with which the fairy tale is closely connected. The vast majority of fairy tale motifs find their explanation in the life and ideas about the world of people of past eras.
The fairy tale “The Rich and the Beggar” also has its own explanation. There is no doubt that it is connected with the so-called “secret speech”. But before talking about this, it is necessary to make one remark. When we want to penetrate into the nature of folklore or ancient literature, for example, we try to understand the origins of a particular plot or image, we must first of all abstract from all modern ideas about the world. Otherwise, you may come to the wrong conclusions.
A fairy tale is a product of past eras and the worldview of the past. Based on this, you need to “decipher” the fairy tale. Ancient man's ideas about the world were completely special. Ancient man I even laughed “in the wrong way” and not for the reason that we laugh now. Who among us would ever think that swinging on a swing or sliding down an ice slide has its own secret meaning, anything other than some fun holiday entertainment?
The life of ancient man was strictly regulated by ritual, tradition, and filled with many different regulations and prohibitions. There was, for example, a ban on pronouncing certain names and titles under certain circumstances. Ancient man had a completely different attitude towards the word. For him, a word was part of what it meant. J. Frazer writes about this in his work “The Golden Bough”:
« Primitive man, not being able to make a clear distinction between words and things, usually imagines that the connection between a name and the person or thing it denotes is not an arbitrary and ideal association, but real, materially tangible ties that unite them so closely, that through a name it is as easy to exert a magical effect on a person as through hair, nails or another part of his body. Primitive man considers his name to be an essential part of himself and takes proper care of it.”
The name had to be kept secret; it was pronounced only in certain situations. Having learned the name of the enemy, it was possible to harm him through magic and witchcraft: “The natives do not doubt that, having learned their secret names, the foreigner received a favorable opportunity to cause harm through magic,” writes Frazer. Therefore, many ancient peoples had the custom of giving two names: one real one, which was kept in deep secret, the second was known to everyone. Witchcraft supposedly worked only when using the real name.
J. Frazer gives an example of how a person caught in theft was corrected in the Kaffir tribe. To correct a thief, “it is enough just to shout his name over a boiling cauldron of healing water, cover the cauldron with a lid and leave the thief’s name in the water for several days.” His moral rebirth was assured.
Another example of magical belief in the word concerns the custom of the Bangala blacks from the Upper Congo. When a member of this tribe “fishes or returns from a catch, his name is temporarily banned. Everyone calls a fisherman mwele no matter what his real name is. This is done because the river abounds with spirits who, having heard the real name of the fisherman, can use it to prevent him from returning with a good catch. Even after the catch is landed on shore, buyers continue to call the fisherman mwele. After all, the spirits - as soon as they hear his real name - will remember him and either get even with him the next day, or spoil the already caught fish so much that he will get little for it. Therefore, the fisherman has the right to receive a large fine from anyone who calls him by name, or to force this frivolous talker to purchase the entire catch at a high price in order to restore good luck in the fishery.”
Such ideas were obviously characteristic of all ancient peoples. They were afraid to pronounce not only the names of people, but in general any names of creatures and objects with which the corresponding ideas were associated. In particular, bans on pronouncing the names of animals, fish, and birds were widespread. These prohibitions were explained by man's anthropomorphic ideas about nature.
Comparison is the basis of human cognition. Exploring the world, a person compares objects, phenomena, identifies common and distinctive features. The first idea of a person is the idea of oneself, awareness of oneself. If people can move, speak, understand, hear, see, then fish, birds, animals, trees - all of nature, the cosmos - can hear, see, understand in the same way. Man brings the world around him to life. Anthropomorphism - the assimilation of the surrounding world to man - is a necessary step in the development of humanity, in the development of its ideas about the surrounding world.
Anthropomorphic ideas and the verbal prohibitions that arose on their basis have also been recorded among the East Slavic peoples. Russian traveler and explorer of the 18th century. S.P. Krasheninnikov in his book “Description of the Land of Kamchatka” (1755) reports on the remains of an ancient secret speech among Russian hunters. S.P. Krasheninnikov writes that the elder in the sable fishery “orders” that “they should trade in truth, not hide anything to themselves... also that, according to the custom of their ancestors, they should not call a crow, a snake and a cat by their direct names, but call them horse, thin and baked. Industry workers say that in previous years there was much more stuff in the fields strange names they called, for example: a church - high-topped, a woman - a husk or white-headed, a girl - a simpleton, a horse - long-tailed, a cow - roaring, a sheep - thin-legged, a pig - low-eyed, a rooster - bare-legged. Industrialists considered the sable an intelligent animal and, if the ban was violated, they believed that it would cause harm and would not be caught again. Violation of the ban was punished.
The question of verbal prohibitions among hunters was discussed by D.K. Zelenin in his work “Taboos of words among the peoples of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia” (1929-1930). He considers the basis for the prohibitions of hunters and fishermen “first of all, the confidence of the primitive hunter that animals and game that understand human language hear at very long distances - they hear not only everything that the hunter says in the forest while hunting, but often also what what he says at home, getting ready to go fishing.
Learning his plans from the hunter's conversations, the animals flee, as a result of which the hunt becomes unsuccessful. To prevent such unpleasant consequences, the hunter first of all avoids pronouncing the names of animals... This is how the proper names of game animals became forbidden during hunting.”
It is not surprising that church is also mentioned as a forbidden word among Russian hunters. Until recently, the Eastern Slavs retained many pagan ideas dating back to pre-Christian history, pre-class society. Pagan beliefs, right up to modern times, coexisted with Christian ones, but not peacefully and harmlessly, but rather antagonistically. Widespread persecution of traditional folk holidays, games, amusements, etc. by the Russian Church is known. This did not go unnoticed for folk art, including for fairy tales. Demonological pagan creatures oppose Christian characters in folklore - this is the result of the struggle of the Russian Church with popular beliefs. “Mountain father,” testifies A.A. Misyurev about the beliefs of the miners of the Urals is the antithesis of the Orthodox God and the worst enemy of church rituals.” “I’m the same person as everyone else, I just don’t have a cross, my mother cursed me,” writes D.K. about the goblin. Zelenin.
After the adoption of Christianity, mermaids, for example, began to be thought of as girls who died unbaptized; the appearances of a goblin, a brownie, a devil, a demon often acquire similar features - a kind of general demonological image is formed. Christ never laughs; in medieval Moscow there was even a ban on laughter, and in epic tales laughter is a sign of evil spirits. The mermaid kills people with laughter and tickling. Laughter is a sign of a devil, a devil. With a squeal and laughter, the creatures born from the devil’s relationship with a mortal woman disappear from sight. There are a lot of interesting connections here that need to be specifically explored.
Naturally, a Russian hunter in the taiga, in the forest, was afraid to mention the Christian God or other characters of Sacred history, the church, the priest. By doing this, he could anger the owners of the forest, harm himself in a successful hunt, and therefore hid his intentions. Hence the well-known saying “neither fluff nor feather,” which was said before a hunter went out hunting.
In the same way, a Christian was afraid to mention the name of the devil, to swear, especially in front of icons or in church, this was the greatest sacrilege. There are many stories in folklore in which the devil or goblin appears immediately after the mention of their names and does what they were asked to do, willingly or unwillingly.
The secret speech was brought to us not only by a fairy tale, but also by a riddle. Moreover, it was reflected most fully in the riddle. Try to guess the riddle:
Rynda digs, skinda gallops,
Thurman is coming and will eat you.
IN in this case The answer is a pig, a hare and a wolf. The answers to such riddles need to be known in advance; they are associated with secret speech. There is no doubt that riddles taught secret speech, substitute words. At special evenings, riddles were made, and young, inexperienced members of the community, guessing them, learned secret speech. Here are more examples of similar riddles:
Shuru-muru has come,
He took away the chicks and kicks,
The chaff saw
The residents were told:
The inhabitants of Shuru-Mura have caught up,
The chicks were taken away.
(Wolf, sheep, pig, man)
I went along the tow-too-too,
I took taf-taf-t with me,
And he found it on the snoring-tah-tu;
If only it weren't taf-taf-tah,
I'd be eaten up by the snoring-tah-tah.
(Translation: “I went hunting, took a dog with me, found a bear...”)
Only with the widespread existence of secret speech could such riddles exist. Now children and older people know riddles and fairy tales. This is an entertainment genre. In ancient times, the riddle was a much more serious genre. In Russian fairy tales and songs, his life or the fulfillment of what he wants, for example, a wedding, often depends on whether the hero can guess the riddle.
In the famous ancient legend, the Sphinx - a monster with the head and chest of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird - asked a riddle to travelers and killed everyone who could not guess it: “Which living creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three?" The Sphinx, located on a mountain near Thebes, killed many residents of the city, including the son of King Creon. The king announced that he would give the kingdom and his sister Jocasta as a wife to the one who would rid the city of the Sphinx. Oedipus guessed the riddle, after which the sphinx threw itself into the abyss and crashed.
Guessing a riddle is obviously associated with a special relationship to the word, with the magic of the word. Making and guessing riddles is a kind of duel. The one who does not guess correctly is defeated.
There are well-known stories in which a competition in guessing riddles takes place between evil spirits and a person who will live only if they solve the riddles. Here is an example of such a tale recorded in the Altai Territory:
“Three girls gathered to cast a spell. Near the house where they cast their fortunes, a lost horse lay. Suddenly the horse jumped up and ran. She ran up to the house and began to ask to go into the hut. The girls got scared and turned to their grandmother. The grandmother put cups on their heads, went to the door and said to the horse: “If you guess the riddles that I tell you, I will let you into the house, if not, then no.” The first riddle: “What in the world are these three braids?” The horse didn't guess. The grandmother said the answer: “The first is the girl’s, the second is the rooster’s, the third is the mower.” Second riddle: “What are the three arcs in the world?” The horse didn't guess. The answer was this: the first is a harness, the second is a rainbow, the third is an arc at the boiler. The horse was forced to leave."
There is nothing exotic in this plot; it stems from the superstitious beliefs of the people. It is possible to get rid of a dead horse only by resorting to the magic of words, to a riddle.
Let us remember “The Tale of Bygone Years,” the legend about Princess Olga’s revenge on the Drevlyans for the murder of her husband, Prince Igor. The wise Olga, as it were, challenges the Drevlyans to a duel, which they have no idea about, and this predetermines their death. The princess speaks allegorically, her words have hidden meaning. Olga offers them honor (they, like matchmakers, will be carried in a boat) and asks them to say: “We are not riding on horses, nor on carts, and we are not going on foot, but carry us in a boat.” These words symbolize funeral rite. The dead do everything differently from the living, as evidenced by the riddle: “I washed my face the wrong way, dressed up the wrong way, sat down the wrong way, and drove the wrong way, I got stuck in a pothole and couldn’t get out.” Or: “I’m going, I’m going the wrong way, I’m not driving with a whip, I hit a pothole, I can’t get out.” The answer is “funeral”.
In the tale, the bride or groom often undertakes the difficult task of appearing "neither on foot nor on horseback, neither naked nor clothed." They unravel the secret meaning of this task, and everything ends happily - with a wedding. Olga's matchmakers do not understand the meaning of what is happening. The symbolism of the funeral rite is used twice: the Drevlyans wash themselves and feast on their own death.
Russian folk song has preserved for us the motives of matchmaking - asking riddles. For example, the song “Tavleynaya Game”. The guy and the girl are playing tavlei (chess):
The good guy played about three ships,
And the girl played about a wild head.
How the girl beat the young man,
The girl won three ships.
The young man is sad about his ships, the beautiful maiden calms him down:
Don’t be sad, don’t worry, good fellow,
Perhaps your three ships will return,
How can you take me, a beautiful girl, for yourself:
Your ships are my dowry.
The ritual does not end there either: as expected, the young man asks the girl riddles:
I'll tell the girl a riddle
Cunning, wise, unguessable:
Oh, what do we have, girl, that burns without fire?
Does it burn without fire and fly without wings?
Does it fly without wings and run without legs?
The girl answers:
Without fire our sun burns red,
And without wings we have a terrible cloud flying,
And without legs our mother runs fast.
Next riddle:
Well, I have a boyfriend who is a cook,
So will he really take you for himself?
What will the beautiful maiden soul say:
The riddle is not cunning, not wise,
Not cunning, not wise, only disgusting:
I already have a goose girl,
Surely she will marry you!
The competition was won, the girl gained the upper hand, and showed her wisdom. It is remarkable that here the bride, as in general in the Russian matchmaking ritual, is called not directly, but allegorically.
Let's return once again to secret speech. Let's consider a fairy tale in which it is very vividly presented - “The Tower of the Fly”. What is most interesting in this tale is what insects and animals call themselves.
“A man was driving with pots and lost a large jug. A fly flew into the jug and began to live and live in it. One day lives, another lives. A mosquito has arrived and knocks:
- Who is in the mansions, who is in the tall ones?
– I am a hype fly; and who are you?
- And I am a squeaking mosquito.
- Come live with me.
So the two of us began to live together.”
Then a mouse comes - “from around the corner,” then a frog – “on the water balagta”, then a hare – “there’s a twist in the field”, a fox – “there’s beauty in the field”, a dog – “gum-gum”, a wolf – “from “behind the bushes” and finally the bear – “forest oppression”, which “sat on a jug and crushed everyone.”
It is remarkable that the riddle brings to us such metaphorical names. The bear in the riddle is “an oppressor to everyone”, the hare is “spinner across the path”, the wolf is “grabbing from behind a bush”, the dog is “taf-taf-taf”.
Let us turn again to the fairy tale “The Rich and the Beggar” and its connection with secret speech. Now this connection is quite clear. It is necessary, however, to make one more very important remark. We talked about the sacred attitude towards secret speech, a very serious attitude, based on absolute faith in the necessity of using such speech in life, in its connection with the magic of the word. A fairy tale is a genre based on pure fiction; there is no connection between the events of a fairy tale and modern reality. Secret speech, the magic of words, is parodied in fairy tales, its use is subject to fairy tale canons.
The fairy tale “The Rich and the Beggar” is characterized, first of all, by the social opposition of the characters: the beggar and the rich. Initially, the rich man gains the upper hand and laughs at the poor man. He owns the secret speech, he is initiated into it. A rich man asks riddles to a beggar. The beggar guessed nothing, the rich man laughed at him and did not accept him as a worker.
But according to the laws of the fairy tale, the rich cannot defeat the poor. This happens here too: the beggar took revenge on the rich, he turned out to be smarter than him. It all ends with a joke, a funny pun. This joke not only has a typical fairytale ending, but one can also hear laughter at the tradition of secret speech itself, at the belief in the magic of words. Here is the riddle from which this tale was born:
Darkness to lightness
Carried to the heights
But there was no grace at home.
(Cat, spark, roof, water).
Secret speech is also parodied in fairy tales about the cunning soldier (Russian folk satirical tales Siberia. Novosibirsk, 1981. No. 91-93). The fairy tale “For a Rainy Day” was recorded among all East Slavic peoples, including several versions in Siberia. Its plot is as follows:
“There lived two old men who worked all their lives without straightening their backs. They saved pennies for a rainy day. One day the old man went to the market, and a soldier came to see the grandmother. Grandma thought that this “rainy day” had come. The soldier took all the money and begged for another 25 rubles - he sold the “solinets” to the old woman. He took an iron tooth from a harrow out of his pocket and said:
- When you cook something, stir it with this saltine and say: “Salt, saltine, an old man will come from the market, put it in your bag, they will be for you.” flappers, will be for you flip-flops! It will be salty!”
One can guess how the fairy tale ended. Comic effect is intensified by the fact that the soldier speaks in an allegorical, secret speech, and the old woman does not understand him. It’s the same in the next fairy tale. This time the old woman is the first to ask riddles. She did not feed two soldiers.
“So one soldier went out into the yard, released the cattle into the threshing floor, into sheaves of grain, came and said:
- Baushka, the cattle have entered the threshing floor there.
- By any chance, you didn’t let the cattle out?
The old woman went to the threshing floor to drive out the cattle, and the soldiers here managed to make some prey for themselves: they looked into the pot in the oven, pulled out a rooster from it, and put in a bast shoe. An old woman comes, sits on a chair and says:
- Guess the riddle, I’ll give you something to eat.
- Well, make a guess.
She tells them:
– Kurukhan Kurukhanovich is cooking under the frying pan.
“No, grandma, Plet Pletukhanovich is being cooked under a frying pan, and Kurukhan Kurukhanovich has been transferred to Sumin-gorod.”
The old woman did not understand that she had been deceived and released the soldiers, giving them also a piece of bread. She “guessed” the riddle only when, instead of a rooster, she pulled a bast shoe out of the pot. In another version of the tale from the same collection, Kurukhan Kurukhanovich from the city of Pechinsk is transferred to the city of Suminsk.
Such tales are close to an anecdote and perform the same function as it - they ridicule not only human greed and stupidity, but also parody the ritual. Serious things become funny and cheerful. This is the path of any tradition, any ritual associated with beliefs in magical power. In ancient times, the ritual of swinging on a swing was associated with the belief in the connection between swinging upward, throwing objects and the growth of vegetation. The church prohibited this ritual. Those who crashed on the swings were buried without a funeral service, often not in the cemetery, but next to the swings. In the same way, the newlyweds' skating down the ice slide on Maslenitsa was supposed to ensure fertility and a future harvest.
In K. Marx’s work “The Tragic and the Comic in real story“There are wonderful words: “History operates thoroughly and passes through many phases when it carries an outdated form of life to the grave. The last phase of the world-historical form is its comedy. The gods of Greece, who were already once - in a tragic form - mortally wounded in Aeschylus's "Prometheus Bound" - had to die again - in a comic form - in Lucian's "Conversations". Why is this the course of history? This is necessary so that humanity can cheerfully part with its past.”
We are talking about the law of development of human history, the understanding of which gives a lot for understanding the process of cultural development, including for understanding the folklore process.
Altai tales
Scary guest
Once upon a time there lived a badger. He slept during the day and went hunting at night. One night a badger was hunting. Before he had time to get enough, the edge of the sky had already brightened.
The badger hurries to get into his hole before the sun. Without showing himself to people, hiding from the dogs, he walked where the shadow was thickest, where the ground was blackest.
The badger approached his home.
Hrr... Brr... - he suddenly heard an incomprehensible noise.
"What's happened?"
The dream jumped out of the badger, its fur stood on end, its heart almost broke its ribs with a pounding sound.
"I've never heard such a noise..."
Hrrr... Firrlit-few... Brrr...
“I’ll quickly go back to the forest, I’ll call clawed animals like me: I alone don’t agree to die here for everyone.”
And the badger went to call all the clawed animals living in Altai for help.
Oh, I have a scary guest in my hole! Help! Save!
The animals came running, their ears to the ground - in fact, the earth trembles from the noise:
Brrrrrrk, hrr, whew...
All the animals' hair stood on end.
Well, badger, this is your house, you go first.
The badger looked around - ferocious animals were standing all around, urging, hurrying:
Go, go!
And they put their tails between their legs out of fear.
The badger house had eight entrances and eight exits. "What to do? - the badger thinks. - What should I do? Which way to enter your house?”
What are you worth? - Wolverine snorted and raised her terrible paw.
Slowly, reluctantly, the badger walked towards the main entrance.
Hrrrr! - flew out of there.
The badger jumped back and hobbled towards another entrance and exit.
There's a loud noise coming from all eight exits.
The badger began to dig for the ninth hole. It’s a shame to destroy your home, but there’s no way to refuse - the most ferocious animals have gathered from all over Altai.
Hurry, hurry! - they order.
It’s a shame to destroy your home, but you can’t disobey.
Sighing bitterly, the badger scratched the ground with its clawed front paws. Finally, almost alive with fear, he made his way into his high bedroom.
Hrrr, brrr, frrr...
It was a white hare, lounging on a soft bed, snoring loudly.
The animals couldn't stand on their feet laughing and rolled on the ground.
Hare! That's it, a hare! The badger was scared of the hare!
Ha ha ha! Ho-ho-ho!
Where will you hide from shame now, badger? What an army he gathered against the hare!
Ha ha ha! Ho-ho!
But the badger doesn’t raise his head, he scolds himself:
“Why, when I heard noise in my house, didn’t I look in there myself? Why did you go screaming all over Altai?”
And the hare, you know, is sleeping and snoring.
The badger got angry and kicked the hare:
Get out! Who allowed you to sleep here?
The hare woke up - his eyes almost popped out! - the wolf, the fox, the lynx, the wolverine, the wild cat, even the sable are here!
“Well,” the hare thinks, “whatever happens!”
And suddenly - he jumped into the badger's forehead. And from the forehead, as if from a hill, there’s a leap again! - and into the bushes.
The white hare's belly turned the badger's forehead white.
White marks ran down the cheeks from the hare's hind legs.
The animals laughed even louder:
Oh, barsu-u-uk, how beautiful you have become! Ho-ha-ha!
Come to the water and look at yourself!
The badger hobbled to the forest lake, saw his reflection in the water and began to cry:
“I’ll go and complain to the bear.”
He came and said:
I bow to you to the ground, grandfather bear. I ask for your protection. I myself was not at home that night, I did not invite guests. Hearing loud snoring, he got scared... He disturbed so many animals and destroyed his house. Now look, from the hare’s white belly, from the hare’s paws - and my cheeks have turned white. And the culprit ran away without looking back. Judge this matter.
Are you still complaining? Your head used to be black as the earth, but now even people will envy the whiteness of your forehead and cheeks. It’s a shame that it wasn’t me who stood in that place, that it wasn’t my face that the hare whitened. What a pity! Yes, it’s a pity, it’s a shame...
And, sighing bitterly, the bear left.
And the badger still lives with a white stripe on its forehead and cheeks. They say that he has become accustomed to these marks and is already boasting:
That's how hard the hare worked for me! We are now friends forever.
Well, what does the hare say? Nobody heard this.
Literary processing by A. Garf.
Resentment of the deer
A red fox came running from the green hills into the black forest. She hasn’t dug a hole for herself in the forest yet, but she already knows the news from the forest: the bear has become old.
Ay-ay-ay, woe is trouble! Our elder, the brown bear, is dying. His golden fur coat has faded, his sharp teeth have become dull, and his paws no longer have the strength they once had. Hurry, hurry! Let's get together, let's think about who in our black forest is smarter than everyone, who is more beautiful, who we will sing praises to, who we will put in the bear's place.
Where nine rivers united, at the foot of nine mountains, above a rapid spring, a shaggy cedar stands. Animals from the black forest gathered under this cedar. They show off their fur coats to each other, boast about their intelligence, strength, and beauty.
The old bear also came here:
Why are you making noise? What are you arguing about?
The animals became silent, and the fox raised its sharp muzzle and squealed:
Ah, venerable bear, be ageless, strong, and live a hundred years! We argue and argue here, but we can’t solve the matter without you: who is more worthy, who is more beautiful than everyone else?
“Everyone is good in his own way,” the old man grumbled.
Ah, wisest one, we still want to hear your word. To whomever you point, the animals will sing his praises and place him in a place of honor.
And she spread her red tail, groomed her golden fur with her tongue, and smoothed her white breast.
And then the animals suddenly saw a deer running in the distance. With his feet he trampled the top of the mountain, his branched horns led a trail along the bottom of the sky.
The fox had not yet had time to close his mouth, but the deer was already here.
His smooth fur did not sweat from the fast run, his elastic ribs did not move more often, and the warm blood did not boil in his tight veins. The heart is calm, beating evenly, the big eyes are quietly shining. He scratches his brown lip with his pink tongue, his teeth turn white, and he laughs.
The old bear slowly stood up, sneezed, and extended his paw to the deer:
That's who is the most beautiful of all.
The fox bit its own tail out of envy.
Are you living well, noble deer? - she sang. - Apparently, your slender legs have weakened, there is not enough breath in your wide chest. The insignificant squirrels got ahead of you, the bow-legged wolverine has been here for a long time, even the slow badger managed to arrive before you.
The deer lowered his branch-horned head low, his shaggy chest swayed and his voice sounded like a reed pipe.
Dear fox! The squirrels live on this cedar, the wolverine slept on the neighboring tree, the badger has a hole here, behind the hill. And I passed nine valleys, swam across nine rivers, crossed nine mountains...
The deer raised his head - his ears were like flower petals. The horns, covered with a thin pile, are transparent, as if filled with May honey.
And you, fox, what are you worrying about? - the bear got angry. - Are you planning to become an elder yourself?
I ask you, noble deer, take a place of honor.
And the fox is already here again.
Oh ha ha! They want to elect a brown deer as an elder and are going to sing his praises. Haha, haha! Now he is beautiful, but look at him in winter - his head is hornless, hornless, his neck is thin, his fur hangs in clumps, he walks crouched, staggers from the wind.
Maral could not find words in response. He looked at the animals - the animals were silent.
M, "Children's literature", 1995
Introductory article to volume X of “Tales of the Peoples of the World” - “Tales of the Peoples of Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan", publishing house M, "Children's Literature", 1995, compiled by Alla Ivanovna Aliyeva, formed the basis of this article. Our audio book includes fairy tales about animals, fairy tales and everyday tales of peoples living in Siberia, the Far North, the Far The East of Russia, in the countries of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Such a unification is not accidental. The peoples inhabiting Siberia, the Far North and the Far East on the one hand, and Central Asia and Kazakhstan on the other, are united by geographical proximity, similarity or commonality of historical destinies, economic and cultural development. , in many cases, the kinship of languages, the similarity of spiritual culture. In Southern Siberia, these are the Buryats, Yakuts, Altaians, Khakassians, Tuvinians, West Siberian Tatars, Shchors, Tofalars. All these peoples speak different languages - mainly Turkic or Mongolian. In Siberia and the Far East live the Khanty and Mansi, Nenets, Nganasan, Enets, Selkups, Kets, Evenks, Dolgans, Evens, Negidals, Nanais, Ulchis, Udeges, Orochs, Oroks, Nivkhs, Yukagirs, Chukchi, Eskimos, Koryaks, Itelmens, Aleuts. Some of these peoples number several thousand, others do not exceed one thousand people. These peoples speak Tungus-Manchu, Samoyed and Ugric languages. The languages of the different peoples of Siberia and the Far East differ significantly from each other. Thus, the Nivkh and Yukaghir languages have nothing in common either with each other or with the languages of the Chukchi, Koryaks, and Itelmens.
The history and culture of the peoples of Southern Siberia, the Far North and the Far East differ significantly.
The small indigenous peoples of Northern Siberia and the Far East, separated by vast, impassable spaces of taiga and tundra, lived in harsh climatic and living conditions. Since ancient times, their main activities were fishing and hunting various animals and animals - marine and tundra. Significant changes in the life of the peoples of the North were brought about by the domestication of wild deer and the emergence of reindeer husbandry. Hunting, fishing, and collecting edible and medicinal herbs and plants developed among the peoples of the North faith in the forces of nature and admiration for them. The entire spiritual life of the peoples of the North, and above all their religious ideas, which are widely reflected in folk tales, are permeated with admiration for natural forces. These are the ideas about the “upper” and “lower” worlds (the hero of the Chukchi fairy tale “White Yaranga” goes to the upper tundra to get a wife), about the “masters” of the elements (the master of the winds - in the Nenets fairy tale "The Master of the Winds", the son of Thunder - in the Dolgan the fairy tale “The Song Man”, about the owner of the taiga in the Nanai fairy tale “Brave Mergen”, etc.).
Shamans occupy a special place in the fairy tales of northern peoples. Here, as in popular belief, they are characterized as people endowed with a supernatural ability to communicate with various spirits and, thanks to this, accomplish the incredible. Superstitious fear of the power of a shaman, capable of going to the kingdom of spirits, communicating with them and returning back, was reflected in the fairy tales of the peoples of the North. This is confirmed by the Nganasan “Tale of the old shaman, his sons and Chinchir with the Shitolic face.”
We find the most vivid reflection of admiration for nature, the desire to understand many of its phenomena and explain their origin in the wonderful fairy tales of the peoples of the North. They expressively describe the life, way of life, and customs of the northern peoples, which have remained unchanged for many centuries. Unforgettable and unique are the descriptions of how fairy-tale heroes hunt sea animals or wild deer, fish (which in the conditions of the North is not at all easy and far from safe), and women run the household: prepare food, tan the skins of animals hunted by men, they sew clothes from them.
The fairy tales of the northern peoples uniquely explain the origin of many everyday phenomena (making fire - in the fairy tale “How the Birds Made Fire”) and the special properties of various birds, beasts and animals.
There are numerous and artistically convincing fairy tales of the peoples of the North, which talk about the origin and characteristics of various animals, animals and birds (the Khanty fairy tale “The Fox and the Bear”, the Even “Cuckoo”, the Eskimo “How the Raven and the Owl Decorated Each Other”, the Mansi “Bunny” and others). Of course, the peoples of the North have magical and everyday tales, but it is precisely these that give a unique uniqueness to the fairy tale epic of the peoples of the Far North and Far East. ancient works their oral folk poetry.
The tales of the peoples of Southern Siberia differ significantly from the tales of the peoples of the Far North and Far East. This is not accidental and has a historical explanation. Southern Siberia, inhabited by people already in the Upper Paleolithic era, was an area of ancient cattle breeding and agriculture. In its subsequent development it included integral part into various state-political temporary formations of the Turkic and Mongolian tribes and, not without their influence, it became an area of relatively high ancient culture.
Northern Siberia had constant centuries-old economic and cultural ties with the southern regions of Siberia, and through them - with the ancient civilizations of not only the East, but also the West. Precious northern furs were famous in China, India and Central Asia many centuries ago.
The population of Western Siberia had undoubted connections with Eastern Europe. The campaigns of Genghis Khan, the Turkic Khaganate, the movement of the Huns had a reflected influence on the ethnic movements of the peoples of Siberia, on the development of their culture, especially their oral folk poetry, where fairy tales occupy one of the central places. At the same time, the tales of the peoples of Southern Siberia - Altaians, Buryats, Tuvans, Khakassians, Shors, Yakuts - created in the depths of centuries, have retained close connections with various ancient rituals. In ancient times, Altai people told fairy tales only in winter - in the evening or at night. They, like other Turkic-speaking peoples of Siberia, believed that in mid-January the world splits into old and new parts. In order to resist hibernation and the rampant “evil spirits” during the difficult winter season and prepare for the new life that should come with the onset of new spring, people told stories. Each era left its mark on existing ancient tales.
The tales of the peoples of Siberia were associated with the veneration of the “Master of Altai” - the spirit of the mountains, to whom sacrifices were made twice a year. Khakass, Tuvan and Shor hunters believed that fairy tales had a magical effect on the owner of the mountains: for a good fairy tale he can send the hunter rich prey.
The majority of our audio book is occupied by fairy tales of the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The independent states of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, former republics of the USSR, are located on a vast territory that stretches from the banks of the Volga and the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east, from Western Siberia in the north to Afghanistan and Iran in the south. Their territory is inhabited by Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Tajiks, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Karakalpaks, Uighurs, Dungans, Koreans, Tatars, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Germans. More than half of the population of Central Asia and Kazakhstan - Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Karakalpaks, Turkmens, Uyghurs, Tatars - belong to the Turkic group of the Altai family of languages. Another significant part of the population speaks Iranian languages - these are primarily Tajiks, as well as Balochis, Kurds, and Persians.
Central Asia and Kazakhstan are one of the oldest centers of world civilization: more than five thousand years ago, here, as in the countries of the ancient Eastern civilization of Western Asia, there was irrigated agriculture. In the second millennium BC (during the Bronze Age), the population of Central Asia and Kazakhstan was familiar with irrigation, and in the middle of the first millennium BC. e. powerful states existed here, where science, art, and literature flourished. Over the course of their centuries-old history, the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan have created a rich and original culture, a significant and organic part of which is oral folk poetry - folklore. One of the significant places in which fairy tales occupy. Our audio book contains the most expressive and characteristic tales this region.
Tales about animals have much in common with the fairy tales of a number of other peoples (they are similar to anecdotes in the brevity of their form and the expressiveness of the dialogues; in them, the central characters are, as a rule, animals, and less often people appear). Fairy tales are distinguished by a number of specific features. First of all, this is due to the centuries-old cultural ties of the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, on the one hand, with each other, and on the other, with the mythology and folklore of the Iranians and Arabs. That is why the fairy tales of the Kazakhs, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, and Turkmens feature very similar heroes who perform similar feats or simply similar actions. The hero of a fairy tale is often helped by the fabulous bird Simurgh or the bird Zumrud; he goes in search of an extraordinary girl - a beauty - peri and enters into a fight with devas or dragons, whom, of course, he always defeats. All these characters came to Uzbek, Turkmen or Kazakh fairy tales from Persian or Arabic. Some of them, for example peris or devas, changed their appearance and acquired some specific Turkmen, Kazakh or Tajik features, others (the Simurgh bird) retained both their appearance and their role in the fairy-tale action.
But the determining factors in the formation of the originality of the fairy tales of the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan were their own mythological and fairy-tale traditions of these peoples, their ethical and aesthetic ideas. They widely reflected the life, morals, and customs of Uzbeks and Kazakhs, Tajiks and Turkmens, Dungans and Uyghurs. At the same time, you have the opportunity to see the similarity of all the fairy tales of the peoples of Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan - an affirmation of the triumph of truth, goodness, and justice.
We invite you to listen online or download audio tales of the peoples of Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan to your audio library!
Audio fairy tales of the peoples of Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan - Volume X of Fairy Tales of the Peoples of the World. The volume includes tales about animals, magical and everyday tales of peoples living in Siberia, the Far North, the Far East of Russia, the countries of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The compiler of the volume, the introduction “An Exciting Journey” and the dictionary is Alla Ivanovna Alieva. You...
Audio fairy tale "Old Woman Baybyarikyan with Five Cows" - about the kind old woman Baybyarikyan with her five cows, the daring hunter Harjit-Bergen and the beautiful horsetail girl. Magical Yakut folk audio tale. You can listen online and download the Yakut folk audio tale “Old Lady Baybyarikyan with Five Cows.”
Tuvan folk magic audio tale "Oskus-ool and the Golden Princess" - about a kind young man and the Golden Princess sorceress. Listen online and download the audio fairy tale "Oskus-ool and the Golden Princess." Ool is translated from Tuvan - guy. So: Oskus-ool lived with his old, old father in a dilapidated tent, and they only had seven goats. Oskus-ool...
Tajik folk, magical audio tale "Salim-Pakhlavon" - about the young padishah Salim-Pakhlavon. About how he searched for his parents, and on the way he gained strength, friends, a wife, and in the end he met his parents and his brother. You can listen online and download the Tajik folk audio tale “Salim-Pakhlavon”.
"Three sons of a poor man" is a Kazakh folk audio fairy tale. “Once upon a time there lived a poor man. He had three sons. The eldest was called Ashken, the middle one was Moshken, and the youngest was Zhumageldy. They were distinguished by great strength and were very similar to each other. The father sent his sons to school. He was impatiently waiting for them to learn , will grow up and become his assistants." So...
"White Yaranga" is a Chukchi folk audio fairy tale. The entire spiritual life of the peoples of the North, and above all their religious ideas, which are widely reflected in folk tales, are permeated with admiration for natural forces. These are the ideas about the “upper” and “lower” world. The hero of the fairy tale "White Yaranga" Seken, goes to the upper tundra to extract...
"The Silk Tassel Torko-chachak" is an Altai folk audio fairy tale. Fairy tales of the peoples of Southern Siberia - Altaians, Buryats, Tuvinians, Khakassians, Shors, Yakuts - created in the depths of centuries, have retained close connections with various ancient rituals. Superstitious fear of the power of the shaman was reflected in Altai fairy tales. "Once upon a time there was a girl, her name was...
"Guljahan" is a Turkmen folk audio fairy tale. Turkmens belong to the Turkic group of the Altai language family. Central Asia and Kazakhstan are one of the oldest centers of world civilization. In the 2nd millennium BC - during the Bronze Age - the population of Central Asia was familiar with irrigation, and in the middle of the 1st millennium BC here...
“Garyulai-mergen and his brave sister Agu-nogon-abakha” is a Buryat folk audio fairy tale about a brave and resourceful girl, devoted to her sister Agu-nogon-abakha, who saved her brother Garyulay-mergen from the jaws of the seven-headed monster mangathaya. The brave girl had to experience and overcome many difficulties to save her brother....
"Rustamzod and Sherzod" is an Uzbek folk magic audio tale. One old man had two sons, Rustamzod and Sherzod, and a second wife, a stepmother to his children. The evil wife forced her husband to steal so that they would have more money, but he did not want to become a thief. It was difficult for a man to live with thieves, and to help those whom they wanted to rob, but...
“A horse with eyes like a flower of poisonous grass” is a Uyghur folk audio fairy tale. Uighurs are a people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan - 211 thousand people (according to the 1979 census). The Uyghur (New Uyghur) language belongs to the Turkic languages (Karluk group). From the first words the stories begin...
"Shakir and Shakiret" is a Kyrgyz folk audio tale. A magical fairy tale about the bitter lot of the Khan's children, the boys Shakir and Shakiret and the sister who plays a passive role in the fairy tale. The action begins in the Kyrgyz city of Osh. The boys studied with the moldo (mullah). The mother of three children died, and a year later the khan married the daughter of a neighboring bai. "The new wife was...
"Brave Mergen" is a Nanai folk audio fairy tale. Hunting, fishing, and collecting edible and medicinal herbs and plants developed among the peoples of the North faith in the forces of nature and even admiration for them. The entire spiritual life of the peoples of the North, and above all their religious ideas, is permeated with admiration for natural forces...
"Wise Ayaz" is a Kazakh folk magic audio tale. A significant place in our audio book is occupied by the tales of the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, and now inhabiting independent states. Over the course of their centuries-old history, the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan have created a rich and distinctive culture...
"The Master of the Winds" is a Nenets folk audio fairy tale. “In one camp, an old man lived. Three daughters lived with him. The youngest was the best, the smartest...” This is how the Nenets fairy tale begins about the obedient, kind, diligent, and therefore successful youngest daughter and the impatient, naughty middle and eldest daughters. The youngest of...
"Little Frog" is a Dungan folk audio fairy tale. A frog has taken root in a childless family. He began to call the old people “father” and “mother”, and he himself helped them in everything, like parents. When he grew up, having completed various trials, he married a princess. He was the enchanted son of the dragon king. Three days remained before the expiration of the witchcraft spell, but...
"Tahir and Zukhra" is a beautiful, famous Uzbek folk audio tale about love. Tahir and Zukhra were the same age. The old wizard predicted not to separate the children of the Shah and the Vizier, to name the boy Tahir, the girl Zukhra, and to marry them when they grow up. Shah, Zukhra's father, was always trying to separate the children... "She (Zukhra) is in Separation from Tahir day and night...
"The Great Shooter" is a Khakass folk audio fairy tale. The tales of the peoples of Siberia were also associated with the veneration of the “master of Altai” - the spirit of the mountains, to whom sacrifices were made twice a year. Khakass, Tuvan and Shor hunters believed that fairy tales had a magical effect on the owner of the mountains: for a good fairy tale, he could send the hunter a rich...
"Barsa-Kelmes, or You'll Go-Never-Come Back" - Karakalpak folk magic audio tale. Barsa-Kelmes, or You'll Go-Won't Come Back - this is such a tract. “In the old days in Kungrad, the son of a rich farmer and the son of his farm laborer studied at school together. They sat on the same felt and looked at the same book...” Only the farm laborer’s son tried, and the peasant’s son was jealous of his...
“The Song Man” is a Dolgan folk audio fairy tale about the “upper” and “lower” worlds, about the “master” of the elements Thunder and his son. “At the edge of the forest, at the edge of the tundra, there was, they say, a log hut. A woman lived in it with three sons. The two eldest were strong, and the youngest - his name was Kunazhi - was still lying on the stove. He couldn’t walk at all, his legs couldn’t support him.. ..
“The Brave Girl” is a Tajik folk audio fairy tale about a girl who dared to get medicine for her blind father. Dressed in men's clothing, she set off on a dangerous journey. She was helped by kindness, cordiality, friendliness, and against the divas she was given a mirror, a comb and a bar. The mirror, at the right moment, turned into a river, a block...
"A Boy in a Girl's Clothes" is an Aleutian folk audio fairy tale. “Kanaagutukh, when he was young, fought a lot. But no one sang songs about him, did not tell stories. Others come face to face with the enemy in a fair fight, but Kanaagutukh secretly sneaked into someone else’s village, killed sleepy men, captured women, and children took me away... wanted more...
"The Magic Stone of Akhanrabo" is an Uzbek folk magic audio tale. The plot is known from Persian, Arabic, and European folk tales. First of all, this is due to the centuries-old cultural ties of the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan with each other and with the mythology and folklore (oral folk poetry) of the Iranians and Arabs. Similar tales...
"Wooden Brides" is an Itelmen folk audio fairy tale. A difficult fairy tale to understand. Admiration for the mysterious nature of the North was also reflected in the fine arts of the northern peoples. Particular development has been achieved in such areas of applied fine art as carving of walrus tusk, mammoth bone, metal, inlay...
"Talking Camel" is a Turkmen folk audio tale about a resourceful little boy who hid from the rain in his camel's ear. There were those who wanted to appropriate the lonely camel, and then the boy began to speak as if for the camel, which immediately became known as “wise.” He even managed to convince the khan to build a dam, which...
Nivkhs (outdated name "Gilyaks") are a people living in the lower reaches of the Amur River (Khabarovsk Territory) and on Sakhalin Island. According to the 1979 census - 4.4 thousand people. Nivkh (or "Gilyak" language) is genetically isolated and belongs to the Poleo-Asian languages. An alphabet was created based on Russian graphics. "Mountain Beauty" - Nivkh folk audio...
"Almighty Katgyrgyn" is a Chukchi folk audio fairy tale. Hunting, fishing, and collecting edible and medicinal herbs and plants developed among the peoples of the North faith in the forces of nature and admiration for them. The Chukchi fairy tale "Almighty Katgyrgyn" tells about the relationship in nature of the flora and fauna, or who wins...
"The Testament of Sulaimanbai" is a Kyrgyz folk audio fairy tale. Dying, one man, Sulaimanbai, told his daughter-in-law about a treasure buried in the garden for a rainy day. But the treasure is not the testament of Sulaimanbai in the fairy tale. After the death of her father-in-law, the daughter-in-law used the treasure against her son. She herself died. And Sulaimanbai’s son married a kind and intelligent woman for the second time...
“The Good Forest Adiga” is an Udege folk magic audio tale. The entire spiritual life of the peoples of the North and, above all, their religious ideas, which are widely reflected in folk tales, are permeated with admiration for natural forces. A woman was in trouble: she lost her son and husband. "...Isama is lying there, crying... And at that time a kind forest girl was walking through the taiga...
“Nasir Baldy” is an Uzbek folk audio tale about the modest talented master potter Nasir Baldy, about the vain slacker Shah, and, of course, about the evil and greedy vizier. In the center of the fairy tale is a skillfully made, beautiful Shah's bowl. “The new bowl had amazing flowers on the sides, and inside all the objects were reflected in different ways...
Nganasans are a people in the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug. The Nganasan language (Tavgian, Tavgian-Samoyed) belongs to the Samoyedic group of Uralic languages. Unwritten. Shamans occupy a special place in the fairy tales of northern peoples. Here, as in popular ideas, they are characterized as people endowed with supernatural powers...
Over the course of its centuries-old history, the Tajik people have created a rich and original culture, a significant and organic part of which is oral folk poetry - folklore. “The Wise Girl and the Lazy Man” is a Tajik folk audio tale about the smartest girl in the state and the laziest lazy man, and also about the fact that “A smart wife and a stupid...
"Aldar's Tricks" is a cycle of Kyrgyz folk audio tales. Our audio book contains two tales about an intelligent and resourceful man, whose name was Aldar-Kose: “How Aldar punished a robber” by sending him to a well for a silver bucket, and “The White Goat of Aldar”, where Aladar dressed a wolf as a goat and forced the wolf to play the role of a goat. We offer...
"The Iron Bird" is a Nanai folk audio tale. The most vivid reflection of admiration for nature, the desire to understand many of its phenomena, and explain the origin of various customs are found in the wonderful fairy tales of the peoples of the North. Of course, they expressively describe the life, way of life, and customs of the northern peoples, which remained unchanged throughout...
Central Asia and Kazakhstan are one of the oldest centers of world civilization: archaeologists, historians, ethnographers have established that more than five thousand years ago here, as in the countries of the ancient Eastern civilization of Western Asia, there was irrigated agriculture, etc. The Turkmen folk audio tale “How Yarty-Gulok found his father and mother” describes...
We see a vivid admiration for nature, the desire to understand some of its phenomena, to explain their origin in the Mansi folk etiological audio tale “The Daughters of Otorten,” which tells about the origin of the Pechora and Vishera rivers, as well as the small rivers Lozva and Sosva. An unusually poetic, beautiful fairy tale. "And the dark cloud dissipated and was lost. On that...
"Talking Money" is a Tajik folk audio tale. A magical audio tale about how one miser walked around in a torn robe, kept his wife and children from hand to mouth, accumulated a jug of gold and a jug of silver, and the money turned out to be talking. “Don’t touch it - this is Kurban’s money!” A funny story about how money found its intended owner, and then all the time...
“Moitnyng” is a Khanty folk audio fairy tale about how a lonely, beautiful, strong, freedom-loving girl was looking for her people. Moitnyng, that was the name of the brave and courageous girl, loved animals. Her friends were a deer and a drake. She freed the wolf, bear, wolverine and lynx from slavery. We offer you to listen online or download the Khanty...
"Greedy Bai and Aldar-Kose" is a Kazakh folk audio fairy tale. In the folklore of many peoples of the world there is an image of a smart, inventive hero, a native of the lower classes, who leaves his enemies, the arrogant rich, as fools. Probably the most famous of these heroes is Khoja Nasreddin, who is the hero of cycles of jokes among the Turks and...
“The wonderful fur coat of Aldar-Kose” is a Kazakh folk audio fairy tale in which Aldar-Kose, chilled from the cold, turned his conversation with the traveler he met in such a way that he considered it lucky to exchange his fox fur coat for Aldar-Kose’s holey fur coat, and his horse for old skinny horse Aldar-Kose. "... Amusing people, Aldar-Kose told how...
"The Tiger at the Door" is a Negidal folk audio tale. The Negidals are the self-name of the Elkan Beyenin, a group of people in the Khabarovsk Territory. The Negidal language belongs to the Tungus-Manchu languages and is unwritten. The fairy tale tells about a boy who passionately wanted to become a hunter and about five adult cowardly hunters: “Five people are going to the taiga -...
"Chicken Bread" is a Salar folk magic audio tale. Its small volume is unusual for the format of a fairy tale, but the plot is rich. The good deed of the poor youth predetermines the gratitude of the snake son. Next choice: gold, silver or chicken. A trusting and meek young man listens to the snake's recommendation, and the chicken brings him...
"Alyke and Barypzhan" is a Kyrgyz folk audio fairy tale. Alyke and Barypzhan were the intended bride and groom. However, the Barypzhan family left, and Alyke remained an orphan. It wasn't easy for him. "...Alyke grew up as a smart and brave boy. He was kind to young people and respectful to old people. An old wizard liked Alyke, and he taught him...
Uyghurs are a people in China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The Uyghur language is a Turkic language. "The Magic Ketmen" is a Uyghur folk audio tale. Maybe someone knows, but for everyone else I will say that a ketmen is a heavy hoe for cultivating the land. The emperor had two twin sons, whom he loved and spoiled very much. One day...
“Mistress of Fire” is a Selkup folk audio tale about the importance of fire in the hearth. Selkups - (outdated name - Ostyak-Samoyeds) people in the Tyumen and Tomsk regions and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Selkup language is based on the Russian alphabet. The fairy tale expressively describes the life and everyday life of the northern Selkup people. Fire is sacred in every plague camp...
"Ahmed" is a Turkmen folk audio fairy tale. A poor man named Ahmed constantly repeated: “If only I had money, I would know what to do with it.” One merchant gave Ahmed money and took him to the caravanserai to the merchants who were leaving for another city. Ahmed, acting in an extraordinary manner, turned money into old rags, rags into ashes, ashes into...
“The Wise Girl” is a Kyrgyz folk audio fairy tale that tells the story of the tradition of choosing a khan, if there is no heir, by the flight of the khan’s favorite falcon. Whoever the falcon lands on will be the khan or another official, depending on who is chosen. "...And then the shepherd Bolotbek became khan. He was smart, fair and generous..." Further...
The Uyghur people inhabit China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Household tales often feature clever riddles or clever answers. Moreover, one of the wise men is often either not old or not at all rich and seemingly uneducated. "Three Smiles of the Padishah" - a Uyghur folk audio tale that tells the story of oriental eloquence...
"Two Brothers" is an Enets folk audio tale. The Enets are a people in the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, merge with the Nenets and Nganasans. The Enets language belongs to the Samoyed family of Uralic languages, unwritten. The small indigenous peoples of Northern Siberia, separated by the vast impassable spaces of the taiga, lived in harsh...
“The Creaking Old Lady” is an Ulchi folk audio fairy tale. Ulchi are a people in the Khabarovsk Territory (self-name Nani). The Ulch language belongs to the Tungus-Manchu languages. “The Creaky Old Lady” is an etiological tale that fantastically explains the origin of “gadflies, mosquitoes and midges that plague people and animals.” And she herself is creaky...
“The Bai and the Farmhand” is an Uzbek folk audio tale about the resourcefulness of the farmhand Aldar, who paid the Bai a hundredfold for the insults caused to him and his brothers. The resourceful, resilient poor farm laborer Aldar is endearing to both the creators and listeners of the tale. Therefore, his role in the fairy tale is the mission of a positive superman. You can listen online and download for free...
Orochi are a people in the south of the Khabarovsk Territory, the self-name of Nani. The Oroch language belongs to the Tungus-Manchu languages, and is unwritten. "The Best Hunter on the Coast" is an Orochi folk audio fairy tale. The father did not teach his son to work and hunt from childhood. The son grew up: “The son’s eyes are sharp, his legs are fast, his arms are strong. But only to kill the beast...
Tofalars are a people in the Nizhneudinsky district of the Irkutsk region, their self-name is Tofa, the outdated name is Karagasy. The Tofalar language is a Turkic language group. "Three Giants" is a Tofalar folk audio tale. The presence of the word “giants” in the title of the fairy tale already suggests that our fairy tale is magical. This is true. Three magical giants are waiting...
"Brothers" is a Salar folk audio fairy tale. The tale begins without a saying: “There was a certain orphan young man, he had a mother. The young man cut firewood in the mountains and sold it in the city. That’s what they fed on. One day a lion fell from the mountain and became entangled in a thorny bush. “If I cut down a bush,” the young man thought , - the lion will get freedom and eat me." And he said out loud:...
“The Son of a Poor Man and the Cruel Khan” is a Buryat folk audio fairy tale, the main character of which is a smart, inventive young man, the son of a poor man. The evil, cruel, heartless khan oppressed the poor man in every possible way, forced him to work for nothing, and fed him from hand to mouth. The poor man's son grew up and rumors spread about him as a very dexterous, intelligent and cunning boy. "Soon Khan...
"Ayoga" is a Nanai folk magic audio tale about how beautiful girl Ayoga, being at the same time a lazy and angry proud woman, turned into a goose. "... Ayoga could not resist on the shore. She splashed into the water and turned into a goose. She swims and shouts: - Oh, how beautiful I am! Ho-ho-ho... Oh, how beautiful I am!.. I swam, swam, until don't talk...
“The Wonderful Garden” is a Kazakh folk magic audio tale, a beautiful tale about the great friendship of two poor men, about the love of their children, about a cauldron of gold that did not destroy either the friendship of old friends or the love of a young man and a girl, about the real and imaginary wisdom of four students the sage, about captive birds, about how birds are grateful for what they have acquired...
"Alien Urasa" is a Yukaghir folk audio fairy tale. Urasa is a dwelling made from animal skins among the Yukaghirs. Yukaghirs are a people in Yakutia and the Magadan region, their self-name is Odul. The Yukagir language (Odul) belongs to the Yukagir-Chuvan group of Paleo-Asian languages. "Alien Urasa" is a fairy tale about three unlucky brothers. As they sang, so they...
“Boy Ide” is a Khanty folk audio tale about an “educational event” that a grandmother arranged for her grandson to make him brave. “...I did this on purpose, Ide. I want you to grow up brave. You are a man, and man is the master of everything in the world. Don’t you want to be brave? / “I want to,” says Ide quietly... / Since then I stopped...
"The Coward of Khudaiberdy and the Fox" is a Turkmen folk audio fairy tale. The centuries-old cultural ties of the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan among themselves, as well as with the mythology and folklore of the Iranians and Arabs, determined the presence in the Turkmen fairy tale of a hero who finds himself in similar situations and commits similar actions, enters into single combat with...
Selkups are a people in the Tyumen, Tomsk regions and Krasnoyarsk Territory. “Icha” is a Selkup folk audio fairy tale; its hero is Icha, a simple poor guy who lived alone with his grandmother. His opponent in the fairy tale “Icha” is a curious, greedy and extremely stupid prince, the likes of which do not exist outside of fairy tales. Icha is a resourceful person...
“The Boastful Frog” is a Yakut folk etiological audio tale telling about the origin of some features of the frog. After certain adventures that occurred in the life of the frog, changes appeared in its appearance. "...There are still bloody spots on the frog's belly from the bruise. On the back of the frog there are visible claw marks...
“Chokcholoy-batyr” is a Kyrgyz folk audio tale about animals, translated as “Cat Hero”. The following explanations will not be superfluous: jailoo is a pasture, and taigans are hunting dogs. When a cat met a fox in the forest, his adventures followed the scenario of the Russian folk tale “The Cat and the Fox.” Various animals came to bow to the cat, at first...
“The Little Bird” is a Ket folk audio tale. Kets - the former name of the Yenisei Ostyaks, Yeniseians, people living in the Krasnoyarsk Territory along the middle and lower reaches of the Yenisei. The Ket language belongs to the Yenisei group of Paleo-Asian languages. Far from the great Volga to the border of Western and Eastern Siberia, where the majestic Yenisei flows, and...
“The Sage Mouse” is an Uzbek folk audio tale about the friendship of animals: Caesar the dove, the Sage mouse, a crow, a turtle and a goat. The fairy tale shows how cohesion and mutual assistance help in difficult situations, and any animal, even such a small animal as a mouse, can save the lives of larger and stronger animals when they find themselves in...
"The Brave Donkey" is a Kazakh folk audio tale about animals. The donkey had to show remarkable intelligence, resourcefulness and simply incredible courage in order to stay alive and gain a foothold in his favorite clearing, while disgracing predators much stronger than the donkey himself. In the fairy tale "Brave Donkey" the characters are animals, but people are implied...
"The Smart Donkey" is a Tajik folk audio tale about animals. Like the previous one, the fairy tale “The Smart Donkey” tells the story of how animals: a donkey, an ox, a rooster and a mouse organized for themselves independent life on your favorite flowering pasture. How they managed to outwit and scare away a pack of wolves forever. We offer you to listen online and download the Tajik...
“The Terrible Guest” is an Altai folk etiological audio tale about animals. The fairy tale "The Terrible Guest" tells about the origin of the badger's color. “The badger’s forehead turned white from the white hare’s belly. White marks ran down the cheeks from the hare’s hind legs.” We offer you to listen online and download for free and without registration the Altai folk...
“Who is Stronger” is a Kyrgyz folk audio chain tale about animals. With the question “Are you the strongest?” the pheasant turned to Ice, to the Sun, to the Cloud, to the Rain, to the Earth, to the Snowdrop, to the Lamb, to the Wolf, to the Gun, to the Ant, to the Forest, to the Man. And the Man was planing a wooden board - making something for himself. The pheasant asked his question: “Man, Man!...
"The Rooster and the Jackal" is a Karakalpak folk audio tale about animals. A hungry jackal looked for a rooster for breakfast. But the rooster turned out to be not simple. He didn’t fly off the fence and sent the jackal to “his friend” - the dog. She killed the jackal. We offer you to listen online and download for free and without registration the Karakalpak folk audio tale "Rooster...
“How the Birds Chose the Tsar” is a Khakass folk audio tale about animals. The birds decided to choose a king: the strongest, the smartest and the most durable. While the birds were engaged in self-nomination, they could not choose anyone, since the others only ridiculed the applicant. But then a crow and a magpie, one suggested the eagle, the second supported it. "All the birds are here...
“The Restless Sparrow” is a Tajik folk audio tale about a conscientious, selfless, brave guardian of a cotton field - a sparrow. The sparrow faithfully served the poor old woman, and the padishah was unable to plunder the cotton protected by the sparrow. "...The Padishah died, and the restless sparrow flew into freedom. They say: that sparrow still lives with the poor old woman...
“The Old Man and the Bird” is a Nganasan folk audio tale. Nganasans - northern people in the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug. The Nganasan language (Tavgian, Tavgian-Samoyed) belongs to the Samoyedic group of Uralic languages. Unwritten. The legendary tale offers a fairytale version that explains the change of winter and summer on earth. "Once upon a time...
“The Bear and Chalbacha” is an Evenk folk audio tale about a hunter named Chalbacha and a bear, the owner of the taiga. The bear did not want to give the hunter Chalbache berries, and they argued: whoever is stronger should collect the berries. Chalbache had to prove his superiority by cunning. But the mind is also strength, and greater than the strength of muscles. Evenki -...
“Two nutcrackers” is an Even folk chain-like audio tale. A funny, fabulous story, the essence of which is to show how everything is interconnected in the natural world. The chain of questions was triggered by a cedar cone that hit the nutcracker's eye. Evens - (formerly called Lamuts). The people in Yakutia, in the Chukotka and Koryak Autonomous Okrugs and other areas...
“How the Birds Made Fire” is a Shor folk legendary tale about where people got fire from. Birds, animals and fish were somehow protected from the cold. "...One man felt bad: he was naked, there was no fire in his home to warm himself near him in the winter cold, to cook or fry meat or roots on it. He was cold and hungry...
"Kazarochka" is an Itelmen folk audio tale. Itelmens are a people in the Koryak Autonomous Okrug of the Kamchatka Region. The Itelmen language belongs to the Chukchi-Kamchatka group of Paleo-Asian languages. Unwritten. Itelmen history of the Gray Sheika. A girl saved the goose: “My name is Sinanevt. I am the daughter of the wizard Kuthi. Come to me. I will give you...
"The Fox and the Bear" is a Khanty folk etiological audio tale. An artistically compelling, albeit fantastical, account of the origin of the bear's short tail. "...The bear sits and warms his back, and the fox every now and then throws wood into the fire... He moves the largest logs towards the bear's back. Because of the heat, the bear has a stream of fat running down his tail...
"The Sly Fox" is a Koryak folk audio tale about animals. Koryaks are a people in the Kamchatka and Magadan regions. The Koryak language (Nymylan) belongs to the Chukchi-Kamchatka group of Paleo-Asian languages. Writing based on the Russian alphabet. A well-known story on many continents, when an animal that cannot swim or swims poorly is saved...
"The Ram and the Goat" is a Kazakh folk audio tale about animals. At first glance, ordinary animals speak and understand human speech, and are endowed with bright human character traits. "...The ram and the goat were great friends with each other. They helped each other in trouble, complementing each other in their qualities. The ram was calm,...
“Bunny” is a Mansi folk etiological, chain-like audio fairy tale, telling about why the tips of a hare’s ears are black. First, the bunny cut his lip with sedge. And at the end of the fairy tale: “The sedge caught fire, and in the sedge the bunny was jumping. He became confused, ran out of the fire, and set his ears on fire. He barely survived. So from then on, the tips of the hare’s ears became...
“Cuckoo” is an Evenki folk etiological audio tale telling about the reason for the cuckoo’s special voice. “In ancient times, when there were two suns in the sky and a white day always shone on the earth, the cuckoo was considered the first songbird...” The cuckoo did not want to build its nest or hatch its chicks, “laughing, it spreads through the taiga with songs...” And when ...
“How the Raven and the Owl Decorated Each Other” is an Eskimo folk etiological audio tale that tells the story of the origin of the feather colors of the raven and the owl. “It was a long time ago. The raven and the owl lived together. They lived in friendship and harmony...” They decided to decorate each other. The raven was the first to decorate the owl and thought: “I’ll try to make her a beauty. She’ll see...
“The Bear and the Chipmunk” is a Nivkh folk etiological audio tale about how chipmunks got dark stripes on their yellow skin on their backs. This is how the bear thanked the chipmunk for the treat: “Thank you, chipmunk. You are a small animal, but a good one.” And the bear stroked the chipmunk's back with his paw. Carefully stroked, affectionately..." Nivkhi - outdated...
“The Wolverine and the Fox” is an Evenk folk etiological audio tale about the origin of the woodpecker’s beautiful, variegated coloring and strong beak. The wolverine family decided to move to a new place, across the river, where the forest is thicker and there is more food. During transportation, the treacherous fox deceived Wolverine and coveted someone else's goods. And the woodpecker restored...
“How the Fox and the Old Man Hunted” - Kyrgyz folk audio tale. “Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman in the distant mountains. They sowed grain, grazed livestock, and that’s how they fed themselves. And in those mountains there lived a wild boar, gray wolf, a clubfooted bear, a striped tiger, a formidable lion and a fox - a cunning gossip. Once upon a time there came a time of famine in the mountains, and it became difficult...
“How a dog was looking for a comrade” is a Nenets folk etiological audio tale about how a dog began to live with a person. “Once upon a time, a dog lived alone in the forest. And it became boring for her to live alone. She went through the forest to look for a comrade...” The contenders: a hare, a wolf and a bear, turned out to be timid - they were afraid at night. But the man wasn’t bothered by the dog’s barking, and...
Kyrgyz folk magic audio tale "Dyikanbai and the Devs". One day the hunter Dyikanbai, brave, strong and resourceful, went with a friend to hunt roe deer, and met a huge deva. The deva's nose was the size of a wineskin, and his legs were like a pair of logs. Dev started laughing loudly. Dyikanbay also began to laugh in response. Dev said that he laughs because...
Dagestan folk audio fairy tale "The Bogatyr Naznai" with sayings at the beginning and end of the tale. There lived in Dagestan “a lousy and stupid hero Naznai. He was afraid of the darkness and his wife. One day he was so afraid that his wife said: “You disgust me, you coward!” Get out of here this very minute!," Taking with you a poor saber,...
Tatar folk audio fairy tale-parable "The Wise Old Man". The evil padishah ordered to kill all old people who turn 70 years old. One young man loved his father very much, and when he turned 70, he hid him at home. Coming home, the young man told him about what was happening in the city. One day he said that a large precious stone was visible in the river...
Dolgan folk etiological audio tale "How did different peoples"A long time ago, in the old days, the winters were very cold... And there was such frost that people were afraid to leave the tents. Geese, ducks and other birds buried themselves in the snow to keep warm. But one brave man was not afraid to hit the road to look for a warm country. He walked the earth for a long time and...
