Traditional Formulas of Yakut Folktales

Introduction. The article is the first to have examined texts of Yakut folktales recorded personally by A. A. Savvin during the Vilyuysk Expedition of 1938 and revealed some categories of traditional formulas. Goals. The work primarily aims to identify traditional formulas of Yakut folktales from the Vilyuysk group of uluses. Accordingly, the study shall systemize traditional verbal folktale constructs by all known categories of initial, medial and final formulas; determine specifics of folktale formulas within the area under consideration. Methods. The employed techniques include structural analysis and systematic approaches derived the N. Roşianu classification of traditional formulas. Results. The study determines titles and numbers of folktales recorded and data on respective informants. Analysis of twenty Yakut folktales recorded by A. A. Savvin yields systemized categories of initial, medial and final folktale formulas. Separate tables representing the presence or absence of all known categories have been compiled for all varieties of traditional formulas. Each identified category is characterized with examples drawn from original Yakut texts and accompanied by Russian translations. The paper defines a peculiar feature of traditional formulas inherent to the Vilyuysk group of uluses as of 1938

Linguistics · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Linguistics and Cultural Studies · Linguistics and language evolution · Mathematics · Philosophy