Versions of the "Man - Bear Combat" Plot in the Works of Siberian Writers

Some typical recurrent plots such as a plot of human – bear interaction are characteristic to the \nliterature of the Native Siberians. A plot of a combat between a man and a bear is present at the \nworks of almost all Siberian writers. This is due both to the circumstances of life in the taiga where it \nis difficult to avoid a meeting with that animal and to the folklore traditions. Many Siberian peoples \nworshipped the bear; the bear was considered to be the human’s ancestor. The Mansi, Khanty, Nanai, \nNivkh, Tofalar, Even, and Evenki peoples celebrated the special bear festival. The bear cult is supposed \nto be very ancient. The fact that it is common for the people belonging to different language groups \nproves the similarity in their way of living determined by the similar geographic factors. \nThe article discusses two versions of the “man – bear combat” plot. The first version is typical of \nV. Sangi’s writings. It considers a combat as an ordeal which is successfully overcome by a character. \nG. Keptuke’s book gives another version of the plot. A character is maimed in a combat because of his \nconceit and violation of an ancient custom. The plot describing an encounter of a man with a bear is \none of the most common in the works of Siberian writers

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