Philological Sciences/ 8. Mother Tongue and
Literature
PhD doctorate Dautova G.R.
M.O. Auezov Institute of
Literature and Art
The Types of
Epic Heroes
The epos can be considered among mythological texts, but it takes a special
place among them, whereas the
focus of the epos is not supernatural creature, but human. In
general the epos being based on the depths of mythological syncretism was developed
from archaic forms to realistic-historical forms, passing on this long way
through a number of regular stages.
Kazakh archaic epos, appeared in ancient times, has reached nowadays in the
records made in the second half of XIX century in the interpretations of the
poets and zhyrshi who created in the frame of the epic tradition of their
period, i.e. not in their original way but having undergone significant
changes, sometimes significantly transformed. But archaic plots formed during
ancient period have generally preserved their constants and dominants and their
deep meaning. They discover their genetic links with ancient ideas of our
ancestors and important public institutions of their period.
Kazakh archaic eposes are «Khikayat
risala Munlik Zarlik», «Kissa
Kulamergen» «Kissa Dotan Kubakanbaiugli», «Kubygul».
Epos images, namely human changed with the development of society. It was
reflected in the system of epic images, expressing the idea of human values in every epoch. Myth, epos and fairy tale originated from shamanic myth, eventually differed in the form and content. It is therefore evident:
the older folk stories
hero it looks like of the usual man, the more connected with it
"the fabulous" motives. Epos is at the centre of our attention, because the epic
hero belongs to both worlds – the world
of human and another. Epic image reflects people's
perceptions about the system of human values. Mostly epos
was exposed to the transformation
out of three main mythological
genres. When the system of value changes, the image of an epic hero also changes.
That is
why, we can talk about change the types, change of generations of epos heroes. Why
such kind of changes doesn’t happen with the characters
of the fairy tale and the images of the gods? These genres, unlike the epos, were devoid of actuality: a fairy tale, having lost the original meaning, perceived as fiction, thus doesn’t need to be correct; they worshiped Gods because of power. Epos
expresses the idea of man about himself and
the story of the epos – a history
of self-esteem of man. The place and time of action of epos heroes reminds the real history and geography.
The main character always provokes the admiration of listeners. When
the system of valuation changes, the hero image is
transfigured or sidelined to the back or
enemy camp. Thus, the evolution of the epos hero image
is the evolution of human self-esteem.
The motive initiation is practically the only means of
introducing the archaic character
in the story. As these characters are inhabitants of death world and
they can not get into touch with others.
Moreover, they come to this contact and not to the people
who came out of the human world indifferently or hostilely. Completing the outline of the characters and the tribes of the first generation, it should be noted
that the most important thing in their way – indifference
to the human world, the conscious exclusion
from it, sometimes reaching to the
hostility towards the stranger. As V.Y. Propp wrote, such
heroes’ heroism is composed not only in the use,
but also in the possession of physical or
magic force. World
Heroes of the first generation do
not know the antinomies of human
life, so it is not true to say that it is
a world of happiness, because
these heroes and the people don’t know the opposition of happiness and sorrow.
The hero of the second generation belongs
to both worlds – the
world of men, which is the main
defender, and the another world. He is the main
character of the archaic epos
and thus he is also called “an
archaic hero”. He is a semi- human, semi- monster and manifests both parties
of his nature. Such hero goes
back to the shaman’s myth. Archaic heroes often behaved against the rules because the rules were created only as a
result of their life. In archaic notions the ability to violation of human taboo is an indicator of divinity, and these
violations can be rightfully praised. Therefore, there
can be no question of imitation
the acts of ancestor or archaic hero,
because they only cause admiration bordering with horror.
Abnormal origin of the
archaic hero, like first ancestor who was an orphan:
his very name means "lonely". The first ancestor
range of basic actions associated with worldview, the creation of the modern image of the world, procuring of natural and cultural wealth for people. These features are then transferred to the hero of the archaic epos. In general, the
archaic character distinguished
by redundancy in everything:
force, height, age,
strength of sleep, gluttony, etc.
However, roots of the motive aversion of the heroes go almost
up to the epic
tradition.
What motivates the
archaic character to feats?
The aim of hero is the glory which can be sacrifice brought his own life and the
lives of their people. The process of transformation of the archaic
epos in the classic
going on the early state. The mythological images approached
to the man lost the terrible and formidable
the archaic features. The epos
is the transformation of meaning in the era of early state. The protection of native land from the
enemy comes to the fore. If there is a mythological epos subtext, it will
relegate on the back burner. The heroes of the
classic epic "be exempt" from
mythology, and it occurs at the level of the image, and at the level of the plot. In the first case
the hero is deprived most of supernatural qualities
that which inherent him
to archaic epos. In the second case, performs as an enemy of many mythical
creatures. The new generation hero having lost much of the archaic heritage and to gets fundamentally new features. The
action motivation of the classic epos hero
changes as compared with archaic heroes: if previously his intention was
led to glory, now the sense of
duty. The role hero of archaic epos was ambiguous in the early state. He is the
main defender of the monsters, but it does not match the human norms.
If there could be no
question about the imitation of archaic
hero, the hero of
the classic epic can
and must be imitated. Such
hero is an example of the best of its kind. It embodies the
ethical standards which really
followed by people.
In conclusion, the epic archaic character as a system, as
historically formed way of world explanation cannot be renewed during folklore
creation, but it serves as the basis, as the source of appearance and
development of all further phase-typology forms.
References
5.
Meletinsky E.M., The
Poetics of Myth. M., 1976.
P. 208
- 209.
6.
Gurevich A.Y., "Edda" and the saga. M.,
1979, pp 77 -89.
7. Putilov B.N.,
Typology of national historicism
// Typology of the national epic. P. 172.
8.
Losev A.F., Selected Works. P. 52.
9. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042813053792
10.
Gurevich A.Y., Categories
of medieval culture. M., 1984, pp 174.