What Does the Storyteller Sing? On Transcribing the Epics of South Siberian Turks
What Does the Storyteller Sing? On Transcribing the Epics of South Siberian Turks
Author(s): Dmitry FunkSubject(s): Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
Published by: Eesti Kirjandusmuuseum
Keywords: oral epics; the Shors; South Siberia; storytellers; textualisation;
Summary/Abstract: When and how do we recognize the meaning of epic poetry? Turkic peoples of South Siberia, the Shor and the Khakas, are famous for their recitations and song of classic epic tales, but even indigenous researchers are divided on the meaning of the sung portions. This essay takes seriously these sung portions of epic performances to argue that they constitute meaningful poetic texts in their own right. Examples draw on years of field study in South Siberia, and well as an experiment conducted by the author with the help of the Shor storyteller Vladimir Tannagashev (1932–2007), in which epics were performed a cappella, that is, without throat-singing or musical accompaniment.
Journal: Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore
- Issue Year: 2019
- Issue No: 75
- Page Range: 91-108
- Page Count: 18
- Language: English
