Geser. The Вuryat heroic epic

Each hardship inВ life was thought toВ be directly connected with the unkind spirits whom it was needed toВ keep away with the help ofВ the deities. This double nature ofВ the earthly and cosmic elements interfering with the life ofВ the man was the reason for the emergence ofВ the pantheons ofВ the gods and divinities. They had the special names and were inВ charge ofВ the specific meteorological and the other phenomena. One could mention Naran Gerel tengri (the deity ofВ the Sunlight), who was inВ charge ofВ the sunny days or Oyor Sagan tengri (the white bottom sky) who was inВ charge ofВ the cloudless weather.

The following divinities come the first among the rest ofВ the Heavens according toВ their role and status: Yekhe Ekhe tengri (Great Mother the goddess), the eldest goddesses Manzan Gurme and Mayas Khara, Esege Malan tengri [the bald-headed or cloudless Sky] whose supreme sacredness prevents him from being active and inВ reality he is too quiet and idle that careless Khormusta tengri. Then there comes Atai Ulan who represents the older generation ofВ the divitities, Zayan Sagan tengri (The White Creator, etc.

The sensory and cult perception ofВ the world made the Buryat people depict the epical personages either as men with some extraordinary features, i.e. the anthropomorphic creatures or animals with the exaggerated grotesqueness, i.e. the zoomorphic creatures or just the mixed types bearing the features both ofВ the human being and animal, i.e. the mixmorphic creatures. The powerful forces ofВ Nature excited the fear and shock.

As aВ consequence the Buryat tales give the exaggerated grotesque fantastic descriptions ofВ the personages irrespective ofВ their being either positive or negative. Some are ugly, horrible and fearful whereas the others are the ideals ofВ beauty, strength and generosity. The former are quite fear-exciting with the many eyes, many heads, sharp claws and teeth covered with the snakes, blowing out flame and sparks.

The study ofВ the epic ofВ Geser started with the publication ofВ the texts including the texts ofВ the shortened variants ofВ the chapters, translations and scientific recordings ofВ the epic. InВ the period toВ follow one can mention aВ more purpose-oriented, scholarly and systematic collection ofВ the folklore pieces.