#

Continent

PP.

III.A.

Europe

245-378

III.B.

Africa

379-438

III.C.

Asia

439-533

#

Title

Author

PP.

III.A.3

Russian and Finnish Epic Songs

Felix J. Oinas

287-309

III.A.4.

Va:ina:mo:inen Poe:ms

David E. Bynum

311-41

III.A.5

Epics of the Eastern Uralic Peoples

Pe'ter Domokos

343-58

III.A.6

Fre'de'ric Mistral's Poem Mireille

Rudolf Schenda

359-78

III.A.3

Russian and Finnish Epic Songs

Felix J. Oinas

287-309

p. 289

"The frequent mention of southern Russian {Dniepr River-Basin, i.e., Ukrainian} cities (C^ernigov, Kiev, Smolensk) and personages (... Kievan ...) gives an indication that they must in fact have originated in the south {i.e., in Ukraine}. A number of details refer specifically to Old Kiev, such as the Poc^ajna River ... and ... a ford at Vys^gorod ... ."

p. 290

"The Finnish epic songs, found primarily in southeastern Finland and Eastern Karelia, are not indigenous to this area ... . ... A. A. Borenius ... concluded that "ancient Finnish poems cannot have originated where they were last sung, i.e., in Carelia" (Hautala 1969:64). Referring to the presence of Swedish loanwords ... and the names of Roman Catholic saints ..., he concluded that "the poetry has come to Russian Carelia from the west, from Finland ..." (Hautala 1969:65)."

p. 295

"Va:ina:mo:inen sings ... Joukahainen into the swamp, transforms his horse into a seal, the saddle into a duck, and the whip into

p. 296

a reed. In the poem about Va:ina:mo:inen's art of singing, he enchants the forest animals and nature spirits with his melodies (Haavio 1952:160-163 ....)."

"It was obviously Lemminkai:nen, not Va:ina:mo:inen, who originally paid a visit to Antero Vipunen (cf. Kuusi 1954:294-308). His major adventure involves a journey, full of dangers, to the home of a ... shaman ...,

a theme which is taken over from a Russian bylina (... Oinas 1985:115 ff.).

{unless, of course, the Russian bylina borrowed from the Finnish epos}

Another -- and final -- magical act of his entails the transformation of the garments of the participants in the festivities in Pa:ivo:la:, except for one, into gold and silver."

III.A.4.

Va:ina:mo:inen Poe:ms

David E. Bynum

311-41

p. 313

"Va:ina:mo:inen ... "in the middle of the sea's navel",

{Cf. the god reposing on a tree in a swamp in CBM, p. 38, lower left)}

raises his knee,

{Cf. the "knees" of the bald-cypress, a swamp-tree}

p. 314

.. and the bird casts a copper nest upon it, in which it lays a golden egg.

{Often, "bald eagles" nest in a bald-cypress tree ("TWK").}

The bird's ... nest and egg ... shatter. Va:ina:mo:inen makes ... the welkin from the upper shell, the sun from the egg-white, the moon from the egg-yolk, and the stars from lesser fragments".

{The universe orginated from an egg which was broken, according to BAP 1:2:22.45-46.}

"Joukahainen ... promises his own sister as ransom. Va:ina:mo:inen accepts ..., and Joukahainen returns home to his mother ... . His mother replies ... that she has waited ... hoping ... to Va:ina:mo:inen for her son-in-law."

p. 317

"Va:ina:mo:inen ... goes to Tuonela ... . A river obstructs ..., he summons a girl ... to fetch a boat {ferry} to him ... across the river. ... .

{His name is phonetically similar to that of VEN.uMaNt, whose subcontinent is (according to BAP 1:2:14.27-30) Ven.u-man.d.ala ('reed-circle').}

p. 318

... the girl provides the boat ... . ...

{Cf. goddess Nin-lil's taking god En-lil aboard her river-boat.} {Cf. likewise heroine Matsya-gandha's taking a r.s.i aboard her skiff.}

Shifting his shape into that of a reptile, Va:ina:mo:inen flees the place ... by swimming ..., and so returns home."

{Cf. the snake noticing Bil-games^ while he is bathing in the river during his return-trip from his visiting of Zi-usud-ra.}

p. 322

"Va:ina:mo:inen cannot finish building a ship for want of three "words" wherewith to fasten ... parts of it in place. ... he goes to ... a ... sage of the past, Anter(v)o Vipunen, where the latter lies with

"a great ash tree (growing) on his shoulders,/ ... an alder on his jaws,/ a bird-cherry by his beard".

{That trees grow on sites of his body would indicate that he is identified with a mountain, which may be some well-known a site-of-pilgrimage.}

Seeking access to Vipunen, Va:ina:mo:inen walks on the edges of men's sword-blades for one day,

{Cf. the Taoist rite of climbing to Heaven via a ladder whose alternate rungs are sword-blades.}

on the points of women's needles for a second day,

{Cf. "even the place on which the feet rest, are armed with long nails pointing upward, and sticking deep into the flesh of the occupant." (RSCh, p. 984)}

and on the third day he slips and falls into the crevasse of Vipunen's open mouth. There, ... using his knees for an anvil, ... elbow for hammer, and fingers for tongs, Va:ina:mo:inen shapes

a cowlstaff, which he then deploys as a brace

[cf. infra III.C.2 "Mongolian Epics", p. 464]

p. 323

to keep Vipunen's mouth from closing on him.

... Va:ina:mo:inen obtains a wealth of precious words from him before departing. Va:ina:mo:inen then finishes the building of his ship."

"A male infant is born illegitimately ..., and then named by its maternal kin while they are still ignorant of its paternity.

Va:ina:mo:inen is asked ... his opinion of the naming, but he evades the question and desires instead that the infant not be named at all. ...

{Cf. Odusseus's, when asked his name, calling himself /Ou-deis/ ('No-one').}

But the child miraculously speaks out ..., and in turn accuses its judge {i.e., Va:ina:mo:inen} of ... illegitimately begetting it himself ... . In some variants the christening of infant then proceeds with ... a coronation, he being declared a king.

Va:ina:mo:inen goes down to the sea, sails away upon it until he reaches a maelstrom,

{Cf. the encounter by Odusseus of the whirlpool Kharubdis.}

where he disappears into the depths."

III.A.5

Epics of the Eastern Uralic Peoples

Pe'ter Domokos

343-58

p.

language

redactor[s]

title or length (in lines)

date of publ.

347

Cheremis

S. C^avayn, O. Ipay, & O. S^abdar

Song about Knight C^otkar

disappeared

347-8

Votyak

M. Hudyakov

?

unpublished

348

Zyrian

K. Z^akov

Byarmia (7,000)

unpublished

349

Permyak

V. Lytkin

Kudim-Os^

unwritten

350

Ostyak

V. Voldyin

Tak Molupsi

unpublished

350

Vogul

Plotnikov

Fringe of the Earth

1933

352

Nenets

(none)

Sudbabc; Jarabc

unwritten

352

Selkup

(none)

Itye and Punegoosee

unwritten

"O. Donner recorded four lengthy epic songs of 600 lines ..., which were published in 1876 ... . ... . ... these songs ... are ... made of Lappish folklore and mythology ... from several dialects".

III.A.6

Fre'de'ric Mistral's Poem Mireille

Rudolf Schenda

359-78

p. 361

"in Provence a that time [19th century Chr.E.] ... three schools, that of Avignon, that of Aix, and that of Marseille."

p. 362

"The poets of Aix ... with those of Crousillat, Gaut, and d'Astros, were ... flourishing;

but those of Marseilles ... utterly tasteless; ladies attending their meetings were forced to blush and take their leave".

"Provenc,al ... major troubadour anthologies compiled by Franc,ois-Juste-Marie in 1816-1826".

p.

canto #

its content

p. 364

3rd

"One of the girls sings the "Magali" song, about the magical transformations of two lovers."

p. 365

6th

"Mireille takes him to the Fairy cavern of witch Taven, a journey to the underworld during which they meet ghosts, goblins, the Weathermaker witch, ... the Wild Hunter, seven black cats, two dragons, a white cock, etc."

p. 366

11th

"The Saint Marys recount how they travelled from Jerusalem to Provence, and how Provence was converted by the Saints Trophime (Arles), Marthe (Tarascon), Martial (Limoges), Saturnin (Toulouse), Eutrope (Orange), Lazare (Marseille), and Maximien (Aix)."

"the chapbook of Magelone the Fair and her quest for her beloved, Peter of Provence; ...

the saga of the giants of the Crau, who wanted to overthrow God ...;

the legend of St. Gent, who harnessed a wolf to his plough".