Mongolian Epic (From Formula to Metaphor)

Author: Sainbayar
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: The Mongolian Epic: From Formula to Metaphor, as its name suggests, is a study of the textual composition and metaphorical meanings of Mongolian epics. From formula to metaphor, it is dynamic, representing the process by which epic texts generate and acquire meaning through interaction with cultural contexts. This process involves three levels: text, meaning, and context, all of which are indispensable. The text is the carrier of meaning, with its own constitutive mechanisms, but its meaning is determined by the context. Moreover, even the (epic bards)’ use of textual constitutive mechanisms is constrained by traditional contexts. Therefore, this research places Mongolian epic texts within their traditional cultural background, examining them from a traditional perspective to reveal their formulaic operational mechanisms in creation and transmission, as well as the process by which they acquire multiple meanings through their close connection with every aspect of traditional culture. From the perspective of the text, it reflects on the context, interpreting and validating the deep constraints of tradition on the creation, performance, and reception of Mongolian epics, and uncovering the significance of the epic cultural context that surrounds epic performances.
Facing the vast tradition of Mongolian epics, this study selects six epic texts of Naran Khabulen (The Epic of Naran Khan and Khabulen), in both domestic and international regions of the Oirat Mongols, as analytical examples. It first explores the formulaic operational processes in the textual composition of Mongolian epics. There are three levels: formula, motif (element), and theme. The themes and their sequences in an epic tend to maintain a high degree of consistency across multiple texts. Within themes, there are also multiple relatively stable structural models, composed of a series of regular combinations of motifs (elements). These motifs (elements) also have their own specific patterns, but the number and combination of motifs (elements) within the same theme across multiple texts of an epic vary. Formulae in Mongolian epic tradition exhibit stability in transmission but demonstrate considerable freedom in multiple texts of an epic (with the exception of specific formulae for characters and horses). The tendencies of stability and freedom in these three levels are directly related to the constraints of traditional contexts on the singing activities of epic bards. This constraint originates from the depths of tradition, and its power is fully realized through the forces of various taboos and rituals intertwined with myths and beliefs.
Mongolian epics possess a dual or even multiple-layered meaning structure, consisting of surface meaning and deep meaning. At the surface level, the narrative of epics often defies secular logic, reason, or even appears contradictory and puzzling. The interpretation of these contradictory narratives gives rise to an analysis of the metaphorical structure of epics, allowing this book to delve from the textual structure into the traditional meaning behind the text. The characters, actions of characters, motifs, and narrated events in epics all carry metaphorical meanings. Unlike conventional metaphor in everyday language or metaphor in written literature, epic metaphor relies heavily on the formulaic characteristics of oral epics, constructed and transmitted based on motif metaphor, myth metaphor, and character title metaphor.
This book employs structuralist and cognitive metaphor theories to derive a series of metaphorical correspondences—such as hunting/war, feast/gathering, brotherhood/conflict, marriage/alliance, death/rebirth, and migration/conquest—from the connection between Mongolian culture and the meanings of Mongolian epic motifs. It explores how these correspondences dominate the deep meaning structure of epics. At the end of the book, the author introduces an epic work about Genghis Khan, integrated with the Geser Epic, based on field research. This oral narrative, preserved by the Mongolian Oirat people, preserves 800 years of historical memory with clear historical facts, distinct epic characteristics, and is compared with Mongolian historical records from 800 years ago, 400 years ago, and a Tuvan oral epic. The comparison confirms that it was created based on historical facts and, during transmission, provided historical records and narrative models for Mongolian historical documents across generations while maintaining its oral circulation among different regions and ethnic groups. In the comparison, it is also discovered how different texts made efforts to preserve historical memory, which is concentrated in the treatment of core plots. From this perspective, we uncover the true essence of the traditional context of Mongolian epic traditions. This is a study on the relationship between Mongolian epics and Mongolian historical documents, and in terms of such research, our work has just begun.