Dorvyzhy
Encyclopedia
Dorvyzhy is the Udmurt
literary national epic
. It was originally compiled and written in Russian
by Mikhail Khudiakov in the 1920s with the title Песнь об удмуртских батырах ("Canto about the Udmurt Bogatyr"). The original was based on the folklore
works of N. Pervuhin, G. Potanin, B. Gavrilov, B. Munkácsi, K. Chainikov (K. Gerd) and A. Spicyn. The structure of the Finnish epic Kalevala
was influential in its creation. The epic was later translated into Udmurt in 2004 and given its Udmurt title Дорвыжы by V. M. Vanjushev and then Finnish in 2009 with a Kalevala metre
structure by Esa-Jussi Salminen and Jorma Vakkuri.
Dorvyzhy is a mix of myth and history
, recounting the deeds of the heroes such as Ozhmeg, Dokja and the son of Dondy. The main gods in the epic are the god of the heavans Inmar, the earth
god Kyldyśin and weather god
Kuaź. The epic also makes references to the surrounding peoples of the area such as the Tatars
and Maris and geographic places such as the Cheptsa, Kilmez River
.
s plus an introduction or beginning words:
Udmurt people
The Udmurts are a people who speak the Udmurt language. Through history they have been known in Russian as Chud Otyatskaya , Otyaks, or Votyaks , and in Tatar as Ar....
literary national epic
National epic
A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy...
. It was originally compiled and written in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
by Mikhail Khudiakov in the 1920s with the title Песнь об удмуртских батырах ("Canto about the Udmurt Bogatyr"). The original was based on the folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
works of N. Pervuhin, G. Potanin, B. Gavrilov, B. Munkácsi, K. Chainikov (K. Gerd) and A. Spicyn. The structure of the Finnish epic Kalevala
Kalevala
The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...
was influential in its creation. The epic was later translated into Udmurt in 2004 and given its Udmurt title Дорвыжы by V. M. Vanjushev and then Finnish in 2009 with a Kalevala metre
Trochaic tetrameter
Trochaic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line of four trochaic feet. The word "tetrameter" simply means that the poem has four trochees...
structure by Esa-Jussi Salminen and Jorma Vakkuri.
Dorvyzhy is a mix of myth and history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, recounting the deeds of the heroes such as Ozhmeg, Dokja and the son of Dondy. The main gods in the epic are the god of the heavans Inmar, the earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
god Kyldyśin and weather god
Weather god
A weather god is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, lightning, rain and wind. They feature commonly in polytheistic religions, frequently as the head of the pantheon....
Kuaź. The epic also makes references to the surrounding peoples of the area such as the Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
and Maris and geographic places such as the Cheptsa, Kilmez River
Kilmez River
Kilmez River is a river in Udmurtia and Kirov Oblast in Russia, a left tributary of the Vyatka River. The length of the river is 270 km, the area of its drainage basin is 17,200 km². The Kilmez freezes up in November and remains icebound until the second half of April. Its main tributaries are the...
.
Cantos
Dorvyzhy consists of 10 cantoCanto
The canto is a principal form of division in a long poem, especially the epic. The word comes from Italian, meaning "song" or singing. Famous examples of epic poetry which employ the canto division are Lord Byron's Don Juan, Valmiki's Ramayana , Dante's The Divine Comedy , and Ezra Pound's The...
s plus an introduction or beginning words:
- Beginning words (Кyтскон)
- 1st canto: Inmar, Kyldyśin and Kuaź (Инмар, Кылдысин но Куaзь)
- 2nd canto: The Zerpals (Зэрпалъёс)
- 3rd canto: The Year of Kyldyśin (Кылдысин даур)
- 4th canto: Vanished Luck (Ыштэм шуд)
- 5th canto: Vorshud (Воршуд)
- 6th canto: Heroes of Dondylpal (Дондылпал батыръёс)
- 7th canto: Heroes of Kalmez (Калмез батыръёс)
- 8th canto: Battle with the Maris (Пöръёсын нюръяськон)
- 9th canto: Book of the Ancestors (Выжы книга)
- 10th canto: Times to Come (Вyoнo вaкымъёс)
External links
- V. V. NapolskikhVladimir NapolskikhVladimir Vladimirovich Napolskikh — a Russian ethnographer, ethnologist, ethnohistorian, Finno-Ugrist, linguist. Doctor of Historical Sciences , Professor at Udmurt State University. Member of the «Societas Uralo-Altaica» since 2000....
, On the literary sources of M. G. Khudiakov’s Song of Udmurt Heroes - Дорвыжы
- Kulta-aikaa odottaen, review of the Finnish translation Dorvyžy
- Votjakkien lauluissa itää