Translated by A.A.Goldman

The Test of the Magic Lasso Khalbas Khara
(excerpt from the epic "Nyurgun Bootur the Swift")

The white crane bird shrieked this news to Nyurgun Bootur: The villain Uot Umuhu, flying on a white Dragon-stallion was killing people with a bewitched fiery ball. And the insidious Aat Mogoidoon had decoyed the noble hero Khaan Dgargystay into a swamp and wanted to kill him.

Everyone knows the Onolutta valley - the place of the battle of heroes in the middle world. It was there that Nyurgun Bootur and Uot Umuhu fought their mortal battle. A terrible battle did the heroes fight. Even the Onolutta valley could hardly hold them up: they sank into the earth up to their knees, and got stuck in it up to their waists. But they could not defeat each other. In vain did Ohol Uola - the spirit of discord and Ilbis Kyyha - the bloodthirsty goddess of war fly above them, screeching savagely. For thirty days and thirty nights the he­roes fought. They fought with swords and clubs, weighing ninety nine puds; they struck each other on their thick helmets; they tried to pierce each other's forget armour with sharp boar-spears. But no one was superior to the other. And then, throwing their weapons aside, they gripped each other with an iron grip. But even then neither of them was conquered. And their strength did not decrease, and their fury did not abate. And a terrible misfortune began from the great battle of the giant heroes. From the stamping of the heroes feet the inhabitants of the Lower world 1 became deaf. The middle world began to rock and tremble, and a storm whirled over the ground, raising huge rocks to the black clouds. The sun was afraid to look out -impenetrable darkness set in. And then the misfortune reached the Upper world: the brown steep of the skies began to spill like water in tuesok 1 .

The foundations of all the three worlds split, and weeping, started in the Upper and Lower and Middle worlds. Then everybody began to beg Dgylga Toyon the chief god of fate to stop the battle. And Dgylga Toyon ordered the Three Guards of Death to part the heroes. For three days the Three Guards of Death had been pulling the heroes asunder. And when they did drag them asun­der they said to the heroes: "Stop fighting, stop the battle. All the three worlds suffer from you. But if you do not want to part without finding out who of you is stronger, if each of you 'considers that only he himself is right, then let the heav­enly fiery lasso Khalbas Khara settle your quarrel. He who is able to hold on to it, the one who is able to endure the test of fire will be the victor. And he who falls down, Khalbas Khara will catch in the air and cut him in two". And the Three Guards of Death tore down three iron beams from the heaven with their hooks stretched them into strings and twisted them into magic lasso Khalbas Khara. And they stretched the lasso over the boiling fiery sea, nailing its ends to the two mountains in the sky. The magic Khalbas Khara twirled like an enor­mous skipping-rope, blazing with dark blue flame, burning with red fire, and hissing threateningly, it whirled to the sky like a storm.

Then Nyurgun Bootur jumped head over heels, turned into a falcon and caught with his talons the fiery lasso Khalbas Khara. The lasso darted up and down swiftly. The fire burnt the falcon's talons. His brass talons melted down but he held on tightly.

And then, screeching wickedly, Khalbas Khara tore itself away from the falcon's talons and flew up high into the sky with an iron clanging. And Nyurgun Bootur fell down to the earth, got stuck in rocks up to his waist, but remained alive.

Then it was Uot Umuhu's turn. He returned into a black raven with three heads, and cawing loudly he flew up to the skies. There he clutched at the lasso. Whistling, the fiery lasso darted down and scorched the raven; it flew up and darted down again with an iron clanging, and choking with fire the raven fell, loosening the hold of his scorched talons, and Khalbas Khara cut him in two. At once silence fell on all the three worlds.

And Nyurgun Bootur hastened to the black swamp where in thick sucking mud the hero Khaan Dgargystay was sinking.

P.S. In Sakha (Yakutian) mythology there are three worlds: the Upper World (in heaven), where gods live; the Middle World, where people live, and the Low World (underground), where devils (abaahy) live.