OLONKHO
the Yakut Heroic Epos

(Detailed description as it was written in candidate application for the 3rd proclamation of masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of the humanity)

THE SPECIFIC CREATIVE WORK
(MUSICOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CULTURAL OBJECT)

Olonkho also includes the rich traditional singing culture of the Sakha peo ple. Songs play a great role in Olonkho, constantly alternating with prosaic parts. Practically, they occupy almost a half of the whole poetic text. The direct speech of each hero of Olonkho both of anthropomorphic and zoomor-phic origin is expressed by singing. In the musical fragments of Olonkho, the songs of the characters expose their origin, destination and the purposes of their actions. Song sections of Olonkho include two main types of the Yakut singing: djieretii yrya and degereng yrya. In the manner of djieretii yrya the songs of the positive characters of Olonkho are performed and in the manner of the degereng yrya both the positive characters and the triksters and servants sing. Singing in a usual voice, the wide range of the melody and the accurate two-accent structure characterize Songs of the degereng yrya.

The type of singing of the characters of the Lower World, i.e. the negative characters, represents as G.G. Alekseeva put it "the parody singing". A.P. Reshetnikova, basing on the timbre arrangement of the tunes of the Lower World's characters considers their style of singing to be closer to the sha man's singing kuturuu. E.E. Alexeev, unlike G.G. Alekseeva and A.P. Reshetnikova believes that the songs of the abaahy occupy the intermediate posi tion between the toiuks and degereng yrya. Thus, the terminology of singing style characteristic of the heroes of the Lower World has not been established yet in modern Yakut entomusicology.

The national type of singing djieretii yrya characterizes the positive heroes of the Yakut epos. Such songs are notable for their narrow sound volume within the triton and the free metrorhythmics. It is compulsory that epos is opened with an introductory beginning "Djie-Buo" -"Well". The introduction serves as an original marker of the character of the legend representing the specific vocal adjustment. This beginning performs an important function in song formation. The extended vocalized tunes of the improvised character make the backbone of the introduction.

According to the characters of the epic narratives it is also possible to dif ferentiate onomatopoeia in the songs of the horse, a sacral and cult animal for the Yakut. The image of the horse in Olonkho has a certain general standard for the intonational structure of Olonkho beginning that is based on the ono-matopoetic tradition of the horse depot ion by the Yakut. An obligatory song component is also narrative onomatopoeia in description the images of other animals and birds in Olonkhos. In Yakut Olonkhos, description of the charac ters of the animal kingdom requires the imitation of the voice this animal before the song begins. Female characters are frequently presented with cry simulating introduction.

The throat singing kylyhakh is the distinctive feature of Olonkho song djieretii yrya, being a specific phenomenon of the throat singing of the Yakut. This characteristic national feature of the Yakut epic singing represents the most ancient substratum presented up to nowadays. With it's similarity with timbre ornaments in others song cultures of the Turkic ethnoses, in particular the Altaians, this song has certain distinctive features. The Yakut singing ku- luhakh has faltering character through Olonkho performing manner of the cen tral regions of Yakutia is perceived in the acoustically as continuous sound parallel to the basic tone, reminding of the causing the analogies the Tuva khoomei and Altay yzlyau. The kuluhakh as the throat sound is a complex conglomerate of timbre interplay. The kuluhakh is necessarily anticipated by warming up to singing, as its performance needs certain sound space.

The basis of the djieretii yrya style is extended syllables while one syllable has two and more sounds. Sometimes the extension is as wide as the singer's breath can afford. More often, in the tunes of the song djieretii yrya is expressed by one high-intonational level while the tone is repeated twice, and melizmatic and sound-timbre ornaments sound between the principal and repeated tones, separating one tone from another. That kind of the warming up prior to singing is the basis in the songs of the djieretii yrya style.

The tune and sound bases of the songs of Olonkho are referred to the most ancient songs with the gradual tune disclosing in the course of singing and the absence of expressed functionality. The tone of the tune represents not the certain sound-high imp action but it covers the minor tertian zone that evidences a zone thinking in the epic hymn of the Yakuts. Tune and sound is characterized also by the absence of the exact differentiation of the tones in the tunes of kuturuu song. The djieretii yrya style, certain inter-tone correlations gradually start to be realized and in the tunes of the degereng yrya the development of embryo tune bases and comprehension of function ality take place.

The narrow-volumed tunes not exceeding a pure quart within the prevail in swinging pendulum-like melodic figure, based on the tertian and macro- second intonations make up the melodics of the tunes of the Dieretii Yrua song. The characteristic national feature in Olonkho songs is the presence of a triton that results from the whole-tone melodic moves. A melody of the tunes of the degereng yrya in Olonkho is characterized by the developed intonational moves. Metrorhythmics bases of epic singing of the Yakuts are characterized by sufficient freedom in the tunes djieretii yrya and clearness in the tunes of the degereng yrya with the prevalence of two-lobe and chor- eic basis of rhythmics.

The style of singing of the djieretii yrya, representing a phenomenon of the singable poetry of the Yakuts is the basis of the Yakut epic singing preserved up nowadays. Strongly expressed national features manifested in all stylistic means of the djieretii yrya expressiveness characterize it.

Nowadays only three tunes of Olonkho "Nurgun Bootur the Impetuous" performed by the well-known Yakut Olonkhohut U.G. Nokhsorov (1907-1951) from the Amginskyi ulus were deciphered notegraphically. He was the disci ple of the well-known Olonkhohut T.V. Zakharov-Cheebij from the local Tat- tinskyi school of Olonkhohuts. The musical fragments of Olonkho by U.G. Nokhsorov represent the central (lenskijside) style of singing.

His repertory included all the genres of the Yakut folklore, from Olonkhos to small-sized songs. He also perfectly performed the shaman's songs. The following fragments of Olonkho performed by U.G. Nokhsorov were preserved: an introductory recitative, song of a warrior aiyy and of secondary characters "Song of Soruk Bollur", "Song of Kyys-Kyskyidaan", "Song of the Warrior's Bride", "Song of Timir Syulyuntai", "Song of the Heavenly Shaman", "Song of the Tungus Warrior" from Olonkhos "Yuryung Uolan" (Bright Young Warrior) and "Nurgun Bootur". N.M. Bachinsky and K.G. Svitova recorded all these songs on the diskograph and phonograph at the Moscow Conservatory after P.I. Chaikovsky in 1946. In 1976, the restored fragments were recorded as disks. In the ownership of the National Broad casting Company "Sakha" are some preserved records of Olonkho fragments performed by this talented actor. Among these fragments one should mention the Introduction and "Song of Yuryung Uolan" (Song of White Young Man), "Song of Abaahy Kyyha" from Olonkho "Yuryung Uolan".

The existing score for Olonkho "Nurgun Bootur the Impetuous" mostly represent the singing manner degereng yrya, notably the song of the trickster Soruk Bollur (a herald and servant) and the positive heroine Aiyy Umsuura. The song of the heavenly woman -shaman Aiyy Umsuura in the manner de gereng yrya is the representative sample of regularity and harmony in depic tion of this character. Syllable and rhythmic structure of Aiyy Umsuura's song is characterisic of the Turkic versification. Due to the rhythmic distinctness of this type of singing with its specific intonational and rhythmic melody, Olonkho characters are identified more vividly. So, the melodies in the degereng yrya manner sung by U.G. Nokhsorov make the classic samples of the Central Lena region School of Singing, as preserved in the records of the 1950-s. The degereng yrya manner in Nokhsorov's singing is applied to secondary charac ters (the lyrical character Aiyy Umsuura, characters of Soruk-Bollur of non-Yakut ethnic origin), while in the djieretii yrya manner; the major characters are not distinctly defined. It is difficult to identify how many melodies were created during the long history of the singing tradition. I.A. Khudyakov wrote, "specialists identify up to 20 widely utilized tunes", some of which are lost.

Thus, according to researchers, during the century- long epic tradition, the Yakut Olonkho singers elaborated the unique method of self- accompa niment - kylyhakh with an effect of the instrumental accompaniment. The timbre and manner of the kylyhakh singing in epos implies the additional flageolet sound that is specific only of the Yakut epic singing and is sung by means of the regular opening up and closing of vocal chords (glottaliza- tion). Olonkho singer performing various Olonkho parts has to sing female parts as well, these parts differ in timbre and pitch of the voice showing the stability of the epic tradition preserved up to nowadays, but being now on the brink of disappearance.

Thus, the mastership of olonkho performers from the point of view of arts study is a unique and original performance technique as a sign of national singing culture and masterpiece of human creativity. Yakut olonkho performers have passed on and developed the tradition over the years from generation to generation in oral form. Unfortunately, the mastership of performers has not been fixed in its completeness. We have lost some national melodies of the past, but thanks to audio-records from the middle and late XX century, we have the possibility of their reconstruction now and in near future.

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