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)

ALIVE EXISTENCE OF OLONKHO

Unique value of Olonkho as a living cultural tradition is that people still regard it as an encyclopaedia of its life and history. Numerous plots of Olonkho contain the wisdom and religious outlooks, moral and pedagogic values, and archaic customs and traditions. Epic language presents the main and constant value, the source of knowledge and wisdom of ancestors. The characters of Olonkho still remain symbols of unsurpassed language culture. Renaissance of ethnic identity is possible only through this living tradition, still alive. Not withstanding the objective historic conditions, Yakutia is, perhaps, the only region in the northeast Siberia and Far East that preserved the living epic tra dition.

RISK OF DISAPPEARANCE

The beginning of the 21st century with its political and technology changes in the Republic and regions of the Russian Federation was marked by a real threat of disappearance of the oral epic tradition of indigenous peoples. In the long years of Soviet power and post-perestroyka period there was never enough attention paid to support and preservation of epic legacy. Not only the performers, but also Olonkho itself was prohibited. Official authorities did not support and even persecuted any activity to preserve and popularise folklore. If it were not for single enthusiasts and epic lovers, who popularised folklore through amateur arts, Olonkho would have vanished. Collection of Olonkho pieces began in 1930s with the works of P. A. Oyunskyi, Head of the Institute of Language and Culture. However, in 1938 he was arrested and executed. In 1939 the Republic started a contest for collecting Olonkho. People actively participated, and that was how the present collection of more than 100 hand written texts of Olonkho was ready. However, the 2 nd World War did not let end the contest. The collected materials were passed over to Scientific Ar chive of Yakut Scientific Center of Sibirian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, though storing conditions did not and still do not meet the require ments. The texts, written with a carbon pencil on plain papers sheets, are stored in carton boxes in unventilated premises. The discussions on this issue began in the 1990s and the issue is still unresolved due to lack of financing.

Oral narrative tradition itself is on the edge because of rapid urbanisation and loss of national culture of Yakut community. Epic as a phenomenon of unwritten culture is being transformed, gradually losing its original form. Nevertheless, there are ways to preserve Olonkho as an oral narrative tradi tion. 1990s with awakening of national self-consciousness saw creation of groups on epic research and renaissance in local cultural communities (Yakutsk, Ust-Aldanskyi, Taattinskyi, Suntarskyi, Viluiskyi, Amginskyi, Churapchinskyi, Momskyi regions). This, no doubt, is a good sign and expression of hope for continuation of oral traditions and Olonkho on the whole. The older genera tions of olonkhohuts due to their age are not able to pass the tradition on to younger people. Individual enthusiasts of middle age try to hold workshops for school children. Today such initiatives desperately need support. Adminis trations of schools do net realise the importance of oral narrative traditions or do not have the facilities to support it. Another problem is lack of targeted preparation of teachers to prepare students for this complex genre.

Thus, though there are some successive experiences of epic preservation and renaissance, on the whole, oral narrative traditions in the Republic are objectively on the edge of disappearance. The only places where Olonkho has a chance to survive are 8 regions of 33. The age of enthusiasts-performers suggests that with their death the oral story telling tradition may be wiped out. The young on the whole do not wish to work in this field out of sheer enthusiasm, but there is a certain interest among some children and the young that are ready to acquire the tradition.

Back