The archetypical nature of the oral prose of the Buryats (by the example of shamanic dreams)

Buryat oral prose includes stories about shamanic dreams, a genre whose uniqueness stems from being narrated by practicing shamans. This research aims to determine the theoretical and poetic significance of these stories and their depth in depicting the national worldview. The novelty lies in the fact that this variety of oral prose had not been studied in Buryat folklore and literary criticism. The mythopoetic nature of Buryat fiction and narrative forms like ritual folklore have been studied, but the theory of dreams as told by shamans themselves had been overlooked. The work demonstrates that the genre reveals not only the traditional Buryat vision of the world's structure and the correlation of real and unreal planes but also a new place for a person in the space-time continuum.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The oral prose of the Buryats includes, along with other genres, stories about shamanic dreams, the uniqueness and originality of which are undeniable. The aim of the research is to determine the theoretical and poetic significance of this genre, the depth of the depiction of the national worldview. The peculiarity of these stories is based on the fact that dreams are narrated by informants – they are people who not only profess shamanism, but also practice this cult. This makes the research novel, as the variety of this oral prose has not been studied yet in Buryat folklore and literary criticism. The mythopoetic nature of Buryat fiction and the narrative form of oral prose are traditionally studied, such as ritual folklore, which is analysed in different aspects. For one, shamanic invocations, legends and chants were also considered. It can be stated that the theory of dreams, represented by the stories of the shamans themselves, has remained beyond the academic interest. As a result, it was demonstrated that the genre of oral story about shamanic dreams is not only the traditional vision of the Buryat people about the structure of the world, the correlation of real and unreal planes, but it also reveals a different place – a new place for a person in the space-time continuum.