Plots of the genealogical legends of Altaians

Genealogical legends occupy a special place in the oral prose of the Altai people. They have always aroused a keen interest, which is still alive today. The number of scientific studies on this topic is relatively small, and therefore the genealogical legends of the Altaians still remain a poorly studied field of folkloristics. The relevance of the research lies in the insufficient study of these legends. The purpose of this research is to study the plot of genealogical legends. The tasks of the study include – comparison of texts of legends; definition of plots; revealing of artistic features. Comparative-historical and comparative-descriptive research methods are used in the work, allowing to focus on the repeatability of plots, to consider the variation of plots in historical development, to show the features of reflection of historical reality in these legends. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the theoretical understanding and description of the plot composition of the genealogical legends of the Altaians. The results of the research will be useful in further studying the genre of legends in Altai folklore, as well as in compiling indexes of the plots of Altai legends and collecting folklore texts. The article describes the characteristics of early ethnogenetic, patrimonial and family legends. Based on a comparison of folklore materials, recurring and well-known plots are established, along with which isolated rarely occurring plots are also noted. It is shown that the motifs found in myths and legends are used in the plots of Altai legends. Legends reflect ancient mythological ideas and beliefs of people in kinship with totemic animals and birds, contain evidence of real events in the life of the people, explain the appearance of certain ethnonyms, surnames. It is concluded that the genealogical legends of the Altaians are the result of the artistic understanding of the people of their genetic history.

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