Ural-batyr
Encyclopedia
Ural-batır or Ural-batyr ' onMouseout='HidePop("15070")' href="/topics/Ural_Mountains">Ural
+ Turkic batır
- "hero, brave man") is the most famous kubair (epic poem
) of the Bashkirs
narrating, like many similar epics (the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf
, the Germanic Nibelungenlied
, the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh
, or the Finnish/Karelian Kalevala
) about heroic deeds and legendary creatures, formation of natural phenomena, etc. The epic poem propagates the idea of the nation's eternal life and the ability of man to vanquish the evil.
, marries the legendary Humai, a swan-maid, and finally smites the chief dev Azraka, whose dead body is said to have formed Mount Yaman-tau in the South Urals. Ural-batur perishes in his final grapple with the devs, as he is forced to drink up a whole lake where they had hidden from him, but he leaves his sons to continue his initiative.
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
+ Turkic batır
Baghatur
Baghatur is a historical Turco-Mongol honorific title, in origin a term for "hero" or "valiant warrior".The term was first used by the steppe peoples to the north and west of China as early as the 7th century as evidenced in Sui dynasty records...
- "hero, brave man") is the most famous kubair (epic poem
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
) of the Bashkirs
Bashkirs
The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of...
narrating, like many similar epics (the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
, the Germanic Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
, the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
, or the Finnish/Karelian Kalevala
Kalevala
The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature...
) about heroic deeds and legendary creatures, formation of natural phenomena, etc. The epic poem propagates the idea of the nation's eternal life and the ability of man to vanquish the evil.
Plot
Based on the Turkic and, to some extent, Semitic folk song tradition, the poem narrates about the heroic deeds of Ural-batur . Born to an elderly couple (Yanbike and Yanbirthe), Ural evinces from his very infancy all the features of a legendary hero, such as unflinching courage, honesty, kindheartedness, empathy, and great physical strength. Unlike his cunning and treacherous brother Shulgan (See Sulgan-tash), Ural is an eager enemy of the evil and of Death which personifies it. Having matured, Ural sets out on the quest for Death, with the desire to find and destroy Him. On his way, he meets with various people and legendary creatures and is often deferred by long adventures; in all cases, his actions serve to save lives or quell the evil. Riding his winged stallion Akbuthat, he saves young men and women prepared for sacrifice by the tyrannical Shah Katil from imminent death, tames a wild bull, destroys an immense number of devsGiant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
, marries the legendary Humai, a swan-maid, and finally smites the chief dev Azraka, whose dead body is said to have formed Mount Yaman-tau in the South Urals. Ural-batur perishes in his final grapple with the devs, as he is forced to drink up a whole lake where they had hidden from him, but he leaves his sons to continue his initiative.