Tales Of The Narts

Author : John Colarusso
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691211523
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Tales of the Narts written by John Colarusso and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exciting collection of mythology about heroes, heroines, villains, and monsters in the intriguing world of the nomad warriors of the Caucasus The Nart sagas are to the Caucasus what Greek mythology is to Western civilization. Tales of the Narts expands the canon of this precious body of lore by presenting a wide selection of fascinating tales that are part of a living tradition among the peoples of Ossetia in southern Russia. A mythical tribe of nomad warriors, the Narts are courageous, bold, and good-hearted, but also capable of envy, cruelty, and violence. In this wonderfully vivid and accessible collection, colorful and exciting heroes, heroines, villains, and monsters pursue their destinies though a series of exploits, often with the intervention of ancient gods.

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 140086528X
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.84/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Nart Sagas from the Caucasus written by and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Nart sagas are to the Caucasus what Greek mythology is to Western civilization. This book presents, for the first time in the West, a wide selection of these fascinating myths preserved among four related peoples whose ancient cultures today survive by a thread. In ninety-two straightforward tales populated by extraordinary characters and exploits, by giants who humble haughty Narts, by horses and sorceresses, Nart Sagas from the Caucasus brings these cultures to life in a powerful epos. In these colorful tales, women, not least the beautiful temptress Satanaya, the mother of all Narts, are not only fertility figures but also pillars of authority and wisdom. In one variation on a recurring theme, a shepherd, overcome with passion on observing Satanaya bathing alone, shoots a "bolt of lust" that strikes a rock--a rock that gives birth to the Achilles-like Sawseruquo, or Sosruquo. With steely skin but tender knees, Sawseruquo is a man the Narts come to love and hate. Despite a tragic history, the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs have retained the Nart sagas as a living tradition. The memory of their elaborate warrior culture, so richly expressed by these tales, helped them resist Tsarist imperialism in the nineteenth century, Stalinist suppression in the twentieth, and has bolstered their ongoing cultural journey into the post-Soviet future. Because these peoples were at the crossroads of Eurasia for millennia, their myths exhibit striking parallels with the lore of ancient India, classical Greece, and pagan Scandinavia. The Nart sagas may also have formed a crucial component of the Arthurian cycle. Notes after each tale reveal these parallels; an appendix offers extensive linguistic commentary. With this book, no longer will the analysis of ancient Eurasian myth be possible without a close look at the Nart sagas. And no longer will the lover of myth be satisfied without the pleasure of having read them. Excerpts from the Nart sagas ? "The Narts were a tribe of heroes. They were huge, tall people, and their horses were also exuberant Alyps or Durduls. They were wealthy, and they also had a state. That is how the Narts lived their lives. . . ." "The Narts were courageous, energetic, bold, and good-hearted. Thus they lived until God sent down a small swallow. . . ." "The Narts were very cruel to one another. They were envious of one another. They disputed among themselves over who was the most courageous. But most of all they hated Sosruquo. . . . A rock gave birth to him. He is the son of a rock, illegally born a mere shepherd's son. . . ."

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691169144
Total Pages : 454 pages
Book Rating : 4.49/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Nart Sagas written by and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-06-07 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sagas of the ancient Narts are to the Caucasus what Greek mythology is to Western civilization. This book presents, for the first time in the West, a wide selection of these fascinating myths preserved among four related peoples whose ancient cultures today survive by a thread. In ninety-two straightforward tales populated by extraordinary characters and exploits, by giants who humble haughty Narts, by horses and sorceresses, Nart Sagas from the Caucasus brings these cultures to life in a powerful epos. In these colorful tales, women, not least the beautiful temptress Satanaya, the mother of all Narts, are not only fertility figures but also pillars of authority and wisdom. In one variation on a recurring theme, a shepherd, overcome with passion on observing Satanaya bathing alone, shoots a "bolt of lust" that strikes a rock--a rock that gives birth to the Achilles-like Sawseruquo, or Sosruquo. With steely skin but tender knees, Sawseruquo is a man the Narts come to love and hate. Despite a tragic history, the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs have retained the Nart sagas as a living tradition. The memory of their elaborate warrior culture, so richly expressed by these tales, helped them resist Tsarist imperialism in the nineteenth century, Stalinist suppression in the twentieth, and has bolstered their ongoing cultural journey into the post-Soviet future. Because these peoples were at the crossroads of Eurasia for millennia, their myths exhibit striking parallels with the lore of ancient India, classical Greece, and pagan Scandinavia. The Nart sagas may also have formed a crucial component of the Arthurian cycle. Notes after each tale reveal these parallels; an appendix offers extensive linguistic commentary. With this book, no longer will the analysis of ancient Eurasian myth be possible without a close look at the Nart sagas. And no longer will the lover of myth be satisfied without the pleasure of having read them. Excerpts from the Nart sagas "The Narts were a tribe of heroes. They were huge, tall people, and their horses were also exuberant Alyps or Durduls. They were wealthy, and they also had a state. That is how the Narts lived their lives. . . ." "The Narts were courageous, energetic, bold, and good-hearted. Thus they lived until God sent down a small swallow. . . ." "The Narts were very cruel to one another. They were envious of one another. They disputed among themselves over who was the most courageous. But most of all they hated Sosruquo. . . . A rock gave birth to him. He is the son of a rock, illegally born a mere shepherd's son. . . ." In a new introduction, folklorist Adrienne Mayor reflects on these tales both in terms of the fascinating warrior culture they depict and the influence they had on Greco-Roman mythology.

Author : David Hunt
Publisher : Saqi
ISBN 13 : 0863568238
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.37/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Legends of the Caucasus written by David Hunt and published by Saqi. This book was released on 2012-05-28 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Caucasus has an extremely rich folk literature, almost unknown among English speakers, which includes myths, legends, magical tales, anecdotes and proverbs. The one hundred and one legends included in this book reflect the cultures of fourteen different ethnic groups - their dynamism and the matters that concerned them: survival against external dangers, the risk of starvation and the persistence of the family or clan as a coordinated group. Descended from an oral tradition, much of their knowledge was retained in memories and passed down the generations. Yet, with the introduction of the alphabet, the way of life they portray is rapidly becoming extinct. An incomparable collection, Legends of the Caucasus conveys the poetry and romance of these swiftly vanishing tribes. 'This book has brought into light some of the hidden treasures of the Caucasus ... A major contribution not only to the study of the Caucasus, but also to world folklore.' John Colarusso, McMaster University, Canada 'Inventive and meticulous in rendering the extraordinary folk poetry of the many nations of the Caucasus ... [This is] essential reading for anyone seeking an insight into the cultures of the Caucasus.' Donald Rayfield, Queen Mary University of London, UK

Author : C. Scott Littleton
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317777700
Total Pages : 430 pages
Book Rating : 4.00/5 ( download)

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Download or read book From Scythia to Camelot written by C. Scott Littleton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-23 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume boldly proposes that the core of the Arthurian and Holy Grail traditions derived not from Celtic mythology, but rather from the folklore of the peoples of ancient Scythia (what are now the South Russian and Ukrainian steppes). Also includes 19 maps.

Author : Adrienne Mayor
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691202265
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Gods and Robots written by Adrienne Mayor and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-21 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the story of how ancient cultures envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices and human enhancements, sharing insights into how the mythologies of the past related to and shaped ancient machine innovations.

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Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004502521
Total Pages : 334 pages
Book Rating : 4.29/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Conceptualising Divine Unions in the Greek and Near Eastern Worlds written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-01-04 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is an interdisciplinary investigation and contextualization of the various concepts of divine union in the private and public sphere of the Greek and Near Eastern worlds.

Author : John Colarusso
Publisher : University of Calgary Press
ISBN 13 : 0919813992
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Grammar of the Kabardian Language written by John Colarusso and published by University of Calgary Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first comprehensive grammar of a non-Indo-European language from the Northwest Caucasian family in a language other than Russian. Kabardian is complex at every level. A Grammar of the Kabardian Language gives the reader the first account of the syntax of this language. It will give the area specialist access to the language. It will give the linguist interested in complex languages access to an extraordinarily difficult language, and it will give the theoretical linguist access to a language that exhibits topological exotica at every level of its grammar, from phonetics to the lexicon.

Author : Kadir I. Natho
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 13 : 146531699X
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Circassian History written by Kadir I. Natho and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2009-12-03 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Circassian History relates the heroic struggle for survival of one of the most ancient nations in the world, with a unique language and a highly developed distinctive culture. Beginning from 1555, Circassian princes began seeking the friendship and protection of czarist Russia against the aggressions of the Ottoman Turks and Crimean Khans. However, Czarist Russia unleashed its colonial war against Circassia to build the necessary harbors on the Black Sea. Their Nart Epos and archeological finds of the Maikop dolmen and barrow cultures testify that the ancestors of the Circassians lived and prospered on the same territory at least since the advent of the Bronze Age. Their Homeland in North Caucasus stretched from the main ridge of the Caucasus Mountains to the northeastern Black Sea and eastern Azov seacoasts. Its northern boundaries run from Lake Manych and along the Terek Riverthe northern boundary of Kabarda. Beginning from 1555, Circassian princes began seeking the friendship and protection of czarist Russia against the aggressions of the Ottoman Turks and Crimean Khans. However, Czarist Russia unleashed its colonial aggression and conquered Circassia to build the necessary harbors on the Black Sea. Russia planned to seize Bosphorus and Dardanelles with the passage to the Mediterranean Sea, weaken the position of the Ottoman Empire, deal a powerful blow on the trade interests of Great Britain, and gain the upper hand over the European powers in the contest for world supremacy. In this unequal war, Russia occupied Kabarda in 1779. By 1822, it stripped off the Kabardinian princes of the right to rule in their own land and subjected them and their country to the dictatorship of the commanding generals of the Russian armed forces. Thus, early and masterfully, Russia had cut off Kabarda from its western kindred and then directed its military might against Western Circassia. During this period, Russia launched a powerful worldwide propaganda campaign, portraying the Circassians to the Western world as the marauding savages who should be obliterated from the face of the earth in order to ensure peace in the region. At the same time, Russia kept increasing its armed forces in this region. For example, during General Yermolovs time, Russia increased its army in this region from 5075,000, excluding the Cossacks. Russia added 47 new battalions since 1831 and another 40,000 soldiers in 1840. In short, a 210,000 Russian armies and 80,000 Cossack Cavalries were conducting military operations in Circassia during 18531856. Later, Russia reinforced it with 24,000 Russian infantry corps and 2 dragoon regiments and artillery. Russia suffered colossal losses in the Russo-Circassian War. Since the time of Catherine II to 1864, 1.5 million Russian soldiers fell in this country, excluding the Cossack losses as they were not considered a part of the regular Russian army. From the beginning until the end of the war, the Russian army had burnt and pillaged twenty, thirty, fifty, and one hundred Circassian villages at a time, destroying the harvest and driving out the cattle; the Russian army killed or uprooted the native inhabitants and settled Cossack and Russian stanitsas in the territory, according to the planned genocide. As Russian generals stated openly, Russia needed the Circassian lands, not the Circassians. Finally, Russia crushed the Circassian nation in 1864, forced them from their historical Motherland, drove them to the Black Sea shore under Russian bayonets, and threw them into the confines of the Ottoman Empire thus completing its planned genocide. At the present time, as a result of the genocide, 90 percent of the Circassian population lives scattered all over the world. They survived the planned Russian genocide, the cold, deprivations, epidemics, and other companions of their forcible exile. They became exemplary citizens of many countries, established their own new republicsAdigey, Kabardino-Balkaria

Author : Amjad M. Jaimoukha
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781898948407
Total Pages : 559 pages
Book Rating : 4.02/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Circassian Culture and Folklore written by Amjad M. Jaimoukha and published by . This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: