"Benevolence has oil on the tip, cursing has blood"

Shamaeva Anastasiia Egorovna ORCID: 0000-0003-2871-6900 PhD in Philology Researcher at the Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences 677027, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, Petrovsky str., 1 ashamaeva@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction. Due to some circumstances, the Yakut language occupies a special position among the Altai languages. Firstly, the fairly early offshoot of the Yakut branch from the main composition of the Turkic languages – “at the turn of our era” ^{[1, p. 661]} already determines the importance of taking into account the data of the Yakut language in comparative studies. Secondly, after the migration of the tribes to the zones of the upper and middle reaches of the Lena River, “a period of isolation came, and the Yakut language was practically not exposed to the common Turkic isoglosses” ^{[1, p. 661]}. It is also known that, unlike the Western groups of Turkic languages, in which Arabic-Persian lexical borrowings predominate, there is a significant amount of vocabulary borrowed from the Mongolian languages in the vocabulary of the Eastern Turkic languages. Thus, the most noticeable feature of the Yakut language is the presence of a large number of Yakut-Mongolian parallels, the study of which goes deep into the Altai problems.

Almost everyone who studied the Yakut language, one way or another, considered the Yakut-Mongolian language connections in their research (O.N. Betlingk, V.V. Radlov, N.N. Poppe, E.I. Ubryatova, L.N. Kharitonov, St. Kaluzhinsky, N.K. Antonov, N.D. Dyachkovsky, G.V. Popov, P.A. Sleptsov, V.I. Rassadin, N.N. Shirobokova, etc.).

The main problems on the Yakut-Mongolian parallels are investigated in the works of V.I. Rassadin and St. Kaluzhinsky. In his monograph "Mongolische Elemente In der jakutischen Sprache" ^[1961] concludes that the words analyzed by him could have been borrowed by the Yakuts from the Mongols no earlier than the XII-XIII centuries and no later than the XV and even XVI centuries. In addition, he notes the presence in the Yakut language of a number of words that have only Buryat parallels and the possibility of a partial transition to the Buryat language from Yakut ^{[2, p. 20]}. V.I. Rassadin, having studied Buryatism in the Yakut language, stated that "the vast majority of Mongolisms in the Yakut language retains the characteristic features of the medieval Mongolian language ... ^{[3, p. 170]}. Lexico-semantic characteristics of the Yakut-Mongolian parallels are also given in the works of N.K. Antonov. As a result of the analysis of lexical and semantic features of the considered parallels, N.K. Antonov suggests: "Apparently, the Turkic-speaking ancestors of the Yakuts, having migrated from the upper reaches of the Lena to its middle course, found here places already inhabited by a few Mongolian-speaking tribes that penetrated the Lena River and its eastern tributaries from ancient times from the upper reaches of the Amur, the ancestral places the habitat of the Mongols, as many researchers now write" ^{[4, pp. 53-54]}.

Relevance. In contrast to the Yakut-Mongolian lexical parallels, comparative studies of proverbs of the Yakut language with the involvement of Mongolian languages remain unexplored. The comparison of linguistic material from the proverbs of the Yakut and Mongolian languages will undoubtedly give new data on the problems of the origin and historical development of not only the Yakut, but also the Mongolian languages.  After all, proverbs have a fixed lexical composition, a generalized figurative meaning, respectively, unlike individual lexemes, they are less susceptible to change. Proverbs, expressing a complete thought-judgment, are a unique fragment of the linguistic picture of the world of native speakers of a particular language.

Yakut phraseologist A.G. Nelunov notes that "in proverbs, words are more independent in their meanings, therefore they are syntactically decomposable" ^{[5, p. 37]}.  Also, the author, referring to the fact that phraseological units are often part of proverbs, notes that "from a communicative point of view, proverbs are a more complex unit of language than phraseological units" ^{[5, p. 37]}.

The purpose of the study is to consider the lexical composition of the Yakut and Mongolian proverbs–parallels and to reveal identical concepts reflecting the worldview positions of speakers of the studied languages.

The scientific novelty of this work consists in the fact that for the first time the lexical composition of Yakut and Mongolian proverbs- parallels is considered in it.

The material was examples from the "Great Explanatory Dictionary of the Yakut language", also from the "Great Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary".

The main methods of work were the continuous sampling method when selecting material from dictionaries, the comparative method when comparing material from different languages, the descriptive and analytical method, including comparison, description and generalization, interpretation.

The main part. Yakut proverb algys baha syalaah, kyrys baha haannaah (lit. the benevolence has fat (oil) at the tip, the curse has blood), and the Mongolian proverb yerooliyn uzuurt tos, kharaalyn uzuurt tsus ^[6] (letters. the benevolence has oil on the tip, the curse has blood), function with the general semantics “the blessing responds with good, the curse with blood". It is significant that such philosophical concepts as yak function in these parallels. algys / mong. erol "benevolence" and yak. kyrys / mong. haraal "curse", which include a whole system of interactions and norms of behavior, reflecting the unique worldview positions of speakers of the languages studied.

All important events in the life of the Yakuts up to now are accompanied by the rite of algys, i.e. an appeal to the spirits, the celestials, the rite includes a prayer for abundance, blessings of the newlyweds, well-wishes to the newborn child, etc.  

The Yakut Algys, passed down from generation to generation, have preserved the most ancient samples of the language, mythological representations and poetic traditions of the people.

E.K. Pekarsky ascribes the meaning of the Yakut word algys to the verb al?aa - ‘to bless, to welcome, to glorify, to praise, to praise, to pray, to conjure (spirits), to speak' ^{[7, p. 76]}, in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Yakut language this verb is represented as ‘to pronounce (hum) ancient words-benevolence, appeals with supplication to higher deities, spirits-ichchi (a belief based on the recognition of the magical power of the word)’ ^{[8, p. 414]}. Altan chuoraan ayahpynan / Ayyy h yty al ? aan, / Akhtan tuoyan / Ayaarar k u n u m / Aryllybyt ebit, o ? oloor! Sakha folk. – letters. With a copper bell mouth / Praying ayysyt (the common name of the goddesses who patronize the increase of offspring) / Remembering, singing / Bellowing my day / Has come, it turns out, children! (Yakut folklore); ‘pronounce (hum) heartfelt words with a wish for good, happiness; bless (seeing off on a long journey, loved ones)’ ^{[8, p. 414]}. O ? olorbutun algys utyotun al ? aan, rear utyotun eten, ortho aan iye doyduga t uh erdehpit (Sakha folklore) – letters. blessing our children with a kind blessing, saying a kind word, they let down on the middle world (Yakut folklore).  The verbal name algys in the Yakut language has a wide meaning: 1) special words addressed to people wishing them well; words uttered on various occasions with a request, a plea for a successful outcome, benevolence. Uruuga algyha – wedding algys. Algiska onnooor abaahy ahsyyr (os hohono) – even abaasy gives up on the spell (pogov.) (about a person who does not listen to someone's request, when they beg an angry person, when a person acts badly, when they even refuse something); 2) a blessing; a parting word (usually an appeal of the elderly to the young). Iye-a ? a algy h a is a parental blessing. Ehigi algyskytyn kytta attannybyt – with your (parental) blessing, we are going. Kyrdya?astan algyhyn yl, ederten eyetin yl – take his blessing from the old, from the young — friendship (proverb); 3) according to ancient superstition – a magic word that can expel evil forces, heal from diseases; spells, spells; 4) a kind word, a kind wish, a wish; a beautiful view, the best creation, Eyiiginniin algys buoluom – with you I become good (good); 5) one of the oldest types (genres) Yakut folk poetry, algys ^{[8, pp. 412-413]}. This lexeme is widespread in modern Turkic languages in its main meanings, and goes back to the other-Turkic. alq ‘praise, blessing, glorification' ^{[9, p. 38]}.

Mongolian benevolence ("yerool") it also “represents one of the ancient poetic forms of oral poetic creativity of the Mongols” ^[6]. The Etymological Dictionary of Mongolian Languages records the P.-Mongol ir?gel, khalkh. yerool, bur. urool, yurool, kalm. yorel with the meaning of ‘benevolence' ^{[10, p. 107]}. There is also a comparison of the parallel from manchzh. firuren ‘blessing' ^{[10, p. 107]}. The following meanings are given in the Large Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary to erol: 1) a wish, a wish for good; an improvised poem with a wish for good, goodness, a poetic improvisation of well-wishing; 2) toast, toast; proclamation; 3) fate, share, happy fate; happy share, 4) repose; requiem ^[6]. As illustrative material in the dictionary to the Mong. erol, the names of some erols are given: guu barihyn erol – erol about milking mares (before milking); gariin erol – erol in honor of a new yurt, a new house; deputy mand sayn yavakhyn – erol wishing a happy journey; turgen irehiyn – erol wishing a speedy return (to the departed on the way); hurimyn yerol – epithalamia, well–wishing at the wedding; esgiy hiyhiyn yerol - erol in honor of the manufacture of felt ^[6].

In the context under consideration, yak. algys and Mong. erol act in their traditional meanings of "benevolence".

The polysemous word bass with the main meaning of ‘head (human or animal)’ ^{[11, 229 p.]} >other-Turkic. ba? ‘head‘ ^{[9, p. 86]}, in this proverb appears in the metaphorical meaning of 'tip'. Mong. uzuurt in the Large Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary has a reference to uzuurt 1) ‘having a point, pointed’, 2) ‘having an end; having a vertex’ ^[6], cf. p.-mong. g?r [?*i?eg?r, cp. i?ayur], cf. bur. uzuur, kalm. uzur ‘point, spire; tip, tip' ^{[12, p. 209]}.

Yak. sya ‘fat deposit in the body of animals, humans, fat’, etc.-Turkic. ya, sa, tea ‘fat, fat’ ^{[13, p. 340]}. Mong. tos ‘butter, melted fat’ ^[6], goes back to P.-Mong. tosun [*to-sun], cf. bur. tohon, kalm. tosn, bao. Toso, dag. toso, duns. tosun, mngr. tze ‘oil’ ^{[12, p. 175]}. 

The high nutritional value of fat and oil in the yak proverbs we are considering. algys baha syalaah, kyrys baha haannaah // mong. yerooliyn uzuurt tos, kharaalyn uzuurt tsus (lit. benevolence has oil on the tip, curses have blood) is metaphorically projected onto psychological and material well–being. Yak. sya ‘fat deposit in the body of animals, humans, fat’ also functions in some Yakut phraseological units with metaphorical semantics of psychological and material well-being, for example, yak. bys da sya, bas da ary (lit. whatever you cut that fat, whatever you type that oil) ‘prosperous, rich (about life)’: Bihigi olohput bys da sya, bas da ary buolla – our life has become prosperous and rich; yak. syalaah ytystaah (lit. having fat on the palm) ‘kind person’: Emeehsin barakhsan syalaah ytystaah kihi ete – she was a kind old lady.  Oil in Mongolian culture is one of the symbols of abundance and happiness (also lard and fat). Many images of space are associated with this element of the traditional nomad food complex. The grass-rich areas, which make it possible to feed a large number of cattle, are described as "anointed" with sacred heavenly oil ^{[14, p. 131]}.

In the proverbs under consideration, along with benevolence, a concept with an opposite orientation appears – a curse (yak. kyrys / mong. haraal).

E.K. Pekarsky ascribes the meaning of the Yakut kyrys to the verb kyraa - ‘to curse, to conjure, to curse; to betray to a curse (contra. alaa)’ ^{[7, v. 1427]}. The verbal name kyrys in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Yakut language is fixed in the meaning of ‘curse, spell’, the Turki are also given there. kargys, kargysh ^{[15, p. 352]}. In the Turkic languages, the name with aff. -sh: kargysh ‘curse’ has become widespread and is elevated to the verb karga- / kargy- ‘to curse’ ^{[16, p. 304]}. In the etymological dictionary of the Turkic languages, the Yakut verb kyraa - ‘to curse, to conjure’ is compared with kyrga ‘to scold, to curse, to curse’, recorded in the dictionary of Mahmud of Kashgar ^{[16, p. 304]}.

In the Mongolian proverb yerooliyn uzuurt tos, kharaalyn uzuurt tsus (lit. benevolence has oil on the tip, cursing has blood) kharaalyn is represented in the genus. P. from kharaal ‘curse; swearing; swearing, swearing’ ^[6], cf. P.-Mong. qariyal (qariya-l), bur. kharaal, kalm. haral ‘swearing, swearing, cursing', which most likely goes back to the verb P.-mong. qariya- (khalkh., bur. haraa-, kalm., bao. hara-, dagh. hara- (kara-), duns. kara-, mngr. hara-) ‘to scold, to curse'; khalkh. ‘swear’ ^{[12, p. 37]}.

Yak. haan ‘blood’ ^{[17, p. 103]}, cf. other-Turkic. qan ‘blood' ^{[9, p. 416]}, mong tsus(an) ‘blood' ^[6], cf. p.-mong. ?isun, kalm. tsusn, bur. shuhan, bao. Chiso, duns. chusun, doug. chos, mngr. chice ‘blood’ ^{[18, p. 147]}.

The motif of the second part of the Yakut proverb algys baha syalaah, kyrys baha haannaah (lit. benevolence has fat / oil at the tip, curses have blood) is most clearly revealed in the texts of olonkho. S.S. Makarov, having studied the curse in the plots of Yakut epics, found that the most frequent are curses uttered by the hero to the defeated enemy. At the same time, the author notes that the curse “is part of the ritualized act of destroying the corpse of the enemy” ^{[19, pp. 78-79]}.

Among the Mongols, the curse is linked to the destruction of a person. There is information from 1919 about the use of haraals (more precisely, about the suspicion of their use or the threat of use) – people accused the ruler of blackmailing them with the threat of murder with curses ^{[20, p. 21]}. In the folklore biography of Milaraiba (Mel-burhan) it is said that he taught haraal and became a haraalch — to kill all enemies. They talked about him: "Here comes kharalchi Melya" ^{[20, p. 21]}. The kharaals themselves are mentioned or quoted in various oral genres: in Buryat, Mongolian, Kalmyk fairy tales, in the epic "Dzhangar", in shamanic legends. According to folklore records, the haraal is a wish for death or misfortune to a person necessarily in an allegorical form, in form it is an alliterative verse, on average consisting of 4-6 lines (there is also a one—line haraal) ^{[21, p. 21]}.

Conclusions: So, the considered Yakut and Mongolian proverbs are presented as structural and semantic analogues. This circumstance is revealed in the word-by-word translation. All the components of the lexeme of the Yakut proverb algys baha syalaah, kyrys baha haannaah (letters. the benevolence has oil on the tip, the curse has blood) are etymologized on the material of the Turkic languages, and the Mongolian proverbs yerooliyn uzuurt tos, kharaalyn uzuurt tsus (letters. the result of benevolence is oil, the result of a curse is blood) go back to Mongolian roots. At the same time, each word reveals to a certain extent the general specific features of the culture of these peoples.

The complete coincidence of the method of nomination of rather specific concepts appearing in the considered proverbs is not accidental. Such complex proverbs-parallels could arise only in conditions of prolonged contact between the ancestors of the Yakuts and Mongols.

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