Nart Sagas from the Caucasus

Folklore, April, 2004 by David Hunt

Nart Sagas from the Caucasus. By John Colarusso. Princeton, N.J. and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002. 552 pp. Illus. 24.95 [pounds sterling](hbk). ISBN 0-691-02647-5

This book represents a very valuable addition to the miniscule amount of previously published folk literature from the Caucasus. Such material is important for historians and folklorists for many reasons: first, because the communities from which it came retained until recently a relatively antique life-style compared with other parts of Europe; second, because its accuracy was enhanced by being orally transmitted in languages for which there was no alphabet until the 1920s; third, because there is evidence of the great antiquity of these legends, to be measured in millennia; and not least because the corpus existed in many variants, transmitted within diverse ethnic and linguistic groups, thus allowing comparison of the variants with the social and environmental conditions prevailing in each group. The value of many of these texts is also enhanced by being written by a linguist.

The texts have been taken from four of the ethnic groups who possess Nart sagas: the Adyges (Circassians), the Abazas, the Abkhaz and the Ubykhs; all of whom inhabited the northwest Caucasus. The author does not include Nart sagas from other ethnic groups among whom the sagas are strongly represented, namely the Ossetes, Balkars and Karachays, nor those weakly represented, such as the Ingush, Chechens or Svans. The Adyge and Ubykh texts were translated directly from their original languages mainly by the author himself, with additional use of texts translated by Georges Dumezil. The Abkhaz texts were translated by George Hewitt from their original language. The Abaza legends were translated from Russian renderings.

I note, however, that there are substantial differences between the renderings in this book and the Russian versions of the same legends, although both versions came from the same source. This difference might possibly be merely due to the use of a different variant of the legend, and in many cases the difference may not be important. However, in at least one case, the tale of the distribution of three magical whetstones, of which a Russian-language and an Adyge-language version have both been published by the eminent Adyge folklore specialist A. Gadagatl, the version published in this book is clearly wrong and makes the tale rather pointless.

The author's expected readership must have included linguists, perhaps more so than folklorists and an interested public. This is emphasised by the copious appendices (126 pages consisting mainly of phonetic and other linguistic shorthand, and generally inaccessible to the non-specialist), and the copious use of phonetics and linguistics in the notes attached to the tales. These make the notes difficult for the non-linguist to use, although the derivations of many of the names add potentially useful information for the folklorist.

Regarding the peripheral information, there is a useful ten-page bibliography and a useful introduction, although the map showing the ethnic groups unfortunately omits one of the important source groups of the Nart sagas. It is also unfortunate that there has been no attempt to attach international folk- literature motifs to the legends. Moreover, there is no information about the narrators or their backgrounds, essential information for folklorists. Presumably such information could be obtained by research into the sources included in the bibliography, although the author himself admits to editing some of the legends. For folklorists it is useful that there are a few tales, of which several variants are included, for comparisons: for example, "The birth of Sawseruquo," etc., in all four national versions (Circassian, Abaza, Abkhaz and Ubykh); and the Abaza and Ubykh versions of the death of the same hero.

Most of the legends have endnotes with useful comparisons with other national versions of the Nart sagas and with external groups of legends. Many of these comparisons lead to the author's speculations in the field of folklore, often without supporting evidence. These reminded me of a dictum of a former professor: "In reading a research publication, treat the data seriously, but the conclusions with a pinch of salt."

The general impression of this book for folklorists: important material, interesting but sometimes difficult reading, and it raises many unanswered questions.