Laughter as Initiation: The Functioning of the Elements of Laughter Culture in Yakut Texts
https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7935-2022-20-3-139-150
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to study the representation of the initial function of laughter in Yakut folklore texts. The range of research tasks was determined by the semantics of laughter and its functioning in Yakut texts. Folklore and ethnographic sources which served as the material for this study reflect the unique qualities of the Yakut laughing discourse. Special attention was paid to the actualization of the archaic laughter in the Yakut ritual and ceremonial culture (in particular, in the collective rituals Ayyyyyty ataaryy tuoma (farewell ceremony for the goddess Ayyysyt) and Dyalyng ylyytyn tuoma (evoking sexual passion). The author highlights the elements of the laughing culture widely used in the military epic discourse (songs-squabbles of heroes, songs of bloodshed ilbis yryata, songs-curses of heroes kyrys yryata)—abusive language, swearing, profanity, banter. Within the framework of this article, the peculiarities of functioning of laughter, considered as one of the most important components of the rite of passage—initiation—are investigated. The author argues that in the folklore world (fairy tales, legends of nomoh, the olonkho epic), laughter seems to be an analogue of psychological initiation, in which the life-affirming power of laughter finds actualization, purifying and protecting, aimed at distinguishing the living and the dead world. Therefore, the paper also includes the issues of self-identification, specificity of mental landscape, and the definition of marginality in the Yakut cultural space.
About the Author
S. E. Noeva
The Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North SB RAS
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Sargylana E. Noeva (Karmanova), PhD in Philology, Research Fellow
Yakutsk
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Review
For citations:
Noeva S.E. Laughter as Initiation: The Functioning of the Elements of Laughter Culture in Yakut Texts. NSU Vestnik. Series: Linguistics and Intercultural Communication. 2022;20(3):139-150. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7935-2022-20-3-139-150
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