2019, Vol.76, No.4

The Structure and Heroes of Nomadic Utopia in Jangar

Cho, Hyunsoul | 2019, 76(4) | pp.13~41 | number of Cited : 4

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‘Heroic Codes’ and ‘Behavior Patterns’ in Jangar, the Epic of Mongolia

Choi Won Oh | 2019, 76(4) | pp.43~89 | number of Cited : 4

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This paper discusses the heroic code and behavioral patterns of heroes in Mongolia’s epic, Jangar. ‘Heroic code’ refers to the mental and behavioral codes that heroes should have, and behavioral patterns refer to certain types of behaviors of heroes. As a result of the discussion, the heroic codes of the heroes in Jangar are variously identified by fame, identity, recognition, and competition, and the pattern of behavior shows the form of behavior by oneself or by others. Most heroic narratives deal with events that take place around one hero, resulting in a single ‘heroic code’. However, the reason why the ‘heroic code’ is so diverse in Jangar is related to the appearance of a number of heroes, including Jangar, Hongor, and Sawar. In addition, the heroes in Jangar are in the political system of Bomba, ruled by the monarch Jangar. Thus, it shows the pattern of arbitrary behavior according to the command of the monarch Jangar, or sometimes the pattern of arbitrary behavior according to the will of the individual hero. This tells us that the heroic code, which refers to the spirit and code of behavior of the heroes in Jangar, is superimposed on the state and the individual. In addition, the heroic code works not only in a single relationship but in various relationships such as vertical relationship, horizontal relationship, and circular relationship. The reputation, essence, and recognition associated with Jangar are operated in a vertical relationship, the reputation associated with Hongor in a vertical and horizontal relationship, and the spirit of competition operates horizontally in both Jangar and his warriors. And Jangar’s fame is also seen in a circular relationship, which is very closely related to the ‘feast’. A feast is a way of spreading the fame of Jangar and Bomba. Considering that Jangar is composed of ‘feast-war-feast’, Jangar’s fame is maintained and spread in a circular relationship commemorating peace without war and victory after war. In this way, the heroic code in Jangar is characterized by diversity and hierarchical character. Behavioral patterns also appear as arbitrary and arbitrary behaviors. In addition, Jangar has a variety of issues about heroes as it is called ‘hero story about hero’. In that sense, Jangar is a treasure trove of heroic epic research.

The Tears of Heroes and the Memories of War: Focusing on Jangar, the Epic of the Kalmyk Oirad People

LEE SO YUN | 2019, 76(4) | pp.91~119 | number of Cited : 2

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In the epic Jangar of the people of Kalmyk Oirad, Jangar, Hongor, and Mingyan, all shed tears from time to time. Jangar builds Ar Bomba, an ideal nation, through the conquest wars that began at the age of three. He who can foresee the future sheds the tears after he senses Ar Bomba’s crisis. At this time, Jangar is preemptively saddened about the future threats he does not face yet. Hongor sheds tears with the gloomy imagination that if he enters in front of the enemy, he will be killed by the enemy. Otherwise, if he returns, Jangar will do not want to greet him. His self-esteem is severely damaged in front of the enemy. Mingyan speaks out for the difficulties of leaving his homeland and living alone in Ar Bomba after Jangar orders an attack. The focal point here is the loneliness of longing for home after fighting in a war. They can be all referred to as “melancholic heroes” because they are mourning over the loss that has not been lost yet. Jangar is the one who determines the state of exception. In this respect, the tears he shed are the tears of the sovereign. Even though he is a sovereign, Jangar has no choice but to shed tears because Ar Bomba is the result of the war of conquest; and this makes his position always highly vulnerable. Mingyan’s tears have the opposite meaning of the tears of sovereign Jangar. His tears remind him that Ar Bomba is a tribal confederation. Interestingly, Mingyan’s tears expose the Ar Bomba’s birth crisis originated from the tribal federation system. Hongor’s tears for when facing the enemy, on the other hand, seem to reflect the emotions of the people of Kalmyk Oirad, who had historically had to stand alone before the enemy in the turbulence of war. The fact that the Kalmyk Oirad people had actually heard of the Jangar spear before the war led to the possibility of projecting their position in Hongor. In 1943, the people of the Kalmyk Autonomous Republic were deported to Siberia for 13 years, accused of serving in Germany during World War II. The Kalmyks socially eradicated the memory of forced deportation until the end of the 1980s. Nevertheless, it is important to note that Jangar has been remembered in various ways. Considering their national history, which is remembered as “loss,” the hero’s tears in anticipation of “loss” in front of the mighty enemy are a condensation of the history which is resulted from the loss of the Kalmyks. In addition, when the memory of socially abolished loss, that is, the memory of forced deportation, is struck, it is possible that Jangar was a memorial narrative that comforted them in that they were talking about the loss that had not yet been lost. This is why Jangar has been constantly reflected as a memorial narrative even in the social abolition of memory.

A Study on the Cultural Identity of Mongolian Heroic Epic in the Trans-boundary Era: Focusing on the Traditions and Modern Uses of the Stories of Jangar and Geser Khan

Lee Suna | 2019, 76(4) | pp.121~161 | number of Cited : 4

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The Jangar, Geser Khan epics are representative stories of the Mongolian nomad, transformed into a wide variety of genres from a wide range of regions in Northeast Asia and Central Asia, communicating closely with the populace of each region and each era. The Mongolian heroic epic has constantly evolved, accepting the most innovative media and genres of that era, from the story deifying, and the story performing, and to the story gaming etc. The regional and genre openness of the Mongolian epic is closely related to the long-standing characteristics of nomadic culture that cross borders and boundaries. In nomadic society where ethnic separating and gathering were frequent, Mongolian nomads constantly adapted to the new environment, overcoming the loss and confusion of their identity. In this process, these heroic epics become ‘historical myths’ that remind the mythological identity as ‘a shared memory of the community’ through the stories of the most ideal heroes aspired by the people of those days. In this context, the epic Jangar, which represented (mimesis) the tragic destiny of the Oirad people and the construction of the ideal nation (Ar Bumba) through their struggle and solidarity, represent the cultural identity of the Mongol heroic epic. The Mongolian heroic epic is narrative literature that has been actively handed down to a wide variety of nomadic culture genres in the vast region of Northeast Asia. In other words, the various regional versions of Mongolian heroic epic represent the diversity of the ethnic cultures and their cultural identities of the Mongolian nomadic people scattered in various places that flexibly adapted and were created at each crucial time. This aspect seems to have influenced the reorganization of cultural identity through the ‘shared memory of the community’ in which the other neighboring countries are represented by the myth of the hero through cultural exchange. The story of the hero named ‘Jangar’, ‘Geser’ and ‘Dagina’ (Qatun) was beyond the scope of construction, constantly communicating with the populace, and not hesitating to change itself according to the modern sense. From the deity of the story to the game, various variants have been created, and the Mongol nomads have been steadily loved until now. This is a good example of the nomadic openness and flexibility of the Mongolian heroic epic. The Mongolian epic embodies mythical storytelling genuinely while maintaining the main public media of the time such as musical instruments, medium of texts, stage (performing media), and images, and accumulating heritage of the literary genre with infinite fantasy and spectacle. Today, it is a major asset of cultural prototype contents and it is a major driving force for continuously creating new types of storytelling contents by connecting with modern media (multimedia) such as Internet, digital, VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality). The trans-boundary of Mongolian heroic epic, transcending regions and genres, will be an important alternative to form a new cultural identity of the 21st century neo-nomadism world culture beyond the national category for our future generations.

A Study on the Rhyme-Borrowing Poems of Yakcheon (藥泉) Nam Gu-man (南九萬)

Kim, hyojoung | 2019, 76(4) | pp.165~204 | number of Cited : 1