Yatha in Kalmyk folklore and lyrics of the 20th century: the poetics of a musical instrument

The article examines the poetics of the musical instrument ‘yath’ (yatha) in Kalmyk folklore and lyrics of the 20th century. The purpose of the article is to study the tradition of this Kalmyk musical instrument in the aspect of its reflection in the works of Kalmyk poets. Materials and methods. The Kalmyk epic “Dzhangar”, Kalmyk folk tales, Kalmyk folk songs, as well as Mongolian legends, poems by B. B. Sangadzhieva, S. L. Baidyev, E. N. Lidzhiev of the 1960s – early 1970s were used as materials. Comparative and comparative, historical and functional methods, as well as the method of descriptive poetics, cultural, and musicological approaches determined a comprehensive analysis of the selected works in the article. Results. Yatha in Kalmyk folklore manifests itself as a sacred instrument, symbolizing the unearthly and powerful principles. If in the epic ‘biiv’ (clarinet) and ‘yath’ (harp) are presented as separate musical instruments played by characters and the wind, then in one Kalmyk fairy tale they are also represented as ‘biiv-yath’, which apparently “united” in itself two instruments: ‘biwaa’ (plucked string instrument) and ‘yath’. In Kalmyk lyrics of the last century, compared to dombra, fewer works are addressed to yatha. In the multi-genre works of B. B. Sangadzhieva, S. L. Baydyev and E. N. Lidzhiev, the theme of yatha, on the one hand, is connected with the theme of the purpose of the poet and poetry (yatha as a lyre), on the other, with a love theme through the prism of the melody of this musical instrument. In B. B. Sangadzhieva and E. N. Lidzhiev it is yatha that appears, and in S. L. Baydyev two names are given in the same text: as ‘yath’ and as ‘biiv-yath’. N. N. Matveeva translated the quatrain of B. B. Sangadzhieva into Russian, in which there is a lyre instead of a yatha.