ALDAR AND ZUKHRA

“ALDAR AND ZUKHRA” (“Aldar menen Zukhra”), a monumental work of Bashkir literature, a khikayat. Presumably, recorded by T.S. Belyaev as heard from Kunkas­sesen, storyteller (his name is mentioned in the acknowledgements). There is the record in the Russian language titled My Evenings. Tales of the Bashkir. The text is recorded in a prosaic form. Consists of 56 parts (evenings), the first and last pages are missing. The plot is based on the widowed Zukhra’s stories about the events associated with her marriage, including meeting Aldar, a brave batyr, their love, marriage and their deeds. A. and Z. reflects everyday life, tribal relations and the ancient Bashkirs spiri­ tual world. The Bashkir folklore and oriental literature traditional epic features are used. The text was translated into Bashkir by R. Ya. Garipov. The mentioning of A. and Z. khikayat in the Bashkir Aldar­Shymay and Zukhra legend testifies its popularity among the Bashkirs. A burial, dated the 2nd half of the 7th century AD, opened during the 1992 archaeological excavations in Ulyanovsk Obl. shows fragments of bone plates, on which, according to the assumption of V.G. Kotov, archaeologist, the A. and Z. scenes are depicted. That makes it possible to affirm the A. and Z. ancient origin. The My Evenings. Tales of the Bashkir manuscript is stored in the Russian National Library, St. Petersburg while its photocopy being stored in the Scientific Library of the UFSRC RAS.