YEK-MERGEN

“YEK-MERGEN”, a monument of Bashkir literature, epos. It is registered by F. Valiev in the beginning of the 20th c. (the handwritten variant did not survive to the present day). It was first published in “An” magazine, Kazan, 1916. The epos is prosaic. The dominant theme and idea relate to the series of Bashkir epos called “Idukay and Muradym”, “Mergen and Mayankhylu” and others. The epos shows the fight of Bashkirs against the Kazan khanate. The main character of the epos had lost his fam­ ily very early and had been surviving among the forest inhabitants. He became an incredibly strong and brave young man. Once he saw his father in a dream who gave him the name Yek (presumably, from the ancient Turkic yeg – no­ ble), and said that he had a great destiny. Yek followed his advice and gathered an army of Western Bashkirs. He led certain campaigns to Kazan and freed his people from rendering trib­ ute. He was also called Mergen (from Bashkir – accurate archer) for his archery skills. During one of the battles with the khan’s army Yek­ Mergen surrendered to avoid bloodshed, but then the khan set him free in repayment of a favor. The defeat of the main character contradicts the traditions of the epic genre, according to which he ought to win or die. The influence of litera­ ture and fairy tale traditions can be noticed.