“Faustian Theme” in Slavic Literary Monuments: Problematics of Motives

The issue of conceptual correlation of Slavic stories about Savva Grudtsyn and Pan Tvardovsky with the concepts of “Faustian theme”, “Faustian legend” and “Faustian story” is considered. The question is raised about the legitimacy of referring the Slavic variants of the motive of the contract with the devil to the general group of similar motives by analogy with the “Faustian” one. A review of domestic and foreign scientific literature devoted to the difference and similarity of Slavic plots with the legend of Faust, as well as common sources and typological characteristics of the features of the “Faustian theme” is carried out. The results of a comparative analysis of texts about Faust, Savva Grudtsyn and Pan Tvardovsky are presented. Special attention is paid to the comparison of the anonymous work about Savva Grudtsyn with the novel by the Norwegian writer M. K. Hansen. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that for solve this problem a systematic literary methodology is proposed in the key of historical poetics, based on the differentiation of the analysis of plots, motives, the system of characters and semantic accents of works. The relevance of the study is due to the introduction into scientific circulation of previously poorly studied texts of literature and folklore, in which the plot of a contract with a demon is seen. The definitions of specific motives are given, which make it possible to differentiate literary monuments according to the principle of a plot model and a system of characters. The author's development in relation to the sources of the specified plot type is presented.

Tradition and Modernity in the Work of Komi Storytellers (SUS 502 “Copper Forehead”)

Глубокая и прочная связь коми и русской сказочных традиций отмечалась неоднократно, вместе с тем конкретных разысканий по данной проблеме недостаточно. По этой причине в статье предпринята попытка исследовать особенности взаимодействия сказок соседних народов, принадлежащих к разным языковым семьям, но имеющих близкие культурные традиции. Материалом стал сказочный сюжет СУС 502 «Медный лоб». Проанализировав пять вариантов коми сказки, можно заметить, что в них реализованы все значимые эпизоды этого сюжетного типа. Однако наблюдения над коми региональным материалом меняют представление о стабильности законов народной сказки. При современном процессе затухания сказочной фольклорной традиции произошли изменения в наиболее устойчивой ее составляющей - сюжетно-композиционном строении. Широкое варьирование коми сказочниками сюжетов, образов, их трансформация привели к «новеллизации» некоторой части коми сказок, превращению их в авантюрно-фантастические устные повести. Традиционные сюжеты переосмыслялись прежде всего путем контаминации, а также путем сближения фольклорных сказок с русскими книжными произведениями. Приведенные примеры закономерных изменений отнюдь не говорят о полном разрушении его глубинной традиционной основы. Исследование показало, что коми сказочники имели представление о традиционной сказочной обрядности, широко ими пользовались, что во многом способствовало сохранению волшебной сказки как жанра. The strong connection between the Komi and Russian fairy tale traditions has been noted repeatedly, yet research on this issue is clearly insufficient. In this article the author attempts to define the interaction of fairy tales of these neighboring peoples which belong to different linguistic families but which have closely related cultural traditions. Its specific focus is fairy tale SUS number 502 “Copper Forehead.” It examines five Komi variants of the fairy tale that contain all of the significant elements of this plot type. Examination of the Komi material challenges the idea that the laws governing folktales are stable. With the fading of folkloric traditions, there have been changes in fairy tales’ most stable components, their plot and compositional structure. Komi storytellers have introduced changes that transform Komi fairy tales in the direction of “novelization,” turning them to some extent into oral tales of adventure and fantasy. Traditional stories are reinterpreted primarily due to contamination, including bringing folklore tales closer to those from Russian books. At the same time, these normal changes by no means indicate the complete destruction of Komi folklore’s deep traditional basis. The study also demonstrates that Komi storytellers have had a clear notion of traditional fairy-tale patterns and made wide use of them, which has largely contributed to the preservation of the fairy tale as a genre.

Perm Variants of the Fairy Tale Type SUS 502 “Copper Forehead”: Between Book and Folklore Traditions

В статье рассматриваются два вновь выявленных текста волшебных сказок сюжетного типа СУС 502 «Медный лоб» (ATU 502 “Wild Man”). Два текста, представленных в статье, относятся к импровизационным формам, созданным сказочницами на основе книжных вариантов сказки. Под влиянием книжной традиции сказочники интересуются психологией персонажей, их внутренними переживаниями. В рассматриваемых текстах много разнообразных деталей предметного мира, размышлений сказочника о своих героях и т. д. Сказочники легко и очень органично сочетают мотивы разных сказок в одном тексте, у них появляются детали и образы из кино- и мультфильмов, но особое внимание они уделяют книге. Преимущественно это адаптированные тексты из сборника А. Н. Афанасьева. В основе сказок Е. Н. Новиковой и Н. А. Чечихиной лежат книжные версии сюжета 502. У Евдокии Николаевны источник можно назвать точно - это текст из сборника Афанасьева, для сказки Нины Андреевны прямой параллели нет, но книжное влияние на исполнительскую манеру сказочницы очевидно. This article analyzes two newly identified texts of fairy tales with the plot type SUS 502 “Copper Forehead” (ATU 502 “Wild Man”). The two texts are improvisational, created by storytellers based on book versions of the text. Under the influence of the book tradition, storytellers are interested in the psychology of the characters and their inner experiences. In the texts under consideration, there are many varying details concerning the characters’ world and the storyteller’s reflections on his heroes. Storytellers easily and organically combine motifs from several fairy tales in one text, and they may also include details and images from movies and cartoons, but they pay special attention to the book. Mostly, these are texts adapted from of A. N. Afanasyev’s collection. The fairy tales of E. N. Novikova and N. A. Chechikhina are based on book versions of the plot 502. Evdokiya Nikolaevna’s source is specified as from Afanasyev, while there is no direct parallel for Nina Andreyevna’s version, although the influence on her performance of books is obvious.

Russian Folktales of Karelia About Otherworldly Helpers: The Plot Type 502 (SUS 502 “Copper Forehead”)

В статье представлен анализ сказок сюжетного типа, обозначенного в СУС под номером 502 «Медный лоб», из фольклорного фонда Научного архива Карельского научного центра РАН. Тексты записывались сотрудниками Института языка, литературы и истории Карельского научного центра РАН на протяжении ХХ в. в двух очагах проживания русского населения - в Карельском Поморье (Беломорский, Лоухский, Кемский районы) и в Пудожском районе, как от известных сказочников (М. М. Коргуева, Ф. Н. Свиньина, отца и сына Дмитриевых), так и от рядовых исполнителей. В Заонежье такие сказочные произведения не были зафиксированы. Собранные в Карелии сказки об иномирном помощнике отличаются друг от друга разработанностью сюжета, в них в разной степени сохраняются важные сюжетообразующие элементы (появление персонажа в повествовании, его заточение и освобождение из плена, основные функции; роль царевича-освободителя и вынужденное его пребывание в одежде представителя низшего сословия, работа конюхом или пастухом, решение трудных задач, совершение подвигов). Сказочные произведения, относящиеся к сюжетному типу СУС 502 «Медный лоб», записанные в Карелии, в ряде случаев осложняются контаминациями с сюжетными типами СУС 300 1 «Победитель змея», 513А «Шесть чудесных помощников». В текстах нередко обнаруживается использование имен, связанных с лубочной традицией. Иномирный помощник в сказках варьируется: он может быть наделен зооморфными, орнитоморфными или антропоморфными признаками, но всегда обладает властью над животными и птицами, имеет золотую окраску, обусловленную его связью с иным миром. This article considers folktales of the plot type 502 “Copper Forehead” (according to the Comparative Plot Index, SUS and ATU 502) from the Scholarly Archives of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (KarRC RAS). The texts were recorded by the staff of the Institute of Linguistics, Literature and History of the KarRC RAS during the twentieth century from two areas with a primarily ethnic Russian population - in the Karelian Pomor area (Belomorsk, Loukhsk, and Kemsk Districts) and in the Pudozh District. They were told by well-known storytellers (M. M. Korguev, F. N. Svinyin, and the Dmitrievs, father and son) and by ordinary performers. No folktales of this sort from Zaonezhye have been recorded. These folktales about otherworldly helpers from Karelia vary in the degree of plot detail and in how much they have retained key elements of the plot (these include the introduction of the main character into the narrative; his or her imprisonment and liberation; the role of the tsarevich liberator and the time he has to spend dressed in lower-class clothes, working as a stableman or shepherd; his overcoming challenges and performing heroic deeds). Folktales of the SUS plot type 502 “Copper Forehead” recorded from Karelia sometimes are contaminated by elements from SUS plot types 300 “The Dragon Slayer” and 513А “Six Wondrous Helpers.” Names associated with the lubok tradition are not uncommon in these texts. The traits of the otherworldly helper in the folktales vary: they can be zoomorphic, ornithomorphic or anthropomorphic, but the character always has power over birds and animals, and is colored golden, due to the connection with the other world.

Big trees drive forest structure patterns across a lowland Amazon regrowth gradient

Degraded Amazonian forests can take decades to recover and the ecological results of natural regeneration are still uncertain. Here we use field data collected across 15 lowland Amazon smallholder properties to examine the relationships between forest structure, mammal diversity, regrowth type, regrowth age, topography and hydrology. Forest structure was quantified together with mammal diversity in 30 paired regrowth-control plots. Forest regrowth stage was classified into three groups: late second-regrowth, early second-regrowth and abandoned pasture. Basal area in regrowth plots remained less than half that recorded in control plots even after 20–25 years. Although basal area did increase in sequence from pasture, early to late-regrowth plots, there was a significant decline in basal area of late-regrowth control plots associated with a decline in the proportion of large trees. Variation in different forest structure responses was explained by contrasting variables, with the proportion of small trees (DBH < 20 cm) most strongly explained by topography (altitude and slope) whereas the proportion of large trees (DBH > 60 cm) was explained by plot type (control vs. regrowth) and regrowth class. These findings support calls for increased efforts to actively conserve large trees to avoid retrogressive succession around edges of degraded Amazon forests.

ST. NICHOLAS THE MIRACLE-WORKER AS SURETY: FOLKLORE AND BOOK VERSIONS OF THE PLOT

The article presents the results of a study of hagiographic folk legends about St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker as surety (AaTh 849*, SUS 849*), comparing them to the book versions of similar narratives. Categorized by the folklore prose indexes as the indicated plot type, these stories are not homogeneous in content, but include several forms of the plot that differ in their origin and nature of relations with the book. The narratives in the first two variants of the plot are relatively few in number. The first entails a merchant borrowing money, with a cross or an icon guarantor; money is thrown into the water in a barrel and floats to the lender by itself, and the second speaks about the icon of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker being entrusted with the protection of a house and property; and the icon being punished if the request addressed to it is not fulfilled. These plots demonstrate their dependence on book source, namely The Tale of Fyodor the Merchant and The Miracle of the Icon of St. Nicholas. The third variant of plot type 849* involves a poor man who uses an icon of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker as surety, borrows money, and cannot repay the debt. The lender punishes the guarantor icon, while the person who bought the icon attains happiness with the help of the saint. There are many both published and archival versions of this plot variant in the Eastern Slavic oral tradition, and it derives from a non-book origin. The folk narratives of this plot variety influenced the development of 17th-century Russian manuscript writing, when figurative means, themes and plots were consciously transferred to literature from folklore. The oral hagiographic legend about St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker was edited in accordance with the book tradition and transformed into the Tale of a certain wretched young man, contiguous with the non-book versions of the miracles of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker.

Big trees drive forest structure patterns across a lowland Amazon regrowth gradient

Degraded Amazonian forests can take decades to recover and the ecological results of natural regeneration are still uncertain. Here we use field data collected across 15 lowland Amazon smallholder properties to examine the relationships between forest structure, mammal diversity, regrowth type, regrowth age, topography and hydrography. Forest structure was quantified together with mammal diversity in 30 paired regrowth-control plots. Forest regrowth stage was classified into three groups: late second-regrowth, early second-regrowth and abandoned pasture. Basal area in regrowth plots remained less than half that recorded in control plots even after 20-25 years. Although basal area did increase in sequence from pasture, early to late-regrowth plots, there was a significant decline in basal area of late-regrowth control plots associated with a decline in the proportion of large trees. There was also contrasting support for different non-mutually exclusive hypotheses, with proportion of small trees (DBH <20cm) most strongly supported by topography (altitude and slope) whereas the proportion of large trees (DBH >60cm) supported by plot type and regrowth class. These findings support calls for increased efforts to actively conserve large trees to avoid retrogressive succession around edges of degraded Amazon forests.

Calcium and Magnesium Adsorption by Activated Carbon Produced with Alternative Materials

Residues originated from agro-industry can be used for various purposes, including in the production of activated carbon. Thus, for the conduction of this research, an Activated Carbon (AC) was prepared with mixtures of grape bagasse (B) and coconut fiber (C), with the mass relations of coconut/bagasse of 100/0; 75/25; 50/50; 25/75 and 0/100. The 50C/50B considered statistically the most suitable for the production of CA was activated with ZnCl2, under N2 flow of 100 ml/min, at 550°C, for 1 hour. To evaluate its efficiency, 200.00 mg of AC were used in 200,0 ml of the desalinator tailing from the municipality of Riacho das Almas, Pernambuco, Brazil, with contact time of 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes, in a statistical design entirely randomized. Data were subjected to statistical analysis, generating Box Plot type charts. The result of calcium and magnesium adsorption revealed the efficiency of activated carbon with a dose of 50C/50B when in contact for up to 60 minutes with desalinator tailing.

Tales of the peoples of Eurasia. The Cunning Science

The book "Tales of the peoples of Eurasia. The Cunning Science ” is a bilingual collection of texts of fairy tales of Abkhazians, Circassians, Altaians, Bashkirs, Bretons, Buryats, Vepsians, Gagauz, Irish, Kazakhs, Kalmyks, Germans, Ossetians, Russians, Xinjiang Oirats, Tatars, Uzbeks, Frenchmen, Chechens Yakuts. The geography of the distribution of the plot “the Cunning Science” is quite extensive and the ways of its migration are noted in the fabulous folklore of various peoples, countries and continents. The collection includes fairy tales with the plot type “cunning science”. It tells about a student who has studied wonderful knowledge and skills and has surpassed his teacher in this art. A series of magical transformations of the student in various animals, birds and objects helps him to escape from the teacher’s persecution. The texts of tales were prepared by a group of folklorists - participants of the international project “Tales of the Eurasian Peoples. The Cunning Science ”, within the framework “Strategic Development Program of “Kalmyk State University named after B. B. Gorodovikov " as a core-regional university for the period 2017-2021." The publication is intended for folklorists, linguists, ethnologists, anthropologists, cultural scientists, as well as for students and graduate students of philological department and for a wide range of readers interested in folklore and culture of the peoples of Eurasia.