A. A. Osmushina. A person and the world in a Mordovian folk tale (in comparison with folktales of other ethnic cultures)

Introduction. The effectiveness of the research of folklore for the cognition of the cosmo-psycho-logos of the ethnos determines the relevance of this work. The research novelty of this study is studying Erzya and Moksha folk tales with the application of deixis analysis of folk tales with similar plots circulating in various ethnic groups. The object of the study is the texts of the Erzya and Moksha fairy tales with the plot motif “Tom Thumb” in comparison with Russian, German, English, Spanish and Latin American fairy tales with a similar plot. The subject of the research is the features of ontology, axiology, anthropology of Erzya and Moksha in a fairy tale. The purpose of the work is to identify the ontological, axiological and anthropological features of the Mordovian fairy tale. The objectives of the study are to perform a deixis analysis of the texts of several variants of the Mordovian fairy tale and its foreign-ethnic counterparts; identify their similarities and differences; to formulate the ontological, axiological and anthropological features of the Mordovian fairy tale.
Materials and Methods. To achieve the purpose of the study, the author carried out a comparative content analysis of the deixis of seven fairy tales with the leading plot motif “Tom Thumb”. The author applies the method of critical selection of sources choosing the authentic versions of folk tales. General research methods allow the author to analyze and systematize the information obtained and synthesize the conclusions.
Results and Discussion. All the considered folk tales record the tragedy of the absence of children in an ethnic family, the desirability of procreation as children are the happiness and the meaning of human life. The Erzya folk tale demonstrates the local-common solidarity, the fight against aggressive authorities, and armed restorative justice. In the Moksha fairy tale, there is a motif of deception by a deceiver as a form of restorative justice to improve the financial situation of the family. Both in the Erzya and Moksha fairy tales, the intention of returning home in an indirect way and living in labor in one’s place of development is realized.
Conclusion. A comparative analysis of the deixis of fairy tales of different ethnic groups with a similar plot makes it possible to identify the general and special in the content of fairy tales, to determine the features of the ontology, axiology, and anthropology of the ethnic group. The study showed that the ontological, axiological and anthropological features of the Erzya and Moksha fairy tales are close, but not identical; it revealed similarities and differences with the fairy tales of other ethnic cultures.

Keywords: Erzya fairy tale, Moksha fairy tale, similar plot, “Tom Thumb”, ontology, axiology, anthropology

For citation: Osmushina AA. A person and the world in a Mordovian folk tale (in comparison with folktales of other ethnic cultures). Finno-ugorskii mir = Finno-Ugric World. 2022;14;2:223–240. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2076-2577.014.2022.02.223-240.