The cycle of oral stories about the strongman Pakom Stepan in the folklore tradition of the Nivshera Komi people
Institute of Language, Literature and History of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, rassyhaev@mail.ru
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the article is devoted to the cycle of oral stories about the local strongman Pakom Stepan ‘Stepan Pakhomovich’, formed in the village of Nivshera of the Kortkerossky District of the Komi Republic. Using the example of new authentic texts, it is possible to trace the origin of the narrative tradition of a real person with heroic qualities, the folklorization of the most significant events for the local community associated with the name of the young hero, and the preservation of the historical memory of him at the present time.
Objective: to identify the cycle of plots related to the cycle of oral stories about the strongman Pakom Stepan ‘Stepan Pakhomovich’ in the folklore tradition of the Nivshera Komi people and to find parallels in Komi and Russian prose folklore.
Research materials: authentic texts recorded in folklore expeditions in the Kortkerossky District of the Komi Republic at the beginning of the XXI century, as well as published folklore texts and newspapers notes.
Results and novelty of the research: the article for the first time examines the cycle of narratives about the strongman Pakom Stepan, formed in the second half. XX century. Field recordings have begun XXI centuries show the stage of origin, formation and development of oral stories about the hero in the microlocal tradition of Nivshera Komi people. Mostly with the actions of Pakom Stepan are connected stories with a demonstration of physical strength; in three stories he shows an excessive appetite. In the formation of the image of the hero, such techniques as comparison (as Ilya Muromets),
hyperbolization are used. Probably, folklore narratives about the local hero in the process of development relied on a strong narrative tradition and used ready-made plots that function in oral folk prose. Among them are the Northern Russian legends about the strong Ivan Lobanov, who are the legends about local heroes-strongmen.
Key words: Komi folklore, oral non-fabulous prose, oral stories, local folklore tradition, strongmen, folklorization
Acknowledgments: the article was prepared within the framework of the planned theme of the folklore sector of the Institute of Language, Literature and History of the Komi Scientific Center “Poetics of Folklore of the Peoples of the European North of Russia in Synchronism and Diachronism” (2021–2025. № 121051400044-2). The author of the article expresses the gratitude to the colleague, Candidate of Philological Sciences L. S. Lobanova for the joint collection of material.
For citation: Rassykhaev A. N. The cycle of oral stories about the strongman Pakom Stepan in the folklore tradition of the Nivshera Komi people // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2025; 15 (3/62): 470–479.
