Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/516

 478 Collectanea.

the literature of the inhabitants of Sakhah'n. They have been ruined by the colonists, who burned down the forests, hunted out the game, appropriated the best lands and fisheries, and even often stole the scanty movables of the natives. Sheer hunger and fear have practically destroyed the mental life of the Gilyaks.

Many cultivated men, doctors, engineers, naval officers, and civil servants have employed Gilyaks as guides or escorts during their travels, and they all praise their skill, fearlessness, and domestic life, but they share the opinion of a well-known Russian geographer, who stated that the Gilyaks stand on so low an intellectual level that nothing interests them except the mere struggle for material existence.

In the beginning I also held this opinion, but a more intimate acquaintance with this physically unattractive, dirty, and hard- working tribe caused me to change my opinion" upon the subject, and allowed me to collect a large number of the poems and songs in which the Gilyaks take refuge from the sad realities of their lives.

The chief wealth of Gilyak prose literature consists of tales called Tylgund. They are epic in character, and are transmitted from generation to generation. They deal mainly with religious beliefs and superstitions, together with their reflections upon the surrounding nature and animals.

Somewhat less numerous are the historical tales about not very ancient wars amongst the *' clans," caused chiefly by the stealing of women and by blood feuds.

To these we must add the very popular puzzles and puns {leren tiihus) set down in rhythmical prose, occasionally witty, but often rather cynical and coarse.

Much of the poetry consists of nastund full of mythological fancies, but always having as a background descriptions of the miraculous adventures of a hero. But I propose to limit myself in the present communication to the lyrics {alaktufid), which con- tain tragedy, pathos, melancholy humoiir, and occasionally exag- gerated satire.

The Gilyaks distinguish between their old and new songs, though there is no fundamental difference between them. In both cases joy, pain, allegories, satire, and especially the pangs of