Waldemar Bogoras - Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History: Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia

The following tales were collected among Russianized natives of the Kolyma and the Anadyr country, and also among Russian creoles, who, indeed, lead the same kind of life as the Russianized natives. I have excluded a large number of those tales which treat of kings, young heroes on horseback, etc., and which, on the whole, clearly show their Russian or Turko-Mongol provenience, and have given only those that represent elements of native life. The narrators ascribe quite a number of the tales given here to the Lamut, Yukaghir, or Chuvantzi; but, so far as I am able to judge, most of those coming from the Kolyma indicate a Yukaghir provenience, and those from the Anadyr would seem to be of Chuvantzi origin. Nothing more definite than this is known. Most of the tales were taken down by myself, a large part by Mrs. Sophie Bogoras, and a few by a couple of Russian creoles who could read and write after a fashion.

The majority have titles corresponding to their context, which must be due to Russian influence, as the same stories in native languages rarely have titles. As to the transcription of proper names and such words-as are said to belong to native languages, I have used, for the more or less Russianized words, the usual English alphabet; and for native words not Russianized, the special alphabet which I have used in the Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vol. 7.[*]

[*]Bogoras, "The Chukchee," 10.

Some of the tales are composed in part of rhymed prose. Some of these prose rhymes, though quite local and Dative as to contents, are arranged in the form of the ancient Russian lays. For most of these I give the Russian text with English translation. Notes signed W. B. are by the author. A few comparative notes have been added by Franz Boas and signed with his initials.