The Functional Role of “Loci Communi” in the Buryat Epic Literature
    
Affiliation: The Folklore Division, Institute of Philology, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences

In the work of E.Kouzmina information is given about that fact that volumes of the heroic epos Altai, Buryat, Dolgans, Tuva, Udegei, Shor, Evenki, Yakuts are published in the big humanitarian project "Monuments of folklore of the people of Siberia and the Far East" at the Institute of philology of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences since 1990. Heroic epos the Buryat uliger takes a special place in this series. Archaic according to the contents, different-stadial on development tales are divided on groups by their local poetic features. Epos' investigators distinguish three groups: ekhirit-bulagatsky tales (uliger), unginsky, more late, and horinsky uliger, showing the decay of epic tradition. This division shows local, ethnic and poetic features, typical to each of these groups. West Buryat and east Buryat epic traditions correlated with ancient buryat's division on tribes are related to local features. 

The Buryat heroic legends, as well as the epos of other people,  is constructed on steady stereotypic descriptions, many of which are, in fact static, not influencing on plot development, but they define the nature and style of the epos, give it an art originality. In character stereotypes are constant and are steadily present at each legend. There is an all-epic fund of formulas and typical places which pass from the legend to the legend, they are intertextual by the properties. Especially it is noticable in repertoire of one storyteller who knows a certain set of poetic means. There are situational typical places and epic formulas which are present at the concrete legend and are peculiar only to this plot.

The role of stereotypic descriptions in saving of the legend, in stability of epic tradition is very high. In fact, they form a narrative framework. Stereotypes or "typical places" are closely connected with epic motives. These typical places contain in the structure basic or keywords by which they are identified in texts.

     Keywords:Buriat, Mongolian Epic, typical place, stereotype, function