The Epic of Jangar: Functioning of the Lexeme hазр / yazr ‘Earth’ Revisited

Abstract

The study continues a series of works seeking to evaluate materials contained in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Language of the Jangar Epic. Goals. The article examines the role and functions, analyzes definitions of the lexeme haзp / yazr ‘earth, ground’ included into the word list of the Explanatory Dictionary. Materials. A total of 28 different Jangar epic texts recorded at different times have been investigated. Results. The Jangar epic employs the lexeme haзp in the meaning of ‘earth, land, ground’ and related ones, such as ‘terrestrial area’, ‘territory’, ‘path’, ‘domain’, ‘distance’, ‘place’. When used in its key meaning, the lexeme haзp ‘earth, land, ground’ largely occurs in word combinations related to geographical and agricultural terms, steppe or desert landscapes. The phrase эщго haзp (эщгэ hasp) ‘deserted land’ illustrates an important feature of the steppe — its peopleless nature. The word haзp also co-occurs in phrases with sacral meanings (haзp дунд ‘amid the Earth’, haзp, тенгрин киисн ‘center of Earth and Heaven’). The lexeme is also most frequently used in duration formulas that may possess chronotopos properties, with time acting as a measure of duration and length. The contraposition of own land to alien ones as a reflection of universal, fundamental opposition us — them is manifested in the combinations хэр hasp ‘alien land’, хэрин ик haзp ‘remote outland’.