Olonkho

Lore & Background

Olonkho was first documented by Europeans during the Russian conquest of Siberia beginning in the 18th century. Large-scale documentation was begun by 19th-century exiles to Siberia and government-funded scholars in the 20th century in the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The term is believed to be related to the Old Turkic word ölön, meaning 'saga', and is cognate with Uzbek o‘lan. The Buryat epic ontkno is related to Olonkho. In Yakut, an Olonkhohut is the storyteller who performs the saga, and the verb Olonkholoo- means to perform them.

The language of Olonkho is unusually elaborate, containing highly formulaic constructions arranged in verses. The epics were originally strictly oral, and oral performance continues today in the Sakha Republic. Poets perform Olonkhos through a mixture of spoken verse descriptions and sung character dialogue, indicating different characters and themes through tone and melody. Performances typically last 7–8 hours, starting at evening and continuing through the night, during which about 7,000–8,000 lines are performed. Longer Olonkho may take over a month to complete. In the 1930s, Yakut philologist P.A. Oyunsky published collections adapting the format to a written medium.

Reader's Guide

Olonkho holds profound significance as one of the oldest surviving epic traditions among Turkic peoples, preserving archaic aspects of ancient Turkic myths due to the Yakuts' long isolation from the rest of the Turkic world. The epics are central to Yakut identity, with the most well-known poem, Nyurgun Bootur the Swift, being widely known among Yakut speakers. The tradition has been studied for insights into Yakut origins, with scholars such as P.A. Oyunsky, G.V. Ksenofontov, and A.P. Okladnikov using Olonkho as evidence for southern origins of the Sakha people. Comparative analysis has found similarities with Altai and Sayan epics, linking Olonkho to broader Turkic mythology. The Russian Academy of Sciences played a key role in collecting and publishing Olonkho texts, beginning with early collectors in the 18th century. The legacy of Olonkho includes derivative works such as the drama Tuyaryma Kuo by Platon Oyunsky, prose versions, and cartoon adaptations in multiple languages. The epic continues to be performed orally and has been translated into Russian, English, Slovak, Kyrgyz, Evenki, and French.

Did You Know?

• The most well-known Olonkho, Nyurgun Bootur the Swift, contains over 36,000 verses.
• A typical Olonkho performance lasts 7–8 hours, during which approximately 7,000–8,000 lines are performed.
• The term Olonkho is believed to be related to the Old Turkic word ölön, meaning 'saga'.
• The first published Olonkho was a short section of the tale Eriedel Bergen, published in 1878.