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{{Short description|Folklore of the North Caucasus}}
{{redirect|Nart}}
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{{Circassians}}
The '''Nart sagas''' ([[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]]: Нарҭаа ражәабжьқәа; ''Nartaa raƶuabƶkua''; {{langx|ady|Нарт тхыдэжъхэр|translit=Nart txıdəĵxər}}; {{langx|os|Нарты кадджытæ, Нарти кадæнгитæ|translit=Narty kaddžytæ, Narti kadængitæ}}) are a series of tales originating from the [[North Caucasus]]. They form much of the basic [[mythology]] of the ethnic groups in the area, including [[Abazin]], [[Abkhazians|Abkhaz]], [[Adyghe people|Circassian]], [[Ossetians|Ossetian]], [[Karachays|Karachay]]-[[Balkars|Balkar]], and to some extent [[Chechen people|Chechen]]-[[Ingush people|Ingush]] folklore.
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==Etymology==
The term ''nart'' comes from the [[Ossetian language|Ossetian]] ''Nartæ'', which is ''[[plurale tantum]]'' of ''nar''.<ref name="Abaev">{{citation| editor-first = V.I.| editor-last = Abaev |editor-link=Vasily Abaev|at = p.158-9 "Nartae, Nart" | url = http://allingvo.ru/LANGUAGE/etimolog_slovar.htm |script-title=ru:ИСТОРИКО-ЭТИМОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ СЛОВАРЬ ОСЕТИНСКОГО ЯЗЫКА | trans-title = Historical-Etymological Dictionary of Ossetian language | volume = II (L-R) | year =1973 | language = russian }}</ref> The derivation of the [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''nar'' is of [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] origin, from [[Proto-Iranian]] ''*nar'' for 'hero, man', descended from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂nḗr|*h₂nḗr]]''.{{sfn|Colarusso|2002|pp= xxiv, 552}} In [[Ingush language|Ingush]] and [[Chechen language|Chechen]], the word ''nart'' means 'giant'.
== Characters ==
Some of the characters who feature prominently in the sagas are:
* [[Sosruko|'''Sosruko''' or '''Soslan''']] ([[Ubykh language|Ubykh]], [[Abkhaz language|Abkhaz]] and [[Adyghe language|Adyghe]]: ''sawsərəqʷa'' (Саусырыкъо); [[Ossetian language|Ossetian]]: ''Soslan'' (Сослан)) – a hero who sometimes also appears as a [[trickster]]
* '''[[Batraz]]''' (Ossetian: Батырадз) – the leader and greatest warrior of the Narts
* '''[[Satanaya]]''' (Ubykh: ''satanaja''; Adyghe: ''Setenej'' (Сэтэнай); Ossetian: ''Satana'' (Сатана)) – the mother of the Narts, a [[fertility]] figure and matriarch
* '''[[Tlepsh]]''' (Adyghe and [[Abaza language|Abaza]]: ''{{IPA|cau|ɬapʃ|}}''; Ossetian: ''K<sup>w</sup>yrdalægon'' (Куырдалæгон)) – a blacksmith deity
* '''[[Syrdon]]''' (Ossetian: Сырдон) – a trickster figure compared by [[Georges Dumezil]] to the Norse god [[Loki]] (see [[:ru:Сырдон]])
* '''[[Pkharmat]]''' ([[Chechen language|Chechen]]: ''Pẋarmat'' (Пхьармат)) – in the [[Nakh peoples]]' [[Vainakh religion|Vainakh epos]], a [[blacksmith]] figure who steals fire from the gods for the mortals{{sfn|Tsaroieva|2005|p= 199}}
* [[Akhshar and Akhsartag|'''Akhsar''' and '''Akhsartag''']] ([[Ossetian language|Ossetian:]] ''Æхсæр'', ''Æхсæртæг'') are [[Twins in mythology|twin brothers]] who are heroes in [[Ossetian mythology]] and sons of Warhag. Akhsartag is also the father of the narts [[Uryzmaeg]] and [[Haemyts]].
* '''[[Dzerassae]]''' (Ossetian: Дзерассæ) – daughter of the sea-god [[Donbettyr]], and mother of many Nart heroes.
* '''[[Uryzmaeg]]''' ([[Ossetian language|Ossetian:]] ''Уырызмæг,'' ''Орæзмæг, Урузмæг,'' [[Adyghe language|Adyghe:]] ''Орзэмэдж/Озырмэс,'' [[Kabardian language|Kabardian:]] ''Уэзырмэс,'' [[Chechen language|Chechen:]] Орзми, [[Ingush language|Ingush:]] ''Урузман,'' [[Abkhaz language|Abkhazian]]/[[Abaza language|Abaza]]'': Уазырмас,'' [[Karachay-Balkar]]: ''Ёрюзмек'') is the hero of the Nart saga, son of [[Akhshar and Akhsartag|Akhsartag]] and [[Dzerassae]].
* '''[[Haemyts]]''' ([[Ossetian language|Ossetian:]] ''Хæмыц,'' [[Adyghe language|Adyghe:]] ''Хъымыщ,'' [[Kabardian language|Kabardian:]] ''Хъымыщ,'' [[Chechen language|Chechen:]] ''Хамчи,'' [[Ingush language|Ingush:]] ''Хамча,'' [[Abkhaz language|Abkhazian]]: ''Хмышь,'' [[Abaza language|Abaza]]'': Хъмыщ,'' [[Karachay-Balkar]]: ''Хымыч'') is the hero of the, son of [[Akhshar and Akhsartag|Akhsartag]] and [[Dzerassae]], the father of the hero [[Batraz]] and the twin brother of [[Uryzmaeg|Uruzmaeg]], with whom they often went on conquest campaigns together.
== Study and significance ==
The first Westerner to take note of the Nart stories was the German scholar [[Julius von Klaproth]], who traveled to the Caucasus during the first decade of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foltz|first=Richard|title=The Ossetes: Modern-Day Scythians of the Caucasus. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZswEAAAQBAJ |year=2022 |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9780755618453|author-link=Richard Foltz |page = 62}}</ref> The earliest written account of the material is attributed to the [[Kabardians|Kabardian]] author [[Shora Begmurzin Nogma]], who wrote in Russian in 1835–1843, published posthumously in 1861. A German translation by [[Adolf Berge]] was published in 1866 {{harv|Berge|1866}}. The stories exist in the form of prose tales as well as epic songs.
It is generally known that some of the Nart corpora have an ancient Iranian core, inherited from the [[Scythians]], [[Sarmatians]], and [[Alans]] (the latter being the ancestors of the [[Ossetians]]).{{sfn|Colarusso|2002}} However, they also contain abundant local [[North Caucasian languages|North Caucasian]] accretions of great antiquity, which sometimes reflect an even more archaic past.{{sfn|Colarusso|2002|pp= xxiv, 552}}
The Ossetes consider the Nart epic to be a central feature of their national identity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foltz|first=Richard|title=The Ossetes: Modern-Day Scythians of the Caucasus. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZswEAAAQBAJ |year=2022 |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9780755618453|author-link=Richard Foltz |page = 59}}</ref>  Based especially on the Ossetian versions, the Nart stories have been valued by scholars as a window towards the world of the [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]-speaking cultures of antiquity, and as an important source for comparative Indo-European mythology. For example, the philologist [[Georges Dumézil]] used the Ossetian division of the Narts into three [[clan]]s to support his ''[[Trifunctional Hypothesis]]'' that the [[Proto-Indo-Europeans]] were similarly divided into three castes—warriors, priests, and commoners.
The [[Northwest Caucasian languages|Northwest Caucasian]] ([[Adyghe language|Circassian]], Abkhaz-Abasin and Ubykh) versions are also highly valuable because they contain more archaic accretions and preserve "all the odd details constituting the detritus of earlier traditions and beliefs", as opposed to the Ossetian ones, which have been "reworked to form a smooth narrative".{{sfn|Colarusso|2002|pp= xxiv, 552}}{{sfn|Colarusso|2002}}
==Connections to other mythology==
Some motifs in the Nart sagas are shared by Greek mythology. The story of [[Prometheus]] chained to [[Mount Kazbek]] or to [[Mount Elbrus]] in particular is similar to an element in the Nart sagas. These shared motifs are seen by some as indicative of an earlier proximity of the [[Caucasian languages|Caucasian]] peoples to the ancient Greeks, also shown in the myth of the [[Golden Fleece]], in which [[Colchis]] is generally accepted to have been part of modern-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].
In the book ''From Scythia to Camelot'', authors [[C. Scott Littleton]] and Linda A. Malcor speculate that many aspects of the [[Arthurian legends]] are derived from the Nart sagas. The proposed vector of transmission is the Alans, some of whom migrated into northern France at around the time the Arthurian legends were forming. As expected, these parallels are most evident in the Ossetian versions, according to researcher [[John Colarusso]].{{sfn|Colarusso|2002}} For more details, see "[[Historicity of King Arthur#Lucius Artorius Castus and the Sarmatian connection|Historicity of King Arthur&nbsp;– Lucius Artorius Castus and the Sarmatian connection]]."
== Differences between Nart legends ==
There are some differences between the various versions of the Nart legends. For example, the Ossetian versions depict the Nartic tribe as composed of three distinct clans that sometimes rival one another: the brave Æxsærtægkatæ (to whom the most prominent Narts belong), the rich Borætæ, and the wise Alægatæ; the Circassian versions do not depict such a division. The Abkhaz versions are unique in describing the Narts as a single [[nuclear family]] composed of Satanaya's one hundred sons.<ref>{{citation| title = Mify narodov mira | trans-title = Myths of the World | year = 1980 | volume =2 (K-Ya)| at = Narty |editor-first = S.A.| editor-last = Tokarev | type = encyclopedia | language = Russian }}</ref> All of these versions describe the Narts as a single coherent group of (mostly) "good" heroes.
Some Nakh ([[Chechen people|Chechen]]-[[Ingush people|Ingush]]) legends include a group called the ''Nart-Orxustxoi'', which includes the most prominent Narts known from the other versions (e.g. Seska-Solsa corresponding to Sosruko/Soslan, Khamtsha-Patarish corresponding to Batraz/Batradz, etc.) In contrast to the Ossetian and Abkhaz versions, the Nakh legends depict the Narts as warlike bandits who fight against local good heroes such as Koloi-Kant and Qinda-Shoa (with Qinda-Shoa corresponding to Sawway/Shawey). {{sfn|Tsaroieva|2005|p=215}}
[[:sco:Shayan Javadi|Shayan Javadi]], the Persian translator of "Nart" by matching the Ossetian, Abkhaz, Abaza, Circassian, and Ubykh versions, has been able to identify the lineage of some characters who have only been named. For instance, by recreating a character named "Qânzezâd (Abaza: Qanzhoquo)," he believes that he is the son of Azaukhan in the Ossetian version.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://iryston.tv/ir/irajnag-goraet-avhazy-tsaeraeg-shayan-dzhavadi-persajnag-aevzagmae-taelmats-kaeny-iron-fysdzhyty-uatsmystae/|title= Ирайнаг горæт Ахвазы цæрæг Шаян Джавади персайнаг æвзагмæ тæлмац кæны ирон фысджыты уацмыстæ|author = Iryston.tv|date= 6 April 2022}}</ref>
== See also ==
{{div col}}
* [[Vainakh mythology|Chechen-Ingush mythology]]
* [[Epic poetry]]
* [[Norse Saga]]
* [[Ossetian mythology]]
* [[Scythian mythology]]
* [[The Magic Pipe|''The Magic Pipe'' (film)]]
* [[Uastyrdzhi]]
* [[Kurdalægon]]
* [[Bogatyr]]
* [[Shahnameh]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation|title = Die Sagen und Lieder des Tscherkessen-Volks| trans-title = The legends and songs of the Circassian peoples | year = 1866| url = https://archive.org/details/diesagenundlied00nogmgoog| first = Schora Bekmursin | last = Nogmov| publisher = Leipzig, P. Wigan | editor-first = Adolf | editor-last = Bergé | editor-link = Adolf Berge | language = german |ref = {{harvid|Berge|1866}} }}
*{{citation| title = Nart Sagas from the Caucasus: Myths and Legends from the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs| editor-first=  John| editor-last = Colarusso| year = 2002 | publisher= Princeton University Press| isbn =9781400865284 }}
**Also published as {{citation| title = Nart Sagas: Ancient Myths and Legends of the Circassians and Abkhazians | isbn = 978-0-691-16914-9 | year = 2002| publisher = Princeton University Press }}, with an introduction by [[Adrienne Mayor]]
*{{cite book |last=Foltz|first=Richard|title=The Ossetes: Modern-Day Scythians of the Caucasus. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZswEAAAQBAJ |year=2022 |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=9780755618453|author-link=Richard Foltz }}
*{{citation| last = Tsaroïeva | first =  Mariel | title = Anciennes Croyances des Ingouches et des Tchetchenes | language= French | trans-title = Old beliefs of the Ingush and Chechens | year =2005 | publisher = Maisonneuve et Larose | isbn = 2-7068-1792-5 | ref={{harvid|Tsaroieva|2005}} }}
{{refend}}
=== Further reading ===
{{refbegin}}
==== Circassian Nart sagas ====
*{{citation| url = http://www.reocities.com/Eureka/Enterprises/2493/nartsaga3.htm | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20170113170919/http://www.reocities.com/Eureka/Enterprises/2493/nartsaga3.htm | title = More Nart Tales | archive-date = 13 January 2017 }} , English translations
*{{citation| url = http://www.circassianlibrary.org/lib/html/Nart_epos_1/contents.html |script-title=ru:Нарты. Адыгский эпос | trans-title = Narta. The Adyghe epic | language =Russian }} , Russian translations
*Articles:
**{{citation| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070211132440/http://circassianworld.com/colarusso_3.html | url  =http://circassianworld.com/colarusso_3.html | archive-date = 11 February 2007 | title =  Myths from the Forests of Circassia | first =  John | last =  Colarusso | work = The World & I | date = Dec 1989 }}
**{{citation| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110524131405/http://www.circassianworld.com/colarusso_4.html | url
=http://www.circassianworld.com/colarusso_4.html  | archive-date =24 May 2011 | title = Prometheus among the Circassians | first =  John | last =  Colarusso | work = The World & I  | date = Dec 1989 }}
**{{citation| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003600/http://www.circassianworld.com/Satanaya_Cycle.pdf| url  =http://www.circassianworld.com/Satanaya_Cycle.pdf | archive-date = 27 September 2007 | title =  The Woman of the Myths: the Satanaya Cycle| first =  John | last =  Colarusso | journal = The Annual of the Society for the Study of Caucasia | volume =2 | pages = 3–11| year = 1989 }}
==== Ossetian Nart sagas ====
*{{citation| title = Tales of the Narts: Ancient Myths and Legends of the Ossetians| editor-first=  John| editor-last = Colarusso| translator-first=  Walter| translator-last = May| year = 2016 | publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691211527}}
*{{citation | url = http://biblio.darial-online.ru/catalog_os.html | language = os| title = КАТАЛОГ | trans-title=Catalog}}, three collections of legends (Dzhanayev, Gutiev and Skodtayev/Kibirov, the latter from the Digor dialect area). The first collection (the 1946 Dzhanayev edition) is also available in the form of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8eNc7YBhuk&list=PLqphvH-HAIucm7Mi5vesyxWvmwNCI6LJY older] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqIAY8JcDXo&list=PLjWmjSwBQ5ckBVskU4-2oasQXYZz3j-og newer] audio recordings
*{{citation| url = http://biblio.darial-online.ru/text/narts/index_rus.shtml | language = Russian | editor-first = Б.А. | editor-last = Калоев  | editor-first2 =  Ю. | editor-last2 = Либединский | title  =СКАЗАНИЯ О НАРТАХ | trans-title = Tales of the Narts}}: a translation, with slight modifications, of the Dzhanayev edition at the previous link
*{{citation| url = http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcs/iran/niran/oss/nart/nart.htm | title = Ossetic Nartic Tales  |work = TITUS (Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien)}} (legends collected from the Digor dialect area, edited by M. Gardanti)
==== Abkhaz Nart sagas ====
*{{citation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014519/http://kolhida.ru/index.php3?path=_etnography%2Fbook%2Fnart&source=index | url =http://kolhida.ru/index.php3?path=_etnography%2Fbook%2Fnart&source=index | archive-date = 28 September 2007 |editor-first = Ш.Д. | editor-last =  Инал-ипа |editor-first2 = К.С.| editor-last2 =  Шакрыл |editor-first3 = Б.В. | editor-last3 = Шинкуба |editor-first4 =Ш.Д. | editor-last4 = Инал-ипа |editor-first5 = Г. | editor-last5 = Гулия  |editor-first6 = В. | editor-last6 = Солоухина |script-title=ru:Приключения нарта Сасрыквы и его девяноста девяти братьев | trans-title = The Adventures of the Sasrykva Nart and His Ninety-nine Brothers | language = Russian }}
==== Karachay-Balkar Nart sagas ====
*{{citation| url = http://www.adigha.com/Culture/Custom_Traditions/NARTS_01.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120301194108/http://www.adigha.com/Culture/Custom_Traditions/NARTS_01.htm | archive-date = 1 March 2012  |title = A Good Sample For Cultural Diffusion - A Hero Who Carries The Characteristics Of Prophet David In The Nart Epos Of Karachay-Balkar People - Nart Debet, The Smith | first =  Ufuk | last = Tavkul | work = The International Symposium of "NART EPOS" | year = 2000 }}
*{{citation| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070930111524/https://balkaria.info/library/d/dzhurtubaev/epos/0_narti.htm | archive-date = 30 September 2007 |script-title=ru:Героический эпос о нартах | language = Russian | editor-first  =Джуртубаев Махти | editor-last = Чиппаевич | trans-title = The heroic epic of Narta | url =https://balkaria.info/library/d/dzhurtubaev/epos/0_narti.htm | title = Balkaria.info }} , detailed set of tales
*Russian translations from {{citation|script-title=ru:Дебет златоликий и его друзья| language =Russian | year  =1987| editor-first=  С.| editor-last= Липкина | trans-title = Debet the golden haired and his friends }}
**{{citation| url = http://www.elbrusoid.org/content/liter_theatre/p171557.shtml | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060228163522/http://www.elbrusoid.org/content/liter_theatre/p171557.shtml |archive-date = 28 February 2006 |script-title=ru:Нарты РАЧИКАУ, СЫН ЧУЖЕЗЕМЦА | language = Russian}} , (part 1)
**{{citation| url = http://www.elbrusoid.org/content/liter_theatre/p171548.shtml | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110726211752/http://www.elbrusoid.org/content/liter_theatre/p171548.shtml | archive-date = 26 July 2011 | title = Наш героический эпос о нартах - КАК ЁРЮЗМЕК УБИЛ КРАСНОЛИКОГО РЫЖЕБОРОДОГО ФУКА }} , (part 2)
==== Chechen-Ingush Nart sagas ====
*{{citation | chapter-url = http://chechnya.unesco.ru/books/culofchechnyaeng.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091015030706/http://chechnya.unesco.ru/books/culofchechnyaeng.pdf | archive-date = 15 October 2009 | chapter = 18. The Inception of Chechen artistic writing: ethni-historical and aesthetic prerequisites | first = Kh.R. | last = Abdulayeva | title = The Culture of Chechnya: History and Modern Problems | year = 2002 | pages = 129–147 | access-date = 9 August 2007 | url-status = dead }}
*Accounts of Chechen and Ingush beliefs by Ch.E.Akhriev
**{{citation | archive-url =   https://web.archive.org/web/20080401040418/http://www.ingushetiya.ru/culture/ce_akhriev/87.html | url =http://www.ingushetiya.ru/culture/ce_akhriev/87.html | archive-date = 1 April 2008 | title  =[various] | first =  Ch.E. | last = Akhriev|  language = Russian }}
**{{ citation| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080402101529/http://www.ingushetiya.ru/culture/ce_akhriev/89.html | url = http://www.ingushetiya.ru/culture/ce_akhriev/89.html | archive-date = 2 April 2008 | title  =[various] | first =  Ch.E. | last = Akhriev | language = Russian }}
*{{citation| url = http://constitutions.ru/archives/1738 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120301194323/https://constitutions.ru/archives/1738| archive-date = 1 March 2012 | language = Russian | title = ЧЕЧЕНСКИЕ СКАЗАНИЯ | trans-title = Chechen Tales }}
==== Miscellaneous ====
*{{citation| url = http://vroegemiddeleeuwen.weblog.leidenuniv.nl/category/caucasus/ | language = English | title = [Category: Causcasus] | work = Wanana sculun Frankon - Linguistics, History, Mythology and More}} , Causcasian folklore articles
*{{cite journal|first1=Arkadiusz |last1=Dudziak |first2=Marina |last2=Payunena |date=June 2019 |title=Индоевропейские антропологические и культурные источники осетинского героического эпоса как пример номадизма идей и ценностей (к постановке проблемы) |trans-title=Indo-European anthropological and cultural sources of the Ossetian heroic epic as an example of nomadism of ideas and values (problem statement) |language=ru |journal=Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski (East European Review) |publisher=[[University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn|UWM Publishing House]] |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=289–304 |doi=10.31648/pw.4525|doi-access=free }}
* Дувакин Евгений Николаевич. "Кельто-кавказские фольклорные параллели и возможные сценарии их происхождения" [FOLKLORE PARALLELS BETWEEN CELTIC AND CAUCASIAN TRADITIONS: THE EURASIAN CONTEXT AND POSSIBLE SCENARIOS OF THE ORIGIN]. Индоевропейское языкознание и классическая филология, no. 23–1, 2019, pp.&nbsp;295–307. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kelto-kavkazskie-folklornye-paralleli-i-vozmozhnye-stsenarii-ih-proishozhdeniya (дата обращения: 29.09.2021). (In Russian)
{{refend}}
== External links ==
{{commons category-inline|Nart Sagas}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nart Saga}}
[[Category:Epic poems]]
[[Category:European folklore]]
[[Category:North Caucasus]]
[[Category:Ossetian mythology]]
[[Category:Abkhaz literature]]
[[Category:Ubykh language]]
[[Category:Circassian mythology]]
[[Category:Sagas]]