Sıpıra Jırau
Nogai · mortal · Nogai traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Sıpıra Jırau (Sypyra the bard) is the venerable, all but deathless singer who stands at the court of Toqtamish in the Edige epic. Said to have lived through the reigns of many khans, he embodies the authority of the epic word and of ancestral memory. He foretells that the child Edige will one day undo the Horde and counsels the khan to slay him, but his prophecy is disregarded and duly fulfilled. As the archetypal yıraw he personifies the Nogai institution of the epic bard who preserves genealogy, praise and warning in song.
Domains
- poetry
- prophecy
Powers
- foretells the ruin of the khan
- recites the genealogies and deeds of heroes
Relations
- companion: ToqtamishThe aged bard at Toqtamish's court.A. I.-M. Sikaliev, Nogayskiy geroicheskiy epos (Cherkessk, 1994) (secondary)
Sources
- Sıpıra Jırau is the ancient, near-immortal bard at Toqtamish's court in the Edige epic, whose prophetic counsel warns against sparing the young hero.: V. M. Zhirmunsky, Tyurkskiy geroicheskiy epos (Leningrad: Nauka, 1974), 'Skazanie ob Idige' (secondary); A. I.-M. Sikaliev, Nogayskiy geroicheskiy epos (Cherkessk: KChIGI, 1994) (secondary)