Bora-Sheelei
Tuvan · mortal · Tuvan traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Bora-Sheelei is the warrior-maiden of Tuvan heroic song, celebrated as the rare female protagonist in a genre dominated by male heroes. In the epic that bears her name alongside her brother's, it is she who drives the action: when Boktu-Kirish is slain, she sets out shrewd and undaunted on the quest that will bring him back to life, taking on a warrior's part and outwitting her enemies. Her portrait as a decisive, resourceful heroine has made 'Boktug-Kirish, Bora-Sheelei' one of the most beloved and most frequently recorded of Tuvan epics, and a touchstone for discussions of women in Siberian-Turkic oral literature.
Domains
- heroic valor
- cunning guile
Powers
- restores her slain brother to life
- journeys and fights in disguise
Epithets
- Бора-Шээлей — Bora-Sheelei the maiden-heroTuvinskie geroicheskie skazaniya. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1997. (primary)
Relations
- sibling: Boktu-KirishSister of Boktu-Kirish, whom she seeks out and restores to life.Tuvinskie geroicheskie skazaniya. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1997 ('Boktug-Kirish, Bora-Sheelei', brother and sister). (primary)
Sources
- Bora-Sheelei is the warrior-maiden of the Tuvan epic bearing her name, the sister who undertakes the quest to revive her slain brother Boktu-Kirish.: Tuvinskie geroicheskie skazaniya. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1997 ('Boktug-Kirish, Bora-Sheelei'). (primary); Endangered Languages Project, 'Boktu Kirish - a Tuvan epic'. (secondary)