Colarusso John. Nart Sagas: Ancient Myths and Legends of the Circassians and Abkhazians

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016. — 512 p.The sagas of the ancient Narts are to the Caucasus what Greek mythology is to Western civilization. This book presents, for the first time in the West, a wide selection of these fascinating myths preserved among four related peoples whose ancient cultures today survive by a thread. In ninety-two straightforward tales populated by extraordinary characters and exploits, by giants who humble haughty Narts, by horses and sorceresses,Nart Sagas from the Caucasus brings these cultures to life in a powerful epos. In these colorful tales, women, not least the beautiful temptress Satanaya, the mother of all Narts, are not only fertility figures but also pillars of authority and wisdom. In one variation on a recurring theme, a shepherd, overcome with passion on observing Satanaya bathing alone, shoots a "bolt of lust" that strikes a rock--a rock that gives birth to the Achilles-like Sawseruquo, or Sosruquo. With steely skin but tender knees, Sawseruquo is a man the Narts come to love and hate. Despite a tragic history, the Circassians, Abazas, Abkhaz, and Ubykhs have retained the Nart sagas as a living tradition. The memory of their elaborate warrior culture, so richly expressed by these tales, helped them resist Tsarist imperialism in the nineteenth century, Stalinist suppression in the twentieth, and has bolstered their ongoing cultural journey into the post-Soviet future.John Colarusso. Preface.
Tamirlan Salbiev. Commentary.
Guide to the Names and Terms. (Walter May).
Vasily Ivanovich Abaev. The Ossetian Epic «Tales of the Narts».
Cycles, subjects, heroes.
Genetic and surrounding ties.
Myths and history in the sagas of the Narts.
Warkhag and his sons.
Urizhmag and Shatana.
Shoshlan.
Shirdon.
Khamis and Batraz.
Asamazh.
Shauwai.
Various stories about the Narts.Epitaph.
Appendix of Names.
Bibliography.