Epic Tradition Shared and Transformed: Comparisons between Kolva Komi and Tundra Nenets Sung Poetry

Since the 1960s, a unique Komi singing and narrative tradition has been described in the Kolva region. These materials, sung in the Komi language, were beyond doubt born in interaction with Tundra Nenets sung poetry. Indeed, comparable Nenets songs have been documented from all the regions where Nenets is spoken. We use both published and archived materials to compare individual texts in detail, and show various folkloristic and linguistic parallels. We pay particular attention to shared motives and narrative phases, which we consider very important as in the current state of research where exact parallel texts between the languages cannot be found. These detailed parallel concepts, however, serve as an evidence of the shared origin of these narratives, and also tell us how these Nenets conceptualizations have been transformed when integrated into Komi tradition.