O is for Ochi-Bala (Women's Epics A to Z)

This year my theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge is Women's Epics. My goal was to read 26 traditional epics from around the world that have women as their heroes. Because epics like this do exist, and they are fascinating! Read the intoduction post here.

The epic of Ochi-Bala
Altai

This epic was first recorded in 1949 from Altai master singer Aleksej Grigorevic Kalkin. After that, it was recorded five or six more times (last in 1996) and published; the longest telling contained more than 3400 verses. Kalkin's repertoire contained 42 epics and several folktales, but sadly not all were recorded. He learned his stories from his father, and other elders, when he was still a child, and became a professional singer. He sang his epics accompanied by the topsuur, a stringed instrument.

I was not able to locate a published English translation of this epic (it has been published in Russian). However, with help from my friend Dana Sherry, I managed to contact Bronwen Cleaver, who works in Russia and has translated Ochi-Bala as part of her PhD dissertation. She was gracious and kind enough to send me her translation. I am very grateful to her for the amazing read.

I read about the background of the epic in this book.

Ochi-Bala is often associated with the famous Siberian Ice Maiden.

What is it about?

TL;DR: After an evil khan sends armies to destroy her homeland, warrior maiden Ochi-Bala sets out to kill him. She uses strength, skill, and trickery to defeath the evil khan who is supported by the forces of the Underworld. 

The epic tells the story of the Warrior Maiden Ochi-Bala, and her fight against the evil Kan-Taadyi-Biy, a messenger of Erlik khan (ruler of the Underworld). It begins with two sisters, Ochira-Mandyi and Ochi-Bala living with their people in peace and prosperity in the Altai. The elder sister is great at taking care of her people, while the younger, Ochi-Bala, is an accomplised fighter and hunter (and also a talented singer). Kan-Taadyi-Biy, an evil and vicious ruler who has already conquered seventy kingdoms, sends his son Ak-Dyalaa to conquer the maidens' lands and enslave their people. When Ak-Dyalaa arrives with his armies, Ochira-Mandyi submits to him, but Ochi-Bala, returning from a hunt, challenges the attackers to a fight. Arrows and spears bounce off her, her scream splits mountains, and she devastates the invading army, defeating and killing Ak-Dyalaa. However, his father revives him and sends him back - only to repeat the shameful defeat at the Warrior Maiden's hands.

After the second attack, having lost many people and cattle, Ochi-Bala decides to go to Kan-Taadyi-Biy's lands and make sure he never sends an army again. Before departure, she distills strong alcohol from sixty different kinds of flowers. On the way, she has to face a ferocious blue bull sent by Erlik khan from the Underworld. Ochi-Bala's faithful horse, Ochi-Dyeren, transforms into a red bull and fights it for seven days; in the crucial moment of the duel, Ochi-Bala herself jumps onto the blue bull's back and stabs it to death with her jackknife.

Arriving to her enemy's court, Ochi-Bala doesn't find Kan-Taadyi-Biy at home. Instead, she gets his wife and son drunk, and then disguises herself as a serving maid. She transforms a mountain into her own image as the Maiden Warrior. When the khan arrives, he pushes the "maiden" into the mouth of the Underworld, thinking he is done with her. During the celebration after, Ochi-Bala gets him outrageously drunk, steals the keys of his treasure chest of magic items, takes away his weapons and armor, and kills his guardian beasts. When he wakes up, he finds himself defenseless. Ochi-Bala reveals herself, berates him for his sins, and then cuts off his head. She returns home victorious. Later, she ascends into the sky with her horse, and her sister becomes an earth goddess.

The highlights

I loved it that Ochi-Bala is described as tall and broad-shouldered, to epic proportions (on her back, a herd of fifty stallions could graze, on her shoulder blades, sixty rams could stand). Buff hero lady. I also enjoyed the detailed desrciptions of Ochi-Bala dressing herself in a hero's attire, and arming herself with all kinds of weapons and tools - including a nine-faceted telescope and  nine-bladed pocket knife.

I like the recurring statement that Ochi-Bala makes, that she has never looked for a fight or wanted to conquer other lands, but if someone attacks her people, she will put up a fight to defend them. She is not a conquering hero, she is a protector. After each battle against the invaders, she falls into a deep sleep for several days, and when she wakes up, she has a talk with her sister, about the cost of the fight, and the violence of killing so many people. They don't agree on everything, and yet when Ochi-Bala sets out on her quest, her sister tearfully prepares an epic goodbye meal for her.

There is a winter-spring quality to the emnity of Kan-Taadyi-Biy and Ochi-Bala. His lands are all made of iron, desolate and barren, and he is accompanied by cold rain and storms. She makes flowers bloom and forests spring up and the earth come alive with her songs wherever she goes. My favorite line was "from her melodious song, the needles of the cedars fluffed up."

I also liked it that after killing the evil khan, Ochi-Bala stated that his people and herds were not to blame; she didn't take any spoils, and didn't punish anyone else.

Images from here

OCHI-BALA IS A HERO OF EPIC PROPORTIONS.

She is a match to other supernaturally strong and brave warriors in other cultures, and she is described in detail as such. 

What do you think makes someone a truly epic hero?