Nart Saga - Differences Between Nart Legends

Differences Between Nart Legends

There are various differences between the various versions of the Nart legends. For example, the Ossetian versions depict the Nartic tribe as composed of three distinct clans that sometimes rival with each other (the brave Æxsærtægkatæ, to whom the most prominent Narts belong, the rich Borætæ and the wise Alægatæ), while the Circassian ones don't depict such a division, and the Abkhaz ones are unique in describing the Narts as a single nuclear family composed of Satanaya's one hundred sons. Yet all of these versions describe the Narts as a single coherent group of mostly "good" heroes. In contrast, the Nakh (Chechen-Ingush) legends sometimes depict the Nart-Orxustxoi, a group including the most prominent Narts known from the other versions (e.g. Seska-Solsa corresponding to Sosruko/Soslan, Khamtsha-Patarish corresponding to Batraz/Batradz etc.) as warlike bandits, who fight against local good heroes such as Koloi-Kant and Qinda-Shoa (the latter corresponding to Sawway/Shawey).

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