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The name of A. Vasilyev (1887 - 1945), who was also known as Alfor was well known not only in Unga but in the whole of Western Buryatia. Since his young years he became known as singer, he composed songs, was an unsurpassed master – improviser at the tournaments and contests of singers. He possessed a splendid mighty bass, played a khur.
Alexander Vasiliyev was born in the village of Molka, the Ust-Uda district, the Irkutsk region, in a family of a poor man from the Khoogei kin but frequently was to the neighboring Nukut district, went to the villages and campings of the Alar and Bolhan districts, not infrequently seeking for the rivals to compete with. Everybody in his family – the parents, brothers, sisters – were well aware of the people’s poetry and had good voices.
In early childhood Alfor lost his eyesight but it didn’t prevent him from living a life of full value, always being amid people. In the 20s he becomes a leader of a collective of amateur art, wrote a play “Love is omnipotent” that was staged by the young people from the village of Borot-Ongoi. He was a participant of the Republican surkharban in 1925 in Ulan-Ude and was awarded a prize – a violin; then he was a participant of the Territorial olympiade, East Siberia in the city of Irkutsk and was awarded a bronze medal.
Unfortunately the information of A. Vasilyevin Buryat folkloristics is scant, contradicting and given in general outline. Alfor’s name is mentioned in Ulanov’s early article “The Buryat soviet national poetical activity”. Given in the other work of the scholar is only a brief account of the storyteller’s activity and and his performing manner: “A popular Unga singer Alfor was a popular performer of uligers, a khur player, had a wonderful voice. He often went to the other villages looking for competitors… ”.
As for his biography it was restored by parts by R.A. Sherkhunaev owing to his untiring efforts. His essay (Sherkhunaev R. A. Alfor (Alexander Vasiliyev) //The Buryat people’s storytellers. Part I. – Ulan-Ude, 1986. – P. 38-64) is very likely the only source of the life and creative repertoire of Alfor.
Apart from the songs A. Vasiliyev knew well the epical tales of the Buryats that he borrowed from his uncle Andriyan Vasilyevich Vasiliyev and the other fellow villagers. He particularly liked the uligers “Geser”, “Alamji Mergen”, “Kharasgai Mergen”, the historical song “Shono-bator” that he performed wholly in singing accompanying himself in the khur.
The uligers,songs and fairy-tales were written from him for the first time by S.P.Baldayev in 1916. Later (supposedly in the 30-s or at the beginning of the 40-s, the XX century) he wrote down the epopee “Abai Geser Bogdo khan”. Kept in the funds of S. P. Baldayev (The department of manusdripts, the IMBTS, RAS SB) are some “branches” of that uliger written down from A.J>Vasiliyev. The volume is nearly 70 thousand verses.
According to the division of the chapters according to S.P. Baldayev, A. Vasiliyev’s variant consists of 11 chapters: 1) The eldest goddess-the mother (Ekhe Yekhe Burkhan), 2) Manzan Gurme grandma, 3) Mayas Khara grandma, 4) The celestial games (Tengeryin nayir zugaa), 5) Khan Khormusta tengri and Atai Ulan tengri, 6) On the war of Khan Khormusta with Atai Ulan tengri, 7) The thirteen Asarangui tengris. 8) Segen Sebdeg tengri, 9) on the solution to put down Erkhe Belegte khubuun onto the Earth, 10) Erkhe Belegte khubun descends from the skiies, 11) About Erkhe Belegte khubun and his Sengele with Sengelen. To these notes by S.P. Baldayev also added is an unnumbered chapter of the devil Sherem Minata living on the other side of death, on the other side of happiness.
Most original is the first “branch”, rich in cosmogonic and theogonic motives and plots. It narrates of the creation of the land, the sun, the emergence of the deities, and rnds with the account of hostility and war of the deities, appearance on the earth of monsters, devils and mangadkhais. Such a panoramic account of the deities’s life, their genealogical tree and hierarchical relations making up the celestial prehistory of Geser is lacking in the other storytellers’ texts.
Original is the composition of the given variant and notable also is the abundance of seg daralga, ugtalga, udeshelge in which displaying itself was the peculiarity of the singer-improviser’s creative manner, the desire to diversify the narration in contrast to the “classical”, traditional performing by P. Petrov, P. Dmitriyev. Alfor’s variant became the foundation for the aggregate, cumulative edition “Abai Geser Bogdo khan”.
One should note that a full-scale; detailed, artistically rich mythological prologue amounting to 4438 verse lines is in fact an uliger in the uliger and there is no analogue in the folklore traditions of the Turk-Mongolian people. This epical monument should be regarded also as a unique source on mythology of the Buryat people.
Alfor was one of the most vivid and noted personalities among the workers of the Buryat art culture. He left an inexpiable trace in the memory of his contemporary countrymen and entered the history of the art of art of Buryats as an outstanding singer-storyteller, musician. His merits are tremendous. Alfor was not only an untiring promoter of the oral people’s poetry but he enriched it with the new works. One might think that still written will be in future the investigations, stories, poems dedicated to him.
