The Nart sagas are to the Caucasus what Greek mythology is to Western civilization. Tales of the Narts presents a wide selection of fascinating tales preserved as a living tradition among the peoples of Ossetia in southern Russia, a region where ethnic identities have been maintained for thousands of years in the face of major cultural upheavals. A

Preface ix John Colarusso, English-language Editor Commentary xv Tamirlan Salbiev, Ossetian-language Editor A Short Biography of the Translator xix Guide to the Names and Terms, translated from Skazanija iz Nartov xxi Walter May Introduction: The Ossetian Epic xxix Vasily Ivanovich Abaev Part 1 Warkhag and His Sons 1 1 The Birth of Akhshar and Akhshartag 3 2 Akhshar's Sword 4 3 The Apple of the Narts 7 4 The Beauty Zerashsha 9 5 The Death of Akhshar and Akhshartag 11 6 The Birth of Urizhmag and Khamis 14 7 How Urizhmag and Khamis Found Their Grandfather, Warkhag 16 Part 2 Urizhmag and Shatana 19 8 The Birth of Shatana 21 9 How Shatana Became Urizhmag's Wife 22 10 Urizhmag and Kharan-Khuag 25 11 Urizhmag and the One-Eyed Giant 27 12 How Urizhmag Parted from Shatana 33 13 The Nameless Son of Urizhmag 34 14 Shatana's Son 46 15 Who Won the Black Vixen? 53 16 Urizhmag and Three Inquisitive Guests 61 17 How Black Beer Was Brewed 63 18 Urizhmag's Last Campaign 64 Part 3 Shoshlan 71 19 How Shoshlan Was Born and How They Tempered Him 73 20 What Gifts the Heavenly Gods Bestowed upon Shoshlan 75 21 Shoshlan Seeks Someone Stronger than He 78 22 Shoshlan and the Goomag Man 82 23 Shoshlan in the Land of Goom 86 24 Shoshlan and Warkhag's Unknown Son 92 25 Shoshlan and the Sons of Tar 97 26 How Shoshlan Wed Kosher 110 27 How Shoshlan Slew Telberd's Three Sons 113 28 Shoshlan's Campaign 116 29 Nart Shoshlan and the Giant, Bizhgwana 118 30 Why Shirdon Became Shoshlan's Enemy 121 31 Little Arakhzau, Son of Bezenag 122 32 The Death of Arakhzau 134 33 How Shoshlan Wed Vedukha 140 34 How Shoshlan Saved Shatana from the Lake of Hell 148 35 Shoshlan and Totraz 151 36 Shoshlan in the Land of the Dead 160 37 The Death of Shoshlan 181 38 Aishana 192 39 Aishana and Shainag-Aldar 197 Part 4 Shirdon 201 40 The Birth and Marriage of Shirdon 203 41 A Nart Expedition 205 42 How the Twelve-Stringed Harp Appeared 215 43 Shirdon Again Deceives the Narts 219 44 How Shirdon Tricked the Giants 221 45 How Shirdon Held a Memorial Feast for His Ancestors 222 46 Why Shirdon Was Called a Liar 223 47 Your Cloth Is in Your Hands 225 48 Who Deceived Whom? 226 Part 5 Khamis and Batraz 229 49 Khamis and Batraz: Arkizh's Tooth 231 50 How Khamis Was Wed 234 51 The Birth of Batraz 240 52 How Batraz Was Lured Out of the Sea 241 53 The Games of Young Batraz 243 54 Batraz, Son of Khamis, and Arakhzau, Son of Bezenag 247 55 Batraz and the Giant with the Mottled Beard 249 56 How Batraz Hardened Himself 251 57 How Batraz Saved Urizhmag 253 58 How Nart Batraz Found Burazag 257 59 Batraz and Tykhyfyrt Mukara 260 60 Batraz and the Arrogant Son of the Giant Afsharon 264 61 How the One-Eyed Giant Afsharon Took Revenge upon the Narts 268 62 How Batraz Saved the Eminent Narts 269 63 Nart Uraz and the Giant Akhshualy 271 64 Batraz and the Aldar 275 65 How Batraz Stormed the Khizh Fortress 276 66 Batraz and the Narts' Bowl, Wasamonga 278 67 The Narts' Round-Dance, the Shimd 279 68 How Batraz Beat the Spirit of Fertility 289 69 Who Is Best among the Narts 290 70 The Death of Khamis 297 71 How Batraz Avenged His Father's Death 299 72 The Death of Batraz 307 Part 6 Asamazh 311 73 Asamazh and the Beauty Agunda 313 74 Nart Shidamon and the Giant Shkhuali 323 Part 7 Shauwai 329 75 The Birth of Shauwai 331 Part 8 Various Stories about the Narts 347 76 The Narts and Wadmer's Bones 349 77 Nart Shibals, the Son of Warkhtanag 352 78 Washtirji and Nart Marguz the Noseless 356 79 Nart Zili and His Sons 365 80 Alimbeg's Daughter and the Alita Family 373 81 The Beauty Wazaftau, Daughter of Adakizh 380 82 The Nart Named Solitary 386 83 Nart Zhivag, the Lazy Lout, and Agunda, Daughter of Burafarnig Borata 392 84 The Elder and the Younger Share 398 85 Nart Bzhar and His Son 403 86 How Nart Eltagan Was Wed 410 87 The Narts and the Black-Headed Giants 413 88 The Sword in the Lake 418 89 The Downfall of the Narts 421 Epitaph 425 Appendix of Names 427 Bibliography 437

"Tales of the Narts is a valuable addition to hero-literature and folklore. Passages read like Breughel in oral form, with fantasies and moral lessons combined—even with humor. These are simply great, entertaining, multitextured stories, and exotic without being too obscure or arcane. Colarusso is an indisputably major voice in this field."—Dean A. Miller, University of Rochester

"Tales of the Narts is a remarkable book and a major contribution. It will be of value to readers in mythology, legends, and folklore, but will also be welcomed by nonspecialists who enjoy reading exciting myths and legends about gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines. We simply have not had such a large collection of Ossetian literature in English in one volume before. As the most important figure in the field and North America's greatest authority on Caucasian languages, Colarusso brings invaluable linguistic expertise."—Victor H. Mair, University of Pennsylvania