The paper describes the musical component in the folktales of the Northern Khanty. The work
is based on published and unpublished sources. The author selected eighteen samples of
folktales in three formats: sound recording, text transcript, and translation. Three basic types
of intonating in the Khanty folktale were identified: singing, speech, rhythmized speech.
Singing, in this case, is considered as intonating, intermediate between vocalization and
speech. It can be shown in the musical notation indicating the pitch and rhythm. Rhythmized
speech can be written without transmitting the sound pitch. Based on segmentation, the author
analyzed the structure of folktales, determined the role of musical episodes and the specifics
of tunes. As a result, it was established that the Northern Khanty folktale with music has two
genre varieties (subgenres): a sung folktale and a folktale with musical (sung) episodes. The first variety is sung from beginning to end, with its tunes correlating with the epic nature of
the narration. The second variety includes introductory tunes on the jaw’s harp, episodes with
singing, with rhythmized speech, with a clear rhythmic formula in its tunes. The melodies
from the group of tales about the greedy mouse are similar to the songs performed in dramatic
performances at the Bear-Feast. Music in folktales acts as a differentiating factor within the
genre and also shows the ambiguity of the boundaries between genres of the Northern Khanty
folklore.
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