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In this Episode, we begin our new series which will be ongoing parallel to the current One Thousand and One Nights series we are going through, Tales from Central Asia!

We begin with a tale from the Bashkir tribe, the story of “Altyn-Saka the Golden Knucklebone”.

As you listen to this tale, you will notice the similarities present to what I have discussed in both our One Year Anniversary Special Episodes and with our regular special episodes, that is the presence of animal companions which both help and hinder the protagonist and often give advice and help.

This show that tales which involve animals speaking are quite common and are found in all different types of cultures and time periods. In addition, each of these tales may provide moral lessons if they can.

Note the presence of Sparrows, often considered pests, are now described as being helpful while other birds who are considered smarter or more intelligent decline to help Altyn-Saka.

The second tale in this episode, is from the Kalmyk tribe, “Tsarkin Khan and the Archer”.

Listeners may in fact find similarities between this tale and other tales which feature swans or sometimes cranes casting off their feathers to take on a human appearance and eventually finding a lover or a husband.

Animals once again play a significant role here, the interaction between the Archer and the Tigress being a prominent example in this tale. We also get our first reference to the Russian Far East, with the Archer being sent to get the milk of the aforementioned Tigress.

Fear not regular listeners! We are continuing with the One Thousand and One Nights next episode!

I hope you enjoy our first foray into Tales from Central Asia!