As you know, the image of Malechiph has repeatedly become the object of close study of Adyghe folklorists. However, despite this, many aspects of the image of this interesting and complex character still remain little studied. In particular, to date, there are no special works that describe the motives of the Malechiph cycle, based on ancient mythological representations. This circumstance is due to our appeal to this topic. The purpose of the work is to identify archaic motifs in the cycle of

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... ales, determine their origins, functions and roles in creating the image, as well as their relationship in a single narrative with motives of a later origin. Particular attention is paid to such key motives as «short stature», «long golden hair», «bare feet», «magical abilities», etc. As a result, it is concluded that the image of Malechiph was fi nally formed at a relatively late stage of the productive period of the Nart epic, but the important functions of archaic motifs testify to the close connection of the cycle with the ancient mythological representations of the Circassians.