‘May You Live in Welfare!’: Kalmyk Rites of Inducting a Bride to the New Abode

The article deals with one of the Kalmyk marriage rites, the longstanding tradition of which was disrupted in the second half of the XX century. This topic has not been the subject of the research before. The purpose of the article is to identify the symbolism and origins of the fat-throwing rite in Kalmyk wedding ceremony. Methods. Methods used in the research are synchronous and diachronic, descriptive, comparative-functional and comparative-semantic. Results. Various variants of this ritual have been studied in many Kalmyk families, its comparative materials in wedding traditions of the Turkic-Mongolian peoples have also been analyzed, the ideas that determined the origins and functionality of the ritual among Kalmyks have been revealed. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the original symbolism of this rite is associated with the ancient form of the cult of fire, various deities as well as the cult of ancestors. The ritual of throwing fat during the wedding ceremony in Kalmyk family is aimed at making offerings to various sacred forces through the fire of the hearth as a polysemantic marker and entering under their patronage. The image of fire among the Kalmyks continues to retain its ancient form, despite the adaptation of Buddhist practice. It is suggested that the image of the ancient deity is a taboo in the ritual exclamation-appeal “tsog/tsög” directed towards him. In rites associated with fire, a ram was used as a “solar animal” with the” hot living breath (“halun kiita”). The original meaning of offering the brisket of a ram to the deity of fire in context of the marriage rite is lost. In the ceremonial sphere, it is associated with female symbol, symbols of motherhood, the emotional world of a man.

1. Field data collected by the author in 2005–2010. (In Russ. and Kalm.)

2. [Cross-Border Culture: Comparative Research Sketches of Western Mongolian and Kalmyk Traditions]. Elista: Kalmyk Scientific Center of RAS, 2016. 456 p. (In Russ.)

3. [Kalmyk-Russian Dictionary]. Moscow: Nauka, 1977. 764 p. (In Kalm. and Russ.)

4. [Traditional Buryat Culture: Rituals]. Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura, 2002. 222 p. (In Russ.)

5. [Unabridged Academic Mongolian-Russian Dictionary]. Vol. 4: ‘Х – Я’. Moscow: Academia, 2002. 532 p. (In Russ. and Mong.)

6. Banzarov D. [The Black Faith: or Shamanism among the Mongols]. Moscow: LIBROKOM, 2011. 2nd ed. 170 p. (In Russ.)

7. Bardaev E. Ch., Pyurbeev G. Ts., Muniev B. D. [Kalmyk Phraseological Dictionary]. Elista: Kalmyk Book Publ., 1990. 142 p. (In Kalm.)

8. Basaeva K. D. [The Buryats: Family and Marriage (Mid-to-Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries)]. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1980. 224 p. (In Russ.)

9. Boldyreva V. M. Erketen Kalmyks: sub-ethnic cultural features (a case study of fire-offering rites). Izvestiya of Altai State University. 2009. No. 4–2 (64). Pp. 22–26. (In Russ.)

10. Chistov K. V. Tradition and variability. Sovetskaya etnografiya. 1983. No. 2. Pp. 14–22. (In Russ.)

11. Dushan U. D. [Selected Works]. Elista: Kalmyk Humanities Research Institute of RAS, 2016. 376 p. (In Russ.)

12. Erdenebold L. [Traditional Beliefs of Oirat Mongols: Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries]. Ulan-Ude: Buryat Scientific Center (Sib. Branch) of RAS, 2012. 196 p. (In Russ.)

13. Erdniev U. E. [The Kalmyks: Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries. Historical and Ethnographic Essays]. Elista: Kalmyk Book Publ., 1970. 312 p. (In Russ.)

14. Erdniev U. E. Kalmykia’s population during the Soviet era: changes in everyday life and materials culture. In: [Ethnographic Newsletter]. Vol. 2. Elista: Kalmyk Research Institute of Language, Literature and History, 1971. Pp. 3–36. (In Russ.)

15. Erendzhenov K. E. [The Spring of Wisdom]. Elista: Kalmyk Book Publ., 1980. 188 p. (In Kalm.)

16. Ernazarov Zh. T. [Kazakh Family Rites: Symbol and Ritual]. Almaty: Kursiv, 2003. 200 p. (In Russ.)

17. Galdanova G. R. Cult of fire among the Mongolic peoples and its projections in Lamaism. Sovetskaya etnografiya. 1980. No. 3. Pp. 94–100. (In Russ.)

18. Galdanova G. R. Cult of fire among the Mongols. In: [Central Asia: Studies in History and Philology]. Vol. 6. Ulan-Ude: Buryat Institution (Sib. Branch) of RAS (USSR Acad. of Sc.), 1976. Pp. 148–153. (In Russ.)

19. Khabunova E. E. [Kalmyk Wedding Ceremonial Poetry]. Elista: Kalmyk Book Publ., 1998. 224 p. (In Russ.)

20. Lamazhaa Ch. K. Archaization, traditionalism and neotraditionalism. Knowledge. Understanding. Skill. 2010. No. 2. Pp. 88–93. (In Russ.)

21. Lobacheva N. P. Safar fires in Khwarazm: forgotten festivities revisited. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie. 1995. No. 5. Pp. 24–36. (In Russ.)

22. Mikhailov T. M. [Buryat Shamanism: Glimpses of History (from the Earliest Times to the 18th Century)]. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1980. 320 p. (In Russ.)

23. Namrueva L. V. [Republic of Kalmykia: Ethnic Socialization of the Youth (Analysis of the Years 2000 to 2010s)]. Elista: Kalmyk Humanities Research Institute of RAS, 2015. 195 p. (In Russ.)

24. Ochir A., Galdanova G. R. Myangads of the MPR: traditional family rites. In: [Buryats and Mongols: Cultural and Household Traditions]. Ulan-Ude: Buryat Scientific Center (Sib. Branch) of RAS, 1988. Pp. 109–127. (In Russ.)

25. Olzeeva S. Z. [Kalmyk Rites and Traditions]. Elista: Dzhangar, 2003. 256 p. (In Russ. and Kalm.)

26. Pyurbeev G. Ts. [Traditional Household Activities of the Kalmyks: Explanatory Dictionary]. Elista: Kalmyk Book Publ., 1996. 176 p. (In Kalm. and Russ.)

27. Rona-Tas A. Mongolian wedding rites: research materials. In: [Institute of Asian Peoples: Brief Messages]. Vol. 83. Moscow: Nauka, 1964. Pp. 165–171. (In Russ.)

28. Sharaeva T. I. [Kalmyk Ethnic Markers: a Case Study and Related Materials]. Elista: Kalmyk Scientific Center of RAS, 2017. 288 p. (In Russ.)

29. Sharaeva T. I. [Kalmyk Life-Cycle Rites: 19th – Early 21st Centuries]. Elista: Dzhangar, 2011. 223 p. (In Russ.)

30. Sharaeva T. I. ‘When it comes to a wedding, even a dry skull rolls in that direction’: the meaning of a sheep’s head in Kalmyk wedding rites revisited. In: [Mongolian Studies (Mongol Sudlal)]. 2018. Vol. 13. Pp. 22–37. (In Russ.)

31. Todaeva B. Kh. Qobuqsar Torghuts: wedding rites. In: [Institute of Asian Peoples: Brief Messages]. Vol. 83. Moscow: Nauka, 1964. Pp. 172–183. (In Russ.)

32. Vyatkina K. V. Mongols of the Mongolian People’s Republic: materials of the History and Ethnography Research Expeditions organized by the USSR Academy of Sciences and MPR Science Committee in 1948–1949. In: [East Asian Ethnographic Collection]. Moscow; Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. Pp. 159–271. (In Russ.)

33. Zhitetsky I. A. [Astrakhan Kalmyks: Sketches of Everyday Life (Ethnographic Observations of 1884–1886)]. Moscow: M. Volchaninov, 1893. 87 p. (In Russ.)

34. Zhukovskaya N. L. [Nomads of Mongolia: Culture, Traditions, Symbols]. Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura, 2002. 274 p. (In Russ.)