Oirat folklore traditions include typologically different tales that remain vastly understudied. Folklore materials of Xinjiang Oirats used to be printed in Clear Script type up to the late 1980s, but currently those are primarily published in Classical Mongolian, which makes it difficult for Russian folklorists to study them. So, the paper attempts an insight into one folklore genre of Xinjiang Oirats — animal tales. Goals. The article classifies animal tales of XUAR-based Oirats (China) in accordance with the universally accepted comparative approach. Materials. The work examines The White-Collared Sparrow (Betege caγān boqširγo) animal tale collection issued by Xinjiang People’s Publishing House in 1981. Results. The study identifies 24 (of 31) plots in standard world classification systems of folklore and mythological motifs, while 7 samples prove essentially local. Some plots are referred to as etiological myths.

Long before the creation of a national writing system, the Oirats (Kalmyks) had developed a unique oral poetic tradition.By the late 17th century, there appeared a large number of translated poetic works distinguished by genre and artistic diversity.Oirat scholars would insistently turn to the rich oral poetic heritage.And triads were one such most ancient type of aphoristic poetry, their genre characteristics still remaining a matter of debate: some classify them as riddles, others as proverbs —but it is universally accepted that triads hold a special place in the oral poetic tradition.Triads were used not only by medieval authors but have also been turned to by modern Kalmyk writers.Goals.The article introduces into scientific discourse a text of the Oirat version of The Story of Usun Debeskertu Khan which contains triads and quatrains;analyzes didactic contents of the literary triads and compares them to oral (folk) ones.Materials and Methods.The work primarily employs the comparative analysis method.Despite triads have been published in a number of folklore collections (along with proverbs and riddles), their contents have never been investigated in the context of written monuments.Results.The wide use of triads in ancient oral poetic traditions of Mongolic peoples is evidenced by works of researchers from Mongolia, Russia, and China.So, it has been revealed that triads are not identical to riddles,constituting a separate Mongolic poetic genre and having been explicitly used in didactic written monuments as a special form of homilies.Conclusions.The Story of Usun Debeskertu Khan is a didactic composition containing triads and quatrains, the latter — judging from their contents and functions attributed — being essentially edifying (moralistic), which thus makes it possible to finally distinguish them from riddles as such.

The article introduces an Oirat manuscript entitled Burxan baqšiyin nom xara šidi orošiboi which can be loosely translated as ‘Ordinary Magic of Buddha’s Teaching’. The manuscript kept at Rashchoilin Monastery of Bayan-Ölgii Aimag (Mongolia) is available on the online collection of Oirat texts created by Tod Nomyn Gerel Foundation. Mongolian copies of this text can be found in Olon Sume and Xarbuxyn Balgas collections dating back to early 17th century. This manuscript contains a list of unfavorable omens, each of them accompanied with a request to eliminate them (probably, addressed to Vajradhara / Vajrapāni who is mentioned in the beginning of the text) and respective magical dhāraṇī spells. The bad omens listed in the text are related to animal, bird and human behavior patterns, remaining typical even for contemporary Mongolic cultures. Natural disasters (lightning, thunder, hurricane), bad thoughts, curses, xarsi unfavourables associated with different categories of time, space, planets and stars, harming influence of various demonic creatures and various diseases are also considered unfavorable omens. The ritual described in the text (which may have accompanied the reciting of the text) during which one uses a black cow’s horn and a piece of black cloth seems interesting enough. It can be attributed to the ‘black’ rituals of folk Mongolian religion, the latter primarily aimed to suppress harmful influences through the use of attributes black in color only. Studies of such ritual texts will make it possible to extend our knowledge of the mantic practices and beliefs of Mongolic peoples, thus defining the role of Tibetan tradition in the formation of the corpus of these texts. The appendix to the paper transliterates and translates the manuscript mentioned.

The article discusses the dialogue of ethnocultures within the anthology titled ‘Contemporary Literature of Russia’s Peoples. Poetry’. The case study of contemporary Russia’s literary processes through works of Kalmyk and Tuvan poetry makes it possible — to a certain degree — to identify its present-day state, examines the existing literary contacts and interrelations, including by means of Russian-language literary translations of compositions by national poets, reveals the translation problem faced by national literatures of our country. Goals. The article presents poetic collections of Kalmyk and Tuvan poets, reveals ethnic worldviews of the Turko-Mongolic peoples through the use of Russian translations. The novelty of the work lies in the fact that this is the first study of Kalmyk and Tuvan poetic lyrics in the format of a modern anthology of literature of Russia’s peoples as a presentation of ethnic poetry for a wide range of Russian-speaking readers. Materials and Methods. The comparative method delineates specific features of Kalmyk and Tuvan poetic works, identifies mental and individual vectors of authors. In terms of gender, the anthology contains works by Kalmyk men poets only. Kalmyk poetry is represented by 5 authors, Tuvan poetry — by 3 authors. The distinctive line is the age. The selected works include none by representatives of senior or junior generations which evidently attests to the fact, on the one hand, there is a problem of generational change and, on the other hand, the compilers faced quite a challenge when it actually came to select authors to be introduced in such anthologies. In genre perspective, both the sections seem to have little to do with the traditional poetic structures and patterns; so, there are some borrowed genres of ballad and poetic legend without any mention of post-modernist experiments. Still, the thematic landscape is traditional enough: motherland, genealogies, national history, nature of ancestral lands, love, and family. The Tuvan poems by E. Mizhit are published in the author’s translations (a bilingual poet), works by the other poets — in V. Kulle’s translations. Results. The study of modern Kalmyk and Tuvan poetry in this book in a comparative aspect reveals similarities and differences in cultures of the Turko-Mongolic peoples, artistic pictures of the world inherent to related ethnic groups.

The paper deals with the unique Buddhist culture complex of Tamgaly Tas located in the Ili River Valley, in the vicinity of Kapchagay (present-day Talgar District of Almaty Region). The carvings of pictures and inscriptions have been investigated for over a century and a half since the locality was visited by the renown Kazakh scholar, ­ethnographer and traveler Sh. Walikhanov. Goals. The work introduces into scientific discourse manuscript reports by the military topographer K. Larionov and Orientalist K. Malishevsky. Results. The article analyzes the research historiography, publishes original manuscripts supplemented with all drawings made by the authors, and evaluates them as sources for further studies of the unique monument attesting to the dissemination of Buddhism across the region during the Dzungar rule. 

The article seeks to examine understudied materials related to missionary activities of Kazan Theological Academy’s graduates. To facilitate this, the paper analyzes archival sources about Kalmyks contained in Collection 10 of Tatarstan State Archive and characterizes some documents. Materials. The study discovers quite a number of manuscript papers included in catalogues 1, 2, 5 and 7 of Collection 10. Moreover, catalogues 5 and 7 happen to contain some significant Clear Script (Old Kalmyk-language) documents that should be investigated additionally. Results. The work introduces into scientific discourse a set of documents dealing with Kalmyks, and shows that materials of Collection 10 (Tatarstan State Archive) may serve as precious and informative sources to shed light on actual forms and means of preserving written monuments, ethnic culture, and folklore tradition of the Kalmyk people, constituting a wide multi-disciplinary research field (philology, history, ethnology, etc.).

Rosary divinations used to be most widespread in Tibet, Mongolia, Buryatia, Kalmykia and other Buddhist regions. Various types of this divination include ones implying appeals to Yidam deities, Buddhist protector deities, and prominent spiritual teachers. The latter are rare enough, and such rosary divinations are of particular interest. Goals. The article introduces into scientific discourse a Tibetan text of the Lama Tsongkhapa rosary divination. This is an example of divination text based on a religious figure. Materials. The rosary divination text was received from Rev. Zhargaal D. Dugdanov, a Buddhist priest affiliated to Ivolginsky Datsan (Buryatia, Russia), and has never been published in Russian before. Results. The article analyzes traditional rosary divination techniques, translates, transliterates the text, and publishes its facsimile.

Goals. The paper aims to reveal open space-related toponyms traced in The Secret History of the Mongols, and localize the sites. Materials. Investigation of spaces once reclaimed by Mongolic peoples is quite a topical issue in the history of nomadic communities. And a key stage in the Inner Asian expansion of Mongols depicted in The Secret History of the Mongols is of special significance for historical geography. The vast open spaces nowadays associated with Mongols proper had not actually been their indigenous territories. Names of open spaces known in the era of Genghis Khan and his military activities have been lost, and it is difficult enough to identify the former on present-day maps. The two terms related to open spaces in The Secret History of the Mongols are keer (‘steppe’) and belchir (‘confluence point’). Conclusions. The work reveals Mongols preferred areas with mosaic landscapes that would include both elevations and steppe plains. The Orkhon River valley — crossroads of steppe arterial roads to have served as historical headquarters to earlier nomadic empires — was inhabited by Mongols only after polyethnic Inner Asian communities were united by Genghis Khan. The article presents a number of original hypotheses dealing with localization of several sites mentioned in the written monument.

Goals. The article seeks to analyze healing techniques developed in nomadic culture and reveal the logic of such actions. Methods. The study employs the comparative historical method which proves instrumental in identifying common features of understanding and interpreting natural and cultural phenomena by Turko-Mongols; fruitful enough is the method of cultural-historical reconstruction which reveals the logic of archaic views. Materials. Mongols tend to view any deviation from norm in human body as disease, the latter divided into obvious and non-obvious ones, i.e. those the nature of which was unknown to people. Origins of most diseases were reduced to harmful activities of supernatural beings living next to humans. Thus, such personification somewhat facilitated the healing: a deity or spirit of disease could be frightened, persuaded, or appeased. Conclusions. The key idea underlying a significant number of traditional healing techniques was the intention to scare disease.

The Kalmyks had converted to Buddhism centuries ago, and its symbolism is naturally integral to material and spiritual culture of the ethnos. The article examines Buddhist symbols used in tamgas ― Kalmyk clan markers that served to brand family or clan livestock, primarily horses and camels. Despite the tradition died away in the Soviet era, tamgas are still venerated, remaining symbols of clan identity. Goals. The paper reveals and describes sacred symbols incorporated into the system of Kalmyk tamgas. The materials are most essential to restore the developmental panorama of ethnic material and spiritual culture, which stays understudied and, thus, topical enough. Materials. The work analyzes field data collected by the author and students of the Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University during comprehensive research expeditions to Kalmykia’s districts between 1971 and 1990. Results. The study attests to quite a wide distribution of Buddhist symbols among Kalmyk tamgas, which indicates that people did revere them as sacred averters capable of protecting livestock, the herders’ main treasure.

Goals. The article introduces into scientific discourse materials dealing with the history of ethnography research of Mongolic peoples. In 2019, the Mongolian Studies published 1969 (season one) diary notes of the ethnography research team affiliated to the Soviet-Mongolian comprehensive history and culture research expedition. This publication includes field diary notes of 1970 describing contacts with scholars from different countries in Ulaanbaatar, and research activities in aimags of Central Mongolia.

Goals and Materials. The article analyzes field, literary, and media data to explore the urgent issue of contemporary ethnic processes inherent to the people that – due to a number of historical circumstances — live in three federal subjects of Russia (Republic of Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Irkutsk Oblast), and constitute separate diasporas in Mongolia and China. So, the festival which started in 1994 in Mongolia grew to become international since 2002, and is nowadays held nationwide with official state support every two years in one of Russia’s regions where the Buryats live. Results. Cyclicity, established forms and demonstrativeness elevate the event to the rank of a ritual characterized by symbolism of actions. Through spatial whirling, it physically and mentally covers the ethnic territory of the administratively separated Buryats, emphasizes integrity of the nation, being an important factor for the intra-ethnic consolidation in the late 20th – 21st centuries. The performance comprises three main parts, namely: grand opening; contests and sporting competitions aimed at preserving and reviving the Buryat language, traditional culture, ethnic sports; and grand closing ceremony. Despite the international status, the event still remains poorly understood, and the article opens prospects for its further research.

Book Review: Kurapov A. A. [Russian Government and Buddhist Church in Southern Russia: Stages in the Evolution of Sociopolitical Interaction, 17th to Early 20th Centuries].