Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
| Created: | 2014-09-11 16:12 |
|---|---|
| Institution: | Department of Archaeology and Anthropology |
| Description: | The celebration of Tsagan Sar, or White Month, takes place two months after Zul on the first day of spring according to the lunar calendar. It is a celebration of the coming of spring when nature wakes up from its winter sleep. Because white symbolizes purity and the beginning of life, the celebration is called White Month.
The preparation for the celebration begins with cleaning the house. All valuables kept in chests and drawers are taken out, cleaned and aired. People prepare their best clothes for the celebration. Both the house and the cattle yard are purified with incense. On the eve of Tsagan Sar all families cook traditional biscuits called bortsg, of various shapes, each of which has its own name and symbolic meaning. For example, tselvg or khavtkha symbolizes the Sun; togsh – a fence for enclosing sheep; jola – long life; khutsyn tolga – animal offspring; khorkha – fertility, etc. After the baking is done, Kalmyks light candles and place some biscuits on the family altar. The oldest members of the family perform a ritual called tsagana bortsg yoryallgn in which they utter well-wishes for the bortsg biscuits. Afterwards the biscuits are tied together with a thread pushed through them to form gift bundles. Each gift bundle must have a specific number of each kind of bortsg, that is one khavtha, six togsh, one khutsyn tolga, one jola, one moshkmr, three shor and one kit. On the first day of Tsagan Sar, early in the morning the head of the family offers tea to the goddess of the hearth, Okn Tengr. He then pulls the door of the house wide open, steps out with his right leg, while his left leg is still inside the house, and sprinkles the tea upwards as an offering. During the holiday houses should have their doors open and have a table laid with food for guests. A traditional greeting on this day is 'Did you spend the winter well?' (Uvles mend garvt?). Hand shaking or tsagallgn is done as follows. The two touch each other's elbows with the palm of their hands, which are covered by the edge of their sleeves. The one who first offers a greeting has to touch the left collarbone of the other person with his/her right collarbone. During Tsagan Sar children visit their maternal relatives, taking with them presents. In return, they receive a present in the form of a sheep's leg. This ritual is called ze berkh. Tsagan Sar lasts for a month and the ritualized hand shaking of tsagallgn may be performed until the beginning of Ur(s) Sar. In the first fifteen days of Tsagan Sar, monasteries perform special rituals to commemorate the victory of the Buddha over falsehood. According to yet another legend, Tsagan Sar is also celebrated to commemorate the victory of the goddess Okn Tengr over a demon that wished to destroy the entire humanity. |
Media items
This collection contains 49 media items.
Media items
A Discussion: Tsagan Sar in the Context of Kalmyk Culture
This discussion was organized by two organizations, namely In’glyan (the Association of Women of Kalmykia) and Bilgin Dala.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Wed 15 Feb 2017
Alena Lidzhieva, About Tsagan Sar and Zul
Women wake up first and make traditional biscuits (bortsg) and make milk tea. Before dawn they light candles and then wake up elders who utter well-wishes to the food and...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 12 Jun 2015
Alexandra Nastaeva, Antonina Boskhandjieva, About Tsagan Sar
Two women, Alexandra and Antonina, talk about how Kalmyks, including their families, celebrate Tsagan Sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Thu 23 Apr 2015
Alexandra Sanzheeva, About Tsagan Sar
Alexandra talks about Tsagan Sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 11 Nov 2018
Baatr Mandzhiev, About Tsagan Sar
Baatr talks about how people celebrate Tsagan sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 23 May 2015
Badma Ochirova, About Tsagan Sar
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 19 Feb 2016
Boba Kokueva, Tsagan Sar
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Wed 17 Jan 2018
Bosya Ochirova, Tsagan Sar
Bosya recounts a legend about the origin of Tsagan Sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 23 May 2015
Dmitriy Mandzhiev, About Tsagan Sar
Dmitriy talks about how people traditionally celebrate Tsagan Sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 28 Oct 2018
Elza Badaeva, About Tsagan Sar
Elza reminisces about how her family celebrated Tsagan Sar when she was small.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Thu 20 Dec 2018
Galina Goryaeva, Tsagan Sar
Galina talks about bortsg and traditions that people follow during Tsagan Sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sat 16 May 2015
Galina Mandzhieva, About Tsagan Sar
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 25 Sep 2015
Galina Suikieva, About Tsagan Sar
Galina talks about the symbolism of some biscuit varieties that people make at Tsagan Sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Mon 28 Mar 2016
Garya Naminov, Tsagan Sar
Garya recounts how people celebrated Tsagan Sar in his village.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 16 Jun 2015
Ivan Modunkaev, Tsagan Sar
Ivan talks about what should be done during Tsagan Sar.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 14 Jun 2015
Ivan Ulyumdzhiev, Tsagan Sar
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Sun 22 Oct 2017
Larisa Shoglyaeva, About Tsagan Sar
Larisa talks about Tsagan Sar, bortsg varieties, and offerings.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 3 Feb 2017
Leonid Khochiev, Tsagan Sar
Leonid talks about how Tsagan Sar was celebrated in his village in the past.
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Fri 27 Jul 2018
Maria Beltsikova, About Tsagan Sar
Maria says that when she was young, during holidays old people gathered first. Young people joined them later. During Tsagan Sar people hung out their clothes and visited their...
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Thu 11 Jul 2019
Maria Kamandzhaeva, About Tsagan Sar
Maria talks about and shows how to celebrate Tsagan Sar:
Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR)
Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Created: Tue 30 Aug 2016