Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LEGENDS)

Created:	2014-09-15 17:07
Institution:	Department of Archaeology and Anthropology
Description:	Legends are oral stories of a mythical or religious nature about the origin of astral objects, the earth, animals, plants, holidays, clans, people, etc. The foundation of any legend rests upon the idea of a miracle or miraculous occurrence believed to have happened in the past. Kalmyk legends, or domog, can be divided into a variety of themes, including cosmogonic, genealogical, historical, etiological, theological and other legends. The spread of Buddhism among the Kalmyks (16th-17th centuries) has had a longlasting influence on Kalmyk legends by offering explanations from the Buddhist point of view. One can see this especially in many cosmogonic legends, such as those about the origin of the Polar star, and the solar and lunar eclipses. Pre-Buddhist ideas can be found in many clan legends about totemic animals and birds. For example, according to a legend, the clan Chons (derived from the Kalmyk word chons 'wolves') had a canine ancestor. According to yet another legend, the clan’s ancestor was a human who was brought up by a female wolf. Many historical legends tell of events that are believed to have happened in the history of the Kalmyks. These legends often include the names of historical people and heroes, such as Chingis Khan, Mazan Batr, Amursanan and others. Because many Kalmyks are interested in their genealogies, genealogical legends and stories have always been popular in Kalmykia. Kalmyk legends are also abundant with accounts of various local malign spirits and beings, such as almas, mus, shulmus, chyotker and others.

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A Legend About the Iron Bird

1:01:00

507 views

Once upon a time there lived a powerful khan. In order to defeat his arch- enemy, the khan ordered his subjects to create a bloodthirsty, giant bird out of metal and the blood of...

Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LEGENDS)

Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology

Created: Mon 27 Mar 2017

Ais Sandzhiev, Legend About a Female Wrestler

2:43

21 views

In Tsagan Nur lived two strong wrestlers. One day a powerful wrestler from a distant land came to Tsagan Nur to compete with them. On the edge of the village lived a widow who...

Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LEGENDS)

Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology

Created: Sat 9 May 2015

Ais Sandzhiev, Legend About the Tsagan Nur Lake

1:36

20 views

The lake Tsagan Nur (lit. White Lake) is also locally referred to as Bain Nur (lit. Wealthy Lake). The lake provides the people in the vicinity with everything from fish to cane....

Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LEGENDS)

Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology

Created: Sat 9 May 2015

Anna Sangadzhi-Goryaeva, A Legend About Lightning

2:10

16 views

Anna’s mother was born in the village of Khar-Tolga in Yashkul’skiy rayon. There, lightning, thunder and dust storms were frequent occurrences. Anna heard from her mother that she...

Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LEGENDS)

Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology

Created: Fri 21 Oct 2016

Batr Mangaev, A Legend About the Uldyuchin People

1:32

5 views

Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LEGENDS)

Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology

Created: Sat 10 Mar 2018

Bembya Fedorov, Six Short Stories

9:03

15 views

Story One. About the real Kalmyk man. A man tells a story to his grandson. In the chest of every Kalmyk man burns, he says, a fire on which is boiling a (metaphorical) kettle with...

Collection: Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LEGENDS)

Institution: Department of Archaeology and Anthropology

Created: Mon 30 Jan 2017