Calling the Soul of the Dead: Texts of Mongol folk-religion in the St. Petersburg Institute of Oriental Studies, 1 2503515010, 9782503515014

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CALLING THE SOUL OF THE DEAD

SILK ROAD STUDIES

IX

Edited by an international committee G. GNOLI (Roma [IJ) S KLJASHTORNYJ (Sankt Peterburg [CIS]) S.N.C. LIEU (Sydney [AUS]) B.A. LITVINSKY (Moskva [CIS]) R. MESERVE (Bloomington (IN) [USA)) G. PINAULT (Paris [FJ) A. SARKÖZI (Budapest [H]) N. SIMS-WILLIAMS (Cambridge & London [GB]) A. VAN TONGERLOO (Leuven [BJ), Editor-in-chief S. WHITFIELD (London [GB]), Director of the Dunhuang Monograph Series P. ZIEME (Berlin [BRD])

SILK ROAD STUDIES

IX

Alice Sarközi - Alexey G. Sazykin Calling the Soul of the Dead Texts of Mongol Folk-Religion in the St.Petersbur g Institute of Oriental Studies 1

in collaboration with Tibor Szab6

BREPOLS

© 2004, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium. All rights reserved. No part of this publication m.ay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. D/2004/0095/XX ISBN 2-503-51501-0 Printed in the E.U. on acid-free paper

Table of Contents

Foreword Introduction Terminology Absence of the soul causes illness or death Healing the sick: summoning the soul The ceremony in Mongolia Calling the Soul in Epic Poems Dictionary of Mongol Traditional Customs Field work of the Hungaro-Mongolian Ethnographical and Dialectological Expedition 2001 Archive Material Conceming the Ritual Texts in the Collection of the St.Petersburg's Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences The Ritual as Described in the Texts Requisites and their Symbolical Meaning

vn 1 2 4 10 20 21 22 30

31 33 40

Texts, Translations Sazykin 1272 Sazykin 1274 Sazykin 1273 Sazykin 1275 Sazykin 1280 Sazykin 1271 Sazykin 1277 Sazykin 1278 Sazykin II, 3936

45 45 68 84 97 131 139 143 147 152

Supematural Beings

159

Illustrations

223

Bibliography

I

Foreword

Research of Mongolian folk-religion has been the subject of special attention in recent years. Publication of extant texts and the translation, edition and analysis of these texts have appeared. We have got detailed descriptions of certain rituals, whole books have been dedicated to till now neglected areas. The present study examines a very special and less known ritual of folk-religion, the ceremony of calling back the soul of the dead or of the sick person. Among the Mongols and at the surrounding areas it was commonly believed that illness and death were caused by the absence of the soul, so a special ritual was required to call back the wandering soul. Our research has been based on special texts preserved in the Collection in the St.Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. By way of background we give an outline of the observations of researchers who carried out fieldwork and travelers who have visited the relevant areas. We also include the material from personal cornrnunication of Mongols from different areas where Mongol peoples live. The material of the Hungaro-Mongolian ethnographical and dialectological expedition offers proof that these rituals are living and being practiced till the present time. Our informants

Vlll

related that they themselves or their relatives were cured by this method. The ceremony seems to be a rather old one. lt must have belonged to a very early layer of folk religion, however, and it has become a ritual carried out by the Lamaist church. The texts show the influence of Tibetan Buddhism. The ritual carried out in Mongolia is very similar to those among the neighbouring peoples. The Introduction gives a general description of the ritual among several nations of Central Asia. lt also presents the material collected by the Hungarian-Mongolian expedition in the field. A special chapter is dedicated to the evil spirits mentioned in the texts. With the kind and active help of colleagues and collectors in Hungary it has become possible to depict these creatures in pictures that. 1 wish to express my indebtedness to T. Szab6, J. Parkas and G. Bethlenfalvy who have put their rich collection at my disposal. In the chapter on supernatural beings the ownership of the pictures is indicated. When it is not, the picture belongs to T. Szab6. Special thanks are due to Dr. R. 1. Meserve who kindly read through the English of the book and to M. Sz6ke and A. K6nya for their inestimable technical help.

The research that resulted in this study was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA). Alice Sarközi

Introduction

The soul

Mongol people believe that man has several souls. To simplify it can be stated that in most cases the number of the souls is three. The first soul stays in the body during the entire life of man. lt resides in the bones, in the whole skeleton, and not in a certain part of the body as do other souls. lt can not take different forms and is believed to appear in the form of a skeleton. After death this soul, together with the last breath, leaves the body and stays in the grave or around the dead corpse to protect it. The second soul can leave the body in the form of a wasp or bee through the nose or mouth. 1 Tue soul can also become a bird. 2 lt can take several forms and is irnagined in the form of a small man, or just the contrary, as a giant. This soul, most probably, resides in the blood. However, the heart, the lungs, the liver can also be its home. 3 When one is frightened, or chuckles or sneezes, this soul drops out of the body and is chased by the evil spirits. That is why it is dangerous to frighten people, especially children whose souls leave the body more easily. If the 1

A frequent motif of the folk tales. Cf. "The wandering soul" Hangalov, I, pp. 398-99. 2 The soul of the prince is a bird in the dream of his mother in the tale: "Hungry Tigress" (Maq-a sadva ölöcin bars-tur bey-e-gi öggügsen). See Le Damamukonämasütra. Texte mongol du Toyin Guisi. Ed. C. Sagdarsüren. Monumenta Linguae Mongolicae Collecta X. Budapest, 1989, pp. 23-30. Prof. Heissig writes that the presentation of the extemal souls in the form of three larks is a well-known motif of the Mongolian epos. On Same Loan-Motifs in the Sinkiang-fangar. In: Motiv und Wirklichkeit, Harrassowitz, 1993, pp. 162-172. Cf. also Heissig, Geser-Studien. Untersuchungen zu den Erzahlstoffen in den "neuen" Kapiteln des mongolischen Geser-Zyklus, p. 325: Zoomorphe Seelenverkörperung. 3 Bawden ( Calling the Soul) says that the soul (sünesün) resides in a different part of the body on each of the 30 days of the month (p.206). Tue Budapest collection also contains a manuscript about the residing places of the soul: Edür büri sünesü-ü [!] "Daily definition of the part of the body the soul resides at." G. Kara, The Mongol and Manchu Manuscripts and Blockprints in the Library ofthe Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest 2000. Mong. 61.

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soul leaves the body the man falls ill or dies, as his soul is taken away or eaten up by the spirits. The third soul is imagined as a human figure. However, it can take several forms. lt stays in the body till death, and afterwards it becomes mostly an evil spirit that haunts around the settlement. 4

Terminology

Researchers have made efforts to show a clear terminological distinction among the souls. Bawden, in a paper presented at the Epic Symposium in Bonn, discusses the problem of vocabulary associated with vitality, (sür, sülde, kei-mori), death, and the soul (sünesü and ami). He pointed out that there is an interchangeability of the expressions meaning "soul". 5 Our texts give the following words or word compounds for "soul"; most of the texts use the word sünesün for "soul'' in the title (Sünesün dalalyaysan, Sünesün dalalaqui, etc.). In the texts we have the word sünesün in the following context: Sünesün dalalaquy-yin Jang üile "ritual of the calling the soul" Sünesün-i orosiyulun soyurq-a "deign to send back the soul'' Sünesün-i orosiba kemen sedki "imagine that the soul has arrived" 4

For a detailed description of the soul concept among the Buriat see G. Sandschejew, Weltanschauung, pp. 578 ff. 5 Ch. R. Bawden, Vitality and Death in the Mongolian Epic, pp. 10-23. According to the Mongolian Dictionary of Customs: The soul of men (sünesün) after death remains here on earth and takes several forms and has good or bad influence on people. He walks in the house and the footsteps of this soul can be traced in ash thrown on the floor. Relatives try to allure the soul of a woman into a spindle or the mortar for pounding tea or into the fuel-basket, the soul of a man into his belt. If somebody is ill, it is because his soul (sür sülde) left his body and his relatives call him by crying qurui qurui. If a child is frightened his soul escapes. You have to put your hat on your head turn around and call the soul with qurui qurui. (Ar'jasüren-NjambU , Mongol yos zanSJin dund tajlbar toli. p. 191-193).

Calling the Soul of the Dead

3

Sünesün-i urimui "one calls the soul" Sünesün-ü Jüg "the direction of the soul" Sünesün-i joliy-tur urinam "one calls the soul into the joliyfigure" Sünesünjolimui "one ransoms the soul" Sünesün dalalqui "calling the soul" Sünesün Cinglegür-ber cinglekü "to weigh the soul on scales" Buruyu-bar sünesün Ci cinaysi ülü oduydaqu "you, soul, do not go erroneously beyond" Sünesün-i oytaryui-dur qaliydaqu "when the soul flies up to heaven" Sünesün-i tedküjü "supporting the soul" Sünesün ese irebesü ber "even if the soul has not come" Ta ber sünesün bei [=büi] ügei qoyar-un Jabsar-tur oduyad "you, soul, have gone to the sphere between existence and non-existence" In word compounds, the following terms appear: Amin sünesün : Amin sünesün-i sijimlen tabun öngge utasun-i tataju "tie the soul with a five-coloured cord and pull it" Amin sünesün-i batudqan soyurqa "deign to strengthen the life-soul" Sür sünesün : Ayislan sür sünesün irejü amsan soyurqa-a "soul, please, come approaching and taste it" Sür sünesün cinu türidkel ügei amaray beyen-degen ende iren soyurq-a "please, soul, deign to come here without hindrance into your peaceful body" Sürsülde: Sür sülde-yi adayin yajar-tur buu urbayultuyai "do not send the soul to the land of the evil spirits" Sür sülde-yi Erlig-ün yajar-tu buu ilegetügei "do not send the soul to the land of the Erlig" Auy-a kücütü sür sülde ende..."your great protector spirit is here" (sür sülde is used here in a different meaning, indicating the protector spirit and not the one that is wandering around) Kisig sünesün :

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A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

Kisig sünesün-i uriysan "we called the fortune-soul" Aminnasun: Amin nasun batudqan soyurq-a "deign to strengthen his life"

Amin: Ejen-i amin-i batulan soyurq-a "deign to strengthen his life"

Amin batulaba "his life has been strengthened" Keimori: Kei mori delgeregülüged "extending the vital force, vigour (soul)"

Kei marin degjigülüged "improving the vital force, vigour (soul)" There is no special characteristic of a given text regarding word-usage; they use these words and expressions quite interchangeably. During my fieldwork in 2001 summer I had the opportunity to collect material concerning the ritual of "calling the soul". My informants also used the expressions süld and süns for "soul". They explained the difference: süld is a protector and süns is the soul that leaves the body after death.

Absence of the soul causes illness or death Healing the sick: summoning the soul lf the soul leaves the body the person falls ill or dies. lt is the duty of the shaman to go and find the strayed soul and to bring it back or to persuade it to come back to the body of the patient. Several kinds of healing ceremonies are required to reach this goal. A special method well known all over Inner Asia is the ritual of "calling back the soul". This ceremony has been practised in every part of Mongolia, however it is not restricted to this area. Several peoples of Inner Asia and Siberia perform similar methods. Tue Teleut shaman calls the soul of a sick child as reported by U. Harva6: 6

Die religiösen Vorstellungen, p. 268

Calling the Soul of the Dead

5

"Come home to your seventy mountains, under your roof, into the four comers of your yurt, come to your buming fire. Do not be angry with your Father and Mother who are anxious about you". Tue ceremony (chao-hun) is applied by the Chinese, too. When someone has just died a relative shows his fine new garment from the roof of the house to call the soul back. lt is an ancient custom registered in old sources and has come down to the present. Eliade mentions Sung Yü who wrote a long poem: Calling back the Soul. 7 Tue Manchu name of the same ritual is tayangga hOlambi. Di6szegi wrote about such a ceremony among the Nanais and published the text collected by the Hungarian ethnographer, Benedek Barathosi Balogh, from a famous Nanai shaman, Toakunga. Barathosi Balogh was a traveller and explorer of the Far East in the late 19th and early 20th century who went to the Amur Nanais seeking the origin of the Hungarian people. In the beginning of the 19th century the idea of tracing the ancestors was a strong motivation for Hungarians. The Nanai song is partly a request to the spirits who has stolen the soul to release it, and an invitation to call the soul: "Wherever you went come back!

One must search for his shadow-soul Will it be found? Will it not be found? lf it is found he will be well. lf it is not found the sick man will die. Come to yourself anyhow !" 8 Tue ritual was practised even in the royal Manchu court. V. L. Uspensky reports about Prince Yunli, son of emperor Kangxi, who was especially interested in death averting rites, and he himself wrote such a work. Tue typical Nying-ma-pa style 7

Eliade, op.cit. p. 448, Erkes, Das 'Zurückrufen der Seele" (ChaoHun) des Sung Yüh. Inaugural diss., Leipzig 1914. (quoted by Eliade) 8 V. Di6szegi, A Nanai Shaman Song Sung at Healing Rites, pp. 115-128. English translation by G. Kara.

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ritual mentions Padmasambhava, the incarnation of Buddha Äyusi, the Buddha of longevity. The ritual prescribes the use of a mandala, a thread, longevity wine, longevity pills, an arrow, silk tissues, several kind of balin, etc. Tue ceremony drives away the malevolent spirits, who stole the elixir of life. 9 Tue Tibetan name of the ritual is 'chi bslu "ransoming from death." Similar ceremonies to recall the soul of the departed are: bla khug or bla bslu "ransoming the soul". Tucci and Nebesky-Wojkowitz respectively give a detailed description of the ceremony. They say that the practice of "calling back the soul" was thought to be introduced by Padmasambhava, and that is why it can not be changed and must be carried out strictly according to the prescribed manner. Padmasambhava plays a very important role in healing ceremonies. 10 The figure of Padmasambhava, the first reformer of Buddhism, is frequently referred to in folk-religious texts as an originator of certain rituals. This role of his can be connected to his activity in converting shamanist spirits into the Buddhist pantheon. He is regarded to be the founder of purification incense offerings (ariyun bsang), he appears in the Ünegen-ü sang, I'anjuy-a-yin sang, at marriage ceremonies, and in rituals reverting calurnny (qar-a kele). 11 In Tibet the disease can be caused by lha spirits or 'dre demons. The several 'dre demons causing the disease are the followings: ya bdud kyi sde, lha yi sde, gnod sbyin, klu, bdud kyi sde, rgyal-po'i sde mu rje, skyes bu lun bcan, gfian chen than lha, 9

V. L. Uspensky, Prince Yunli, p. 25 Gerasimova mentions a ritual to heal the sick man where Padmasambhava and his "family" are invited and asked for help. Obrjady, p. 109. 11 W. Heissig, Padmasambhava in der mongolischen Volksreligion: Synkretismus, pp. 159-168. Fora similar role of Padmasambhava cf. Ch. R. Bawden, Same 'Shamanist' Hunting Rituals from Mongolia, p. 134, where he is connected with the worship of the saddle-thongs. The mythical precedent of the ritual for recalling the bla in Tibetan popular beliefs is also connected to the figure of Padmasambhava. lt relates that a long time ago the master Padmasambhava subdued all the gods and demons of Tibet, but one of the demons remained unsubdued and continued to cause trouble. A prince fell ill and could not been cured as his soul had been carried away by that demon. Then, Padmasambhava recomended the ministers to carry out the bla bslu ritual. Karmay, The Soul and the Turquoise: A Ritual for Recalling the bla, p. 322. 10

Calling the Soul of the Dead

7

sman kyi sde, theu rang rgyal chen bii, gii bdag. To decide the exact time of the departure of the soul and the agents of the disease people taking part in the curing ceremony cast a dice. Tue ceremony itself is a combination of the glud "scape-goat ceremony" and that of the "calling the soul". In preparing for the ritual, they make a figure of dough that is called the bla-figure. Tue requisites are very similar to the ones prescribed by the Mongolian texts: the right shoulder of a sheep, a piece of wood, a white stone, water, precious goods, a white and a black cube, coral, turquoise, etc. These objects are put in a pot (sde) then covered and placed on top of a bucket of wheat. Tue requisites should be placed in front of the patient, especially the pot is very important. A white cube is offered to the gods, while a black one to the 'dre demons. In the meantime, they stick an arrow decorated with a white rag into the wheat. The patient's shoe and hat are placed around the dough-figure that was prepared by using the sweat and saliva of the departed. A live animal is also led there and later is set free. The leader of the ceremony now emphasises that he simply imitates the method introduced by Padmasambhava. After deciding which evil spirit caused the disease he offers a white lamb to it and asks the soul to retum into the right sheep leg as a residence. He also offers the white cube, the turquoise, the coral, the stone and the piece of wood as a restingplace for the soul. He asks the lha to set the soul free and take the glud as a substitute for it. Tue officiant emphasises that the offered glud is not a dead thing, but a living one. He calls the soul to come back and not to wander around, not to decay and disappear. 12 F .D. Lessing described the ceremony of calling back the soul extant among Tibetan and Mongolian Lamaists on the basis of a treaties contained in the collected works of a saint of the red or unreformed Church named 'Jigs-med-gling-pa entitled Yum-ka mkha'-gro'i Jas-tshogs bla-bslu'i lhan-thabs srog-'chi'i ljon-pa "Ransoming the Soul from the Deeds of the c,läkinis, the Mother". Tue book emphasises the importance of the sheep or lamb, stating that there is a close relation between the soul and the sheep. Tue 12

Tucci, Die Religionen Tibets, pp. 210-14.

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ritual prescribes the use of a chunk of fresh mutton coming from the leg of a sheep, which has not been intentionally killed. For a man the right leg is used, for a woman the left one. This meat is called bla-rkail 'bla-soul-leg'. A 'soul-turquoise' bla-g'yu is also needed that is placed in the knee joint of the soul-leg. The clothes of the patient is weighed and placed in front of him. Tue cleanness of all the requisites is emphasised. A copper container without cracks or holes is placed before the patient filled with magic water. 13 lt is later used to decide whether the soul has arrived. The text of the ceremony says: "Long life is inherent in the arrow, the soul is inherent in the turquoise, and the 'revolving five elements' are inherent in the five colors". At the beginning of the ceremony the officiant visualises in the air the glud-figure, the offering cakes with other oblations. They invite the guests to enjoy the offerings and the glud figure. Gods and spirits that could have stolen the soul are invited and asked to accept the gifts and release the soul. Then, those present call the soul loudly and the officiant enters the state of concentration firmly imagining that the soul and life of the patient have already retumed. Nice food is offered to the departed. At the end the clothes of the patient are weighed. 14 Sauten G. Karmay was able to observe the performance of the ritual bla bslu the "repurchase of the soul" during his fieldwork in Himachal Pradesh in 1983. He makes a distinction between the ritual 'chi bslu and bla bslu and states that the previous one is of Indian origin, while the latter derives from early indigenous beliefs. He analyses both rituals and publishes the texts that, although similar to those presented here from the Mongols, are essentially different. 15 K. M. Gerasimova collected her material from a Buriat lama, L. Z. Yampilov who called the ceremony: bla ehe 'bod pa'i 13

To offer tea or food in a cracked pot is forbidden, or, if done, it means dishonour. AyaganI amsar emterxei bol, aliv hünd cai und hij barihig cerlene. X. Njambfr-C. Nacagdorz, Monggolcudfn cerleh yosnf hurangui toli. Ulaanbaatar 1993, p. 11. 14 Lessing, Calling the Soul: A Lamaist Ritual, pp. 31-43 15 Santen G. Karmay, The Soul and the Turquoise: A Ritual for Recalling the bla. The Arrow and the Spindle. Studies in History, Myths, Rituals and Believes in Tibet by. S.G. Karmay. 1 am grateful to G. Orosz for calling my attention to this important article.

Calling the Soul of the Dead

9

'chi med ehe byin gser gyi rdo rje. Though this description comes from Mongol environment the whole process seems to be rather Tibetan, as for the practice and for the terminology. Tue ritual goes as follows: the patient is seated on white, complete feit or a sheet. His favourite kinds of food are placed into a bucket: grains, milk, tarag, butter, wine, tea, vodka, meat and a leg of a lamb. In the middle of the bucket a pot of porridge is placed. A thanka of Ayusi (Amitayus, the Buddha of longevity) is hung and a clean offering (ariyun takil) is placed in front of it. Tue clothes of the patient are weighed on scales and placed near him. A man/woman of the same birth year is seated next to him/her, who holds an arrow decorated with silk ribbons and several kinds of precious stones in his/her right hand. A pot with ambrosia is in his left hand. Tue lama calls out a short dhäraJ.lf 21 times placing the bucket and the arrow on the altar. He invites Ayusi and makes an offering to him reading out a dhäral)f seven times, and asks for long life. Tue patient is made to take a special kind of Tibetan grass in his hands then, the wandering, strayed soul is called from every direction. After that they pray. Tue members of the family, gathered together, the close relatives, friends and beloved persons, everyone of them takes something by hand from the altar, then prays towards the 'life-direction' (amin füg, srog bruii phyogs). Everybody goes out of the yurt into the street and tums towards the life-direction, then, they walk around to the right. A lama holding the arrow calls out the name of the sick person and calls him to come back to his home to his friends and goods. He tells the diseased, if Erlig had taken him, there was a lama to help him. The patient is given pastry to eat and his dresses are weighed. If it grew heavier, the soul has arrived, if not, the ceremony is repeated day and night till success is attained. When the soul arrives the patient gets well. The description of Gerasimova does not give the text of the ceremony; as she pointed out, her informant explained that the texts could be different in every case. Gerasimova analyses the ceremony at another place in her book. 16 She says the calling back of the soul is one of the most popular gurum ceremony and points 16

Lamaizm v Burjatii XVIII-XX v., pp. 193-4.

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out that this ancient ritual is mixed up with Lamaist elements. Tue ceremony is sometimes combined with the 'scape-goat' ritual, when a lamb-figure is prepared of dough, placed into a pot of water and tumed around. When the head of the lamb tums towards the patient, it means that the soul has arrived back. Gerasimova has also published pictures 17 representing a 'chi bslu byed pa, or srog-bslu-ba ceremony from the Atlas of Tibetan Medicine. Tue ritual is conducted by lamas, a glud figure is placed into a pot and sheep are led there and killed.

The ceremony in Mongolia

Tue ceremony of calling the soul has been largely practised all over Mongolia as proved by the literature and ethnographical material. Among the Buriats the ceremony is called: hünehe xuruilxa "summoning the soul with qurui''. Uno Harva reports on such a ritual among the Buriats of the Alar region. The shaman who seats himself on a rug beside the patient performs it. A similar rug is placed under the sick person, as well. People prepare several objects around, among them an arrow that plays an important part in the seance. A red silk rope is led from the patient to a birch tree set up outside the yurt. Tue soul of the patient is supposed to come back along this rope, a certain way of spirits. 18 To make this possible, the door of the yurt is left open. Outside the yurt a man holds a horse, as according to the Buriats' belief this animal perceives first the arrival of the soul and quivers. Tue offering presented in the yurt consists of pastry, milk-brandy, arkhi and tobacco. Friends and relatives are also present at the ceremony. If the patient is an old man, mostly 17

Obrjady, p. 59, Cf. Atlas tibetskoj mediciny, pp. 147-48 A representation of the Wheel of Life is shown in the section of human birth scenes of burial, where a lama holds the end of a white scarf, which is affixed, to the corpse. The object of this scarf is to guide the soul by the white path to the pyre and have the best chance of a good rebirth. Waddell, Buddhism of Tibet, p. 104. Our texts speak about a red scarf. lt can be supposed that the red scarf is the path of the still living soul, while the white scarf is that of the dead. 18

Calling the Soul of the Dead

11

elderly people take part at it, while in case of a child, youngster would come. The shaman invokes the soul of the departed. Unfortunately Harva does not give the whole text; however, judging from the sentences he quotes, a similar ceremony to the ones published here might have been held: "Your father is A, your mother is B, your own name is C. Where are you lingering, whither have you gone? ... Those in the yurt sit sad". People who are present in the yurt begin to cry and the shaman goes on describing the grief of the family and the relatives. "Y our wife and your dear children, so unexpectedly orphaned, call you, hopelessly weeping and wailing, and cry to you 'Father where are you'. Hear and have pity on them, come back to them .... Your herd of countless horses longs for you, whinnying loudly and crying pitifully: 'Where are you our master?' Come back to us". Tue praise describes the nice food, loving relatives, orphaned children, the suffering of left livestock and dogs, presents the darkness of the otherworld and all the bright beauty of this world. The praise is interrupted by the cries: Khurui, khurui, khurui! 19 P .P. Batorov published a paper on the ceremony of hunehe xuruilaxa as early as 192620 and G. Sanieev repeated it nearly ward for ward in 1927. 21 Their description emphasises the importance of a piece of white feit that should be new, without any damage and absolutely clean. This feit is placed under the sick and a similar one under the feet of the shaman. According to the legend the first requisites of the ceremony were sent down to earth from heaven so they are regarded sacred. lt can be supposed that the white feit symbolises a white cloud by which the shaman flies to heaven. Further, a bucket is necessary with some "white food" in it (milk, sour milk, etc.). A silver Ruble is placed on the bottom of the bucket symbolising riches. A special arrow (dalangajin nomo) is stuck into this bucket. Tue arrow is applied in several sacred rituals as a means to ask a blessing and help 19

Uno Harva, Die religiösen Vorstellungen, pp. 268-72, M. Eliade, Shamanism, pp. 217-18 20 P. P. Batorov, Materialy po oratorskomu tvorcestvu burjat, pp. 25-29 21 G., Sandschejew, Weltanschauung, 22, 1927, 576ff., 933 ff, and 23, 1928, p. 538ff

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from heavenly powers. The bucket so prepared is placed at the westem side of the yurt. A long, red ribbon with a copper button at the end is fastened to this arrow. Then the ribbon is lead out of the yurt to the street and tied to a branch of a birch tree that had been stuck there into the earth. The red ribbon serves as the path of the soul. Tue door of the yurt is kept open during the whole ceremony. A man is sitting near the tree branch and keeps the bridle of the best-hamessed horse of the patient. lt is supposed that the horse feels the presence of the retumed soul and begins to tremble and neigh. After arriving the soul enters the man outside the yurt, then, through the red ribbon it reenters the sick person. In the yurt there is a table with every kind of food and drink placed into a bucket: with wine, spirit, tobacco, sweets, sugar, confections, cake and nuts. The shaman fumigates all these with heather grass. People gather together in the yurt: mostly elderly people, if the sick person is an old man, middle-aged if he is of the same age and in case of a child, children come together and toys and more sweets are placed next to the baby. Tue mother of the child is also present and she sits there with uncovered breasts. All the animals of the patient, even his dog, are brought to the door of the yurt. If the shaman expresses such a desire, the animals of the neighbours are also gathered there. The animals serve as a support for the soul that has been frightened away. All those present and the patient himself are dressed in their best dresses, they wash themselves and have clean clothes on. The yurt and the yard around also should be cleaned. After the preparations the shaman makes a sprinkling offering to the westem khans, to the lords of the places, to special spirits. Then, the shaman addresses the soul itself. Tue quicker the ritual is performed the quicker the soul comes back. Every day it grows wilder and wilder and after a time it escapes for ever. Tue ceremony can be repeated thrice a day. The shaman goes into a trance and cries together with the relatives present. In the meantime with the bucket he makes dalalga movements in the direction of the sun. Batorov here quotes the text read by the shaman, however not word for word only referring to the contents: He addresses the soul: your father is this and this, your mother is this and this, you are this and this. Where are you,

Calling the Soul of the Dead

13

where have you gone? Y our beloved people are sitting here and call you crying. Come! Y our livestock, horses, dresses, wife and children are here. lt is cold and terrible over there, it is clear, warm and pleasant here. Your parents have grown old, who will be their support, if you leave. In case of a child he says: you will be the father (or, in case of a girl: the mother) of 9 sons and the master of 90 animals, the father of 8 daughters and the master of 80 animals. The ceremony ends with the invitation of good luck and the pronunciation of the words 'xurui, xurui '. Batorov collected the material in Badarhon ulus of the Alar xoshuun from the Alar tailgan shaman Il'ja Xanhalovic Mohockeev. Quite recently Istvan Santha, a Hungarian ethnographer, collected material on the subject. He travelled among the Buriats in 1996-99 and registered rich material conceming folk religion. People related to him that the mother of the sick or dead child calls his soul opening the window placing nice food there to cheat the soul of the child back. 22 Elisabetta Chiodo interpreted the material of a Mongolian colleague, Nima from the Jarud Banner of Eastem Mongolia, on the ritual Kökö-ber sünesü dayudaqu "Calling the soul with the breast". This ritual was performed by the mother to call back the soul of the dead son. lt is a kind of dalalga ritual with the motherbreast instead of the usual arrow. Tue old lady whom they registered the custom from remembered still some verses pronounced at the ceremony. lt is similar to certain parts of our texts: she asks what was that the soul of the child frightened away, and emphasises that his mother, relatives and belongings are here, so he should come back. These motives are given by our texts as well, however these written sources are much longer and detailed. 23 Among the Khorchin, when a child dies the mother examines the ash around the fireplace, as it is supposed that the soul leaves through it. 24 22

Here I express my gratitude for his information. Chiodo, Elisabetta, The f arud Mango] Ritual Calling the Soul with the Breast, pp. 153-71 24 D. Dumas, Feuerkult, p. 188. 23

14

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

Prof. Nima collected material concerning the ritual and published the texts that were recited during these ceremonies among the Jaruts. 25 His informants related that three days after the death of the patron the family members go to the grave and put earth on the 'ongo' (corps) and make offerings. Then, taking the cloths of the departed that he used to wear while he was alive and healty and with the cloths they try to lead the soul of the departed back to the monastery with the words: How could your cart Without a shaft travel? How could 1 live, when The soul of yours, of my first born one departed? Oh my dear first born son Come,come The shaman with a colourful cloth calls you. Khurui, khurui, khurui. How could your cart Without wheels leave the village? How could one live When the soul of his son's departed? My dear son, Come,come! The shaman of the black direction calls you. Khurui, khurui, khurui. Have you fallen down When you were in a hurry? Have you been frightened When you grazed the goats and sheep? Whatever frightened you, my little, Come here, come here! The striped-dressed shaman calls you, Khurui, khurui, khurui! 25

Nim-a, Sünesü . ongyod. sigülge , pp. 213-220.

Calling the Soul of the Dead

15

Your father and mother are at home, Come, come! Your brothers are at home, Come, come! When we circle With the cake of the mistress, Come, come! 26 Nima has collected the second song in the Jarut Bayantola ayil, when the soul of Layicing Toyt:oyusq-a was called. Tue lamas called his soul every day for 49 days. After this period they visited the yurt and got presents. They also consulted the book "Altan saba"to get information where he was rebom. Tue family

26

Sünesün-i dayudaly-a aral cu ügei terge Cinu ayan-dayan yayakifu yum da angq-a ür-e-yin cinu sünesü ni amidu yayakifü yabuqu yum da angq-a böger-e mini ir-e ir-e alay debel-tei böge cinu dayudafu qurui qumi qumi kürdü cu ügei terge Cinu küriy-e-ece-ben eyifü yarqu yum da köbegün ür-e-yin cini sünesü ni yarciyafai siu kümün gefü eyifü yabuqu yum da küü böger-e mini ir-e ir-e qar-a Jüg-ün böge cini dayudafu bayin-a qumi qurui qumi yarafu sandurfu bayiyad unaysan-un imay-a qoni-ban kögegefü bayiyad ayuysan yayun-aca ayuysan bolbacu ür-e mini ir-e ir-e eriyen debel-tei böge cini dayudafu bayin-a qumi qumi qumi abu mömö cini ger-tegen bayin-a ir-e ir-e aq-a degüü-ner cini ger-tegen bayin-a ir-e ir-e aya-yin bouu cini doyuyan-dayan bayin-a ir-e ir-e

16

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

presents the cloths and goods of the departed to the lamas who make libation offering. We will show the way to the temple And take you there. W e send you to a good place And make you be bom there. You have passed away, Y ou have no food, you see? If you walk on the ashes, There is no trace. If you walk on the grass, lt does not bend. Do not roam around in the intermediate, Go to your right place and be bom there. This is the white road. Follow the instruction and come! Do not be frightened When crossing the water. Do not be fainthearted When climbing the mountain pass. Come,come, We call you, come. W e will show you the way to rebirth. 27 27

Sünesün dayudaly-a sünesü mör-i cini süm-e-dü abcifufiyalyay-a sayin yafar Cimayi sayad ügei yabuyulfu törögülüy-e nögcigsen siu ci. idegekü ügei bol üfe üneün deger-e giskiged mör yarqu ügei ebesün deger-e giskiged nuyuraqu ügei boluysan. fayuradu-yi buu toyuriyad Ja bai ünen yafar-tayan ocifu törö e enefam cayan esi-ben dayayad ire

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Nima's informant told, that the following song was used by a shaman called Gombojav. People believed that the soul arriving to Erlig Khan eats and drinks just like on earth. lf it does not get everything in time, the soul causes harm to the living. When somebody dies food and drinks are offered to him. Buming and sprinkled offerings are prepared and his soul is called. Nowadays, the ritual is carried out by the members of the family, while in old times it was performed by a shaman. This ritual seems to be very old: the text is not easy to understand. lt must belong to an earlier stage of folk belief. Calling the soul

qai qai qai qai qai qai qai qai let us eat, qai qai there is boiled meat, qai qai ypi wear a striped cloth. let us take, qai qai, there is blessing they both wear varicoloured cloths crossing the muddy water, qai qai it is your excuse the body that became yellow we call, küi among the bent trees, qai qai your soul was strangled, qai qai the body of the black direction we call, küi

usu getülün gejü buu ayu ayula daban-a gejü buu jirügesi ir-e ir-e dayayad ir-e ergijü törökü mör-i cini jiyalyaju ögküy-e

18

A. S:irközi-A. G. Sazykin land in the valley, qai qai did it hold you back? qai qai days and nights, qai qai we did not call you, küi our dear one, now, we call you, küi. the torment that harms you, qai qai we take away, küi faraway land, qai qai we wait for you, qai qai the body of the black direction, qai qai we receive you, küi out of the door, qai qai we wait for you, qai qai you wear a striped cloth, qai qai we receive you, küi.'Jß 28

Sünesün dayudaly-a qai qai qai qai qai qai ya qai idey-e gesen qai qai salsay bayin-a qai qai eriyen debel-tei bey-e qai qai abuy-a gesen qai qai adis bayin-a küi alay debel-tei qoyayula-ban qai qai salba-yin usun dayan qai qai siltayan boluysan cimayi qai qai sir-a boluysan bey-e qai qai dayudan-a küi bögtür modun-dayan qai qai boyumilaysan sünesü a qai qai qar-afüg-ün bey-e qai qai dayudan-a kü qotuyur yafar qai qai qorifu uu cimayi ye qai qai qonoy-i cini de qai qai dayudaysan ügei küi

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19

During a personal conversation Prof. Nima explained to me how the ritual itself is carried out: the soul of the diseased man is called by the members of the family or by the white shaman. The head of the ceremony rolls up the clothes of the patient and holds it at the collar and standing at the door he tums it around and calls the soul. Grain and butter are placed into a cup and they also call the soul with it. Somebody can call his own soul, as well, dropping seven pebbles into a well. W ater is put into two cups and somebody takes the liquid from one cup into the other. A piece of paper is placed on top of the water and when it tums wet, the soul arrived. Nima writes, that when his sister died her soul also was called making a dalalga movement with her dresses. They led the soul from the burial place into the temple. Three days after the death they went to the grave and made offerings to her sending her belongings after the deceased. The goods, horse, dress, etc., were drawn on a piece of paper, cut out and bumt. In this way these things were sent to her. A piece of her belt was also cut off and bumt. Afterwards, they read the holy scriptures for 49 days. Schram reports on the existence of the custom among the Monguors of the Kansu-Tibetan Border. 29 Kristina Chabros draws a parallel between the dalalga ritual and the ceremony of calling the soul. Among other data she also mentions her personal collection conceming the ritual of "a qongyor bi da qai qai dayudafu bayin-a küi qoor bolun könügel-iyen qai qai ab-yaküi qola yafar qai qai küliyefü bi da qai qai

29

qar-afüg-ün bey-e qai qai tosuy-a küi egüden yadan-a qai qai küliyefü bi da qai qai eriyen debel-tei bey-e qai qai tosuy-aküi The Monguors ofthe Kansu-Tibetan border, II., p. 141

20

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

Tümed Mongol of Hulun Buir who remembers the ritual performed for him by his mother in the 1940s, after he had been badly frightened. Two cups of water were put out, and the mother recited a long text, holding a bundle of ten chopsticks. She circled the sticks three times to each of the four cardinal directions with cries of qurui, and then asked the child three times if his soul had come back. At the third question he had to answer "yes". 30 Chabros referring to the material of ethnographers reports on the existance of the ceremony among the Torgut, Tuvans and Khorchin, however her sources do not publish any text. 31 Mostaert's 'Dictionnaire ordos' refers to a ceremony under the entry: sunesu : sunes da't'a- "tirer l'äme". This death ritual is performed by a lama who ties the one end of a string to the hand of the patient, while the other one to the reins of his own horse. After reciting prayers he cuts the end of string tired to the horse-reins. He gets the horse as a present jumps into its saddle and rides away (p. 598/b ).

Calling the Soul in Epic Poems Tue absence, wandering and retuming of the soul of the hero is a standard motif of Mongolian epic poems. The epic poem Altan Galaw Sandal Xän presents the whole ceremony of calling the soul of man. Tue chapter "Altan Galaw Sandal xanl sünslg urisan ni" relates that lady Galbin Serl becomes pregnant and wants to find a father for the baby. Tue Mangus Shaman promises her to find a man. He collects some pieces of stone, presses it to make the form of Altan Galav Sandal Khan and calls his soul (xänI sünsI-ni dO.dax bolj gare). One day, Altan Galaw Sandal Khan was just having his meal when he tumed bad and had to go to bed. From day to day he became worse and worse, sometimes loosing consciousness, sometimes coming to himself. His entourage makes a ritual for calling back his lost soul. They

°Chabros, Beckoning Fortune, p. 133

3

31

K. Chabros refers to the material of Wasilewski published: Symbolika ruchu. Kürelbayatur and Urancimeg, Qorcin-u Jang ayali, Potapov, Ocherki narodnovo byta tuvintsev and Szynkiewitz, Rodzina pasterska.

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take a silk rope of nine colours, thirteen pieces of precious stone and place all these into four dalalga buckets. Tue father and mother of the khan were seated at the head of their son while his wife was at his foot. They call the soul of the khan: "Here is your mother, Come! Here is your father, Come! Here are your wife and children, Come!'' First the sakiyulsun of the Khan arrived, then he himself also carne back. After recovering he makes a great feast rejoicing that the Mangus Shaman could not succeed in stealing his soul. 32 Tue epic of Geser relates, that when the two heroes died their bones were collected into bags and their souls (sünesü) called back into two falcons by tuming an arrow around. Then, the souls were transmitted into the bones and the heroes revived. 33

Dictionary of Mongol Traditional Customs

Njambu's Dictionary of Mongol Traditional Customs (Mongol yos jansilin dund tailbar tolI) writes that the sünesün of a man stays here after the death of the person and takes several forms. If the soul walks on ash, it leaves traces. People see the soul as a shade. The strayed soul (sür sülde) can be cheated back. To achieve this goal, in the case of a woman, a spindle with rope and a tea-mortar or dung-collecting baskets are used, while, if the patient is a man, his soul is invited into his belt. Among the Khalkhas it is forbidden to change belts, with somebody else. When calling the soul people say: xurui xurui. If a child is frightened and his soul drops out, the master of the ceremony should put a hat in the reversed direction and call it. (pp. 191193.) 32

J. Vacek-S. Dulam, A Mongolian Mythological Text, pp. 7477. A Slovak translation of the epic poem: M. Kiripolska, Ako tengerovia zostupili na zem [How the tengers came to earth]. M. Kiripolska called my attention to this passage for that I am indebted to her. 33 Heissig, Wiederbeleben, p. 92. quoted by Chabros, Beckoning, p. 135.

22

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

Field work of the Hungaro-Mongolian Ethnographical and Dialectological Expedition 2001 This year the expedition visited the westem part of Mongolia, Xovd aimag, where we succeeded in collecting some up-to-date material on the subject of calling the soul. Eider people related how they remembered the ritual. We get a picture of these memories that is not so detailed as given in the texts, however they offer a real background to the manuscripts published here. 34 I. A. Gantömör, a 62 year old man from Möst süm, Xovd aimag, remembered the ritual of "calling the soul" as follows (12th of July 2001): "When calling the soul they put water in a cup and write the name of the sick person on a piece of paper. Then, another paper is laid on the top of if. This double paper is placed into the cup of water and tumed around in it while reading the holy books. After a while they stop tuming the paper and soon it stops. The man who is calling the soul examines it, and if the side of the paper, which the name is written on points towards the sick man, it means that his soul has arrived. lf the paper stops before the soul is called, he goes on reading the books and tums the paper again." Answering our question "how does the mother call the soul of a child if it has been frightened off' he told: "lt is said that it is forbidden to frighten the children. lf the soul leaves, they call it: Have no fear! lt is said that ugly and bad things must not be shown to the child." "When 1 was a small child 1 was frightened a night and cried. My mother took out her breast and murmuring something she made me suck. What she said, 1 do not remember". "In Manxan aimag, Dzereg sum it was the custom, that the father called the soul of the baby by making a dalalga circling movement with the belt of the cradle or with the belt of the child". "When calling the soul the lama puts water, milk or holy water in a cup and calls out the name of the man loudly tuming around his belt or his hat saying: 'Come here, come here, come 34 Here I express my gratitude to l Coloo, who helped my work during the expedition and while working on the collected material.

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23

here'. Two men performed the ritual. One of them held the belt and the hat, and the other one took a cup with food in it. They called the soul three times walking around the yurt, then they entered the yurt. They call the soul in the evening reading holy scriptures. 1 have seen when they called the soul of a man called Gürten Ceren. Question: "Whose soul is called?" Answer: "Tue soul of a sick man is called, the soul of somebody who has been frightened and began to tremble. Once the sister of my mother disappeared. She got up in the moming, opened the cover of the smoke hole and disappeared. She grazed the cattle at a place called B6m1n arnan and was very much frightened. lt happened in 1947-48. Three lamas came to call her soul. After a while she arrived. When calling the soul they read out a book and hit the yurt with that book. If they do not hit the yurt it is a bad omen, it is tabu. When they call the soul of the man whose soul left to hit the yurt it a method of the healing". Question: "Has your sister arrived?" Answer: "Tue larnas spent the night there and then went. After three days my sister arrived." 35 35

Sünüsü dudnä gidi ayaganda dudälaxa xüni neri ni biCine. Nere bicsin cäsani dör bas nege cäs dawxarladi xäna. Ayagatä usun dotorxi cäs ergelded baena. Ayagatä usun dotorxi tcäs ergelded baena. Ayagatä usä yumär xutgäd nomo umSäd baena. Tere cäs usan dotor ergeldeser baegäd cäs ni xünI nerte xeseg tal ni ergeldexe boliod dzogsona. Sünuse duduldii baegä xüni ad bicigte tal ni xaräd dzogswol sünüse duduldii baegä sünüs ni ergedi irle gedeg. Xüni nerte cäsni bicig xedze dünüde dudOlagcin urdäs xardi dzogsono, tere boltol nom unSäd usä xutgadi cäsä ergUJdeg. - Ex xün mu yumäs aisan, tcocson xüxdinxe sünsfg yäi duddag we? - Xüxdig cocodi aelgadi boldogguä gedeg. Sünüs ni dialcixnä biti coco, mu yumni xarOJ, üdzul gedeg.-Bidnig baga baexad oroi üdsin cagär cocod uelaxär exe ni dzun xöxo gargadag. Teged dzun xöxo xöxUJdeg. Edi ni amanda yum unsidi baedag. YO gedi xeldi baesnig medexgue. Eceg xün orin büser buyu xuxdin ölgini büs, eswel xuxdin ölgini büs, eswel xuxdin orin büser coxidog baesan. Xuxdin sünüs dudax ene dornig Mnxan Dzeregin Dzaxcind xideg. Sünüs dudaxdä lam xün taxilin cögcöd su, usu arsan xiged xüni nerer ni dudäd sünüse dudOldii baegä xüni büser ni yumu eswel malgaegär ni nerini xeled: 'näs ire, näs ire, näs ire' gedi dalaldag. Xoyor xün sünüs dudaxad orolcodii baesan. Nege xün ni büs malgaeg ni bariädm aras ni nege xün tawagtae ide bariäd sünüse duduldii baegä xüni nerer ni dudäd yawna bürenxiger sünüs dudax yoslol xideg. Üdesin ingedi gere guraw toerOd gerte

24

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

II. An elderly Zahchin man called Önör, in Hovd aimag, in the centre of the Altai süm on 14th of July 2001 remembered: "There is a method how to call the soul of a man. When somebody is suddenly frightened the lama asks: Why has he become ill? Then, he examines the situation and states that his soul (sünesün sülde) has been lost. People ask the lama how to call back the lost soul? Once, when 1, Önör, was six years old, my two brothers called me to a place called Ömnö Bomin aman. 1 was five years old [!]. They frightened me with the wing of a dead bird. 1 was very much afraid of the wing of the bird. 1 suffered illness for several days. 1 remember even now. 1 remember the people. 1 well recognised my father and my mother, but 1 did not hear what they spoke. 1 did not hear and did not understand. Then, my father went to the Bodoncin monastery and called two lamas. One of the lamas was called Cogrov umzad. My parents told him, that 1 was their child and was ill for several days. Why has he become ill, and how can he be cured? We entrust you-my mother said. Cogrov umzad examined me and said: "His soul has gone. 1 will call it back this night." So, that evening, when it became dark he called my soul. Question: "How did he call your soul?" Answer: "A bright red thing was laid on the top of water in a pot. lt was a bright thing in the form of a temple. Three lamas read a book accompanied by a bell and a drum. My father called out my name and three times went around the yurt. My father said 'my son, come here! My son, come here! '-he called me in a loud voice. 1 did not hear anything. 1 heard nothing. My mother omo. Lamnar gert ni nom unsad sudi baedag. Gürten Ceren gedeg xün sünüs dudadi baedag bi üdsen. - Yamar xüni süns dudag yum we? - Öwdösön xüni sünüs dudna. Yumnas aegad tunes cocrol awsan xüni sünüs duddag. Nege uda mini ediin egc alga bolcson. Öglo bos6d örxo tatad 1 alga bolson yum. B6mfn aman gedeg gadzar üxer xärflldi yawad ixe audie. 194748 oni üyüd gurwan Jam irdii sünsI ni dudasan. Udsanc mana egc gente xüred irsen. Sünüs dudaxda nege sudur unsad, tere sudrar gere coxi6d baedag yum baena bile. Gere coxidoggua mu yum certei gedeg. Sünüs ni dzaelsan xüni sünüs dudaxda sudrar gere coxidi domnodog domtae. - Ter egc Cin' oldgon u? - Lamnar xon6d yawsan. Tunes gurwan döröw xon6d manae egc xüred irsen.

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25

took me in her arms and sat next to the pot with the water. Tue lamas read the book. Tue lamas tumed around that temple like bright red thing twice, but it did not stop pointing towards me. 1 saw it clearly, it was a temple. Tue lama said 'the soul of this boy has not come back'. My father called me again very loudly: 'My son, come here' and walked around the yurt again three times. The lamas read out the book in a loud voice. Then, a bright light appeared as if the sun had shined on my face. 1 heard what the lamas said. They washed my face and hands with warm water, then poured it on a figure of human form and took it out. My mother took it and poured it out far away. Then, we invited the lamas for lunch and tea". Question: "What was that figure of human form?" Answer: "lt was made of dough and was called glud cake". 1 was transformed into it. By the power of the Teaching the lamas transformed the bad influence hurting me into that cake and poured it out". Then, the lamas stated 'the strayed soul of the boy has arrived'. They said that the door and the window should be closed, then, they called my father in and made him wash all my body. He told kind words in the meantime that 1 clearly heard. My body has become light. Then, we took the lamas home to their monastery. We gave three sheep to the lamas as present. lt was not customary to present cold-muzzled and even-toed animals. lt is tabu. Sheep and horse were fitting. Later Cogrov umzad was arrested and taken into prison. He has never retumed". 36

36

Süns dudaxad bas ucir utga bi. Xün genet yumnäs aidi cocod aidag. Teged övddög. Yagad ene xün övdsön we? gedi lam hünes asudag. Lam xün meregled "süns süld" ni alga boldie gedi xeldeg. Süns süldig yädi ergulen awc irex we? gedi bas lamäs asuna. Önör, bi zurgän nastai bailä. Ömnö B6mfn aman gedeg gazar namaig 5 nastai baixad manai xoer ax dagfJldi yawdie. Manaig üxsen suwunf siwerer ailgasan yum baina. Suwunf ter dalavCäs bi ix aisan. Bi olon xonog övdödi zovl6. Bi od6 sain sanadi baina. Xünf bie nadad xaragdäd baidag. A w, edie, xümus yu gedi nad xeled baigäs ni bi sonosdoggui, oilgodi meddeggüi baedie. Teged manai äw Bodoncfn xüre tfS yawdi 2 Jam zaldi awcirsen gedeg. Cogrow umzad gedeg ]am irle . Ter umzad lamd: "manai ene xuxed

26

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

III. A Torgut man called Tamirfaw, in Hovd annag Bulgan süm, related the ritual as follows: "lf a living person is frightened of something his soul escapes. This soul is called back. The soul of the dead man is also called". Question: "Why do they call the soul of the dead man"? Answer: "They call the soul of the mother, the father and the beloved brothers, sisters and relatives so that they be bom soon in a better rebirth". Question: "What book do they read?"

olon xonog öwdJO. Yunas boldz öwdöv, odo yaval edgex yum we? Tand datgaya" f;,edi manai edz xeJdze. Cogrow umzad namaig üzed: "Süns ni zaildze. Ene oroi bi ene xusdin sünsi ni dudaya". gedze. Teged ter oroi udslin bürenxi boldz baixad mini süns düdadi gene. - Yadi xüns dudsan we? - Neg aygatai usan der gyalalsan ulan yum xöwulle. Süm sig xelbertei, gereltei yum baisan. Xonx damartai gurwan lam nom unsla. Manai aw mini ner xeled gere nar zöw guraw toirlo - gene. Manai aw: "Önör nas ir, Önör nas ir" ged canga dudax yum gene. Nad sonsogdodi baiga yum alga. Bi yu c sonsoxgui bolcson baisan. Namaig manai edz tevred aygatai usni xadzüd sudz baisan. Lam nar nomo unsad. Nögo süm sig xelbertei gyalgar öngötei ulan nomig xoer uda ergulsen baina. Süm sig üzur ni nad ad cigledz zaxgui yum. Bi sain xarad sudz baina. Önör nas ir ged canga xeJed daxin gere guraw ergedi toir gene. Lamnar c canga dugar nomo unssan gedeg yum. Xed xeden uda yum unssani dara "mini nilren der nar tusadz baiga yum sig ix gerel tusla. Lamnar yu xeldz baigag bi sonsodz baija. Mini nur gar billen usar ugala. Xün dürstei yum rü mini nur gar ugasan US xfged abad garla. Manai eceg ter yumig xol avaCidi xayasan baina." Darani bid xol idedi lamnarfn daildi cailla. - Ter xün dürstei yum yu baisan we? - Gurilar xisen lud balim yum da. Ter lud balim 'öglög' namaig erlödi baiga yum baina. Nad süglesen mü yumig ter lud balimd lam nar nomfn xücer singen zailüldi baiga yum baina. Lamnar: Önörfn zailsan süns or6d irle. Terfnxe ud xalga odo xa! gedz xeJed manai awig orüldz ired mini büx bienig ugalgala. Namaig xegt geie. Tegsen nad xümusig üg yaria tod sonsogdod bie xöngön bolson. Lamnarfg bucadi xfdeg ni xürgedz ögsön. Mini süns dudadz imlsen 3 lamd 3 xoni baric bolgon örgösön. Baricand xüiten xosutei mal, ac turaitan mal ögdög esgüi certei. Xoni adu baricand ögdög yostoi. Tani süns yunas boldz zailsan yum we? Üxsen tom xap suvuni dalawcar manai ax nar ailgad xüiten usand namaig unagadi ailgacanas saltag bolson gedeg. Mongol xümus üxsen amitni ceges molür yaw! Xüiten usar xuxedfn tolgoi, bie genet ugadaggui genet cocirdodz aidi xüns zaildz öwcin tusdag. Iimd xüiten usar ehled gar nilre sawsidz adiim adimar dasgadi bie, tolgoigo uyadag domtoj.

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Answer: "There is a Tibetan book, however, there is a Mongolian book, as well. 1 have both of them. The Tibetan one is here, the Mongolian one is at another place". 37 IV. A Torgut women, Sagdarsüren m Hovd annag, Bulgan süm (15th of July 2001) relates: Question: "Why do they call the soul?" Answer: "If somebody is frightened of something very much, his soul leaves. The soul (süns sülde) flies out of the body like wind. The soul should be called back by a man of fitting birth year. lt is called ibeljiltei." Question: "How is it called"? Answer: "We had a pair of scales. Silver was weighed on it. lt means, that it was weighed how heavy the silver was. Tue hat of the man whose soul is called was put into one of the scales while a piece of weight into the other one. If the soul of the man arrived, his hat became heavier and the weight lifted up. If it did not arrive, the hat lifted up and the weight descended. People around say: 'Your father and mother are here, your cattle, yurt are here, come here, come here!' The soul is called three times by name. Taking the hat into hand they go around the yurt three times. They bring sugar, cooked food or cake and put them under the pillow of the diseased man. His hat is also placed under his pillow and he sleeps on it. And, the man who calls the soul takes away a small axe placed next to the patient. 1 have seen such a ritual of calling the soul, when 1 was a small child". 38 37 Amid xün aidi cocson6s süns ni zaildag. Ter sünsfg ni düdadi iruldeg. Üxsen xünf süns bas duddag. Üxsen xün, yalanguya äw, edi, sain setgeltei ax du ni töröl törögsöddo bacü irdi ergedi sayi hün boldi töröx boltugai gedi sünsf ni dügna. Süns düdaxad unSdag yamar nom baina we? Tövd nom c baina mongol nom c baina. Tövd nom ni end nad baina, ni or gazar bai nad odo alaga. Tövd nom ni üzedi bolox u? - Bololgui yäxaw? Bolno, bolno. 38 Süns yägad duddag yum we? Xün yumnäs ih aiwal süns ni zaildi yawna. Süns süld ni bies ni saldi oddog gedi. Sali odson sünf süns, süldsfn diil tärsan xüner düdülna. Diil ni tärsan xün gedi ibel diiltei sümus bolno. Yädi düdüldag we? Manai gazar (nutagt) dens gedi neg yum baisan. Denser möngö tatna. Möngö tatna gedeg ni möngönf xünd sönonfg semdiex yum. Dens diiglugfn neg tald ni sünse düdüldi baigä xünf malgaig duzuldi tabina. Nögo tald dzingnurfn muxai baina. Sünse güdüldi baigä xünf süns ni

28

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

V. A Zahchin woman, Mudzin, Gantulga in Hovd aimag, Bulgan süm (19th of July 2001) speaks about the ritual as follows: "Both the soul of a child (sünesün) and that of a grownup (süld) are called. If somebody is ill or is frightened, his soul escapes. Then, they ask a larna to read the books. What kind of a book, 1 do not know." Question: "How do they call the soul''? Answer: "There were several ways how the larnas called the soul. Some of them wrote the name of the patient on a piece of hark and they stuck a piece of paper on it. A piece of match was stuck into the hark and then, the whole thing placed on top of water in a pot. Tue hark with the narne of the diseased is floating and floating and, at last, it stops so that the wooden match is pointing toward the man whose soul is called. Tue larna reads a book and calls the soul of the man. He takes the belt of the man, makes dalalga movement with it and goes around the yurt three tirnes. He calls out three times: 'Dorj, come here, come here' ! This spring (2001) the soul of my little child left. We had a larna call it back. He read a book, then he said that my son arrived". Question: "How did it arrive at last"? Answer: "I was a little child. They placed a piece of paper into a cup of water. Tue paper with the writing on turned and turned around, and at last, it stopped pointing towards the man whose soul is called. So, it is obvious, that the soul has arrived". Question: "What do they do if the soul does not come"? Answer: "They read the books as long as it arrives". Question: "What a book do they read"? Answer: "I do not know the books of the lamas". Question: "There are two souls: süns and sülde. What is the difference"? irwel malgaf ni dflne. Tüxai örgögdönö. Xüns ni irexgüi bol densf ni cixen tfixai gflne. Sünse dfidfisagcfn malgai ni örtögdönö. Malgai ni örgögdöxor ter malgai ni awäd: edi äv Cini end baina, mal ger Ci ni end baina. Näs ir, näs ir gedi süns 'dfidfilagc xünf nerer ni gurwan udä dfidna. Terfg ni gurwan udä malgafg ni bariad ergene. Sünse dfidfildi baigä xünd cixer üzem yum fi, esweJ bolson x61, b6w avciräd dered dor ni xfne. Malgaig ni bas deren dor ni xfne xonfilna. Bas diidiig xfmel süx xadi fid süns dfidagc awc yawdag. Bi baga baixdä süns dfidfilaxfg üzedi baisan.

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Answer: "Tue sülde is a protector. The süns leaves the body when somebody dies. lt is wondering around -it is said. One has five cul-s 39 and five sülde-s-the five cul-s have five sülde-s. One goes to Erlig Nomun Khan, one protects the aimag, one stays at the place of death, one is reborn (if it goes to a man it will be reborn as man), one wonders around at the birthplace."40 VI. Magsar Erdene in Hovd aimag, in Manhan süm, at Zereg gol brigad (20th of July 2001) related the ritual of the lamas as follows: Milk, water, holy water are poured into a sacrificial cup. The lost soul of the man is called by turning around his belt or hat (dalalga) and they say: 'xurui, xurui, xurui! Come here, come here!'

39

CU] "intemaJ Organs, Viscera" tabun CU] "the fiye Viscera: heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneyws", Lessing, p. 207 40 Xuxdin süns e düdna, tom xüni e süld düddag bailä. Aidi cocidi, öwetei süni süld ni ügüi böleixodi ged Jamar nom unsüldag baisan. Yamar yum unsidi baisnig bi medexgüi. - Yadi düddag we? Lamnar süld düddag or or argatai yum sig baidag. Zarim lam nar modni xoltoson der süns düdülagein ner biesen cas nasan südenzni mod xatgadag yum baina bile. Teged ayagatai usan der xoltoso xöwUlne. Xüni ner biesen xoltos söwödi xöwödi baigad Südenzni mod süns düdülageig cigled zogsono. Lam nom unsna. Sünse düdülagcin büsini bariad neri ni xeled gere gurvan uda ergene. Büser ni dalladi. Dordi nas ir, nas ir gedi gurwan uda xeldeg. Ene xawar (2001 oni) manai baga xuxdin süld ni zaildi gexer lamar yum unsulla. Nom unsidi unsidi baigad xugin eini süld ni irle gesen. Süld irexer yadag yum bol? Bi baga xused bailä. Tawagtai usan dotor bicigtei cäs xatgadag yum baina bile. Ter bieigtei cas ergedi ergedi baigäd sülde düdüldi baiga hün odbicig ni cigled zogsox yum bailä. Süns ni irdi baiga ni ter yum baina. Süns ni irexgüi bol yax we? Süns ni irtel unsdag gesen. Yamar nom unsax we? Lamin yumig bi medexgüi. Süldin nom unsdag gesen. Süns, süld xoer yalgatai yü? Süld tusta. Süns ni xün üxexer yawc oddog. Zaildi yawdag yum gesen. Xüni tavan cul, tavan süldtei baidag yum culu, tawan süldütei gene. Neg ni erleg nomin Xand xürdeg. Neg ni xure saxidag. Neg ni nas barsan gazartai baidag. Neg ni töröl araldiad yawdag, xünd oCidi xün boldi tördög, neg ni törsön gazra oedog.

30

A. Sarközi - A. G. Sazykin

Archive Material Concerning the Ritual of Calling the Soul Publications of complete manuals of the ritual "Calling the Soul" are very few. Charles Bawden published two manuals for "Calling the soul" one from the University Library of Louvain, and the other one from the State Library of Mongolia, Ulan Bator. 41 One of them is: Sünesün-i yuyun jalaqui ary-a inu "Method for begging and summoning the soul" and the other one: Kümün-yi sünesü-i dalalqui sudur bui "Sutra for summoning a person's soul''. The first one is rather similar to Nos 1270, 1273, 1277, 1278, Q 2206 of the St-Petersburg Collection, while the other one to No 1280. The existence of some further texts in public collections are known: A manuscript of six leaves: Sünesün dayudaqu sudur is preserved in the private library of Prof. Damdinsüren. 42 H. Luwsanbaldan lists an Oirat manuscript, Sünüsü douduxu biCiq, from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Language and Literature. 43 Another exemplar is in the Public Library of St.Petersburg: Kümün-ü sünesün-i dayudaqui sudur orosibai (8 p. 7,8 x 21 cm). 44 K. V. Orlova in her Description of the Collection of Manuscripts and Xylographs in Elista mentions an Oirat manuscript: Sümsün köndöröqsöni nomloyu ene "Zaklinanie esli potrevoiena dusa (celoveka)." 45

41

Ch. R. Bawden, A Mongolian Ritual for Calling the Soul, pp. 145-58 and Ch. R. Bawden, Calling the Soul: A Mongolian Litany, 81-103. 42 G. Bilgudei, C. Damdinsürengin ger muzein mongol nomin bürtgel, I. Bot'. p. 325 43 Tod üseg, tuni dursgalUd, Ulänbätar 1975, p. 243, No 0299) 44 N.N. Sankrit'yayana, Kratkij sistematiceskij katalog mOIYJol'skih rukopisej i ksilografov Publicnoj Biblioteki im. M.E. Saltykova. Scedrina. Vostocnyj sbomik, pp. 95-96, No. 24. 45 K. V. Orlova, Opisanie kollekcii rukopisei i ksilografov hranjascixsja v naucnom arxive Kalmyckogo Isntituta Gumanitamyh i Prikladnyh Issledovanii, pp. 139-160.

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Texts in the Collection of the St.Petersburg's Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Tue Collection of the St.Petersburg's Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences has several texts for calling back the soul of the deceased or of a sick person. Poppe analysed these texts in his "Opisanie mongol'skih 'shamanskih mkopisei' 116 These texts are the following according to the new catalogue numbers of Sazykin47 : Sazykin 1270 Sünesün dayudaqu-yin sudur orosibai "Book of Calling the Soul." Sazykin 1271 Sünesün dayudaqu-yin sudur bui "Book of Calling the Soul." Sazykin 1272 Without title. "Calling the Soul." Sazykin 1273 Sünesün dalalqui sudur orosiba "Book of Beckoning the Soul". Sazykin 1274 Qutuy-tu Badmasambay-a baysi Cakravatan qayan-i Cilegerkejü bayiqu-du sünesün dalalaysan ubadis ene bolai "Instruction of Beckoning the Soul Performed by Padmasambhava when the Wheel-tuming King Has Fainted [=Died]". Sazykin 1275 Kümün-ü sünesün dayudaqu sudur orosiba "Book of Calling Man's Soul." Sazykin 1276 Sünesün-i uriqui sudur orosibai "Book of Calling the Soul." Sazykin 1277 Without title. "Calling the Soul." Sazykin 1278 Kümün-ü sünesün dayudaqu sudur orosiba "Book of Calling Man's Soul." Sazykin 1279 Sünesün dayudaqu yeke kölgen orosiyulba "Great Vehicle Book of Calling the Soul" Sazykin 1280 Without title. "Calling the Soul."

46

pp. 193-195 A.G. Sazykin, Katalog mongol'skih rukopisej Instituta Vostokovedenija Akademii Nauk SSSR, Tom I. 47

ksilografov

32

A. Sarközi-A. G. Sazykin

Some of the texts are identical, others are sirnilar in subject and pattems, but different in wording. The first manuscript that arrived into the possession of the Aziatskij Muzej of St.Petersburg (SPB F IVRAN) (Sazykin 1275, old call number 1 20) is written on Russian paper that has the watermarks "1785" and 1786". lt belongs to the first collection of the Museum. Tue manuscript was brought back from the joumeys of Jahring between 1781 and 1787. As one of the best pieces of the Jahring (died 1795) collection it was incorporated into the catalogue of Jahring put together in 1789. (List of the Mongolian and Kalmük books and manuscripts preserved in the Asia Museum of the Academy of Sciences according to the chronological order of their acquirement, 1891 March. Archiv Vostokovedov SPB F IVRAN raz. 1. op. 3. eg.hr.61, p. 11) Tue next manuscripts that were acquired by the Asian Museum are: Sazykin 1272, (old call number C 143) and Sazykin 1274, (old call number C 145). Both of them are Buriat manuscripts written on bluish Russian paper and date to the beginning of the 19th century. They were collected by Zarncarano during his joumeys to the Buriats in 1903. Manuscript Sazykin 1273 (call number B 204 (B236)) was also acquired by Zamcarano but from South Mongolia from the Abaga Banner in 1910. lt is written by calarnus in Indian ink on Chinese two-layered paper. Manuscript Sazykin 1270 (call number: C 242) belonged to the Rudnev Collection and dates from the beginning of the 20th century. lt is also a Buriat manuscript written in ink with pen on a yellowish Russian paper. 48 Manuscript Sazykin 1271 (call number C 382) is of the collection Mongolica Nova. lt is written in Indian ink with calamus on old hand-made paper. lts origin is unknown. Sazykin 1280 (call number B 139 (B 163) is the only manuscript in the collection written in Oirat characters. lt was acquired by N. 0. Ocirov during his joumey to the Kalmyks of

48

Cf. B. Ja. Vladimircov, Mongol'skie rukopisi i ksilografy, postupivl.lie v Aziatskij muzej Rossijskoj Akademii Nauk ot prof A. D. Rudneva, p. 1567, No. 70.

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Astrachan in 1911.49 lt is written in ink with pen on bluish Russian paper and dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The other four manuscripts: Sazykin 1276 (call number Q 264), Sazykin 1277 (call number Q 1427, missing from Sazykin' s catalogue, (call number Q 2206), Sazykin 1287 (call number 2678), Sazykin 1279 (call number Q 2988) all were taken over into the Mongolian collection of the Academy from the Tibetan Fond in the 1970s. 50 They are all Buriat manuscripts written on Russian paper and date from the beginning of the 19th century.

The Ritual as Described in the Texts

Our texts, beyond the actual words of the man who performs the ritual, also give technical instructions. These instructions are not always clear, as those who conducted the ceremony and all the others present knew in detail how to behave and what to do to persuade the soul to come back. Tue instructions are fragmentary and sometimes only short references are to be found. Here we give the technical instructions from our texts: No. 1271. Prescribes the taking of three arrows, one of them similar to a vulture feather (tas ödütü siy sumun), which should be decorated with a white khadag tied to it (cayan qaday) and stuck into a measure of barley (nigen sinfi arbai). Another of the three arrows should be taken in hand by a man of appropriate birth year (ibegel Jil-tü kümün). A silk scarf of different colours (öngge-tü kib) should be tied to the last arrow and turned around to the right while the person beckons towards the four cardinal points and the eight directions.

49

Poezdka v Aleksandrovskij i Bagocohurovskij ulusy astrahanskih kalmykov. Otcet N. Ocirova: Izvestija Russkogo komiteta dlja izucenija Srednei i Vostocnoj Azii v istoriceskom, arheologiceskom, lingvisticeskom i etnograficeskom otnosenijah, p. 98, No. 18. 50 A.G. Sazykin, K harakteristike sobranija mongol'skih rukopisej i ksilografov Leningradskogo otdelenija Instituta vostokovedenija AN SSSR (sifr QJ, PP· 56-60.

34

A. Sarközi-A. G. Sazykin

In the meantime, in the home of the patient, a silk scarf should be tied to the clothes of the sick man and laid down. The right thigh (barayun yuy-a) of a sheep, arkhi, pastry, food, several objects (ed) should be placed next to the clothes. Then, the arrow decorated with a silk scarf should be taken out of the food (idegen-ü jüil-ece kib sumun) and beckoned three times to the four points and the eight directions while the performer has to call the soul of the patient by name. People may decide whether the soul has arrived or not by weighing his clothes on scales. In No. 1272. Technical instructions are given at the end of the text: Read out the dhäran1s. Precious stones, food, clothes and other articles are necessary. Dress the master, make him eat and call out the spirits as follows: Deign to make the seven elements (doloyan maqabud) flourish, deign to make his favour (kisig) increase, deign to make his soul (kei mori) fly and deign to send his soul back (sünesün orosiyulun). Imagine that the soul--either arrived or not-has already surely arrived. Read the dhäral)T and make meditation. You may decide whether the soul has arrived or not by weighing it on scales. lf it is less then one chen and more then one phin, it is very good. lf it is much more, some hindrance occurred. Read books, give alms to the poor and make a feast for the children to avert it. lf the soul has not come even though, put the clothes of the patient under his head and make him sleep on it ovemight. Next moming check it, and by then it will have come. lf it has not come by then, examine the constellations for the appropriate day and hour, and collect things that are necessary. A man of harmonious voice and of appropriate birth year should call it. People of unfitting behaviour and dogs should be placed under taboo. Then, pray and call it". Manuscript No. 1273. lists the requisites necessary to the ritual: Meat of the left foreleg of a sheep (qonin-u jegün qaa-un miq-a), a bucket of rice (nigen sayuly-a tutury-a), a sheep skin (nige quryan-u arisu) and other pleasant things (ali jokistu). Place all these things on a carpet. Tie a crystal white scarf (bayiri cayan kib) and a turquoise (ogiyu erdeni) to a good arrow and stick it into the grain while chanting a dhäral)T one hundred times. Make a blessing on the prepared arrow, with the goods and the food,

Calling the Soul of the Dead

35

prepare a place of sacrifice (sitügen-ü oron bolyayad). Make a dhiirmfi and consecrate the altar in due time (sitügen-i cay-dayan bolyan beledcü orosiyultuyai). Place food, drinks, tasty goods, all that he might long for, treasures, cattle, man and women, everybody whom he loved. Read a dhiirar;ii. Put the desired goods in the spaces. Make an incense sacrifice, ask for a blessing and pray. Let a man of the appropriate birth-year take his clothes and the food into his hands and call (dayuda-) him with the arrow decorated with a scarf thrice from the four points and the eight directions. Beckon thricethrice with the arrow and at every time call him. Make meditation, read out a dhiirar;ii and say: whatever has not been fulfilled, now it is fulfilled (bütügsen ese bütügsen-i bügüd-i egüber tegüskekü bolai). Weigh by a scale to see whether the soul has arrived or not. If it is less then one chen and more then one pün, it is very good. If it is much more, it is a bad sign, some hindrance has occurred. Y ou have to read books, give alms to the poor and make a feast for children to avert it. If the soul has not arrived even with this, put his clothes under his head and make him sleep on it. By the next moming it will arrive. Make a taboo on unsuitable man, dogs 51 and pigs 52• If it does not come make a prognostication by the constellations to decide the appropriate day and hour. Change the unfitting requisites. Ms. No. 1274 gives the list of the necessary requisites at the end of the text: "the left foreleg of a sheep (qonin-u jegün qaa), several kinds of grain (aliba budayan-u Jüil) and an arrow decorated with an eagle feather and a white khadag (bürgüd ödütü 51

lt is forbidden to kill or beat a dog. Dogs are regarded as farnilymembers arnong the Mongols. lt is the riding animal of Mahäkala. To step over the pot of a dog is under taboo. Certain taboos concem the dog in hunting and during the moving of the household. Njarnbü-Nacagdorz, op.cit., pp.25, 34. Sonom-Sodnamdorji, Mongyol ceger-ün yosun, p. 101. When a dog dies a piece of butter is put into its mouth and burried with the benediction "be bom for human in the next life". Cf. A. Sarközi, Burial of a Dog. pp. 431-436. 52 When Mongols dig a well they do it with the teeth/tooth of a hog not to hurt the Dragon spirit(s) (Juu). The teeth of a pig are wom around the neck of a child to protect him against evil spirits. Z. Ar'jasüren-H. Njambü, Mongol yos zanslin dund tailbar toli, pp. 156-158.

36

A. Sarközi-A. G. Sazykin

sumun-du cayan qaday), the hat and robe of the patient, turquoise. Y ou have to place there all these things and stick the arrow into the grain, then to read the given dhiiraIJ.l 108 times. Make a blessing and read the dhiiraIJ.l again. A man of the appropriate birth year should make the patient eat, dress him and call the soul loudly. He confirms by words that he has strengthened the life of the patient, has increased his fortune, and has developed his soul. As a result his life span has become longer, and he can meet his friends and animals. In Ms. No. 1275 the ritual goes as follows: "Tie seter ribbons to the patient's own horse. Requisites: the right foreleg of a sheep, a turquoise precious stone, an arrow decorated with white seter. 53 A man of sweet voice should call him harmoniously (egesiglen dayudaqu)". At the end of the text we have technical instructions once more: "Tie seter ribbons to his horse. Fasten a white khadak to an arrow decorated with an unbroken feather. Place there a piece of turquoise precious stone and call him by name. A man of the appropriate birth year should take the right foreleg of a sheep in his hand and call him. An incense offering is prescribed. One should prepare meat, brandy, grain, several kinds of food and call him. Call blessing (orosiyul), then take all kinds of white things and animals. The method (ary-a) of the calling is as follows: Take a bucket of grain and put into it an arrow decorated with vulture feather as a seal. Stick the crystal-white silk ribbon into the grain. Tue tibia (dumda-du cimüge) and the right foreleg (barayun qaa) of a sheep are necessary with silk ribbons of five colours and a mirror that is placed on the left shoulder of the patient. Place the grain (boyorcay) next to the master of alms there. A man of the appropriate birth year should call him making waving movements three times with the arrow towards the four directions and the four points in between. W eighing by scales it will become evident (ile bui) whether the soul arrived or not".

53 Cf. Heissig, A Note an the Custom of Seterlekü. In: Götter im Wandel, pp. 126-130: "the word seterlekü (Tib. se-t'er = che-thar) designates the Mongolian religious custom of entwining ribbons of five colors into the manes of horses consecrated to the gods. Such an animal (seter) was no longer to be ridden or worked. . . . This religious custom apparently superseded older bloody offerings."

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37

Tue method of the calling (yosun): "Prepare fruit (Jimis), food (idegen), nine kinds of precious stones (yisün Jüil erdeni), an arrow decorated with the feather of an eagle or a lammergeyer (bürgüd yolo ödü-tü sumun) that is not broken (ese tamtaraysan nigen). Call the soul (dalal-). Tie a three foot-long red rope to the two homs of a sheep that has a white spot on its head and lead it to the threshold (bofüyu unuyulju bayiju), and call the soul. Further requisites: the right foreleg of a sheep, arkhi, a mirror and a silk rope of five colours. lf the patient is a man, tie it on his right shoulder; if a woman, tie it on her left shoulder. Circle it to the four directions and call (ergijü bayiji dayudaqu bui). Weigh with a scale if the soul has arrived or not". Ms. No. 1276 gives instructions: "Tie seter ribbons to the patient's own riding horse. Take an arrow decorated with an eagle-feather and tie a white kh.adak to it. You also need a turquoise. Call him by his name. Further requisite: the right foreleg of a sheep. A man of the appropriate birth-year should call the departed soul. Make an incense offering. Prepare meat, brandy, grain, and all kinds of food. Call a blessing, then, take the white things and animals, bring some more food and call the soul". The method (ary-a) of calling the soul: "Seal the bucket of grain with a vulture feathered arrow. Tie a crystal coloured ribbon to it and place it on top of the grain. Take the tibia and the right foreleg of a sheep and silk ribbons of five colours. Place a mirror on his left shoulder. Place grain there together with the clothes of the master. A man of a fortunate birth-year should call him from the four directions while circling three times with the arrow decorated by the ribbons. Check with a pair of scales whether the soul has arrived or not. And also, tie an arrow with the feather of a great eagle to the homs of a white-headed sheep with a three foot long red rope and place it on the threshold, then call him. Lift up the right foreleg of the sheep. Tie the mirror and the five coloured silk ribbons to the right shoulder of a male and to the left shoulder of a female patient". Ms. No. 1277 is an incomplete text, it begins with the prescription that the offering should be firmly prepared (sitügen yegüdkel ügei töbsin orosiyultuyai). Pull the soul (amin sünesün

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tata) with a rope of five colours. Put up a place of offering (altar) and call a blessing for it. Place nice, tasty food there, beautiful clothes of nice colours, things and animals, and whatever is kind to him. Read out a dhärm;iI and place there all the necessary things. Make an incense offering and ask praying for a blessing that calms everything. A man of the appropriate birth year should take the clothes of the patient in one of his hands and the arrow decorated with ribbons in the other, and call him by name from the four directions thrice thrice. No. 1278 The requisites: meat of the left foreleg of a sheep (qonin-u jegün qaa-yin miq-a), a bucket of rice (nigen sayuly-a tutury-a) and grains (buda tariy-a), skin (arasau), pleasant things (fokistu ed). Place a carpet under all these things. Tie a crystal white silk ribbon (bayir-a cayan kib) and a turquoise to an arrow with an unbroken feather and place it on the top of the grain. Read the dhäral)i 108 times and bless the arrow and the things placed there. Prepare a place of veneration and bless it. Make offerings. Pull the soul (amin sünesün) with the rope of five colours. Read the dhäral)I. Prepare the rope of the veneration (sitügen-ü Ciytay-a boly-a beledcü orosiyuluydaqui). Place food, tasty things, nice clothes, treasures and everything he longed for and wished. Call there all the men and women whom he loved. Read the dhäraIJI. Place there the desired things in the gaps (küseküi kerged-ijabsa r-tujokiyan beleddüküi). Make an incense offering (sang takil-iyar takiju). Calm down everything (qamuy-i nomoyadqan), ask for blessing and pray. A man of the appropriate birth year should take the clothes of the patient in one of his hands and the arrow decorated with the ribbons in his other hand and he should call with it the soul of the man pronouncing loudly his name. Call it from the four directions thrice thrice in the notches of the arrow (sumun-u ceg ceg-tü dayuda). Read a dhär8I)i seven times. Everything that has not been fulfilled will be completed-h ave it in your mind and call him. At the end of the text there are further instructions: Read a dhär8I)I. Make the patient eat the food and dress the precious stones on him. If he is not able to eat it, make him smell it. Then teil a blessing: "your life has been strengthened, your elements have been spread out, taste these offerings and make the soul (kei mori) fly and give the soul back".

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Think firmly that the soul has already come, and then it really will come. Make a dhiiraIJi"and meditation. Weigh by scales whether the soul arrived or not. If it is less then one chin, it is very good, if it is much more, it is very bad. There is some hindrance. Books should be read to avert it. Give alms to the poor. lf the soul does not come even then, put the clothes of the patient under his head for a night and make hirn sleep on it (dalalaysan qubcid-i derelejü qonoyuluyad). Early next moming weigh it. If it has not come yet, cheque the astrological circumstances and choose the right time and repeat the ritual once more. Make a taboo on every suspicious man, dog and bird. Ms. No. 1279. prescribes the use of the left foreleg of a sheep, grain, an unbroken arrow with an eagle feather and a white khadak, the hat and gown of the patient. These latter things should be tied around. Further necessary requisites: 108 pieces of precious stone. A dhiiraIJi" should be called out eighteen times. When eating the food one should make a blessing. Let an appropriate man call him. Feed and dress the patient, then a blessing similar to the one in No. 1273. should be read out. At the end of the text further instructions are given: "Put 9 lamps into 9 pots of water. This motif does not occur in other texts. Make an offering of food into a bucket. Let a man wearing a clean dress purify his body and call the soul. Recitation of sacred books is also prescribed". No. 1280. Technical instructions: "Weigh a piece of the patient's favourite clothes and place it there. Light an oil-larnp and incense in front of the yurt. Place grain on the top of an irnrnaculate white carpet and the right foreleg of a sheep on the top of it, then a skin on it. Scatter grain over and put several kinds of food into a bucket and place it there. Tie a yellow silk ribbon to an arrow decorated with a vulture feather and call the soul with dalalga movement while walking around. Tie a silk ribbon on the shoulder of the man who is calling the soul. Call it for seven days. lf it does not come for seven days it will not come any more. Tue man who is calling the soul should be a man of the proper birth-year".

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Requisites and their Symbolical Meaning

There are sorne requisites that are rnentioned in every text, while others appear only in certain ones. lt can be stated, that the rnost irnportant irnplernents, that should always be present are: The arrow decorated with a feather (eagle or vulture) and ribbons (white, yellow or five coloured). lt is always ernphasised that the feathers should be unbroken. 54 Tue arrow is stuck into the grain in the bucket, then taken into the hand by the officiant. He rnakes circling rnovernents (dalaly-a) with the arrow and calls the soul. This part of the ritual is actually a dalalga ritual. However, our texts do not clarify whether here we have two separate arrows, or one and the sarne that is first stuck into the bucket, then taken out and used in the dalalga cerernony. 55 Text 1280. says: "Corne to the arrow decorated with silk that is the place of relying". 56 And, No. 1272: "Trust the arrow with nice feather and corne here". 57 Tue soul is called into the notches of the arrow: "I call the soul into the notches of the arrow". 58 Divination arrows are ernployed in longevity rituals of deities such as Gesar, Dorje Yudonrna, Ceringrna, Arnitayus and Padrnasarnbhava. Many Tibetan deities of non-Buddhist origin, rnany of whorn are said to have been subjugated by Padrnasarnbhava, carry it. 59 An "arrow of life" is rnentioned in the recalling of the soul cerernony 54

Other funeral rituals also emphasise the importance of the unbroken feathers ofthe arrow. Bawden analyses a text saying: sumun-dur ödü ügei bögesü irüger ülü toytaqu ... mösün-dür gemtei bögesü kürgen-dür mayu bolqu : tabun öngge kib ügei bögesü tonilqu mör ügei bui : "If there are no feathers to the arrow, good wishes will not be confirmed .... If the shaft is faulty, it will be bad for the son-in-law. If there is no five-coloured tissue, there will be no way of release". Bawden, A Note on a Mongolian Burial Ritual, p. 28. For the symbolism of the ribbons cf. Chabros, Beckoning Fortune, p. 181 55 Chabros, Beckoning Fortune, pp. 159-162. She states that the use of the arrow came from the Tibetan Bon "divination arrow". 56 kibtü sumu ni süteen-dü ire 57 sayin ödtü sumun-luy-a sitün ire 58 No 1273: numun ceg ceg-tür 33ta dalalfu dayudaqu bui, 1277: num-un ceg ceg-tü dayuda, No. Q 2206: num-un ceg ceg kürtele dayudan dalal. 59 R. Beer, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, pp. 270-74.

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of Tibetan folk religion.w Arrows and bows decorate the sharnan dress, as well, to frighten away the malignant spirits. The bucket (with grain). 61 The bucket should be unbroken as all the other requisites. lt is forbidden to use a cracked instrument in offerings to the supematural world as a darnaged object cannot have a soul and so it is regarded to be dead. 62 Tue bucket is filled with grain or rice, into which the ritual arrow is stuck. Texts also speak about a bucket that food must be placed into. lt is not clear whether here we have one and the same or two buckets. Precious stone (or stones, turquoise, 108 pieces of precious stones, etc.) 63 In Tibet turquoise is regarded to be the symbol of the soul. In the ritual of calling back the soul it is tied to the patients' neck, who has to care for it as much as possible, for its loss could cause his death. Prof. Karmay points out that the association between turquoise and the soul is recorded in the ancient documents: the breaking of turquoise meant the death of a leader. 64 Sheep' s leg- in most cases the right foreleg, however the left foreleg is also mentioned once, and in some cases the tibia is also prescribed. Tue sheep-leg is used to call the soul by circling it. 65 Lessing mentions that the patient eats the meat of the 60 S.G. Karmay, The Soul and the Turquoise: a Ritual for Recalling the bla, pp. 328, 336. 61 Chabros points out that the vessel with ritual meat is an indigenous Mongol feature, while in the lamaised ritual the vessel contains the arrow and grain. Here we have the latter occasion. Beckoning Fortune, pp. 159, 194-95. 62 Chabros, Beckoning Fortune, p. 169, Hamayon, Protocole manuel, p. 166. 63 In connection with turquoise Chabros refers to the "soulturquoise" of the Tibetan folk-belief, that is a talisman-object on which the owner's fortune depends. Beckoning Fortune, p. 160. 64 S.G. Karmay, The Soul and the Turquoise: a Ritual for Recalling the bla: The Arrow and the Spindle. Studies in History, Myths Rituals and Believes in Tibet. by S.G. Karmay, Mandala Book Point, Kathmandu, Nepal 1998, pp. 310-319 65 Szynkiewicz in his article On Kinship Symbolics Among the Western Mongols, that is a detailed analyze of the symbolism of the tibia, mentions that the ritual süns duudax, i.e. bringing back the soul of a sick person, is often performed with a tibia being carried around the yurt. (p. 382)

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foreleg called "soul-leg". 66 In other cases it is taken around in the yurt while people call the soul. In case of a child the tibia is placed on the altar, then brought around in the yurt. lt is regarded to be the seat of the soul. Chabros regards the sheep's foreleg to be a "receiver" for the energy summoned in the ritual, which is transferred to those who eat it. 67 Tue Tibetan text analysed by Karmay also mentions the sheep's leg of soul that together with other requisites must be placed into a bag called the 'bag of the soul' which is then given to the donor. 68 Other objects that appear in the rituals: A rope that leads to the door of the yurt. lt is the way of the soul, a device to help it to come back. In some cases the rope is attached to the shoulder of the patient or of the officiant. lt is not clearly stated where this rope leads. We may suppose, that it is also a way of the soul. Some texts emphasise the colour of the rope: red. The rope plays an important part in other healing ceremonies, as well. In Calma tasulqu sudur the rope is a negative bondage that ties the patient to the disease and it should be cut off. Other ceremonies suggest that the rope is a positive bondage between the material and the spiritual worlds and serves as a path for the spirits to come to the shaman. 69 The mirror is an important requisite of the Shaman, as well. lt helps the shaman to see other worlds and to find the strayed soul of the patient. Looking into the mirror he is able to see all the spheres of the world. However the magical meaning of the mirror varies from tribe to tribe. The mirror helps the shaman to "see the world" (that is to concentrate), or to "place the spirits", or to reflect the needs of mankind. V. Di6szegi pointed out that the Nanai term for mirror paiiaptu comes from the word pafia "soul, spirit". The shaman looking into the mirror sees the soul of 66 67

Lessing, Calling the Soul, p. 274. Szynkiewicz, p. 382, Chabros, Beckoning Fortune, p.134, 184-

186 68 S.O. Kannay, The Soul and the Turquoise : a Ritual for Recalling the bla, p. 337. 69 For an analysis of the symbolical meaning of the rope cf. A. Sarközi, The Rope: Symbolical Bondage in Mongolian Shamanism, pp. 311-318, and A. Sarközi, Symbolism in Exorcising the Evil Spirits, pp. 314-324

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the patient as it is a container of the soul. 70 Prof. Heissig writes that a Mongol shaman sees the white horse of the shamans in the mirror. 71 Tue mirror is also an attribute of Erlig Khan, the ruler of the underworld. He can see in it the previous deeds of the departed. Most probably the same goal is intended in our texts. Here the mirror is a device to help the head of the ceremony to find the soul of the diseased. 72 Tue mirror plays an important role in several divination rituals, sometimes placed in a container of barley or grain, and covered with five coloured silk: cloths representing the Five Buddhas. Tue mirror is an attribute of Lhamo symbolising her ability to clearly perceive the activities of the three realms. Mirrors decorate the costumes of oracles in Tibet, and those of the dharmapalas Begce, Dorje Dragden and Ciu Marpo. 73 The Text Sazykin No. 1272 calls the strayed soul: "Come to join the mirror and the arrow decorated with a ribbon, 74 and at another place it is prescribes that the "mirror with five coloured ribbons should be placed on the left shoulder of the patient". 75 Text 1275 suggests: "lf he is a man a mirror and ribbons of five colours should be tied to the right shoulder, in case of a woman to the left shoulder."76 Ribbons of five colours are very important requisites in several rituals. They perhaps represent the five elements or, in other cases, the Five Buddhas. In some cases the ribbon is white or yellow- it seems to be of Buddhist influence. A piece of white carpet that should be placed under the patient, sometimes under the requisites, or under the leader of the healing ceremony. 77 Bawden published a funeral ritual where 70

V. Di6szegi, Tunguso-manCiurskoe zerkalo samana. Acta Orient. Hung. 1 (1951), pp. 359-83. 71 W. Heissig, Shamanen und Geisterbeschwörer im Küriye-Banner. p. 46. 72 Cf. Bethlenfalvy-Sarköz i, Buddhist Heils 73 R. Beer, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, pp. 196-7, 271-3. 74 toli kib-tü sumun-luy-a nököcen ire 75 tabun öngge kib : nigen toli Jegün mürün-e talbi 76 toli tabun öngge kib : ere kümün bögesü barayun mürün-ece uy-a : em-e kümün bögesü]egün mürün-ece uy-a: 77 Eliade, op.cit., p. 154.

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the importance of the white rag is emphasised: ügei kümün bögesü cayan arisu debeskü bui : ese debesküle üre acinar-tu ebecin ülü tasuraqu boluyu: "Otherwise, a white skin shall be spread out. If it is not spread out, sickness in the progeny will not be broken off'. Tue white carped plays an important part also in marriage ceremonies. Tue new bride should step on it when arriving to the new home. 78 Tue ritual of calling back the soul of the departed goes back to ancient times and combines elements from different times and different religious environments. lt clearly uses elements of the dalalga "beckoning" ritual when the person performing it makes gestures with a decorated arrow. lt also contains elements of the Joliy "ransom" ceremony when a figure is made to replace the patient, to hold all the evil-causing effects and be destroyed. Elements of Buddhist invocation are also present when the leader of the ceremony invite the deities visualising them. These texts are typical of the syncretic world-view of the Mongols that can be traced on every aspect of their belief system.

78 Szynkiewicz, S., Geburt, Hochzeit, Tod. Der menschliche Lebenszyklus im Brauchtum der Mongolen: Die Mongolen, pp. 196-204

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T E X T S, T R A N S L A T 1 0 N S

Call number: C 143

Sazykin 1272

Structure of the text

1) Invocation to Esrua tngri and to the Eight Great Tengri-s 2) Asking the soul from the hands of gods and spirits: Offerings to several supreme powers one by one and asking the soul from them. 3) Description of the terrible land of Erlig 4) Asking the soul of the dead from the hands of Gods and Spirits. A self-suggestion is inserted here: "everything that has not yet been fulfilled is realized by now". 5) Offering to the Gods and Spirits whose hands they ask the soul from 6) Enumeration of things the soul might be frightened off and offering support in his fear. Tue fears are: Offending the prescriptions of the religion and Buddha are mentioned first. Then, breaking the rules of worldly khans and rulers. Weapons of men and the smell of women. Next the black and white behaviour of people, the thieves are mentioned, and the phenomena of nature are listed: sun, moon, fog, clouds, thunder and lightening, hail, the rocks and ravines. 7) Tue beauties of the present world 8) The terrifying features of the land of Erlig. 9) The beauties of the present world. 10) Enumeration of things and persons the departed can trust. 11) The beauties of the present world. 12) Enumeration of things the departed is afraid of. A three-layered world is presented here: the lower world of hell and pretas (dooradu tamu birid), the middle world of

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animals (dumdadu aduysun ) and the upper world of the protecting spirits (deger-e yidam nom-un sakiyulsun) 13) Technical instructions: dress the patient, place the jewels on him and make him eat. Help to flourish the seven life-elements and fly his soul. 14) Meditation. 15) Measure with scales whether the soul has arrived or not.

Text

[la] Prizyvanie otosedsej ot tela dus celoveka [Russian inscription by a later hand: "Calling the human soul which left the body"] [lb] Hurp. Esma terigülen naiman yeke tengri-nere : öljei qutuytu ariyun takil-i ergümüi : erkin bey-e-ten-ü sünesün-i urimui : naran saran naiman yeke gray-tur: öljei X: simnus gray-un yartuki kümün-ü X: Indar-a terigüten arbanjüg-i sakiyCin-a: öljei X: Isan-a orod sakiyCin-u yartuki X : tengri-ner-ün ada oytaryuy-yin kiling-ten Isan-a yal tengri ragsas kiged : naran saran gray odud terigüten-e : öljei X: Mcam simnus-un X: Dridistara biba bariysan : Vimdaki ildü bariysan : Vim-bays-a moyay-yin salm-a bariysan : Visaravani beriy-e [2a] bariysan: öljei X: dörben maq-a-ranja-yin yartuki X: gandari gümbandi klus kiged : költi tüg tümen nököd-iyer küriyelegülügsen-e : öljei X: gandari gümbandi-yin yartuki X Mani-badara terigüten : naiman ed sakiyCin nökör selte-dür: öljei X: gandi ed sakiyCin-u yartuki X : tabun usnir-tan terigüten-e : öljei X:

Calling the Soul of the Dead

erlig-ün yartuki X: qorin 11aiman 11ay5adar-tur: öljei X: 11aysadar-un yartuki X: Nom-un qayan terigüte11-e : öljei X: erlig-ün yar-tu-ki X: Murji qan terigüten-e : öljei X: mubdud-un yartuki X: albin-u yartuki X : sim11us-un yartuki X: eke yar-tu-ki X: mfiam-un yartuki X: dagi11i-yin yartuki X : tiyreng-ün [2b] yartuki X: gongboyin yartuki X : egüles-ün ada-yin yartuki X: ücüken eliy-e-giyin yar-tu-ki X: albin Cidkür-ün yartuki X: gongbo eliy-e-gi-yin yartuki X: sariy-un qara bUtinar-un yartuki X:: siltayan barilduyuluyci öglige-yin ejen ber: erlig-ün yajar-a yayu üiledün odumui : erlig-ün ecige inu yeke ayultan buyu : erlig-ün eke i11u guran buli-yuluyu : erlig-ün narin qabca-yai-yi yayun-u tula batumui : erlig-ün sara usun-i yayun-dur batulumui : qumqasun qalayun nunn-a yayun-dur batumui : jokilduqui nököcel tengri-yin sakiyulsun: yerün-deg-nügüd i11u ariyun idigen-i iditügei :: siltayan [3a] sakiycid-tur ene ariyun öljei-tü takil X: arbanjüg-i sakiyci-yin yar-aca X: köke usun tengri-yin yar-aca X: mangyus kei tengri-yin yar-aca X: yajar usun-u ene ariyun öljei-tü takil X qamuy qan yajar usun-u yar-aca X: Altan terigütü qan ijayur-tu terigüten ene ariyun öljei-tü X: 11aiman yeke luus-un yar-acaX Diristiri noyoyan öngge-tü biba bariysan Vimdaki köke öngge-tü ildü bariysan

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Viru-baysi ulayan öngge-tü moyay-yin salam-a bariysan: Visiravani sira öngge-tü qulu bariysan dörben maqaraja-yin ene ariyun X: dörben maqaraja-yin yar-aca X: gandari gümbandi terigüten-e ene ariyun X : cidküd-ün yar-aca X Mani-badari [3b] uriju ese büridügsen bügüde-yi egüber bügüde-yi törögül-ün bütügekü bolai :: gee Esrua Qormusta tngri terigüten tengri-ner-ün ene ariyun öljei-tü takil tabiy-i öcin öggüged tengri-ner-ün rar-aca kümün-ü sünesün-ijolimui: Erkin fayayaCi Siduryu Uduriduy-Ci terigüten ene ariyun öljeitü takil X fayayan-i Uduriduyci yar-aca kümün-ü sünesün-i X: !J.aran saran terigüten naiman yeke yray-ud-un ene ariyun öljei X: Qaiman yeke yray-ud-un yar-aca X: Urtu segül-tü terigüten yray odud-un ene ariyun öljei-tü takil X: yray odud-un yar-aca X: Erke-tü terigüten arbanjüg-ün [4a] terigüten [=tengri-ner ?] dörben odi [=Jüg-i] sakiyei terigüten-e ene X : luus-un simnus-un yar-aca X: sigi qoora-tan-u rar-aca Kirdig terigüten yabuyci qorin naiman odun-dur ene X : qorin Qaiman odun-u yar-aca X Erlig Nom-un Qayan terigüten-e ene X: Erlig Nom-un Qayan-u yar-aca X: nayiski=nar erketü terigüten-e ene X: nayiskinar-un rar-aca :: : :: gee : gegedü blam-a nom-un sakiyulsun-u tangyarig-aca ayuju dutayaysan bögesü : tegsi sedkil-iyer ende irekü buyu ci ire ire : tengri luus yray odun-aca ayuju X: tengsel ügei blam-a-yin ubadis-tur sitüjü iregdeküi X: arbanjüg-ün burqan bodisung-nar

Calling the Soul of the Dead jarliysudur-un üliger-ün [4b] törö-ece ayuju X acitu blam-a erdeni-yin adis-tid-tur X asuri gandari terigüten ünür idisiten-ece X: ariyun nom-un irüger-tür sitüjü X ada cidkür eliyes-ece ayuju X ariyun burqan-u jarliy-tur sitüjü iregdeküi X erlig-üd-ün jamdasun simnus-aca X erdenis-ün nom-un irüger-tür sitüjü X yirtincü-yin qad noyad-un cayajayinjasaytör ö-ece X Yeke Nigülesügci Burqan-u adistid-tur X eresün irtü üjügür meses-ece X ibegeg-Ci nom-un irüger-tür sitüjü X: emes jig jiber akiyad-aca ayu-ju X ünen nom-un mör-ün irüger-tür sitüjü X qara cayan yabudal-tan-u qariyal gedeger-ece ayuju X yayiqamsiy-tu nom-un X oytaryuy-yin egülen [5a] uniyar manan bürküg naran saran-aca ayuju X auy-a kücütü nom-un X: luus-un dayun kiged möndür cakilyan-aca X nuta aburayci nom-un X: ayula qada ergi nura yuu subay nüke cilayun-aca X vacir-tu nom-un X: yajar usun kiged yal kei qamuytabun maqabud-aca X tabun Jayayan-u burqan-dur X jigürten yarudi terigüten oytaryui nisüyci-yin ayul-aca X JiluyuduyCi nom-un X olan köl-ten köl ügegüten-ece ayuju X ködölesi ügei nom-un X ülü bolqu ücügüken örgüsütü modun meses-ece X nom-un ünenjarliy-tur X ülü üjekü metü mayu öngge-tei mayui ünür amtan kiged kkir burtay-acajigsijü ay'un X ündüsün [5b] arilyayCi nom-un mayui idegen umdayan ba darasun-u ünür amtan-aca jigsijü ayun X mungqay-i arilyay-ci nom-un X mayui ebedcin kiged yara qabudar qalda-buri ebedcin ba : ügesün sigesün ba-aca jigsijü ayun X

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möngke busu-yi medegülügCi nom-un irüger-tür sitüjü X öngge ülü jokilduquy-aca : kele ülü jokilduquy-aca : sedkil ülüjokilduquy-aca dayun ülüjokilduqui bey-e kele sedkil-iyer qarsilyaCid-aca Jil sara qonoy edür cay-un toy-a ülü Jokilduqui ger-tergen ed tavar kiged qamuyülüjokilduq un- [6a]-aca qamuy qarsi tüidker-ece ayuju X qaril ügei nom-un X ükügsen kümün-ü yasun bariqui tüleküy-eee ayun X: ibegegci nom-un X öglige(-yin) ejen eyimü neretü abai minu ci cinaysi ülü od-un inaysi ire ire : aCitu eCige eke Cinu ende ire X amaray aq-a degu Cinu ende bui X uCiraysan uruy sadun cinu ende bui X amtatu idegen Cinu ende bui X ariyun sayin kib toryon Cinu ende bui: ariyun sayiqan qubcasun cinu ende bui X angkilaqui sayiqan saysabad-un ünür ende bui X. auy-a kücütü sür sülde kiged : ayui yeke amidu [6b] el ulus iregen ba adayu-sun temege mori üker qonin ba amidu-yin küsel-i qangyayci bürin-iyer ende bui X erlig-ün yajar kürcü ülü bolqu : erlig-ün jam-iyar yabuju ülü bolqu : erlig-ün oron-dur sayuju ülü bolqu : erlig-ün idegen-i idejü ülü bolqu : erlig-ün usun-i uyuju ülü bolqu : erlig-ün ed-i emüsCü ülü bolqu: tegün-dür yakin odumui Ci inaysi ireX erlig-ün ecege abury-a metü : erlig-ün eke mangyus metü : erlig-ün köbegün berid metü : erlig-ün ökin Jigsikü metü : tegün-dür abai minu buu od inaysi X tami bariyci ijayur-un ejen-dür sitüjü X: [7a]

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taniqu kümün-lüge nököcejü X: tangyarig-tu beyen-degen nökö-cejü ire : yeke nigülesügCi blam-a-yin mör-tür sitüjü ire X: on sar-a cay-unjabsar jabsar-aca osoldal ügei ödter iregdeküi X: ibegel jil-tü kümün-lüge qanilaju ire X: eldeb idegen umdayan ed tavar kiged : aliba aduyusun aqui barayan cinu ende bui X : caylasi ügei erdem-ün irüger-tür sitüjü iregdeküi buyu ci X: cayan kiib-tü sumun-iyar dalalqui tegün-i üjejü ödter iregdekü buyu Ci X: albin-u yar-aca sitügen beyen-degen X: (ere simnus-un yar-aca sitügen beyen-degen X:) em-e simnus(-un) yar-aca X: siltayan barilduysan öglige-yin ejen ci cinaysi ülü odun inaysi iredkün : ciber erlig-ün oron-dur yakiju odqu : erlig-ün ecige inu [7b] yeke ayul-tai : erlig-ün eke inu yeke Jigir-gemsiy=tei: erlig-ün ulus(-tur buu) odudqun inaysi ire X: erlig-ün mörön-i yakiju yarqu bui Ci: erlig-ün qokimoy-yin tergegür-i yakiju kesükü bui ci : erlig-ün qab-cayai dabayan-i yakiju dabaqu bui Ci X: ai Cinaysi ülü odun inaysi X : taniqu kümün-lüge uriqui metü taniqui kümün-lüge nököcen ire X: sonosqu metü sayiqan gayun-ni sonosuyad Yoyacari minu Jarliy-i sonosun : cayan kib-iyar dalalqui-tur sitün ire X: sayin ödü-tü sumun-luya sitün ire X: altan mönggün vidury-a dung ogiu bSiru toli kib-tü sumun-luya nököcen ire :: : :: daginis nom-un (sakiyulsun-u) yar-aca sitügen beyen-degen X: eliy-e cidküd-ün yar-aca X: adas-un yar-aca sitügen X: qan adayin yar [8a]-aca sitügen X: qatun adayin yar-aca sitügen X: er-e adayin yar-aca X: em-e adayin X:

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er-e manggus-un yar-aca X: em-e manggus-un yar-aca X: ai yeke kücütü erketü sakiyul-sun ta ber süg_esün bai ügei qoyar-unjabsa r-tur oduyad: mingyan galab-un orod-tur ber yabuyCi ay-a kögereküi : egülen-ü yabuqu metü: medeküi [mitaqui ?] süg_esün Cig_aysi ülü odun : ig_aysi irüdkün :: sür sülde-yi erlig-ün yajar-tu buu ilgetügei : erlig-ün yajar-aca sitügen X: simnus albin-u yar-aca X: sür sülde-yi adayin rafar-tur buu urbayultuyai :: : .. gee: ene ariyun öljei-tü takil tabiy-yi amsayad: ay-a (Cinu) eeege ber ende bui: Cinu eke ber ende bui : Cinu aq-a ber ende bui : cinu degu ber ende bui : cinaysi ülü odun ig_aysi X : Ükül-ün ejen-ü yajar-aca inaysi ödter iredkün X: cinu uyuqu umdayan Cinu ende bui : idekü taryun miq-a ber Cinu ende bui : [8b] Cinaysi ülü odun X : ci minu ende iredkün : altatu sayiqan debel cinu ende bui : amurar urar sadun Cinu ende bui : ayul-tu erlig-ün yajar-a yakiju joriqu Ci: Cig_aysi udul ügei ig_aysi ödter iredkün Ci :: blam-a yidam-un yar-aca sitügen X: darm-a-bal-a sakiyulsun-u yar-aca sitügen X: yurban erdeni-yin yar-aca sitügen X: qamuy qoor-tan todqar-i toyosun tobaray bolyayad asarayul-un uyilasi minu bütügen soyurq-a :: gee : aliba degedü toyuluysan boydas-tur sitüjü ariyun öljei takil tabay-i Cinu ende beledbei iren soyurq-a :: degere Aginista-yin oron-aca Esma Qormusda tengri terigü-len yucin yurban tngri-ner kiling boluysan ayuju dutayaysan bögesü türidkel ügei amarar beyen-degen iren soyurq-a : : [9a] dörbenjüg naiman kijayar-aca yaijedker bolju

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jüg jüg-tür tögerijü aduysan bögesü . türbel ügei amarqay beyen-degen iren sayurq-a :: daaradu tamu birid-eee ayuju X tüdel ügei amaray beyen-degen X: gumda-du adayusun-aca ayuju X: türidkel ügei X : degere yidam nam-un sakiyulsun ese tayalaysan-aca ayuju X: türbel ügei X : degedü ündüsün blam-a-yinjarliydabaysan-(aca) ayuju X: aburayCi blam-a-yin adistid-tur sitüjü iren X: ükügsen amidu-yin bulai burtay-aca sejig-tü sedkil-iyer ayuju X: türbel X: daarodu adajedker-ece X: tüdel ügei iren sayurq-a :: jayayabar uciraysan aron bey-e cinu ene bui : irejü [9b] arosin sayurq-a :: inay ciqula amarar üre sadun cinu ene bui : amaray beyen-degen arosin X: unuqu aciqu marin temege adal : aqu barayan cinu ene bui : amaray beyen X: amtatu sayiqan araki kiged : qamuy sayiqan idegen Cinu ende bui : amaray beyen-degen X: yerü bügüde sedkil-dür tayalaqu cinu ene bui :: tayalamCitu beyen-degen X : edüge tayur-biysan uyilasi minu bütügen sayurq-a :: Badm-a Sambhau-a baysi-yin adistid-un küCün-iyer bayascu ödter iren sayurq-a :: 6Ip-a hurp bam ja-ja hurp hurp hurp ho bad bad bad:: kemen ungsiju erdeni ba idegen gebe] kiged aliba kereg-i ejen-dür inu ömüskejü idegülküi-dür inu amin-u dalayad maqabud-i delgeregüljü kisig-i nemegülüged: kei marin degfigülüged :

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sünesün-i orosiyul-un soyurq-a :: kemen ügülejü sünesün-i iregsen ese iregsen-ü [lüa] tedüi toyatan-i duraduysan-u yosuyar bütügsen metü sedkigül-ün :: OIJl sübr-a di$fha bajar yi suva-ha :: ene tarni-yi ungsiqui-dur yegüdkel ügei batu-da sayuysan-i sedkigdeküi bolai :: sünesün-ü iregsen ese iregsen Cinglegür-iyer cinglejü mede nigen ceng-ece doroysi : nigen bung-aca degegsi iregsen masi sayin düled-te yeke irebesü mayu Jedker dayaysan buyu : tegün-dür qariyulqui nom-i ungsiyuluju : ügegü yadayu-dur öglige ögcü : nilqas-tur qurim ög : basa ese irebesü : dayudaysan qubcasun-i derlegüljü ungtuyad : manayar erte Cinglejü üjebesü iremüi : tegün-dür ese irebesü gray odun-dur edür cay-un sayin-i üfejü : basa dakin kereg-ten-i güicegen irayu dayutu Jil maqabud ibegel kümün-iyer dayudayul : ülü jokilduqu yabudal-tu kümün noqai kiged mayui üiles-i cegerlejü basa qoyinajalbarin urifdaqu bolai :: : ::

Translation

[la] [In Russian by a later hand] Calling the soul that left the man's body. [lb] Hurp., 1 make a blessed, pure offering to the eight great gods 1 with Esrua2 at their head. 1

Nebesky-Wojkowitz mentions the lha c'en brgyad "the eight great gods" and states that the eight chief divinities of the Hindu mythology are meant by them. (p. 265). They are made protectors of the quarters: the great Indra (Tib. Brgya-byin, Mong. Qonnusta) on the East, Yama, (Tib. Gsin-rje, Mong. Erlig) Oll the South, Varuna (Tib. chu-'Jha, Mong. Usun tengn) Oll

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1 call the soul of the ones with supreme body3• 1 [make a] blessed [clear offering] to the sun and moon, to the eight great planets. 4 1 [call the soul ] of man that is in the hands of the evil5 and the planets 6. 1 [make a] blessed [clear offering] to the protectors of the ten directions with lndra at their head7 1 [call the soul of man] that is in the hands of Sfva8 and the guardians of places9• 1 [make a] blessed [pure offering] to the evil spirits of Heaven 10, the West, Kuvera (Tib. Gnod-nas dbaii-po or Rnam-thos sras, Mong. Namsarai Bisman tngri or Sayitur sonosuyci-yin köbegün) on the North, Agni (Tib. Me-lha, Mong. Tal tengn) on the South-East, Nairiti, (Tib. Srinpo, Mong. Ünen-ece qa'f