Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (DAILY ACTIVITIES): Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
A day in a traditional Kalmyk family begins with the opening of the curtains to let light in, cooking breakfast, and attending to the family altar. It is usually the young bride's duty to wake up first, cook, look after the household, put offerings on the altar, and go to bed last. During the day every member of the family is assigned activities based on gender, age, and hierarchy. Men are supposed to be bread-winners, undertake physically demanding chores, and represent the family, whereas women and girls are expected to do domestic work. Before setting off on a long journey, Kalmyks visit their close relatives, or invite them home to perform a ritual called khaalg yoryallgn in order to secure a successful and safe journey. It is also forbidden to take out rubbish so as not to pollute the journey. Guests are treated with a cup of tea or tobacco and are expected to be seen off outside the flat or house. At dusk it is forbidden for women to visit other people's homes or even go out. Other activities that are discouraged in the evening are taking certain types of products, including milk, yoghurt, cheese, salt, and matches out of the house.
On this page, you can watch videos and listen to stories about daily activities in Kalmyk families, both traditional and modern.
Yuriy says that until recently people in his native village of Sarpa spoke Kalmyk on a daily basis. Today many young people try to revive Kalmyk, although the accent they speak is different from those of the older generation.
Narma talks about what the daily routine of old people was like when she was young. Old people started their day with a cup of tea, which was followed by reciting prayers and lighting a candle on the altar. Afterwards, they helped their children to clean the yard. If there was no other work that needed attention, they read mantras and counted beads on their rosaries. The oldest people who could not do physical work gave orders to others. Old people also tried to observe all fasting days, on the 8th, 15th and 30th days of the lunar month, during which they abstained from eating meat, eggs, or fish. On these days they only drank tea with milk and butter and ate dairy products.
Narma bemoans that young people do not know their native tongue anymore. She puts it down to their parents who either do not know the Kalmyk language themselves or do not use it on a daily basis. Many young people say that they do not need to know Kalmyk.
Maria says that the loss of native language and traditions is bad for any nation because traditions teach people how to live ‘moral’ lives.
Vera is from the village of Dzhalykovo in Laganskiy rayon, which is home to four clans, including Iki-Bagud, Doyda-Bagud, Tsatan and Kharakhus. Vera herself is from the Iki-Bagud clan who speak a specific dialect. For example, instead of the suffix –i or –ya, they use the suffix –yala.
Sergei reminisces that in his youth there were many artists and writers around who remembered the old way of life. Since young people were not supposed to pester the elders with questions, the young did not learn much. On top of that, the elders, who had spent hard times in prisons, were reluctant to talk about their experiences with younger people. In Siberia Sergei lived in a small village in the middle of nowhere. His mother was young and not very knowledgeable of Kalmyk customs. Sergei had no access to Kalmyk books, newspapers or other source of information to improve himself. For these reasons, Sergei, like many people of his generation, did not learn much about Kalmyk culture. The Derbets and Buzavas had more older people among them, which helped these groups to perpetuate to a certain degree a generational link and knowledge transfer. Among the Torghuts, in contrast, there were less old people who survived the repressions and Revolution. A part of the Torghut territory was annexed to Astrakhan, hence the Torghuts had to leave their ancestral land, which had a negative influence on their overall culture.
Sergei says that in order to revive the Kalmyk language it is important to set up special venues where people can come and practice their language. It is also important to increase the prestige of Kalmyk teachers.
Ivan says that his mother always wore a headscarf in front of older relatives. She never walked barefoot in front of them. His father always sat at the centre of the family table. It was he who ate meat with bones, and gave marrow to the youngest child. According to customs, Kalmyks cannot marry relatives within 7 generations. Traditionally, 6 months after birth babies were shown to their relatives. At holidays, young people did not sit with older people at the same table. Men could drink only after 30.
Sanal talks about why Kalmyks are good at sport:
Kalmyks have certain predisposition to sports. Even old people have good coordination of movement. In Kalmykia we have many mini-football teams where players are over 50. I think the reason for this is that in the past Kalmyks were herders, rode horses, walked long distances, migrated, and fought in wars. Whilst today Kalmyks have a more comfortable lifestyle, but we have inherited a lot of energy from our ancestors. Today we use this energy in sports.
Sanal says that at weddings he never heard people ask each other about material wealth. People are more interested in learning about one’s educational level. Even poor families try to send their children to the best universities in Russia and beyond.
Petr says the following: In the past Kalmyks lived in nomadic encampments called khoton each of which consisted of about 50 families. People lived in felt yurts. Nomads often changed pastureland in search of fresh grass. People lived freely. Although they were illiterate, all knew folklore well.
Vasiliy gives the following advice: If you are caught out in a blizzard, you’d better follow livestock which will always find their way back home, regardless of the weather. If there are no livestock nearby, it is better to fall into the snow and wait until the blizzard finishes. Otherwise it is easy to get lost and stray away.
Dordzhi says that Kalmyks believe each whirlwind to have an old evil spirit (shulm) sitting in the middle of it. There is a custom to spit three times and through a sharp object into the whirlwind. After this, according to old men, the whirlwind ‘bleeds’.
Dordzhi says that Kalmyk is very rich language which has both spoken and written forms, as well as polite expressions.
Dordzhi says the following: In the past Kalmyks used to send their maternal uncles to the land of the Coccacks. Such uncles returned with a bull and distributed its meat among the elderly men, having taking home as much meat as they needed. It is considered alright for Kalmyks to steal the following animals or objects: a hound, a knife, Buddhist texts, and Buddhist statues. Here is a story about theft that I heard from my mother. In the past there was a hoton (nomadic settlement) that consisted of only two yurts. Each yurt had a boy who were both of the same age. One day the boys were playing ankle bones when one stole bones from the other. The parents of the thief boy went to a temple to ask for advice. The monk said that the boy should not be dressed down for stealing as his fate was already written.
Dordzhi says that in the past boys and girls were brought up differently: In the past the Kalmyks used a vertical script. But when I started school, we already used the Latin Script and later the Cyrillic. In the past, a boy’s birth was a reason for joy and celebrations. People killed a sheep and threw a sheep’s head through the roof hole of their tents. Boys and girls were brought up differently. Girls were taught how to cook and sew. Boys, in contrast, were taught how to look after livestock. My father was a herder and I spent a lot of time with him tending horses.
Nikolai says that in the past Kalmyk upbringing did not involve scolding children. People taught their children through legends, proverbs and sayings. When a child broke something, the parents could have said something like this: ‘A good child keeps what his father has accumulated, and a bad one only wastes or breaks inheritance’. Girls were brought up by their mothers, for the marriageability of girls depended on their skills and ability to do the household chores.
In Kalmykia, a link between generations was severed for a number of reasons, including Stalinist exile . Because of this, we do not have much information about what was going on in Kalmykia in the past. For example, we know precious little about the clothes that monks wore in Kalmykia. Nobody knows exactly how different parts of the monastic clothes were named. Old photos and paintings show that the monastic clothes were different from those worn by monks in Mongolia and Tibet. No one knows about the origin and production of these clothes. Whilst we know that some Kalmyks monks wrote about their attire, most of what was written is lost today.
Rimma says that Torghut, Derbet and Buzava dialects differ from each other. Torghut speak melodiously, as if they are singing. Derbets, by contrast, speak abruptly. Torghut words are quite strange. These differences lead to funny situations.
I was born on 14 April 1957 in Khanty-Mansiysk, when my parents lived in exile. My father is Lidzhiev Nikolai Bovaevich and my mother Zolvanova Roza Alexandrovna. Since everything starts in the family, the moral compass and love for work that I have comes from my parents
Dmitriy reminisces about his grandparents and recounts what his grandmother told him about how a Kalmyk man should be.
Galina relays what her grandparents told her about how to treat pets and domestic animals.
Alla talks briefly about how she discovered for herself Kalmyk poetry and culture through Buddhism.
We call father dyaadya and mother baava. Even my uncle's wife called our father dyaadya. We called our maternal uncles aak. The eldest maternal uncle is ik aak (elder aak) and younger maternal uncle is bichkn aak (junior aak). We also called our paternal uncles as aak. I called my older sister aaja, and my elder brother aaka. My brother’s wife refers to my elder sister as aaja. My husband is a Buzava, and the customs of my clan differs from his. By upbringing, our women do not smoke, drink or swear. We address our husbands ‘you’ as opposed to ‘thou’. A Tersk woman will never cross a road to a man or even a boy.
Bulgun talks about some interjections, words and pronunciations peculiar to the dialect of the Tersk Kalmyks.
Bulgun says that Tersk Kalmyks spoke the languages of their Caucasian neighbours. She also recounts a story of a Kalmyk girl who was abducted by Chechens.
Anatoliy bemoans that in Kalmykia journalists use simple, colloquial Kalmyk language in their writings and that people speak their native tongue wrongly. For example, the expression ‘khoir keltya’ (with two tongues, languages) can be used only in connection with the snake’s tongue, but not to describe a person who speaks two languages. Anatoliy also says that when the Kalmyks adopted the Cyrillic script they transcribed Kalmyk words wrongly. In his opinion, the expression ‘old Kalmyk writing’ is also wrong. The correct Kalmyk words for ‘Orthodox Christianity’ is ‘Zov shajn’ and Kalmyks called muslims ‘lal’.
Some trees were regarded by Kalmyks as sacred, including the tamarisk (torlg). It is red in colour and grows in the mountains of Mongolia. Whips made from this tree were considered valuable and believed to have curing properties. The tamarisk was used to cure children and ulcers on the skin of a sheep (tsoorkha). To cure, Kalmyks simply touched the sheep’s wounds with this tree. The tamarisk was also used as an amulet against evil spirits. Kalmyks avoided the aspin tree (ulada), because of its propensity to grow tall. People believed that by growing tall this tree wishes to be the highest among all the trees.
About Kalmyk customs. Vladimir points out that today Kalmyks have forgotten their customs. In contrast with the past when celebrations lasted for up to a month, today most celebrations are short and done within a day. He says that people should pray more at their altars, because this will make gods happy. One can also put a red and a white coin on the altar. About the Kalmyk language. Vladimir recounts a saying that ‘not speaking one’s native tongue is tantamount to rejecting one’s parents’.
Vladimir says that in the past Kalmyks viewed cats as sacred animals and called them ‘Buddha’s dogs’ (burkhna nokha). Cats can be masters of people. Vladimir himself loves cats and allows his cat to sleep on his bed.
As the saying goes, ‘I rich man is in his pocket, a poor man is in his soul’. In the olden days, people had many relatives. All relatives lived next to each other and helped each other. Daughters were married out and sons were married. If a man got married, people would say that he became rich. A family was considered as wealth. Sons had to help their fathers to look after the livestock, daughters had to help their mothers. The mother taught her daughter to cook, to milk cows, this way the girl learnt to become a wife.
According to Yuriy, in the olden days Kalmyks lived in friendship and harmony, despite their difference in clan affiliations. By contrast, Kalmyks were on guard with regard to other ethnic groups. In the Soviet period Kalmyks, however, changed and they began to write denunciations against each other. Comparing traditional and modern life, Yuriy says that before the Soviet period life was better and people knew each other, whereas today even relatives do not know one another. Other things that changed are values, not to mention the quality of food. By contrast with today, food was natural and organic in the past.
Yuriy talks about traditional food, the nomadic way of life and playing cards. In the past Kalmyk food consisted mainly of meat, mutton and beef in particular. Torghuts who lived on the Volga river ate fish. Kalmyks also consumed dairy products, including butter and milk. In their history Kalmyks adopted dishes from the cuisine of the neighbouring peoples. Food was made communally and shared among the contributors. For example, milk vodka was usually distilled together with various people contributing ingredients. Torghuts got hold of fish either by catching it or buying it in Astrakhan. Kalmyks kept special horses, which they rode only at night. These horses had a special diet. They were fed with black tea or a broth made from cow’s bones which was believed to make them strong. When travelling, Kalmyks ate their food (beef, dry cheese etc.) and drank water on horseback, which allowed them to save time. Traditional men’s costumes were suitable for nomadic life. Yuriy’s father always had a knife in his boots and a silver belt around his waist. Kalmyks loved playing cards. Yuriy’s grandmother was a gambler. One day she gambled away almost all of her possessions and told her descendants to keep away from gambling. Not only did her descendants follow her advice, but they did not smoke or drink alcohol. Yuriy says that his relatives hold the honourable name of their clan in high esteem and that they achieve everything with their wit and hard work.
In the past there was no good fuel, so we used dung (argal) for heating. There was not a lot of livestock either, therefore the dung was not easy to find. That is why we went out searching and collecting dung and dry grass all the time. We used to do everything.
Dzhidzha says that children should not go out after sunset. It is also forbidden to cross one’s hands. Women and girls should not cross their hands behind their back, for this movement is believed to undermine men’s power and authority. People should not call their paternal relatives by their name. People also should host their relatives well. Dzhidzha recalls that when her family lived in a nomadic tent, they washed their face with water from a bucket and bathed rarely. Married women wore shivrlg on their hair, while girls gathered their hair in a braid (kyukyul’).
Dzhidzha talks about tribes that live on the Volga, her husband’s clan affiliation and the Kalmyk tradition not to address relatives by their names. This is her story: My husband is from a place called Shambay. He is either Khoshut or Kharakhus, in terms of his clan affiliation. I am Kereit, and we live on the Volga river. My husband and I are from different tribes. Hence, we are not relatives. In general, Kalmyks are respectful towards their relatives. We do not call our relatives by their names. For example, we address maternal relatives as nagtsnr.
In this short interview, lama Sanal talks about values and traditional rules that Kalmyks should follow in his opinion.
In this video Petr, a famous Kalmyk choreographer, talks about Kalmyk language, culture and dances.
The Club of the Kalmyk Language (Khal’mg kelnya klub) was founded in Moscow in 2013. In the first year the number of attendees, including children and grown-ups, was around 40. Free of charge, the classes were first held at a local Kalmyk restaurant, and later came to be organized at the Office of the Representative of Kalmykia in Moscow. Many students who start a course drop out towards the end of the year. Sanal is the teacher of Kalmyk this year. The club has its library of audio recordings and books. Sanal says that the Kalmyk language should be spoken in the family environment on a daily basis. Bulgun points out that books written in Kalmyk often have grammatical mistakes that people learn and spread further through the Internet.
Valentina says that the Kalmyk language does not have dialect variations. Although there is no clan-related difference in how people speak, some families may have certain words or expressions that are unique to them. Valentina bemoans the fact that many Kalmyks do not speak their native tongue.
In this interview Evgeniy and Leonid, who are both livestock breeders, talk about the importance of knowing one’s native tongue.
Zinaida says that she went to Western Mongolia in 2013 with the Kalmyk folk ensemble Erdem. In Mongolia she remembered her childhood back in Kalmykia i.e. how Kalmyks distilled milk vodka, made butter etc. According to Zinaida, the life of Western Mongols is not very different from those of the Kalmyks (in her childhood). There are many common words in the two languages as well. When Zinaida sang a Kalmyk song about the Volga, old Mongol women cried. Kalmyk dances, according to Zinaida, differ from Mongolian ones in that they are more rhythmic. Zinaida likes Kalmyk songs and music. With her folk ensemble, she has performed in many parts of Russia and beyond. Zinaida’s grandmother also liked singing. Zinaida has been singing since 1993 and hopes that the younger generation would continue the tradition of the Kalmyk people into the future.
Anna teaches her children and grandchildren to always remember, visit, and care for their paternal house where they were born and brought up. It is a custom in her family to go to a Buddhist monk and ask for prayers when a member of the family sets out on a long journey. Anna asks her family members who happen to be far away to burn incense or light up a candle (zul) when they get homesick. In order to provide prosperity, protection and happiness to the whole family, Anna hangs Buddhist hiimori flags in her yard.
The household where Anna lives consists of two houses. The first house was built in 1958 by her father-in-law, and the second in 1972. There are also two tall trees planted by her father-in-law. Both houses and trees, which are associated with the memory of the patriarch, are respected by all members of the large family. During national holidays the trees get decorated.
Anna’s mother-in-law who lives in the first house reads Buddhist prayers daily. On special auspicious days all members of the family also receive a blessing from the grandmother. According to Kalmyk custom, every day the first cup of freshly brewed tea is offered to gods. During national holidays, the first portion of the family meal is put on the family altar.