Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (TSAGAN SAR): Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
The celebration of Tsagan Sar, or White Month, takes place two months after Zul on the first day of spring according to the lunar calendar. It is a celebration of the coming of spring when nature wakes up from its winter sleep. Because white symbolizes purity and the beginning of life, the celebration is called White Month.
The preparation for the celebration begins with cleaning the house. All valuables kept in chests and drawers are taken out, cleaned and aired. People prepare their best clothes for the celebration. Both the house and the cattle yard are purified with incense.
On the eve of Tsagan Sar all families cook traditional biscuits called bortsg, of various shapes, each of which has its own name and symbolic meaning. For example, tselvg or khavtkha symbolizes the Sun; togsh – a fence for enclosing sheep; jola – long life; khutsyn tolga – animal offspring; khorkha – fertility, etc. After the baking is done, Kalmyks light candles and place some biscuits on the family altar. The oldest members of the family perform a ritual called tsagana bortsg yoryallgn in which they utter well-wishes for the bortsg biscuits. Afterwards the biscuits are tied together with a thread pushed through them to form gift bundles. Each gift bundle must have a specific number of each kind of bortsg, that is one khavtha, six togsh, one khutsyn tolga, one jola, one moshkmr, three shor and one kit.
On the first day of Tsagan Sar, early in the morning the head of the family offers tea to the goddess of the hearth, Okn Tengr. He then pulls the door of the house wide open, steps out with his right leg, while his left leg is still inside the house, and sprinkles the tea upwards as an offering. During the holiday houses should have their doors open and have a table laid with food for guests. A traditional greeting on this day is 'Did you spend the winter well?' (Uvles mend garvt?). Hand shaking or tsagallgn is done as follows. The two touch each other's elbows with the palm of their hands, which are covered by the edge of their sleeves. The one who first offers a greeting has to touch the left collarbone of the other person with his/her right collarbone.
During Tsagan Sar children visit their maternal relatives, taking with them presents. In return, they receive a present in the form of a sheep's leg. This ritual is called ze berkh.
Tsagan Sar lasts for a month and the ritualized hand shaking of tsagallgn may be performed until the beginning of Ur(s) Sar. In the first fifteen days of Tsagan Sar, monasteries perform special rituals to commemorate the victory of the Buddha over falsehood. According to yet another legend, Tsagan Sar is also celebrated to commemorate the victory of the goddess Okn Tengr over a demon that wished to destroy the entire humanity.
Maria says that when she was young, during holidays old people gathered first. Young people joined them later. During Tsagan Sar people hung out their clothes and visited their relatives and friends who lived in other nomadic settlements. On the first day of Tsagan Sar people woke up early to welcome the goddess Okn Tengr. The streets were filled with incense smoke.
Narma says that in the past people began preparation for Tsagan Sar two weeks prior to the holiday. They slaughtered sheep, made biscuits and distilled milk vodka. The main variety of biscuits that people made was called khavtkha. Besides biscuits, people made bulmg for Zul celebrations. Bulmg is a dish made from flour, butter and sugar. The morning started with lighting a candle, and the people paid each other a visit. On the day of Zul people performed a ritual to ‘prolong their lives’ (nas avkh). For Urs Sar people also read prayers and lit candles. Some took vows and abstained from meat.
Togtan says that birthday candles are made a day prior to Zul. Other preparations include buying sweets, making biscuits (khavtkha, togsh and khorkha varieties) and cleaning the house. The morning of Zul begins with putting the offering on the altar and preparing candlewicks for a ‘ritual to prolong one’s life’. As soon as the first stars appear in the sky, the candlewicks are erected on the candles, filled with butter and lit. All family members utter well-wishes and bow three times to the candle. The candle, which is made from dough, is fried and eaten by family members. On the first day of Tsagan Sar, the eldest in the family steps out of the house with his right leg and sprinkles tea to three different directions as an offering to gods and ancestors. Women hang their best clothes on a rope inside the house. The domestic altar is replenished with a sheep’s head and a leg. Afterwards, all family members take the sheep’s head from the altar and share it among themselves according to tradition. The tip of the sheep’s tongue, for example, has to be given to children. The domestic fire should also be fed with a piece of fat. On the outside, people burn sweets and butter as an offering for the local spirits of nature and ancestors. Urs Sar is also a sacred holiday, celebrated either in May or June. It is an auspicious time to have a wedding or give birth to children.
Nikolai says that during Tsagan Sar people make a variety of bortsg biscuits. Flat biscuits called tselvg symbolize the sun. Togshi, which has the form of a disc, symbolizes endless happiness. Other varieties are huts (meaning ‘a ram’), jola (meaning ‘horse reins’), shor beleg (it has the form of a bayonet), galun (meaning ‘a goose’), mornya kit (meaning ‘horse intestines’), shovun (meaning ‘a bird’), temyan (meaning ‘a camel’), khorkha (menaing ‘insects’), and moshkmur (meaning ‘twisted’). At the end of the interview Nikolai utters well-wishes that people say to each other during Tsagan Sar.
During Tsagan Sar people make 12 varieties of bortsg biscuits which symbolizes the 12-year cyclic calendar. These varieties include kit (horse intestines), evr (ram's horn), baasn (chicken’s droppings), bamb tsetsg (tulip), khulgn (mouse), jola (horse rein), belg (gift), khavtkha (flat surface), khorkha (insects), nokhan keln (dog's tongue), and ukrin togsh (cow’s horn). Khavtkha is tselvg is the same biscuit. Biscuits dedicated to gods (burkhna bortsg) are made separately. They should be made from water, salt and dough only, and should not contain such ingredients as sugar, vegetable oil, and milk. These biscuits are tough to chew. We, Iki-Derbet people, celebrate Zul as a family celebration. In the morning we light candles, make tea and put offerings on the altar. In the evening we light our birthday candles.
Valentina talks about how people celebrated Tsagan Sar, Ur Sar and Usn-Arshan in Kazakhstan during the exile years.
Sanal says that Tsagan Sar lasts for a month. It is important to visit one’s relatives with a bag of bortsg biscuits.
Zurgada says that in the past, during Tsagan Sar people set alight 2 fires and sprinkled salt, flour and incense into them. Afterwards they would go between the 2 fires with their livestock in order to purify their household. During Tsagan Sar ground squirrels wake from hibernation. In the past, the Kalmyks consumed the meat and fat of this rodent.
Purvya says that on the eve of Tsagan Sar people make bortsg biscuits and make offerings to gods. A sheep should be killed before the celebrations. On the morning of Tsagan Sar people make tea. It also the time when ground squirrels emerge from their holes. For Zul people prepare candles from feather grass.
Roza reminisces about how she celebrated Tsagan Sar in her childhood and talks about how she does it today.
Ubush relays a legend about how the goddess Green Tara saved humanity from a powerful monster by first marrying him and then killing him. Ubush recalls how his grandmother made candles from potatoes and butter during Tsagan Sar. During the celebrations his family ate Kalmyk biscuits, dairy products, mutton and drank tea. Ubush says that during Tsagan Sar it is customary to say well-wishes to each other, read prayers, light candles and pay a visit to relatives. Today people increasingly make meatless offerings to gods and abstain from drinking vodka, which Ubush sees as a positive trend. Note: in this video Ubush confuses Green Tara with another goddess, Palden Lhamo.
Nina says the following: in the past, people prepared for Tsagan Sar in advance. They sewed new clothes and hung them on a rope. Brides had to congratulate their husband’s relatives. All guests had to be given presents. In the morning people made tea and offered it to gods. Tsagan Sar lasted for a month.
Tsagan Sar originates from the Buddhist canon. The Buddhist astrological tradition that was combined from traditions of India, Persia, China. This is the system that Tibetan Buddhism has been using. It later came to Mongolia. Mongolia came up with its own astrological calculation. Tsagan Sar for Buddhists of Nalanda tradition (or Tibetan tradition) is very similar. It is the first day of the first month according to the lunar calendar. It is considered as New Year. It means White month. In Buryat it is called Sagalgan, in Kalmykia as it is in Mongolia – Tsagan Sar, in Tuva – Shaga. The way of celebrating differentiates from culture to culture. In the Kalmyk tradition Zul is celebrated as new year. The day of Tsongkapa Gegyan’s birth, his enlightenment and passing to nirvana. Tsagan Sar is celebrated in more of a spiritual atmosphere. The reason for this is that, the Kalmyks lived as nomads and when Zul happens in winter, that is the time when all families gathered at home. It is an opportunity to celebrate Zul as New Year. During Tsagan Sar Kalmyks do not have a new year festive celebration, but they spend this day in prayers. In Gelug tradition Lama Tsongkapa begins great Monlam festival, a prayer festival. Monlam begins from 1 day to 15th day of the first month according to the lunar calendar. Spring has arrived, and many of the nomads will be going away from their families for many months. So they dedicate this time in prayers, in spiritual activities for a good year ahead, good pasture, etc. That is how Tsagan Sar is celebrated in Kalmykia. In Mongolia and Buryatia the celebration is a more festive, new year atmosphere. On this day it is auspicious to wear some new clothing and sit together as a family. The youngest child in the family would serve tea to the elders. In Tibet they serve sweets and rice. In Kalmykia they would serve tea and bortsg. People would say prayers, visit holy places, monastic institutions.
This discussion was organized by two organizations, namely In’glyan (the Association of Women of Kalmykia) and Bilgin Dala.
Zinaida says that Tsagan Sar is a good celebration. People make tea, offerings to gods, pray, and utter well wishes as follows: ‘Let the celebrations be happy/ Let all the bad go away and the good stay/ Let our Republic bloom and develop/ Let our towns grow/ Let our tables be full with food/ Let all your wishes be fulfilled!’ For Tsagan Sar people make biscuits (but without eggs). Tsagan Sar is a celebration to show respect to the goddess Okn Tengri.
Sangadzhi says that during Tsagan Sar two gods, Okn Tengr and Tsagan Aav, are honoured. There is a legend about this holiday. Once upon a time there lived a monster (mangas) who was prophesized to father a child that would exterminate the human race. In order to save the humans, the goddess Okn Tengri married the monster, got pregnant and when she was about to give a birth she galloped back home. On her way the goddess gave birth to a boy whom she killed straight away. When she reached her settlement, her hands were dripping with blood. That is why during Tsagan Sar people greet each other by covering their hand with their sleeves. Also, during this holiday it is believed that Tsagan Aav moves his livestock from the winter pasture to the summer one. In order to keep his way clear, it is forbidden to create dust or smoke (by cleaning one’s house or setting a fire). During Tsagan Sar offerings made to the gods include not only Kalmyk tea but alcohol as well. Since alcohol is tantamount to a fire in the world of gods, this kind of offering appeases angry gods and goddesses such as Okn Tengr and Ochirvani. The day before Tsagan Sar, Kalmyks make traditional biscuits (bortsg) of various kinds and cook mutton and Kalmyk tea. Another belief related to this holiday is that during Tsagan Sar ground squirrels appear from their burrows to herald the beginning of spring.
Galina talks about the symbolism of some biscuit varieties that people make at Tsagan Sar.
In this video Maya shows and talks about varieties of traditional bortsg biscuits used during Tsagan Sar.
Women wake up first and make traditional biscuits (bortsg) and make milk tea. Before dawn they light candles and then wake up elders who utter well-wishes to the food and celebration. In the past, children were sent to neighbours to invite them for celebration. It was not customary to consume alcohol and people presented each other with sugar lumps. It was compulsory to offer the first portion of tea and food (deezh) to gods and ancestors. Tsagan Sar lasted for a month.
This video features a religious ceremony held at the Central Temple in Elista on the occasion of the national holiday of Tsagan Sar on 19 February 2015.
Two women, Alexandra and Antonina, talk about how Kalmyks, including their families, celebrate Tsagan Sar.