Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (DERBET): Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
The Oirats, ancestors of the Kalmyks, participated in the campaigns of Chingis Khan and his descendants as military units. There is a widespread view among Kalmyk scholars that the names of these units turned later into various ethnonyms such as Derbet (cavalry), Torghut (guards of the khan's residence), and Khoshud (vanguard units).
The Derbets of Kalmykia are the descendants of those, who together with other Oirat tribes, came to the Volga region from Dzungaria at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The Derbet consists of various clans or lineages, including Abaganer, Chonos, Sharyad, Sharnut, Tadzhiut, Tsoros, Tugtun, Kharnut, Merkit, Kereit, Batut, Khoit, Khoshud, Tarachin, Sokhad, Tsaatan, Khazakh, Telegit, and others. Today the Derbets live in compact groups in the northern part of Kalmykia.
On this page, you can watch videos about the Derbet, their constituent clans, lineages, stories, legends, and much more.
Petr says that the name Derben Oirat derives from the phrase ‘four close tribes’ that lived in the Altai region. Each of the tribes had their own totemic animal, including the crow, the swan, the wolf and the deer. The crow and the swan are heavenly creatures symbolising the sun and the moon, whereas the wolf and the deer are earthly animals. The tribes with whom the Derbet Oirat exchanged brides were referred to as tyurkyut, meaning ‘relatives’.
Lev talks about Kalmyks from Bolsherebetovskiy ulus whom he characterizes as ‘quite Russified’. He says that this was because local Kalmyks lived side by side with Germans, Estonians, Russians and Cossacks from whom they borrowed many things. Bolshederbetovkiy ulus was also home to Buzavas, Kumsk Kalmyks and Tersk Kalmyks who arrived there in the 1920s.
Maria is from the clan of Dund Khurul, which consists of several sub-clans or lineages. Her father was from the sub-clan of Iki-Bargas, whereas her husband is from that of Baga-Bargas. The Dund Khurul people live in several villages, including Ungun-Teryachi (means ‘Lost Foal’) and Khanata (derives its name from a nearby lake).
Gennadiy says that according to one version, the ethnonym Derbet derives from the word derbuljin, meaning ‘a square’. According to yet another version, it derives from the word durbot, ‘a nomadic camp’ that belonged to Ulinda-Budan-Taisha.
Oleg says that Chonos is an ancient clan. They served as vanguard troops in Chingis Khan’s army when he besieged Beijing. The Chonos people came to the Volga as part of the Derbets who in their turn followed the Torghuts. The Chonos clan was led by the zaisang Galzu-Basu. The Baga-Chonos consists of 8 arvans.
Ivan explains a Kalmyk saying about the village of Uldyuchin: ‘If you are planning to die, go to Uldyuchin’. This saying has the following story. Once upon a time, two Torghut men set out on a journey to Stavropol to sell salt. On the way one of them got very sick and decided to say in Uldyuchin where the locals looked after him well. When the man died, the locals buried him properly with all required honors. Since then people in Kalmykia say that ‘if you are planning to die, go to Uldyuchin’.
Ivan says that each arvn (lineage) of the Ulduchin clan had its pastureland. For example, Shotkud arvn lived in the area of Lake Purvyan-Nur, while Duralmud arvn lived near Lake Bukhyn-Nur. Historically, the Uldyuchin land included the following places as well: Khulstyn-Nur, Kelkyan-Sala, Mangdyn-Sala and others. The Ulduchin clan had its own temple which was built near a hill.
Ivan says the following: Despite being of a Khoyt origin, the Uldyuchin clan is today considered to be a part of the Bag-Derbet clan. After the Khoyts come to the Lower Volga, some of them settled among the Derbets, putting the foundation of the Uldyuchin clan. The Uldyuchin clan today consist of 23 arvn (lineages). The clan’s banner has the depiction of Daichin-Tengri (god of war) on one side and a flying bird holding a sword on the other. In Kalmyk the word ‘uldyuchin’ means ‘sword bearers’. When the Kalmyks were exiled in 1943-1956, the banner was kept by one old Uldyuchin woman who was exiled to Siberia.
There are no pure clans among Kalmyks, only mixed ones. My clan of Kazhikhn belongs to Abganer, which is a bigger clan. As Erdniev wrote, among the Kazhikhn there are also Merkits, which is another clan. Each Kalmyk clan had its own land, lords (noyons) and temple. The Chonos clan was the biggest landowner, comprising 6-7 large settlements. Kalmyks had a semi-nomadic way of life. I lived in Matrosovo village. The Chonos clan is comprised of many families, including the Menkenovs, Dzhapovs, Marminovs, Seperovs, Setenovs, Shurginovs, Zurumkhinovs, Bembeevs and others. One Alexei Chudenov of the Chonos clan went to war when he was 16, killed four Germans with a shovel, for which he received a medal. He was sent to Siberia with his medal. There when he went to register at the commandant's office, the commandant did not believe that a young Kalmyk guy could have a medal and accused him of theft. Alexei picked up a bench and smashed the head of the commandant, which killed him. For this he could have been shot. Alexei fled on a train to Western Ukraine to his uncle Zurumkhinov, where he had himself recorded as a Bashkir and lived until 1992 under the surname Soloviev. He could not receive his medal back from the military enlistment office until he changed his surname back to Chudenov.
My husband’s clan is called al’chkud. The Karmanovs, the Kardonovs, the Basangovs, the Shovarikovs are the members of this clan. There is another clan called bokin aldrmud, their members are the Bembeevs. The other clans are baatr choktyankhn, their members are the Lantsynovs, baldrmud – the Mandzhievs, khasgud – the Shovunovs and the Khakhlashovs, bazgudakhn – the Muzraevs.
Kheecha talks about his genealogy, the composition of the Bag Chonos clan, historical people and the relics of his clan.
One of Vladimir’s ancestors was a man called Gesha. Gesha’s son was Tsom, whose son was Kartul, whose son was Shipil, whose son was Mandzhi. Madzhi was Vladimir’s father. Vladimir belongs to the Tsoros clan. The Tsoros has several sub-clans, including Sharyad, Tarachnr, Sogtu and Dund. Sharyad were fishermen, whereas Tarachnr were agriculturalists. Dund are people who joined the Tsoros later. The village of Tsoros was populous in the past.
Nikolai talks about his clan, its history, place of habitat and famous people from his clan (including the lama Baazra bagshi, the lama Zhizhetn bagshi, and others).
In this interview Konstantin talks about the history and composition of the Bagud clan.
The Ik Khurul (Big Temple) was situated in the village of Arshan’-Zel’men’, the Dund Khurul (Middle Temple) in the village of Khanata and Ungn Teryachi, and the Bag Khurul (Small Temple) near Khargata lake. Among them the Bag Khurul had the smallest territory.
In this interview Ulyumdzhi talks about the Chonos clan, including its history, composition, and a legend about its origin.
In this short interview, Zoya talks about the history of the Derbets and compares them with Torghuts in terms of their respective dialects, customs and dress.
Lyudmila says that the village of Yarta was established in 1865 near the village of Khar-Buluk. In 1943, the villagers, along with the rest of the Kalmyk population, were sent into exile. After exile, the villagers rebuilt their village in a new location which was a post station in 1911. They named it Khar-Buluk, meaning ‘a clear spring’ in Kalmyk. Near the village is a sacred place locally known as the ‘Lonely Poplar’ where grows a poplar tree planted about 150 years ago by the famous Kalmyk monk Purdash.
According to a legend, the Dalai Lama V and the Panchen Lama IV gave the Kalmyk people a mobile temple as a present. A group of Kalmyks (who were founders of the Bogdakhin clan) were given a task to protect that temple on its way from Tibet to Kalmykia. On their way, these Kalmyks met an oracle who gave them a flower seed and asked them to plant it. ‘When the flower blooms’, the oracle said, ‘look for a special sign on its petals’. As requested, the Kalmyks planted the seed in a pot. Soon it grew and the time came when the flower was about to open its petals. But the flower bloomed when the Kalmyks were all asleep. The pilgrims who had stayed with them the previous night had picked the precious flower and taken it away. After hearing what had happened, the monk of that temple said to that group of Kalmyks that they and their descendants would always give their labour to others for free. This prophecy turned out to be true. The descendant of those Kalmyks, who came to comprise the Bogdakhin clan, have always worked for others. The Bogdakhin clan has another legend or prophecy which is kept in secret and only a chosen number of its members knows about the content. This legend has to stay secret, because if an outsider learns about it the prophecy will never materialize.
Galina talks about the history of the Bogdakhin clan. The Dalai Lama V and the Panchen Lama IV gave the Kalmyk people a mobile temple as a present. When the temple was brought to Kalmykia in 1681, Ayuka Khan and Monke Temir, who was a Derbet nobleman, allocated a place for the temple along the Manych river. People from various clans were tasked with protecting and looking after the temple.
In this interview Bulyash talks about her clan, including its deity-protector and stamp.
The video contains an interview with Maria where she talks about the Derbets. Being a Derbet herself, she talks about her place of birth, exile, and about the Derbets of Kalmykia and Mongolia.
Baatr says that his clan of Batud consist of two groups, namely Iki Batud and Baga Batud. The same can be seen among the Bukhus clan which consists of Iki Bukhus and Baga Bukhus. The Bukhus are descendants of Chingis Khan.
Pavel relays a legend about the origin of his clan, and talks about the composition and some unique characteristics of his clan.
In this video three Derbet individuals, Pavel Antonov, Baatr Mandzhiev and Nadezhda Badmaeva, talk about the Derbet tribe/clan.
One of Ais’ ancestors was a big and strong man who weighed about 100 kilos. When in 1771 the Kalmyk Ubashi khan led the Kalmyks back to Dzungaria, people of the Tsagan Nur region decided to stay in Kalmykia. However, 12 men of the Nornyakhn clan followed the khan. Ais’ ancestor chased those men, caught them at a lake and by force brought them back. The Nornyakhn has since been the largest clan in the region.