Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (LIVESTOCK BREEDING/SHEEP): Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
Tatyana says that during the slaughter of a sacrificial sheep monks read prayers for two main reasons: (1) for the sheep so that it attains a better rebirth and (2) for the butcher to have his sins cleansed. Before the slaughter the mouth and the back of the sheep are smeared with milk and butter, and a white cloth is laid underneath the animal. In the past, sheep’s intestines were used to make stings for the dombra instrument.
Nikolay has been working in animal husbandry since he returned home from military service. Today he works as a shepherd at the Aduch farm.
Leonid contends that the life of herders is hard and that they constantly worry about their animals, especially during lambing time. He also says that animal husbandry should be supported by the state and made attractive to young people. In his view, Kalmyk culture and language are connected with animal husbandry.
Ubush knows how to look after sheep, shear their wool and rid them of insects. He can determine the age and gender of any sheep. He says that rams are usually kept for meat. He recalls, however, that his grandfather kept one old ram without killing it, but says he does not know the reason. Sheep should be grazed in one place only once and then the pasture should be left sheep-free for a while so that the grass can grow again. The Kalmyk breed of sheep graze far away from each other. As a result, their impact on the grassland is minimal. The Kalmyk breed of horses came about when the Kalmyks came to live in Russia. It is a mix of the Don and Kabardin breeds of horses. In the summer the Kalmyk horse sheds its fur, but in the winter it grows it again. This horse is well adapted to hot Kalmyk summers and cold winters, and feeds itself. According to Ubush, it is forbidden for the Kalmyks to eat horse meat. The Kalmyk breed of camel is massive in terms of its size and is also well adapted to the harsh Kalmyk climate. It also produces a lot of milk and wool.
This video features a traditional way of slaughtering and butchering a sheep videotaped in Tsagan-Aman in July 2014.
Polina says that in the past the Kalmyks bred four types of livestock, including sheep, camels, cattle and horses.
In his childhood Anatoliy looked after sheep. He recalls how he as a boy suckled lambs and how older people sheared sheep’s wool and weaved socks. Later his weaving skills helped Anatoliy in Siberia where he made socks out of dog hair. In his childhood Anatoliy’s family lived in the kolkhoz of the 3rd Internatsional in Tsoros. The kolkhoz kept horses. When in 1943 the Germans occupied the kolkhoz, they left four limping horses with the villagers. Anatoliy and his friends looked after these horses. He also recalls how he loaded camels, horses and bulls with salt in order to exchange the salt for potatoes. When it started raining the camels could not go, as their flat legs slid in the mud. Anatoliy worked with four kinds of livestock, including sheep, camels, horses and cows.
One day in the distant past, god created four breeds of livestock, including a cow, a horse, a sheep, and a camel. While god was breathing life into them, a devil also created a goat but could not make it come alive. Then god breathed life into the goat and said, ‘Let it be counted as one of the breeds of livestock as well’. The superstitious Kalmyks, however, still see goats as devil’s animal. That is why they do not keep them.
In the past, the Kalmyks dedicated sheep or goats to gods by marking them with a ribbon tied around the animal’s neck. No one was supposed to touch or kill these sacred animals.
Sometimes ewes reject their new-born. Zurgada’s paternal uncle had the following method to make such ewes accept their lambs. He used to take saliva from the lamb and hand it over to its mother while saying the following: ‘Pog-pog, why are you rejecting your offspring? How will you walk in the spring wind? It is your lamb. Even birds that do not have udders feed their chicks’. After this, the ewe would accept its lamb.