Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (EPOS JANGAR): Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
The heroic epos Jangar, known for centuries across Eurasia, is a unique epic creation of the Mongolian peoples. There exist three national versions of the epos, one among the Kalmyks (in Russia), another among the Western Mongols (in Outer Mongolia) and the third among the Oirats of Xinjiang ( in China). Jangar was also known among the Buryats, the Altai people, the Tuvanians and the Karakol Kalmyks of Issyk-Kul' region in Kirgyzstan. The main idea of Jangar consists of praising the idealised country of Bumba, a land of prosperity, immortality and wellbeing, as well as praising peace and consolidation of heroes around Jangar khan, who is a guarantor of stability, security and independence. The epic heroes fight in the name of bringing about and protecting their state, where equality among people is proclaimed, where there are neither national nor social differences, where democracy and consensus reign, and where the interest of the state prevails over individual ones. The Kalmyk version of the epos Jangar consists of 26 original songs, with more than 40,000 lines. The preservation of the epos, its compositional unity, as well as the perfection of its poetic form became possible thanks to Jangar-tellers, who sang Jangar in accordance with the centuries old tradition. Today the oral epic tradition is visibly declining. This tendency came to the fore in the 1980s and the 1990s following the death of the last Jangar-tellers, who had learned the epos from their teachers by means of oral transmission. During perestroika and the democratic reforms in Russia, interest has increased among the Kalmyk youth in the cultural heritage of their ancestors, in particular, in the epos Jangar and Jangar-telling skills. Targeted programmes have been implemented to preserve, develop and to study this epos. Jangar began to be taught in schools as well. Today it is performed at festivals, during folk holidays, official occasions and weddings. In the Kalmyk epic tradition there are two Jangar-telling schools differing by style of performance and repertoire: Eelyan Ovla and the Shavalin Dava schools. At present among the followers of the Eelyan Ovla tradition are Vladimir Karuev, Dordzhi Nandyshev, Baatr Mandzhiev, Oleg Kalykov, Oleg Mankuev and Kutlan Mukobenov. Representatives of the Shavalin Dava Jagar-telling tradition are Andrei Erdni-Goryaev, Baatr Lidzhi-Goryaev, Dmitry Sharaev and others.
Anatoliy says that the heroic epic Jangar originates in Buddhism and is a hidden Tantric teaching. He relays a legend. Once upon a time, a man who had recently died returns to his nomadic encampment as if nothing had happened to him. When a Buddhist monk asks him to say something, the man instead begins to perform Jangar. It turns out that the man was brought to the god of death before his time. Seeing the confusion, the god offered him to take whatever he wished from the after-life. The man decided on Jangar. Anatoliy also says that according to the Kalmyk monk Badma Gedeev, who lived in the 20th century, the epic Jangar appeared during the time of the previous Buddha of Kashyapa. He notes that in all his photographs the famous Jangar singer Eelyan Ovla carries a Buddhist rosary and that he had many signs of Chakravarti, a universal ruler.
This video features the musical concert ‘The Land of Bumba’ by Savr Kataev held in Elista on 8 September 2015. Galina Avdjaeva plays on a string instrument.
Yuriy says that there is one mistake in all Russian prints of Jangar, which has been overseen by all Kalmyk and Russian scholars including Semyon Lipkin and Baatr Basangov. In the Kalmyk original there is a phrase ‘mosn shar zev’ which has been wrongly translated as ‘a sword made from ice’. ‘Mosn’, however, does not mean ‘ice’. Yuriy also says that Jangar performed at the wrong time can bring about famine.
Tseren recalls that when Kalmyks were deported to Siberia, one of the Kalmyk boys kept a book of Jangar. Whenever he read the book, the weather would turn stormy and people stayed indoors.
Baira says that the concepts of ‘epic time’ and ‘fairy tale time’ are different. Such Russian scholars as S. G. Lazutin, S.Yu. Neklyudov, E.M. Meletinsky and V.Ya. Propp wrote about the difference between these two genres. Fairy tales are about kinship whereas eposes are about tribes. Fairy tales usually begin with stories about how a hero sets out on a quest to find a wife, whereas eposes recount about the formation of states. Fairy tales, especially Kalmyk ones, end with the hero forming a family. He finds a bride and has a wedding that lasts 60 to 90 days. By contrast, eposes are about the establishment of states. The Kalmyk word for fairy tale is tuul’. There is also a genre called tyalvrtya tuul’ i.e. a riddle. In other words, riddles are considered fairy tales.
This video features the children’s festival ‘Descendants of Jangar’ which was held in Elista in November 2015. Dedicated to the 575th anniversary of the epos Jangar, the festival was a competition of teams from various schools in Elista. It consisted of the following activities: 1) greetings, 2) competitions in archery, throwing a lasso, wrestling and games with ankle bones, 3) competition in narrating a piece from the epos Jangar, 4) quiz, and 5) an award ceremony.
Dordzhi performs a song from the heroic epic Jangar. This song is about how Alya Monkhlya, who is the son of Duuchi and grandson of Duktukhula, steals 18,000 horses from Jangar.
Dordzhi recites on the dombra instrument from the song about the subjugation of Altan Cheedzhi by Jangar.
Baatr recites on the dombra instrument a piece from the song about the victory of the noble Shovshur over Shara Gyurgyu Mangas Khan.