Birtalan Ágnes: Kalmyk Folklore and Folk Culture in the Mid-19th Century: Philological Studies on the Basis of Gábor Bálint of Szentkatolna’s Kalmyk Texts.
ETHNOGRAPHICA CALMYCICA
either sheep or goats are predominant, depending on the kind of produce (dairy products, mutton, cashmere) the family trades in. Even families who are not horse breeders have a few horses, first of all for riding (unalgin mori) and rarely to draw carts. On the basis of millennium-old observations, the five kinds of livestock are categorized by the Mongol herders in various ways. 1. Large-sized (bod mat) and small-sized (bog mat) livestock. The size of the animal is important for both breeding customs, the implied work processes and for utilisation. Horses, cattle and yaks and camels are large-sized animals or bod mal , sheep and goats belong to bog mal, or small-sized livestock. 2. Warm-muzzled (xalün xosüt mat) and cold-muzzled (xiiiten xosüt mat) livestock. This is not merely a physiological differentiation, but it also alludes to the relationship between herders and livestock. Warmmuzzled are the animals that the nomads regard as the essential stock for their subsistence: horses and sheep. The horse helps people meet (i. e. the horse is the mount) and is the ornament - "forehead" — of festivities, games, races, weddings; the best part of mutton is served up for the guests at festive meals and the wool of sheep is used to make the felt for the dwelling. The camel, cattle and goat have less central roles; hence they are ranged as cold-muzzled creatures. NB! Horned cattle are also placed in the group of the warm-muzzled livestock. 3. Another determining factor in keeping animals is to see which kinds can be grazed simultaneously and which successively, and how far each kind must be driven to pasture. Livestock grazed in nearby pastures is called oir belcerln mal , those grazed at faraway pastures are xol belcerln mal. Unlike e. g. in Hungarian in which groups of various livestock have different names, in Mongolian all are called siireg: adünl süreg "horse herd", iixrln süreg "cattle herd", sarlagln süreg "herd of yaks", temen süreg "herd of camels", xoninl siireg "herd of sheep", yarnan siireg "herd of goats". Among the work processes required by keeping animals, some are permanent, e. g. grazing (cf. Pasture, grazing), others are seasonal, e.g. propagation, castration, accustoming the livestock to saddle, bridle, harness, shearing (cf. Felt making), branding (cf. Property marks), penning (cf. Penning), slaughtering. Pasturage ( mal xariulax) is done in the pastures (beider) belonging by traditional proprietary right to the pastoral family, usually sharing chores with other related families. Watering places are also used by several families to water the livestock (uslax ). One form of pasturing is to separate reserve pastures (otor) and graze the stock on them. In winter and spring they help the livestock to gain strength (ond orfilax otor); in summer and autumn they serve its fattening (targa xiicnJ otor). SEASONAL DIVISION OF PASTORAL WORK PROCESSES In winter (öwöl) the most essential task is to protect the livestock (ond orülax "to pull through", lit. "to admit them into the [new] year"). The danger of perishing (jud; plague, natural calamity) of the livestock caused by harsh weather conditions is great in this season. Even the survival of a nomadic empire could be jeopardized by recurrent extreme weather and loss of livestock. The ethnic group that had lost its livestock moved away from its native area to acquire new pastures and animals. It may also happen in our days that there is too much snow and the livestock cannot scratch out the vegetation from below the frozen crust (cagän jud "white plague"), but when there is too little snow, the livestock may thirst (xar jud, "black plagues"). Foraging is also spreading in Mongolia. Some kinds of pasture are used as hayfields (xadlan) in the summer and the hay is transported to the winter camp to feed the animals (tejex). Giving birth to the young begins in late winter (mal töllülex, töl tosox, töl cagälax), goats and sheep yean from February, March. Penning (mal xotlülax) is particularly important in this period because harsh weather easily kills the young. Mainly in windy areas herders erect pens (xasä, xot). The young are sometimes moved into the yurt and tied to ropes on the man's side (xurga isigxögnöx "tie up lamb, kid", xogln töl "young bound to a rope"). When an animal drops its young later than the rest, the little one (xenj "late offspring") is often kept as a pet around the yurt. Some sheep and camel mothers refuse to accept their young (golonxoi). In 163
