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.
FOLKLORE GENRES
food, greeting the Lunar New Year, first milking of a mare and a great variety of other phenomena). 271 Thz yöräl ends with a short formula requesting blessing for the person, the community, the object or the work process to whom or to which it is addressed. This formulaic ending of the blessing is the essential part of the text and exists independently as well, as a separate folklore genre called beige demberel-iin iige (Mong.), beleg demberlm iig (Khal.) "good wish", lit. "words of good omen" (from Tib. rten 'brel). This later genre is supposedly identical with the Kalmyk axr yöräl 27 2 mentioned in Badmajev's and Bordzanova's studies. The yöräl is generally performed by a professional expert (Kalm. yörälc, Khal. yörölc) at more formal, festive events and addressed to a larger group such as a family or a community In contrast, a good wish is usually more informal: it might be said by anybody on certain occasions occurring by chance (e. g. when a crow croaks, when someone sneezes, when someone unintentionally meets a group of people preparing felt, when a child's tooth falls out and many other similar occasions). 2 7' The researchers of Kalmyk folklore, such as Bordzanova and Badmajev regard the blessings as one of the liveliest genres among contemporary Kalmyks. However, concerning earlier text corpuses, blessings (original Kalmyk texts or translations) were recorded comparatively later than other genres, such as tales (Bergman, Jülg) and folk songs (Pallas). 27 4 As regards structure, blessings 2" are related to panegyrics (Mong. maytayal , Khal., Kalm. magtäl), curses (Mong. qariyal, Khal., Kalm. xaräl)and spells (Khal. dom siwsleg, cf. below); all these genres are built on parallelism and their ending formulae activate the spirits and supernatural forces in order to help to designate the place of the blessed phenomenon in the social life of the community. In linguistic terms, the blessings end with a verb bearing the marker of a type of imperative mood. Commonly used in ending formulae are, e.g., boltxa (Mong. boltuyai) "let it be, become a ..., into a ...; may it be ...", kürtgä (Mong. kiirtiigei) "let it get ..., may it get ,..". 2 7" At feasts the formula-ending verb is often provided with an infix of cooperative action (Kalm. -cxä-, Khal. -cgä 4-) and a voluntative suffix (Kalm., Khal. -yä i, -X) that invites the participants to have enjoyment together: e.g., jiryacyäy(ä),jirya- +-cyä- + -y(ä) "let us have fun together", KdAm.jirycxäi. Among Bálint's records there are three texts under the chapter title yöräl. The first gives the impression that it belongs to another folklore genre, the so called dom sibsilge-yin iige (Mong.), dom siwslegln iig (Khal.), sebselge (Bur.) "magic spell, incantation", which is performed in numerous and various occasions in order to influence the spirits' world or the natural phenomena. The Kalmyks distinguish it with the genre designation tärni used also among other Mongolian people (Mong., Khal. Bur. tarni from Skr. dhärani). Fragment(s) of this genre might be included in a longer blessing, and with respect to its communicative role, it is close to a beige demberel-ün iige, too, as it contains a wish, a request. Bálint's text is devoted to the slaughtered sheep and is performed when the community has already consumed its meat during the feast. It includes a spell for the fertility of the herd and the better rebirth for the sheep's soul in one of the Buddhist paradises, the Sukhävati. ~ 7 7 Since this text is incorporated in the Grammar, Bálint's translation is demonstrated below. In the Manuscript a title is also attached to the text Xöinä maxa idekseni süldii (Kalm. Xönä maxn idsnT siild) "After consuming mutton". 27 1 Detailed list of such events and further literature: BordZanova Magiceskaja poezija. passim; Bordzanova: Obrjadovaja poezija passim. 27 2 Badmajev: Kalmyckaja dorevoljucionnaja titeratura. pp 14-15; BordZanova Magiceskaja poezija. pp. 68-69, cf. also Vladimircov, B. Ja.: Obrazcy mongol'skoj narodnoj slovesnosti (S-Z. Mongolija). Leningrad, Izdanije Instituta Zivyh vostoCnyh jazykov imeni A. S. Enukidze 1926 pp. 8-9. 27 1 Detailed description of occasions and further literature: BordZanova: Magiieskaja poezija. passim; BordZanova: Obrjadovaja poezija. passim 27 1 Beginning of the 20"' century: BordZanova: Magiceskaja poezija. pp 65-67. 27 5 Concerning the generic typology of blessings, cf. Badmajev: Kalmyckaja dorevoljucionnaja lileralura: Ovalov: Blagopozetanija (jorely) - zanr kalmyckogo fo! klora: BordZanova: Magiceskaja poezija: BordZanova: Obrjadovaja poezija. 2 7" Imperative Sg„ PI. 3. 27 7 Bálint SUki-bodin, "the place of Great Bliss, the paradise of dhyani Buddha Amitäbha", Skr. Sukhävati; in other Mongolian languages also Diwäjin (from Tibetan Dbe ba can). BordZanova draws attention to the occurrence of this expression from the nineties of the 20 , h century, as the evidence of inheriting archaic texts or motives, cf. BordZanova: Obrjadovaja poezija. p. 355. 51
