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
In the Grammar Bálint provides a genre designation "prayer" (Mong. jalbaril , Khal. jalbiralf 7 8 that is missing in the Manuscript and is not identical with the genre yöräl. The second text is the essential part of a presumably longer blessing performed for the prosperity and wealth of the community on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, the Cagän sar. The third fragment is not a blessing but seems to be a short conversation between mother and son upon his entering into the sangha, i. e. the monks' assembly. Ifit is a part of a folklore genre, it might belong to a kind of qolboya (Mong.), xolbö (Khal.) i. e. "a verse", a kind of a poetical conversation, but usually performed as a monologue and presented "to display one's eloquence". 27 9 g Prayer for the soul of the killed sheep 2 8" 3 May thy flesh and blood I be to us like a feast of immortality! H May thy soul be regenerated in the land Sukhavati! (And) may thy herd be increased to a hundred thousands. The White Moon 28 1 Let your White [Moon] become blessed, Let the white way be adhered to Even though we feast this way this year, Let it become better in the next year, Let us meet personally, Let us grasp a short glass of drink and Let us become happy this way! [CONVERSATION] 28 2 Referring to the Buddhism of the Kalmyks in his fragmentary diary, Bálint quoted this short text and added (compared to the text version in the Manuscript) a somewhat extended translation for it. 2 8' "Since the Oirat-Mongols - known by the sobriquet Kalmyk, Kalmak, Kalmuck - migrated west around 1660, the connection of their Lamas (Buddhist monks) with the Tibetan Lamas broke off, and a Kalmyk Lama became rather the conductor of the ceremonies. It is known for everybody as 27 8 On the variety of folklore genres and their connection to the written genre typology, cf. Birtalan, Agnes: Mongolian Shamanic Texts. Text Collections and Monographs on Mongolian Shamanic Texts. In: Shamanism. An Encyclopedia of World Beliefs, Practices, and Culture. Ed. Namba Walter, Mariko - Neumann Fridman, Eva Jane. Santa Barbara. California - Denver, Colorado Oxford, England 2004. pp. 586-593. 27 9 Mongolian Folklore. A Representative Collection from the Oral Literary Tradition. Ed. Gombojab Hangin, John et alii. Indiana, Bloomington 1998 p. 125. 2 8" Manuscript p 14, Grammar p. 198. Bordzanova mentioned Bálint's record in her Obrjadovajapoezija. pp. 355-356. 28 1 Manuscript p. 14. Cayan sara. Kalm. Cayán sar. 28 2 There is a title to this text but it is crossed out: only some words can be restored ... gegäd ... keleji irädyaboji odba (?) ... saying . . said and coming back left (?). 28 1 "Minthogy az 1600 körül Dzungariából [sic!] nyugatra vándorolt, s gúnynevén Kálmak, Kálmik, Kálmuk nevü irat [sic!] (őred)mongol nép lámái (buddhista pap) és a tibeti lámák között az érintkezés jó idő óta teljesen megszűnt: mondhatni a kalmik láma csupán ceremóniamester. Ezt már a nép is tudja, mert amikor az özvegyasszony fia vonakodik mándsi (lámaklerikus) lenni. így buzdítja öt: 'Hát miért nem akarsz mandsi lenni, mikor az emberek téged mint papot a türébe (a sátorban a főhely az ajtóval szemben) ültetnek, s te a tejnek fölét, a húsnak a javát eszed meg, s mindezért csak néhány bobor, bobor (mormogó) szóval fizetsz." Zágoni p. 38. 52
