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
ON BÁLINT'S ACCOUNT ABOUT HUNTING WITH BIRDS Although Marco Polo writes with highly praising words about the royal falconry in Kubilai's court, this art of hunting almost disappeared with the centuries from the tradition in the Mongolian cultural area. In contemporary Mongolia the Kazaks in Bayan-Ölgii district practice the raising of hunting eagles, utilise them in hunting and as tourist attraction during summer festivals. From the 18-19 1' 1 century accounts Pallas" 8 2 and Bergmann" 8 , gave detailed descriptions of falconry. In Pallas' work one also finds terminology (names of birds) and the description of training the bird. Bergmann reported about the process of hunting and the booty. Their data complemented with Bálint's records might serve as the basis of a unique account on this way of hunting already forgotten by the Mongols. ON THE PRESENT-DAY CONTEXT OF BÁLINT'S MATERIAL As pointed out in the introduction to this chapter,, some characteristic phenomena of traditional ways of life are absent, such as descriptions of costume, fishing (that became essential for the Kalmyks in the vicinity of the Volga) and the preparation and consumption of meat products. Thee migration process and the felt tent including the felt making are described in details. As a member and leader of the HungarianMongolian Expedition, 1 had the opportunity to visit Oirat and Khalkha nomadic families regularly over several years. One achievement of this long lasting fieldwork is the DVD which introduces the contemporary nomadic way of life on the basis of current materials recorded by the expedition. Checking the materials of various cross-referencing of materials from travelogues, early reports and the situation today, further emphasises the importance of Bálint's material , as his short texts are fairly accurate and are endowed with excellent terminology in Kalmyk. As it has been stated in the Introduction, a separate volume is planned for the Kalmyk and Khalkha Ethnographica recorded by Bálint, to be presented in the context of 18 l h and 19 t h century travelogues. Here, merely parallel material is offered from the present day life of the Altai Oirats and Khalkhas, taken from the DVD devoted to the material culture of the Mongols, in order to demonstrate the broader context of Bálint's data. First an article on the various works with the livestock, in order to show parallels to and highlight omissions in Bálint data. In addition, a concise presentation of felt making among the Oirats and Khalkhas will be provided as the context to the method of preparing felt among the Kalmyks. Finally general information about the felt tent will be discussed ,showing the similarities between 19 l h century and present day practices on the basis of out team's field research. FIVE KINDS OF LIVESTOCK (TAWANXOSU MAL) AND PERTINENT ACTIVITIES ( MAL MALLAGÁ) U M For Mongols, the basis of existence is the five kinds of livestock. Nearly all areas of the economy, society and culture, and all activities — be they ordinary, festive or sacral - are related in some way to livestock. Domestic animals also appear in every unit of this publication aimed to introduce the material culture of the Mongols. Livestock is generally called mal, a term also denoting horned cattle in particular. Mongols breed five kinds of livestock called tawan xosii mal: sheep, goat, horse, horned cattle (and yak), and camel. The main aim of animal husbandry is to acquire meat and dairy products, as well as leather and wool for their own needs and also for commercial purposes. Besides, the livestock provide the saddle, pack and draft animals needed for transport and migrating. Each pastoral family does not usually possess all five kinds of livestock; climatic conditions and vegetations determine the kind of animals they keep. Yaks are mainly bred in cooler northern areas and camels in drier regions of the Gobi. From among small-sized livestock, 1,8 2 Pallas I. pp. 147-148. 118 1 Bergmann II pp. 182-190, also DuSan pp. 112-114. 118 4 Birtalan, Agnes: Five kinds of livestock (tawanxosü mal) and pertinent activities (mal mallaga). In: Material Culture (DVD). 162
