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
Thirteenth song 40 7 The river called Manych 4" 8 is a beautiful foggy [or bluish] 40 9 river. Our mother, who bore us fits into the skirt of Maitreya. 41 0 The river called Jurg 4" is a beautiful river with mirage. 41 2 Our father who reached a hundred years [of age] fits into the skirt of Tsong kha pa. 4 1 ' The river called Volga is apparently a beautiful river. Our mother who brought us up with love fits into the skirt of the Great Ones. J0 7 Manuscript pp. 27-28. 40 8 Bálint Manca, Kalm. Mane. cf. Russ. ManyC river. "Manych (ma'nich), two rivers, SE European Russia. The Western Manych, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rises near Stavropol in the N Caucasus and flows NW through Lake Manych-Gudilo into the lower Don River. The Eastern Manych rises in a marshy area and flows c. 100 mi (160 km) east to a system of salt lakes and marshes c.75 mi (120 km) W of the Caspian Sea. but it reaches the sea only in rare spring floods. In spring the Western and Eastern Manych join in the center of the Manych Depression, a broad, valleylike low land extending c.350 mi (560 km) southeast from the lower Don to the Caspian Sea. A variant spelling is Manich." In: Columbia Encyclopedia. http://www.answers.com/library/Columbia%20 Encyclopedia-cid-2289062 (Mai 2010). Cf. also Manca "der Fluss Manytsch (zwischen den Astrachanschen und Stavropolschen gouv.)" (R 256). Manych - besides Ijl (Volga), Zä (Ural), Kum/KUm (Kuma) and Ergn (Ergene) - figures in other Kalmyk folk songs as well, cf. mancasin sara toxai dundu Inmitten der gelben Flusswiese des ManyC maral-ni xurazi xaburjilne verbringen die versammelten Hirschkühe den Frühling. Nr. 30. stanza 3ab. Ramstedt — Balinov - Aalto: Kalmückische Lieder, pp. 66-67. Crossing the Manych as the external image of songs (paralleled with the internal image of love to mother or homesick) appears in other Kalmyk songs too, cf. Mangyda bor mörn "The grey Tatar horse" stanza 1, Mane yatlad yarxn' "Crossing the river Manych" stanza 1. Törskn yazrin dud. pp. 107, 108. The description of the territory: Kostenkov, K. I.: Kalmyckaja step' Astrahanskoj gubernii po izsledovanijami [sic!] Kumo-Manycskoj ekspedieii. Izdanije Ministerstva gosudarstvennyh imuäCestv. S.-Peterburg, Tipografija V. Bezobrazova i K 1868 Bálint manuraksan, cf. Kalm. manurx "neblig werden, sich benebeln" (R. 256); manurtx "zastilat'sja tumanom, tumanit'sja; golubef sinef " (Mun. 342). 41 0 Bálint Madiri, Khalm. Mädr, Khal. Maidar, Skr. Maitreya. On the cult of Maitreya among the Kalmyks, cf. Maidari burchan in: Pallas II. pp 84-85. The phrase indicates that people with proper moral behaviour will be reborn under the protection of various Buddhas or important personalities of the Buddhist Faith. Cf. Id, 2d. 3d. The names of the mentioned gods or historical persons are also governed by alliteration. The skirt of the caftan or gown (Kalm. xormä, xormä) can also be used to carry things and its symbolical meaning is to be under the protection of somebody, cf. xormad bagtx "vospityvaf sja v obäCestve, v kollektive", aldr Jangyrin xormad bagtad amr säxn jiryädsüw "i zaZil v sCast'e i blagopoluCii v obäCestve slavnogo DZangara" (Todajeva 460). 41 1 Bálint Juruk, Kalm. jury is the name of a river; its location requires future identification. The hydronym appears in Ramstedt's collection as well, but without further reference: Juruq gedeq yolln Der Dzuraq genannte Fluss jungyaran baizi [sic!] dünggégéd, ist in der Ferne schimmernd kaum sichtbar. Nr. 45. stanza 4. Ramstedt - Balinov - Aalto: Kalmückische Lieder, pp. 90-91. 41 2 Bálint jungyaraksan: both Bálint's and Ramstedt's texts show that jungyr- /jungyär- is a verbal stem as well. Despite its appearance in Ramstedt's folksong collection, it was not included in his dictionary, which otherwise contains numerous examples from folksongs. In Munijev only the nominal stem appears: jungyar "mira2. marevo" (Mun. 233). 4 1' Bálint Zungkabä, Kalm. Zunkw/Zunxw, Khal. Junxaw, Tib. Tsong kha pa, for the cult of Tsong kha pa as deity of the Buddhist pantheon among the Kalmyks cf. Sunkaba, Sauwanchaba by Pallas: Sammlungen. II. 102-103. 66
