Wandering Behind Death in Western Mongolian Oral Tradition

SRBA, Ondřej. Wandering Behind Death in Western Mongolian Oral Tradition. In Fourteenth Annual International Conference on Comparative Mythology: Death and Migration in World Mythology, August 23-27, 2021, International Association for Comparative Mythology (online). 2021.

Basic information

• Original name: Wandering Behind Death in Western Mongolian Oral Tradition
• Authors: SRBA, Ondřej (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Fourteenth Annual International Conference on Comparative Mythology: Death and Migration in World Mythology, August 23-27, 2021, International Association for Comparative Mythology (online), 2021.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60101 History
• Country of publisher: United States of America
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: Conference program
• RIV identification code: RIV/00216224:14210/21:00119161
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords in English: oral tradition; transcending death; mythization of local history; Western Mongolia; Altai Uriankhai; Zakhchin; Torguud
• Tags: rivok

Abstract

Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhist practice provides a system of ceremonies and rituals to be performed by monk specialists upon someone’s death. Through the classical Mongolian literature lay Mongolian Buddhists became acquainted with Indian and Tibetan notions of hells and the judgment executed by the Lord Yama – Erlig Khan, which are omnipresent in the popular apprehensions of the after-death.
In this contribution I assemble moments related to the “wandering through and behind the death” from within the oral tradition of Western Mongolian (Oirat) ethnic groups, which I recorded during my fieldwork mainly among Altai Urianhais, compared to published oral sources. The aim of the paper is to illustrate the popular understanding of death by following issues:
1. Qualified lamas are believed to be capable to provide guidance to the consciousness of the deceased and help him to pass various obstacles of the intermediate state after death. In Western Mongolia it led to a custom to bury defuncts close to graves of wise lamas. On the contrary, oral tradition provides examples of wrong placed burials, which caused harmful effects to the posterity.
2. Lamas and shamans capable of bringing the soul of a dying person back from the after-death stage. These narratives oscillate between a glorification of shaman/lama‘s skills and an ethic warning not to disturb the givenness of death.
3. Indications of the approaching death in oral tradition. Individuals considered rebirths of celestial entities in oral tradition (for example Hurmast tenger) manifested in the moment of their death.
4. Journey to a new homeland: Western Mongolian oral tradition vacillates between interpretations of the present situation and expectations of future changes. On one side, Western Mongols are transcendentally tied to their current native places, on the other, frequently recall a future wandering to a new land imagined as a paradise.

Links

• GA19-07619S, research and development project: Name: Mongolské rituální rukopisy v české sbírce: jejich edice, historie a středoasijské kořeny

Investor: Czech Science Foundation