In the 20th century, lay Buddhists began to play a far more important role in religious processes both in the West and in Asian countries. Attempts to categorize western Buddhists have shown that the standard division into monks and laity does not work anymore. Going beyond Asia and adapting to new socio-political, economic and cultural conditions, Buddhism has transformed and inevitably taken new forms. The approaches and criteria developed over many years of studying Buddhism in Asia do not describe the whole variety of forms of involvement of western followers. And in the countries of Asia, modernization, secularization and globalization resulted in significant transformations of Buddhist communities. The article shows the main approaches to classify modern Buddhists and the theoretical problems faced by scholars. One of them is the fact that the religious affiliation of the researchers themselves can often influence their conclusions about the authenticity of certain Buddhist groups and the assessment of their activities. The most vivid example is the interpretation of activities by followers of Ole Nydahl. Reference to these groups as ‘neo-Buddhist’ provides no insight into their nature. Currently, the problem of lay Buddhists’ classification is best developed on the North American materials. Scholars criticize the normative approach according to which religious identity is something integral and fixed. On the contrary, the identity of modern western Buddhists results from a variety of factors. Formal criteria — refuge taking, visiting of temples, etc. — do not reveal the diversity of followers of Buddhism. Western researchers offer to pay attention to a large group of people who do not formally belong to Buddhism but show interest in it — the latter called ‘sympathizers’. They have been an important part of the history of Buddhism since about the late 19th century. Scholars recognize the valid and important the easiest criterion — Buddhist is the one who says ‘I am a Buddhist’. The main trends in the transformation of Buddhist practice in the West are the lack of a clear borderline between lay people and ‘professional Buddhists’, lack of common authorities, decline of monasticism, egalitarianism, the increase in the role of women, active participation in public life, often emphases on the psychological rather than religious nature of Buddhist practice. Some researchers suggest it can well be identified as a new Buddhism — a qualitatively different phenomenon emerging in the aftermath of adapting Buddhism to postmodern society. Others wonder whether western Buddhism can actually be viewed as a religion. Many scholars criticize the popular concept of the ‘two Buddhisms’ that distinguishes between ethnic Buddhists (immigrants) and converts (‘white Buddhists’). The use of this concept in the long term shall definitely give rise to further problems: How to classify the descendants of immigrants and converts? Alternatively, some scholars suggest traditionalist and modernist Buddhism(-s) be considered. However, this approach does takes no account of the fact not all converts follow modernist Buddhism, and not all immigrants are traditionalists. The problem of Buddhists’ classification is relevant not only in the western context. Examining a number of cases from Mongolia and Buryatia, the article illustrates similar tension can also be traced in those regions, and it is difficult enough to identify clear categories of believers.
The Gaina Bashkirs are an ethnic group of the Bashkir people basically inhabiting the Tol (Tulva) River Valley, a left tributary of the Kama, within the boundaries of Bardymsky District where they constitute one of the autochthonous populations of the region. The region is vivid and multifaceted; a number of monographs and collections of scientific works have been published. Several expeditions and surveys have been organized to collect somewhat factual materials. In the 21st century, two academic expeditions have been conducted by researchers of the Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the RAS. In 2006, the goals of a complex expedition – which involved linguists, ethnographers and folklorists – included not only collecting activities, studies of folklore poetic patterns and linguistic materials, but also anthropological and craniological research. In 2013, folklore specialists of the Institute organized another expedition to Perm Krai. Analysis of the collected materials shows a significant depletion and reduction in the genre structure of folklore patterns. A number of traditional forms of folklore – such as epic genres and oral fairy-tale traditions – are becoming extinct gradually. So, epic texts and fairy tales were recorded from informants in a fragmentary form, in the form of retelling. The first folklore research expedition arrived in the Gaina in 1963. Thus, the time gap between the first expedition and the last one is more than 50 years. During the period, the population (and the country in general) had experienced some essential transformations, both in terms of socium, economy, culture, and science. Still, the expedition proved fruitful enough, the participants recorded quite number of multi-genre works of Bashkir folklore. The latter included both some newly discovered patterns and new versions of the already recorded oral texts. The folklore collecting activities involved over 50 informants, the bulk of the group being individuals aged 35 to 90. As a result, bright samples of lingering and short lullabies, takmaks were recorded. For the repertory of Gaina Bashkirs is characterized by the abundance of such poetic genres as baits and munazhats. In the region, a number of social and historical baits with dramatic storylines have been discovered. Widespread are munazhats (religious hymns). For example, materials of folklore expeditions attest to the current revival of this unique musical lyric-epic genre, and its existence both in written and oral forms. The materials also include stories about villages, toponymic legends. Interesting information about spiritual hosts has been recorded. The Gaininians have their local features of wedding rites. A distinctive feature of Gainin folklore is the spread of numerous marriage divinations for young women. A rich layer of Perm folk arts is also composed of small folklore genres, namely: zaklichki, verdicts, riddles, proverbs, sayings. Consequently, despite the current extinction (decline) of some traditional genres (epic patterns, fairy tales, wedding laments), folk rites, songs, baits, munazhats, traditional games and paremic genres still do exist. The vivid field materials collected by folklorists show the steady preservation of Bashkir folk arts in the region.
Introduction. Although the national liberation movement of the Mongols in the early 20th century was studied generally well, the so called Kharachin movement and the Kharachin issue have been understudied yet. The article concerns, first of all, the period following the death of its leader Babujab. Data on Babujab’s detachments after his death are fragmentary. Goals and materials. The paper aims to reconstruct the situation faced by these detachments at that time as evidenced from archival data, first of all, reconnaissance and diplomatic reports contained in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (Rus. AVPRI) and Russian State Archive of Military History (Rus. RGVIA), as compared to previously published data. Results. After Babujab’s death in October 1916, the movement in Inner Mongolia did not stop. Some of his followers surrendered to the Chinese, dispersed for robberies, while others (ca. 1 200 men) relocated to Zuun Uzumchin Banner of Inner Mongolia. In early December, a detachment of 1 800 men was in Solun Shan area. Since mid-December, Mongolian guerrillas started to move from Uzumchin to Linzhixian and Chifeng counties. In late December 1916, one of Kharachin leaders, Fushengge, visited Hailar in Barga (Hulunbuir) claiming provision for the Mongolian guerrillas and removal of all Daurs from the government of Barga. The latter declined the claims and started mobilization of troops. According to Fushengge, the detachment of guerrillas consisted of 6 000 Mongols, 400 Chinese, 4 Japanese officers and 218 Japanese soldiers. The guerrillas had Japanese guns. On December 1, 1916, leaders of guerrillas elected the gung Chadarbal to replace the deceased Babujab (Sebjingge, a more skillful military leader, had refused). On the advice of the Japanese, Mongolian guerrillas moved to the southern bank of the Khalkhyn Gol River where they encamped till the spring of 1917. The total number of guerrillas in that camp was estimated sometimes up to 10 000 men, still most probably being 3 000–5 000. The guerrillas planned to participate in restoring the Manchu Qing Dynasty to power. Conclusions. The paper provides detailed descriptions of that camp and life of the guerrillas, as well as some data on their raids to Outer Mongolia. Hailar became the first target of the guerrillas.
The article examines the participation of Cossacks in the implementation of the Russian Government’s plans to create a network of stationary settlements along the roads passing through the territory of Astrakhan Governorate. The paper investigates the Russian administration’s 18th century policy aimed to establish such settlements, shows the role of Cossacks in the process, summarizes the results of implementation of those projects. The work uses materials of researchers from the Lower Volga Region and documents from the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, Russian State Archive of Military History. The paper notes that during the period under consideration one of the main directions of Russia’s policies in the region was the attraction of immigrants and creation of permanent settlements. At the same time, the implementation of an active resettlement policy was constrained by the absence of established and recognized borders (in the south) between Russia and neighboring states and peoples of the North Caucasus. The state could guarantee no security for the migrants and, in turn, Astrakhan Governorate’s office lacked human resources to implement such an active resettlement policy. In the then situation of affairs, the authorities ― not to disperse the scarce human and material resources ― focused on the creation and peopling of fortified military lines, as well as the establishment of most important land communications. In the long term all this opened wide opportunities for the initiation of large-scale migrations. At that stage, Cossacks were recognized as the most suitable contingent since they more adapted ― than other classes and social groups ― to live under the conditions of the frontier. By the late 18th century the Government with the help of Cossacks managed to establish settlements along the Volga part of the strategically important strategic road Moscow – Kizlyar, but the harsh natural conditions of the region and the exhausted resources of the Cossacks made it impossible to people the road Astrakhan – Kizlyar. After the Azov – Mozdok fortified line (virtually Russia’s border in the south) was created in the 1770s, there emerged good opportunities for further broad peasant colonization, and the Cossacks ceased to be regarded as one of the major contributors to the peopling of Astrakhan Governorate.
The paper covers the life and activities of a former abbot of the great Kumbum Monastery in Amdo (China), now the director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana, ― Arjia Rinpoche. The main content is based on the author’s translation from Chinese of the Arjia Rinpoche’s autobiography Against the Winds: the Arjia Rinpoche’s Life and a Secret of the Golden Urn’s Lot published in Taiwan in 2013. This autobiography considerably differs from the former English language autobiography published in the USA in 2010. It is twice as large and is more detailed and reflexive. The article introduces the book and focuses on the main events of Arjia Rinpoche’s life. Born in 1950 in traditional Amdo and recognized as a incarnation of the 8th Arjia Rinpoche, Tsongkhapa’s father, he lived through the all turbulent events of the Tibetan history and gave a deeply moving and fascinating account of his life in a broader context of the Sino-Tibet-Mongolian relations. Being an abbot of Kumbum and a high ranking official as well, he could not compromise his principles in the controversial selection of the 11th Panchen Lama’s incarnation and chose instead to go into exile. The article concludes that Arjia Rinpoche is one of the most important religious and political figures of Tibet, his role in the modern history of Tibet and Amdo is difficult to overestimate, while his autobiography is one of the most valuable and reliable historical sources.
The article briefly analyzes poetic peculiarities of a most prominent epic composition Bora-Shokar Attyg Boralday (Boralday Who Owns the Horse Named Bora-Shokar) from the repertory of the famous taleteller Khurgul-ool Mongush (1908–1983) who was native of Manchurek located in present-day Sut-Kholsky District of the Tyva Republic. Danzyn-ool Sapyyzhyk-oglu Ondar — another remarkable Sut-Khol taleteller — had been one of Khurgul-ool Mongush’s teachers. Later Khurgul-ool learnt the art of tale-telling from Mannay Oorzhak, a bright representative of the Western (Sut Khol) epic tradition of Tuva; he also became familiar with repertories of other local narrators, such as Sevek Ondar, Danzyn-ool Ondar, Shyyrypchyk Oorzkak and others. It is from Mannay Oorzhak that learnt over ten vast epic narratives, including Bora-Shokar Attyg Boralday considered to be a most sophisticated Tuvan epic composition. Khurgul-ool Mongush contained over sixty heroic narratives which he recited from memory. Moreover, a great number of multi-genre fairy tales, non-fairy-tale prose texts, songs and ethnographic essays were recorded from him. Along with diverse compositions from the taleteller’s repertory, the Scientific Archive of the Tuvan Institute for Humanities Research and Applied Socio-Economic Studies stores three multitemporal recordings of Bora-Shokar Attyg Boralday made in 1967, 1980, and 1982 respectively (which is by itself a rare phenomenon in Tuvan folklore studies). In general, the epic relates about old Boralday and his seven sons ― Tevene-Moge who owns the horse named Demir-Kara, Khan-Kuchu-Maadyr who owns the horse named Saryg-Shokar, Tavyn-Maadyr who owns the horse named Saryg-Shokar, Tarys-Maadyr who owns the horse named Saryg-Shokar, Evideenek-Maadyr who owns the horse named Shan-Khüren, Ertine-Mergen who owns the horse named Arzylan-Kyskyl, and Sumee-Maadyr who owns the horse named Kalchan-Khuren ― from the cradle to the grave, sings their exploits against evil invading rulers and mythological creatures ― mangyses, heroic expeditions towards the unknown lands in search of brides accompanied by numerous obstacles, competitions, and their victorious return to the parents, wives, parents-in-law, and other relatives in ancestral lands where they are welcomed with a global feast. The paper shows that Bora-Shokar Attyg Boralday has unique language and poetic/stylistic peculiarities that serve to express Kh. Mongush’s individual poetic patterns. Khurgul-ool Mongush was a gem in the chain of talented and original epic taletellers to have represented the Western (Sut Khol) branch of the Tuvan epic tradition. Together with the Central Asian Gesar, Jangar of the Oirats, the Altaian Maaday Kara and other Turco-Mongolian epics, the Tuvan Bora-Shokar Attyg Boralday can be well viewed as a pinnacle of Tuvan folklore.
The article aims to identify some phonostructural and lexical-semantic features of the Yakut-Mongolian lexical parallels denoting horse coat colors. It is known that the horse is a sacred animal in the Yakut and Mongolian cultures and, therefore, horse breeding terminology is elaborate and rich enough in both the languages. The study of words denoting horse coat colors, thus, would facilitate revealing some questions of the historical development of the Yakut language. In furtherance of this goal, the paper applies several research methods of, the main ones being those involving component and distributive analysis. The component analysis was used to reveal lexical-semantic features of such parallels. The lexemes were divided into three groups, namely: a) those characterized by stability of the lexical meaning of the word; b) those with a partial coincidence of the lexical meaning of the word; c) those featured by a noticeable change in the lexical meaning of the word. The distributive analysis showed the phonostructural features of adjectives denoting horse coat colors, and also revealed ethnocultural differences and similarities. As a result of the study, 13 Yakut-Mongolian parallels have been discovered. As is known, there are about 200 horse coat colors, and to distinguish between them different nations use their complex adjectives. Therefore, the revealed Yakut-Mongolian parallels are divided into 2 categories: one-component (9) and two-component (4). The analysis of the structural type of one-component lexical parallels concluded that 4 out of 9 parallels were subjected to structural changes. Of the 5 parallels with absolute structural coincidences there are three Yakut stems — saalir, buulur, kyreng — that are most probably late borrowings from the Mongolian language. This assumption is based on the criterion developed by professor V. I. Rassadin. The component analysis has shown that preservation of the stability of lexical meanings is noted in 31 % (4) of the parallels, some slight lexical changes occurred in 39 % (5), and notable lexical changes — in 31 % (4). The investigation of lexical meanings and phonetic structures of the borrowed stems in the Yakut language leads to a consistent conclusion that the Mongolian tribes from which the Yakuts had borrowed a large number of horse and cattle breeding, haymaking terms — had mastered livestock breeding activities much earlier than the Yakut people.
Introduction. The article deals with felting arts that constitute an indigenous phenomenon of Mongolic cultures. The study basically stems from the understanding that in terms of social development prospects traditional arts act as genetically related predecessors of modern ones. This is the reason there is certain interest in origins and development trends of ethnic traditions that figuratively mirror people’s mentality. The work focuses on the artistic vision of ancestors, their spatial picture of the world. Within the framework, it is urgent enough to identify peculiarities of worldviews developed by Mongolic nomads — the source materials for the first time ever being Kalmyk artistic felting patterns. The study aims to analyze ornamental patterns that serve as core structural elements to create decorative felting compositions; to introduce into scientific discourse corresponding felting-related materials contained in the Museum of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS. Methods. The interdisciplinary research methodology is predetermined by the comparative analysis of ornamental patterns aiming to reveal local features of Kalmyk felting arts. The traditional visual thinking, its symbolic fundamentals are investigated within the framework of art history and related academic disciplines, such as museology, ethnology, and culturology. Results. In terms of expressive means, the examined ornamental patterns manifest logical features of the ancestors’ visual thinking, the former being arranged along elements of the nomadic world. The archetypes repeatedly inherited within the traditional ethnic system constitute certain peculiarities that form the folk Kalmyk applied arts style typical for the traditional artistic handicraft artifacts — including felting ones — contained in the Zaya Pandita Museum of Traditional Culture (KalmSC of RAS) and other museums of the republic. The museum’s funds constituted by a number of nomadic lifestyle collections, including those of the Buddhist cult, serve as a source to explore folk decorative and applied arts, the latter being viewed within the system of Kalmyk artistic culture. The typical ornamental patterns of Kalmyk felting works are geometrical compositions characterized by distinct linear properties and laconic color schemes. The symmetry of ornamental decorative elements is underlined by respective fixed centers. Every certain quilting has top-and-down, central, left and right dimensions. Geometrically reversible ornamental patterns are also typical for Kalmyk decorative felting works. These are the spatial parameters of decorative felting items in the people’s traditional culture. Conclusions. The paper identifies the archetypes of the traditional worldview of Kalmyk nomads and respective local peculiarities manifested in decorative felting arts. The common ethno-genetic backgrounds of Turko-Mongols includes certain ethnic peculiarities that take corresponding forms within spatial parameters of ornamental felting patterns.
The article examines one of the most popular aspiration prayers of Tibetan Buddhism — Ārya Bhadracarya Praṇidhāna Rāja (shortly referred to as Bhadracarya), known in the Tibetan tradition as Zangcho monlam (Tib. Bzang spyod smon lam). It is considered both in the context of grand sutras — the Avataṃsaka Sūtra and Gaṇḍavyūha Sutra — as a part of which it once entered the canonical collections of Kangyur and Tengyur, and as an independent text. Its popularity and wide dispersion in the written culture since the very beginnings of the Buddhist era in Tibet (Tib. snga dar) are evidenced by numerous written versions, as well as some epigraphic sources, e. g., an inscription in the Brag Yerpa monastic complex dated to the 9th century AD. Moreover, the Dunhuang manuscripts dated to the same period comprise over forty texts of this monument represented by Tibetan and Chinese translations along with some related narratives. One such narrative, manuscript PT 149, most likely contains attempts by Tibetan translators to identify the transmission line of Bhadracarya, which definitely adds to its significance in the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The text dealt with the cult of the Pure Land of Buddha Amitabha — Sukhavati — in China and, probably, in Tibet, and, as researchers S. van Schaik and L. Doney suggested, was had been recited for the long life of King Trisong Detsen. Also, in the Tibetan written tradition Bhadracarya was often quoted by Buddhist teachers as an example of the sevenfold ritual which is very important to Vajrayana practices. The article also deals with biographies of the translators mentioned in the colophons of Tibetan translations of Bhadracarya — Kawa Peltseg (Tib. Ska ba dpal rtsegs), Cogro Lui Gyaltsen (Tib. Cog ro klu’i rgyal mtshan) and Ma Ratna Yatra (тиб. Rma rad na ya kra) whose translation is contained by the Dunhuang sources; and Yeshe De (Tib. Ye shes sde), Indian pandits Jinamitra (Tib. Dzi na mitra) and Surendrabodhi (Tib. Su rendra bo dhi), and Vairocana (Tib. Bai ro tsā na) whose translation was included in the Kangyur and Tengyur. Bhadracarya is still very popular in contemporary Tibetan Buddhism, and the fact is emphasized by many scholars.
With evidence from literary, electronic, visual sources, the article investigates the original medieval monuments of Mongolia and their reconstructions. This work resulted in a compilation of a consolidated list of corresponding items to be found in Russia and Mongolia’s museums. Due to objective reasons the list is short, but it does provide an overview of development of national military affairs. Nowadays ― after many years of oblivion ― there is an increasing interest towards medieval Mongolian culture. A history of reconstructions of medieval armor and equipment revealed an opportunity for graduation of popular and scientifc historical reconstructions. Despite some common features, each one has its certain objectives, targets and specifcs, still the trends complement each other. Popular historical reenactments had emerged earlier and became widespread enough. Due to this trend, on the basis of scientifc studies archaeologists have established a new methodology for research of historical reconstructions and implemented it in practice resulting in the establishment a scientifc school. Nowadays the medieval arts of war, including Mongolian ones, are represented by a large block of remakes of military equipment, the degree of reliability of the armor being quite high. In many cases, traditional medieval techniques and materials are used, which had been restored by academic researchers. Many such items received the status of museum objects, replenishing funds of famous museums. Thus, one can witness the emergence of a living history museum in Mongolia as a new form for a revival of historical memory and cultural heritage of the Mongolian Empire. Preservation of the country’s nomadic way of life contributes to the creation of reliable authentic reconstructions with the use of medieval technologies and materials still to be seen in modern everyday life. Integration of historical heritage into tourism is advantageous both from an economic point of view, and from the perspective of preservation and promotion of cultural heritage.
To reconstruct the true history of Mongolic peoples it is of utmost importance to investigate the process of formation of their peripheral ethnic communities. The article examines the history of formation of the understudied Mongolic ethnos of New Barghuts (Mong. Shine Barga) residing in Northeast China (prefecture-level city of Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region). Before moving to Hulunbuir, the mentioned group had been a part of the Baikal tribe Khori. In the 13th century, the steppe Mongols referred to the population inhabiting the Baikal region as ‘Bargut’ which was due to the name of the territory ― Bargujin Tokum. In the 17th century, the given nickname was most often used to denote the Khori clans who were tributaries and subordinates to Tsetsen Khan. By orders of the Mongolian Khan, they would form ancillary military units within corresponding troops, which would keep them long in Eastern Khalkha. Those were the Manchu people who virtually invaded Mongolia and, following suit of the Mongols, started calling the Transbaikalia Khori ― ‘Barghuts’. Having conquered Southern Mongolia, they proceeded with the establishment of a banner system in Khalkha. In Tsetsen Khan Aimag, the Khori people were also included in a banner. Between 1655 and 1670, for contribution to the powerful state and army the Manchu court bestowed upon them an honorable name ‘New’, which became a component of the common name of the New Barghuts. In 1734, the Qing authorities resettled the Khori people to Hulunbuir making them frontier guards. There were to form some eight banners, i.e. one military-administrative unit. It was there where the loss of relations with the former motherland and ultimate separation from their fellow tribesmen of the Baikal Region caused by the 1727 establishment of China-Russia border resulted in the Khori people experienced dramatic transformations of their ethnic identity and name. The mentioned processes predetermined that the name ‘Barghut’ along with the word ‘New’ got an ethnic coloring and from then onward was perceived as an ethnonym, and they started recognizing themselves as a separate, independent ethnos of Shine Barga. In this context, the Khori genealogical myth about Khoridoi Mergen got significantly transformed within the social consciousness of the New Barghuts. The new ethnic identity lead to a radical restructuring of their ethnic composition. The final stage in the process of formation of the New Barghut community took place in the late 19th century.
The article is topical enough since for further development of the agricultural sector in the republic it is urgent to comprehensively analyze some social consequences of the agrarian reforms and adaptational patterns of the population. Adaptation here shall be understood to mean processes individuals and social groups experience to accommodate themselves to varied environment, some permanent changes caused by market and democratic reforms. And those are labor related economic factors that virtually play first fiddle. Nowadays rural settlements of the republic basically experience financial hardships and can be characterized by poor economic potential which results in the lack of investment resources required for production development and creation of jobs. Consequently, labor migration has increased in the region, in search of job opportunities rural residents leave their villages, the republic. Almost half of the informants (48 %) have travelled away (or intended to) to start a business of their own or purchase a dwelling in the republic. For the purposes of the study we shall designate this as a positive indicator of social adaptation. Since the informants have certain life plans, they think over opportunities for success and make steps on the basis of available material and social capital. The paper uses the results of 2016/2017 opinion surveys conducted by employees of the Department in 2016 and 2017 in rural areas of the region. It analyzes assessments of the current economic conditions, topical social problems and social well-being given by rural residents. The increased state support of rural manufacturers and enhanced opportunities for obtaining credit resources gradually improved conditions for the national agri-food sector. So, villagers now could develop household plots and farming enterprises. Rural dwellers gradually adapt to market conditions. The obtained results show that over half of the informants (51,9 %) characterize the economic situation in the republic as ‘positive’, while some individuals would describe it as ‘negative’ (44 %). And those are optimists who create the social mental determination to overcome difficulties and sustain political stability. Most informants (84 %) assessed their personal economic conditions as poor or hardcore poor. This signifies that a large part of the rural population never adapted to the market society. Those people are still dependent upon wages and transfer payments of the government that help disadvantaged groups survive the tough time of crisis. There still remain quite a number of unsettled problems related to labor market, low wages, absence of village-forming enterprises, investment resources, and poor social infrastructure required for the development of rural territories and adaptation of villagers to market conditions.
Introduction. The words denoting tools of trade are of particular interest since those are integral to the lexical layer which can be defined as ‘household vocabulary’, while, it would be no exaggeration to say, this lexical layer forms the basis of any language and reflects the processes occurring in the language, particularly the facts of contacts with other cultures that would have resulted in linguistic borrowings. Goals. The article deals with the vocabulary denoting tools of trade in The Secret History of the Mongols. The study primarily aims to track the etymology of the words in question and discover their parallels in the modern Khalkha, Buryat and Kalmyk languages, since, in some cases, when the etymology is unclear, the fact of presence of phonetically and semantically identical lexical units in the mentioned major Mongolic languages to have acquired official state and republican status may be regarded as an additional evidence of the common Mongolic origin of the vocabulary under study. Materials. The language of The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest physically existing (written) and, thus, analyzable form of the literary Mongolian language. Results. It has been chosen as a source of linguistic material because the conclusions regarding the forming processes of household vocabulary would have thus a solid basis. The paper describes the following lexical items: büleü/büleür ‘churning staff, a wooden stick with two cross-pieces or a disk on one end for beating kumiss’, aur ‘mortar; vessel in which substances are pounded or rubbed’, kituqay ‘knife’, süke ‘axe’, šiüci ‘chisel’, šibüge ‘awl’, tebene ‘a large needle used for sewing leather and other stiff material’, čalir ‘iron bar for demolishing rocks, breaking ice, etc.; crowbar, wrecking bar’, gölmi qubčiur ‘large fishing net’, gü:rege ‘bellows’, uqali ‘adze’, kirüe ‘saw’. It has been revealed that most of the words listed belong to the common Mongolic household vocabulary, and the words tebene ‘a large needle used for sewing leather and other stiff material’ and gü:rege ‘bellows’ are related to their common Turkic equivalents.
Preservation and development of the Tatar language is a relevant objective of the Republic of Tatarstan. Future of any language largely depends upon strategies to be selected by younger generations: whether the language shall be spoken in the family, studied at education establishments and used in different spheres of life. The latest surveys show that the use of the Tatar language within the urban Tatar youth communities is limited to somewhat household and family spheres, while Russian serves as the main communicative means for urban residents. In rural areas, the Tatar language still remains the main language of everyday communication. But the urbanization rates and limited language use areas (rural districts only) are insufficient conditions for further preservation and development of the language in its entirety. Despite attending Tatar language learning programs in preschool facilities and taking complete school courses of the Tatar language and literature, residents of the republic of non-Tatar descent as well as Russian-speaking Tatars basically have low language competence and do not speak the language in everyday life. Moreover, all topical events in the spheres of culture, IT, and business are organized with the use of Russian, the Tatar language thus progressively becoming a language of household and family communication. The article considers judgments made by the younger generation of Tatarstan, and some projects they support and implement to preserve and develop the language. The study analyzes the youth projects for further development of the Tatar language, namely: 1) projects aimed to create and elaborate Tatar language learning/teaching methods and practices, 2) projects to represent Tatarstan as a bilingual society, 3) projects aimed to widen the sphere of use of Tatar, including projects for children.
This article continues the series of the works devoted to the study of the ethnic composition of the Buryat and Khamnigan departments of the 19 century. One of the self-government bodies of indigenous of the Transbaikal in the 19 century was the Urulginskaya Steppe Duma, the main population of which was the Tungus of the Manchu tribe, as they were characterized by the Russian administration. One of the boards of this Duma was the Olovskaya indigenous Council. The department is of particular interest in terms of the ethnic composition of its population and its origin. .The ethnic composition of the Urulga Steppe Duma revealed the extensive contacts of the Upper Amur – Shilka population with the vast area of the Transbaikal-Amur subregion, including the territories of Inner Asia, North Asia and Amur region. Different groups of horse and deer Tungus, on the one hand, and various groups of the Mongolian population, including the Khingan Mongols, Daurians and Buryats, on the other hand, took part in its formation. Also more ancient contacts of the Tungus with the Yukagirs were found. The composition of the Urulga Steppe Duma initially included five indigenous authorities. One of them was the Olovskaya indigenous Authority (Uprava). The Khitan, and subsequently Daurian population, which came into close contact with both the Tungus-Manchu tribes and the Bargy-Buryat groups of the population, created a special layer of the population – Khamnigan people. However, in Russian documents the entire population of the Urulga Steppe Duma, a part of which also was the Olovskaya indigenous Authority (Uprava) recorded as Tungus. The ethnic composition of the Olov Khamnigans shows that the population of the upper Amur – Shilka, has incorporated various ethnic elements not only from the Middle Ages, but also from antiquity. The article suggested the authors’ vision of origin of ethnonyms of the population of authority and their development. A number of ethnonyms such as Duligar, Bayagir, Kylteger discovers the presence of the Tungusic and Mongolic strata in the face of Khamnigan-Mongols, Daurs, Buryats. The Mongolic stratum is also represented by the bearers of the ethnonym Üzön, which has analogies in eastern and central Mongolia, among the Selenga Buryats and among the Kipchak tribe, which is part of the Kazakhs of Middle Juz. A detailed map of the settlement of the Olov Khamnigans was compiled, based on the census tables.
Materials. The article examines A Grammar of Spoken Buryat-Mongolian issued by A. Orlov in 1878. A. Orlov’s Grammar was written as a practical guide to study the Buryat language. The work aims to revisit the category of voice within the Grammar in comparison with the facts of modern Buryat, to compare Grammar’s language materials dealing with the category to present-day grammatical voice structures. Goals. The paper ascertains that A. Orlov’s Grammar contains quite precise characteristics of the Buryat verb, including voices of the verb, their morphological indicators. The illustrative materials indicate his sufficiently deep knowledge of lexical and grammatical features of the Buryat language. In the Introduction to the ‘Verb’ section, A. Orlov divides verbs into primitives and derivatives, exemplifying the differences throughout extensive materials, revealing a deep understanding of the structure of Buryat verbs derived from nominal parts of speech, adverbs and particles which was extremely rare for a non-native speaker in those times. When examining the language, the paper seeks to highlight A. Orlov’s scientific approach to Buryat grammar studies: his Grammar considered all varieties of the Buryat voice, ways of expression, marking and partially ― polysemy markers; it also considers the morphological indicators of the verb selected by A. Orlov as indicators of the voice. The analysis of the voices in modern Buryat revealed as follows: it is difficult to say that morphological indicators of the Buryat voices unequivocally convey meanings of the passive, or сausative, or reciprocal, or any other voices. For example, suffixes of the causative (hortative) can have a passive meaning, and it may be necessary to turn to the semantic-syntactic level of the language to differentiate between the meanings. Results. In modern Buryat, voice meanings are often transmitted in a syntactic or lexical way (e. g., reflexive meaning). The verbal suffixes listed in Orlov’s Grammar received further development, their taxonomy was replenished, and the category of voice has been considered wider ― including lexical, semantic, syntactic levels of the Buryat language, although after a century and a half after the release of the Grammar morphological indicators have basically remained unchanged. The article draws conclusions about the need to consider the voice from the viewpoint of its multi-level expression; description of the understudied forms -ootey, eetey, -aatai which, in the author’s opinion, arose under the influence of the Russian language. In the Buryat language — like in other Mongolian languages when it comes to convey grammatical meanings within a word — the influence of the lexical meaning is often observed, especially in cases when the grammatical category has no specialized, regular means of expression. In the category of voice, the expression plan and the content plan are asymmetric, so nowadays one can say that it is the functional-semantic field that gives rise to lexical-grammatical microfields.
Introduction. The modern way of self-cognition and that of the surrounding world is a systematic and consistent assessment and interpretation through language pictures of the world. Comparative education is one of the means to determine the ethno-linguistic core of the linguistic consciousness of language speakers. Goals. The paper – on the basis of materials from a number of Turkic and one Mongolic (Kalmyk) languages – aims to investigate the main typological forms to express comparative relations through three main objectives as follows: a) identification of lexical-semantic groups; b) identification of their respective grammatical forms; c) determination of their typological affinity within the languages under consideration. Materials. With evidence from Turkic and Mongolic (Kalmyk) languages the paper investigates the basic typological forms expressing relations of comparison by three major groups: a) ones with lexical indicators of comparison, b) comparative constructions with morphological indicators of comparison, c) comparative constructions with indicators included into predicative units and explicit phrases. Those are two prose books by the classic of Soviet Kalmyk literature B. Dordzhiev - a novel in two parts 'The Right Way' and a collection of essays and short stories 'People of My Generation' - that serve as research illustrative materials. Turkic samples have been borrowed from newspaper and folklore texts, as well as fiction books. The continuous sampling method has been used to collect over 200 diverse forms of comparative constructions from the mentioned texts for further conclusions. Results. The three main lexical and syntactic groups of comparative constructions in the Mongolic and Turkic languages examined along with their functional and grammatical characteristics make it possible to speak about a typological proximity of mechanisms and types of comparative patterns in the explored languages.
