Geser. The Вuryat heroic epic. Ye. Khundaeva

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СКАЧАТЬ Khan-Garudi. Garudi came originally from India perhaps through Tibet, its image might have intermingled with that of the eagle, the cult of which is so widely spread in Buryatia.

      The heroic epic of the Mongolian people is rich in the other diversified mythological elements. One could mention the demons who appeared out of the remnants of the evil deities thrown down to the Earth. Geser had the reputation of the destroyer of demons and monsters, the personifications of the dark chthonic forces. The epic tells of the Tengris coming down to the Earth, of the middle place between the Sky and the Earth, of the dragons, of the various “personified” monsters such as the mangadkhais, many-headed snakes, birds, huge dogs, frogs, ants. The fantastic images reflect the mythological essence of the epic and hence its archaic shaman nature. The cosmic elements are widely presented in the epic of the Mongolian people. They are the Sky, the Sun. the Moon, the stars, the Earth, the water, etc. To this may be added the cosmogonic prologue in the Geser epic. Geser is often given help by his three celestial sisters. Presented also is the solar motive. The conception of a child is associated with a golden “pole” of the light coming through the upper hole of the yurt.

      The performing of the “Geser” epic was of a ritual, magic, shamanic nature. The epic-tellers sank into the trance when reciting the epic. The epic was used by shamans for exorcising the evil spirits. Geser is taken to be the son of the Tengri. Sometimes the Earth and the Water are regarded as Geser’s parents which is associated with the shamanic ideas of the human personification of the souls of the mountains and localities. Reciting of the epic-uliger appeases the spirit of the Master of the taiga and helps in hunting. The epic-teller himself was in fact a shaman or a peculiar type of shaman.

      Prior to the battle, on the mountain or obo the heroes of the epic performed the shaman smudging asking to protect them and give the victory over the enemy. The petrogenetic motive, i.e. the birth of the hero out of stone is evidently associated with the shaman cult of the personified mountain deities. The common people took the shamans to be very powerful and helpful to them. This is reflected in the Buryat epic. A woman shaman throws the tears and snot of the poor people onto the heavenly palace and the latter gets cracked and leans over on one side. Thus the heavens learned of the sufferings of the people on the Earth. Besides the khats, ejins, zayans in Cis-Baikalia there were the spirits of the lower categories, i.e. the bokholdois, shudkhers and shulmuses, ada or anakhais, ukheri ezi, etc. They caused the misfortune, illnesses, even death. The people were afraid of the evil spirits, they kept their children away from them. They called a shaman, completed smudging, put a knife under the pillow to save their children or an axe under the threshold, they had at home the sanctified mirrors, bells, polecat’s fur. The objects sanctified were called hakhyuuhan (savior) in the Buryat language.

      The everyday traditions and customs

      The epic shows that the traditional occupation of the Buryats was hunting, then cattlebreeding. The battles with the epical personages that were quite often the embodiments of the powerful natural forces, for example, Gal-Nurman who personified the prime element of the Fire, played a big part in the life of the Buryats. Before the description of the battle the epic-tellers gave a detailed account of the clothes, weapon and armour of the heroes. A good place in the life of the people was given to the tournaments, for example when matchmaking. After a successful matchmaking they had a big feast, which lasted nine days, on the tenth day the guests went home.

      When people met they had a long friendly talk so that “the foam came out on the water, the grass grew on the stone”. The epic gives a detailed description of the dwelings of the Вuryats, i.e. the straw-huts, yurts, wooden and stone houses that evidences of the evolution of the epic itself. This all is the background against which the epical scenes are laid. From them one can draw some knowledge concerning the habits, customs and traditions of the Mongolian people, including the Buryats.

      In the early morning they get up, they are not in the habit of staying in bed for a long time because a lot of work to be done is usually ahead. Their bedding is very soft, sometimes of the fur of the sable, they compare it with the lungs of animals. All that is soft, nice, luxurious is associated on the physical level with the lungs of animals. Then they have their tea, when eating they discuss their home affairs and news.

      Each variant of the epopee reflects the evolution of the epic that proceeded along with the development of the community it narrates about. The higher is the social development, the more rich and artistic is the epic, its composition, language and style. Given in the text are the many habits and customs which survived or are somewhat forgotten. The guests were invited to get seated in the western or right-hand side of the yurt which was believed to be the most honorary place in the dwelling, its door being most often in the southern part. This is accounted for by the following circumstances. There was a dynamic balance between the dual natural oppositions, i.e. between the right and the left, the anterior (front) and the posterior (rear, back) side of the space, the male and the female half of the community, the good and the evil, strength and weakness, white and black, etc. The front or the anterior right-hand space orientations were regarded as male, light, active, positive whereas the back or posterior, left-hand space orientations were considered to be female, dark, passive, negative. The yurt was divided into the right-hand (male) and left-hand (female) halves, men took seats in the right-hand side, women on the left-hand side. A glass with a drink was given with the right hand and all the meaningful gestures were made with that hand. In the epic they invite their guests: “Please, get seated higher” which means to take seats in the right-hand (western) side of the dwelling, i.e. in the honorary place.

      The people in the epic address each other ceremoniously, with the highest esteem. They are friendly and hospitable. They treat their guests to whatever is good in their home. The Buryats are very careful about their home.

      In the old days as well as not infrequently nowadays there was a tradition of the respectful attitude towards the man as the embodiment of all that is positive. He was the personification of the head of the kinsfolk, therefore it was strictly forbidden to step over a man or his belt, sash. This is depicted in the epic when one of the girls reproaches her girl-friends because they stepped over a sleeping old man. She says: “You stepped over an old man, thus you broke the women’s custom” and herself goes round him avoiding stepping over the man. When the devils – albins were going to harm Geser they stepped nine times over the food they had prepared for him. There was also a strict regulation not to bring home any meat at night for it was fraught with the negative consequences. This might be related to the prohibition to kill the wild animals at night for one could miss and hit, say, a she-deer or a she-goat or just simply mistake them for a male-animal in darkness.

      A good talk was of importance. They talked with respect and dignity, carefully selecting the right words. They went to see each other, to have a hearty talk душевный разговор. The Buryats always kept a good meal for the guest. That was commonly dry curd, milk skin, cottage cheese, pancakes, sweets and hot dishes like boiled meat, clear soup and the like.

      The personages of the epic are very tender to their horse, they treat it as a true friend and devoted companion. They get mounted on the horse with the exacting movements as if completing a kind of ritual.

      In case one makes some mistake or is guilty there is no excuse. He is heavily punished just as he deserves.

      The Buryats are very tender towards their children. If a family did not have any children the Buryats were greatly sorry for such people and sympathetic with them. They did want them to have at least one child to continue the lineage. Thus if a family with no children asked for one they were never refused. The families with several children gave one of their sons or daughters to a childless family, they did it with no regret for they were quite sure that their child would grow up in very good conditions. СКАЧАТЬ