Accepting Divine Patronage: Kalmyk Folk Religious Specialists and Their Guardian

Deities
Author(s): Valeriya Gazizova
Source: Inner Asia , 2016, Vol. 18, No. 2 (2016), pp. 265-287
Published by: Brill

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INNER ASIA 18 (2016) 265-287 Inner
ASIA

BRILL brill.com/inas

Accepting Divine Patronage

Kalmyk Folk Religious Specialists and Their Guardian Deities

Valeriya Gazizova
Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (ikos), University of
Oslo, Norway
Lerrka2002@maiL ru

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, Kalmykia, in common with the other republics and ethnic groups
of the former Soviet Union, has been going through a period of religious and cultural
reconstruction after decades of the atheistic policy during the communist era. This
article focuses on a modern Kalmyk category of religious specialists claiming to have
received the patronage of 'guardian deities', mostly from the Buddhist pantheon, with
the deity the White Old Man being of particular importance. Based on interviews con-
ducted in Kalmykia during 2011 and 2012, this study introduces some of the beliefs
and ritual activities of these practitioners, discusses functions they perform in society
and offers a description of their initiation ceremonies, with the primary aim of explor-
ing what 'accepting divine patronage' implies in the present-day Kalmyk context. The
author argues that receiving the tutelage of deities, and hence claiming special healing
and visionary abilities, is a proliferating phenomenon in Kalmykia and can be regarded
as a distinctive particularity of its contemporary religious scene.

Keywords

Kalmykia - folk religion - guardian deities - ritual healing - initiation - Buddhism -

shamanism - urban shamanism - ethnic identity

Introduction

Kalmykia, a republic in the southwest of the Russian Federation, is closely

associated with Buddhism; its titular ethnic group, the Kalmyks, a people of
Mongol descent comprising 57 per cent of the republic's population of less

© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2016 | DOI 10.1163/22105018-12340068

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266 GAZIZOVA

than 290,000
the European
enclave in E
tural reconst
tions in the
2008). Besid
undergoing
Based on fie
2012, this ar
ing some of
ing these pr
and reflectin
Although st
a fascinatin
nity when it
having been
ter and stri
ancestors of
tribes, migr
sponds to t
the Volga st
gin given by
in Russia, be
The entire h
a series of t
of their soc
People's Aut
with the tow
collectivisati
to a settled
Buddhist cl

1 The dominan
dGe lugs pa) o
Tibetan monk
(Tib. Tsong k
Christianity a
population; the
peoples of the
Muslim.

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 267

as well as folk forms of Kal

republic.2 Among the greates
deportation of 1943, when th
areas of Siberia and Central
Soviet Union during World W
The last 25 years have seen
legacy of the past and a recon
an essential component. Alth
has witnessed a vigorous Bud
having been built in almost ev
a Buddhist education, I sugg
Kalmyk society is a rapidly
genders and different ages
guardian deities and whose t
endar offering ceremonies an
work indicates that such prac
than Buddhist monks, and loc
der, seek their help.
The ernie terms commonly
medlgch , 'the one who know
amulet'. Both are general cate
While medlgchy derived fro
those who visit ritual specialis
noun säküsn [amulet or guar
used among such practitioners
ter term, since it is a self-des
concerns, and because it point
guarding entities. Although t
tioner to another - some bei
ers heal only occasionally - t
as the source of healing pow
supervise their whole life.

2 However, two Orthodox Christia

most of the Soviet era.

3 Matsg is a fast observed on the 8t

one should avoid eating meat and

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268 GAZIZOVA

Guardian D

What does ha
folk religious
function as g
tion first. M
theon tradit
variants of t
pre-Buddhist
Old Man or, a
cult was wid
Far East, wit
1980: 76-81).
pantheon as a
form of shor
In Kalmyk ic
hair and bea
standing upr
rosary in on
stick in the o
Ezn Tsahan A
Man].5 The d
and water, as
lu), entities o
ing water for
there. In the
being used al
Although as
perceived as a
specialists, ho
entities of th
and deities ab
(1 delkän ezn
the universe

4 I have come ac
them several va
Delkän Ezn Tsah
5 Another repr
gated head sitti

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 269

the underworld, this perceptio

Aavin Maart y according to wh
the 2nd and the 16th lunar day
read on these days. Numerous
worship, comprising an integr
them would be beyond the sco
Another deity assimilated int
veneration of the White Old M
folk religion is the goddess o
In the Kalmyk Buddhist pan
Tibetan Palden Lhamo (Tib. d
the Gelugpa order. Venerated a
Tenggr is depicted as a mounte
and surrounded by flames. Her
legends, portraying her in two
invincible warrior. One of the
Month', which begins on the fir
lunar calendar (the middle of
cannibal demons (manghs). In
indicated migration into new p
it merged with the Tibetan G
instituted in 1409 by Tsongkh
associated with it in Kalmykia.
The role of ancestor spirits is
exception being the spirits o
dants. In such cases, the monk
tion through dreams and waki
only by individual practitioner
areas. One example is Tsurum A
teacher'. Until his death in the
abbot of Zyungarskiy Khurul,
His body is said to have remain
built in his native nomad camp
by communists and the monks
'bewildering the Soviet people',
evidence during the trial. The
ered to be endowed with heal
sick children and rolling them
been a healer himself, and it
grandnephew Ürlya Badgaev (1

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270 GAZIZOVA

A few Kalm
säküsn [gua
outsiders. U
abiding in t
stereotype
harmful, as
The differen
depending o
peoples of S
tioners with
the patronag
Being unde
tem of proh
a so-called 'r
purity of sp
and tobacco,
to eat pork,
it is not all
nected with
is also consid
same applyin
Regarding 'p
and even to
rules, the m
for a service
Kalmykia do
(Havnevik 20
of food - su
help. As one
give', sugges
including pa
The rules of
Having accep
special talen
perceived by
power. My
either inside
the crown o
the capacity
to 'pollute'

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 271

or her body, which can lead to

the deities can abandon the 'de
the offender. The White Old Ma
who have accepted his patrona
or a secular job. Other specific r
ber of guardian deities. The grea
should be observed. For example
or to read newspapers, as they o
and signs given by deities. Alt
they experience waking visions
reveal themselves to them and g
on healing methods, such as whi
ness or where to obtain stones f

Common Paradigm and Indi

The path of the säküstä should

such as the initial affliction, con
patronage and a revivified life
opment is not unique to Kalm
variations - throughout Siberia
narratives conforming to this
her discussion of shamans in pos
myths' - have a crucial function
tern of mystical transformation
rary Kalmykia, I shall present t
Yashkul, a village about 90 km e
to grasp the general scheme of b
account involves other life histo
common paradigm.
Nohan6 was born in the Siberia
allowed to return to Kalmykia. S
cal science and one in accounting
was officially unemployed, be
staunch atheist and an official
firmly believes that her guardia
besides healing. Nohan is kno

6 Name changed at the informant's r

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272 GAZIZOVA

words as be
uses any ad
five in the
she has appo
(primarily t
the deities i
light stream

When I ma
my fingers
son feels bu
my hands a
continue u
Sometimes
red and blu
light is wh

Although sh
preordained
and unexpl
preceded by
regarded as
ical of tradi
2014). In Kal
kruzhiť)y fo
around and
(avkh) them
headaches t
the only rem
her words -
of the pred
ies from ser
The crucial
monly called
age is receiv
of deities i
the crown o
conducted
ducted by
modern Kal

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 ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 273

from a Buddhist monk, Mand

Haha ( haha meaning 'paternal
is remembered, among other pr
rosary ( maani tatkh ): she woul
beads and looking at the coin
chanting was over, she could an
method, she could see if one ha
ties had to be summoned. Herp
who consider her their mento
her that she had the gift of tou
Bagshi (Buddha Śakyamuni), M
Tārā), Tsahan Därk (White Tār
(Vajrapāņi).
Many of my informants who consider themselves säkiistä have been initi-
ated more than once. Nohan has 'accepted' deities three times, and although
each ritual was conducted by different people and new divinities were intro-
duced each time, all three ceremonies had the same structure: deities were
summoned with offerings and prayers and then led into the candidate's body
by another practitioner. Without describing this procedure in full, I want to
underline its key elements and the role it plays in the identity formation of
my informants. As a rule, this ritual is quite costly. Even though a tuition fee
for the initiation rite is not charged among the Kalmyks, contrary to what is
the case in certain areas of Mongolia (Shimamura 2014), Nohan admitted that
she had been saving money for half a year for her first initiation, as she had
to buy images of the guardians that were to be 'accepted', offerings for them,
ritual garments and implements, as well as presents for guests and food for
a celebration feast. Besides sweets, incense, traditional pastry ( boortsg ), milk
products or 'white offerings' ( tsahan idän) and Kalmyk tea ( jomba ), made with
milk, butter, salt and pepper, that are typical of Buddhist rituals, the offerings
to her guardians included the head, right shoulder blade and right back calf
bone of a ram.8 All offerings were put on plates on a separate table covered
with a white ritual scarf (khadak) in front of an altar with framed images of

7 Before his arrest for being a Buddhist monk in 1936, Badma-Halg lived in a khurul near
Dzhalykovo, southeastern Kalmykia. Upon his release from a labour camp, he secretly per-
formed Buddhist rituals in a dugout house in Lagan, a town on the Caspian Sea.
8 The ram parts are now usually bought, but in the past a ram had to be slaughtered by inter-
cepting the aorta through an incision on the stomach. This method is called örchläd, from the
noun örchy 'chesť, also known as the 'bloodless way'. According to Kalmyk belief, it is inauspi-
cious to spill blood during sacrifice because it pollutes the earth.

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 274 GAZIZOVA

the deities.
because deiti
The Kalmyk
bolism to th
on the symb
tions as a su
in various ri
with the sca
was given an
ram because
gest part is o
principle of
bone and sca
on the altar
Nohan does
a material e
strength of m
referring bo
When 'accep
rectangular
shoulders on
as orkmj is
monks, säkü
of their guar
associated in
several guard
mantles. At t
functions, p
lent deities,
more impor
the mantles
by the säküs
to 'accept' six
lows: closest
orange mant
the green or
mantle of V
put on last.
Wrapped in mantles, Nohan was seated on a white cloth on the floor fac-
ing the altar, and 108 butter lamps were lit around her. Butter lamps {zul)

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 275

constitute another essential

ter, they are made of wheat
cups and hand-rolled cotton
number 108 is not random eit
Like the ritual mantles, butte
intrusion of malevolent forces
deities. Hence, the crucial pa
is sitting inside the circle of l
leading the deities into the in
outside the circle of lamps.
believed to be the moment w
when their 'acceptance' is rega
states of consciousness are r
neophyte and by the person in
first initiation Haha started c
late mother.

At her second initiation, whi

Gordeevna Dzhivakova (born
curing gastrointestinal disturb
'accepted' 21 forms of Noha
Kalmyk - Buddhism, Green
bolising wisdom and compass
on one tanka (Tib. thang ka ,
quéd on fabric), each being re
red and black, with the main
wearing mantles of different
colour. The robe ( lavshg ) is a
without buttons and worn o
to that of the main guardian
bones of a ram were not am
of two kilos of butter, thus s
self Buddhist and being proud
line,9 Zinaida is against anim
tradicts the Buddhist principl
tional rites is a growing tende
interaction with the Tibetan B

9 Among them are Mönke Borman

from 1903, and Sharab Tepkin (187
pression of Buddhism. For a concis

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 276 GAZIZOVA

more expens
of buying a
included 21
number corr
An integral
ton being th
ing is chara
During the
traditional b
is considered
set of gifts
and a piece o
a shirt inste
deities, repr
Kalmyks.
With the exception of the ritual expert conducting the initiation, only rela-
tives are allowed to be present at the ceremony of 'accepting guardians' because
it is a family event, usually being a rather intimate occasion for not more than
10 people, but sometimes gathering up to 50 relatives from both patrilineal
and matrilineal ties. Besides being perceived as a second birthday imparting
a new identity to the initiated, the ritual is aimed at consolidating the family,
strengthening the unity of its members. The deities that are worshipped and
'accepted' at this ceremony are not only individual guardians of a particular
practitioner, but are protectors of the entire family of the initiated candidate.10
Often, relatives of the newly initiated (brothers, sisters, children and cousins)
either have already accepted the patronage of the same deities or soon follow
the example. While one common explanation is that the vocation of säküstä
and healing abilities are hereditary and often characteristic of members of the
same family, the aspiration to reinvigorate family ties through reconnection
with the divine protectors of their kin is another important motive.

10 Traditional Kalmyk society was organised in patrilineal clans, this organisation being the
primary source of self-identity. Before the suppression of religion during communism, each
Kalmyk clan was associated with certain Buddhist deities, worshipped as protectors of the
clan, and was distinguished by a particular colour or several colours, i.e. the colours of their
patron deities (Bakaeva 2003: 277).

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 277

'Accepting Deities' as a Social

More people, regardless of their

receiving the patronage of deities,
I met over 30 such practitioners, o
one in four having a university
in childhood, and there is even an
'child with god', denoting children
not only people with a vocation fo
doing it for self-curing and defen
ple, accepting the patronage of cer
(Amitayus), the Buddha of long lif
Kalmykia as the goddess of longe
rituals, continually augmenting th
Practitioners having the patron
charismatic person who is believ
who knows how to conduct the
unions of säküstä are formed in
such groups, I use the word 'com
obshinat the Russian term used in
gious unions, including Buddhist m
that binds people together, i.e. a
a particular lifestyle and is manife
contrast to other post-Soviet cont
specialists in Kalmykia have not
clientele and workplace, and are
incentive that is the driving force
belonging. Being a member of a
lar meetings, common worship, pa
become the focus of social life for
guardians' functioning as the entr
In 2001, Nohan accepted the patro
initiated by a säküstä community
primarily connected with the num
initiation was very similar to that
ings being the head, scapula and
munity rules (as different säküstä
offering), no substitution is perm
accepted, animal parts being indisp

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 278 GAZIZOVA

of this group
take pictures
bers', or rath
Their leaders
therefore co
White Old M
guardians fr

We are Budd
shamanism
Tsahan Aav
(khar shajn
owner of the land and the whole universe. We venerate all Buddhist dei-

ties, but Tsahan Aava comes first. That is why we place his images above
those of all other deities.

The passage above demonstrates that the worship of the White Old Man is
associated with the 'black faith' (khar shajn) , the expression commonly used to
refer to the pre-Buddhist beliefs and routinely translated as 'shamanism', and is
perceived as the embodiment of the 'original faith of the Kalmyks', which gives
him the dominant position in the folk religious pantheon. This superiority is
reflected in the arrangement of the altar, with the image of the White Old Man
placed above those of other figures.
The head of this group, a Kalmyk woman around 50, is a healer and clairvoy-
ant. She has a university degree in biology and chemistry, and a degree with
distinction from a medical college. Taking pride in the fact that both her pater-
nal and maternal uncles were Buddhist monks, she keeps their photographs
on her altar. Nevertheless, she claims to have received an initiation making her
a säküstä not from her uncles, but from Zodva Lozutkaevich Natyrov (1896-
1994)» a Buddhist monk and astrologer, who secretly conducted religious cer-
emonies during the Soviet period; he told her in 1991 that she was to accept the
patronage of Tsahan Aava, Ochirvani and Nohan Dark. She admits patients
into her house every other day, as she needs a whole day for rest after work-
ing with people. As she explains, she employs the powers of her guardian dei-
ties, and by using her eyes and hands she 'cleans the person's channels and
chakras, and changes the person's inner programmes from the negative to the
positive mode'.
The community also performs the ritual of 'accepting guardians', thereby ini-
tiating new members. According to their rules, before being initiated one must
attend purification worship. The number of days for preparatory purification

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 279

varies, depending on the candida

has been from what is considere
Nohan's purification session last
have to attend it for up to thr
for neophytes consists in the re
with the White Old Man mantra,
ning, with the exception of mat
TsahanAavLn ödr (the 2nd and t
of the White Old Man is held. It
visiting the community's altar
being the opposite of white, the
from wearing trousers, and all
and horsemeat, with diet becom
When receiving the patronage
a white mantle or a white cere
graphie representations of this
the same ceremony, their mant
not put on when working with
many guarding deities that she f
never wears her ritual mantles.
ous guardians in her healing p
on the colour of the deity who
asserts that, when she looks at
with her the following day, she
what problems they have, which
what colours should predominat
serious illness (or in her words '
deities from the Buddhist panth
dark blue being the colour of
dark red dress, which correspon
An important part of the com
ceremonies and pilgrimage. At
traditional New Year) and Tsahan
offering of a sheep. However, it
at the butcher's. Considering th
violates the main precepts, but n
Okn Tenggr, the main protector
community is regularly invited
rituals. Every summer during th
fice to the water' ( usn täklhn ) a

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 280 GAZIZOVA

the aim of c
of the land a
ritual, it had
area were sav
Besides ann
the part of t
1943 belong
abode of Tsa
have travelle
people joinin
of Buryatia,
permitted i
Russia, wher
cated, in con
the education
of the Kalmy
to traditiona
group travel
an average K
eral years.
Of particular significance for the community was their trip in the sum-
mer of 2012 to the northern part of Xinjiang, better known among Kalmyks as
Dzhungaria, as it is from this region that their ancestors, the Oirats, migrated to
the Volga steppes. The aim was to 'reconnect with the ancestors and to reunite
the Kalmyk and the Oirat clans' through making offerings to the spirits of the
land of their forefathers. The White Old Man, perceived by this group as the
god-patron of all Mongols, was also an important recipient of the offerings
made during the ceremony, since it is under his auspices that this reunifica-
tion is believed to have become possible. This symbolic reconnection with the
ancestral home, envisaged as a recovery of the ethnic history, is believed to
invigorate the life-force of the entire Kalmyk people. The head of the com-
munity emphasised that their ritual activity is not reduced to individual thera-
pies, but is concerned with the fate of people as a whole, as they are trying to
address broader social and ecological issues by means of their ritual practices.
Accordingly, accepting divine patronage has become a visible social prac-
tice, with more people receiving the tutelage of the White Old Man and other
Buddhist figures, forming communities on the basis of this faith and conduct-
ing rituals in groups. The emergence of such folk-religious unions represents
a search for a new type of social involvement and self-identity, as well as an

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 281

aspiration to participate in the et

developed communities is positio
is perceived as the ancestral herita
the republic, thus to the wellbeing

Village Buddhists or Urban Sh

The activity of folk-religious sp

of deities is referred to in Kalmyk
[people's Buddhism or folk Budd
the general public and by local s
Kalmyk ethnographer, distinguishe
present-day Buddhist scene: 1) 'tem
resented by monasteries and tem
different Tibetan traditions and in
in the West; and 3) 'folk Buddhism
as a heterogeneous stratum comp
people, including those of the olde
and perform rituals of domestic re
term 'folk Buddhism' is habitual fo
rejected by the Buddhist sangha, w
ners has nothing in common with
Attitudes among Buddhist monks
some clergy jocularly and rather ar
religious practices are often asso
which is far from always being the
descending acceptance, and in cer
the representatives of the sangha I
tion that what is generally subsum
healing activity of those claiming
deities, is the cult of local spirits w
'the 'black faith' ( khar shajn) disgu
latter expression denoting Buddh
most established in Kalmykia, is co
Sinclair (2008) discusses similar p
lated by Tibetan monks staying in
labels as 'reformists' aiming at 'pur
ments and practices that are not p

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282 GAZIZOVA

of local relig
she terms 'a
'blind belief
needs and p
Buddhist sc
needs of the
no exceptio
a Buddhist t
time, Buddh
Buddhist ima
(although tra
mantles orkm
age of Buddh
present-day
continuity o
education be
claim to hav
secretly cont
there were
guardian spir
In fact, Kalm
otees even d
with Zodva
those who so
a Buddhist m
rituals of 'ac
related by in
Tibetan or K
deities - for
of the deiti
was not on
Buddhist di
to recite pr
mantra, it is
rised teacher
perhaps the
knowledge o
and memory
south of Elis

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 283

When old geliing ,u those few

that a person was respected in
practice of som eyldam, for ins
right to read prayers. During c
basically the only keepers of
establishing their own lineages
deeper understanding of the D

Nevertheless, the clandestine act

explain the abundance of Buddh
ritualists. Present-day säküstä ar
local people and in the works of
folk-religious specialists of the K
lated as 'shaman' and 'shamanes
other Mongolian groups. Thus, B
number of important features th
ism', including preliminary affli
kin, the role of an intermediary
nantly Buddhist deities), and the
2005: 123-4). Among the distinct
of ancestral spirits ( onghn ), wit
of life defining bö as 'a person i
gift of introducing them into h
bö' (Pyurbeev 1996). Initially t
'protective ancestral spirits'; ot
deities' and 'amulets with images
liferation of Buddhism (Pyurbee
Hence, there is an established
ments, particularly exterior accou
gious specialists can be attributed
Kalmyks by the Gelugpa order in
ated alongside the promotion o

11 Geliing (Tib. dge slong) is a fully o

253 precepts of the Buddhist monast
a Buddhist education before commun
from monasticism.

12 The yidam (Tib. yi dam) are Tantr

meditation.

INNER ASIA 18 (2016) 265-287

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 284 GAZIZOVA

of 1640 (Baka
tically extinc
spirits, were
ing the func
and udhn ar
with the patr
Whether co
guardian deit
seventeenth-
latter in the
Here, I sugge
'corruptions'
of the 'old K
from Tibeta
certain histor
ners have a m
initiation, bu
'We are Budd
ism' is under
with the cult
erably of the
those to the
cialists. An as
tain degree o
as 'tradition'
khuruls, rega
Although th
folk religion
to the local
ual ancestral
occult practic
public events
characteristic
'neo-shaman
ers distinguis
as representi
reconstruct

13 Fridman (20
'shaman healers'.

INNER ASIA 18 (2016) 265-287

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ACCEPTING DIVINE PATRONAGE 285

(such as in urban areas), or aft

and its accommodation to a n
Hoppál 1996; Shaglanova 2012
Similarly, the Kalmyk movem
republic's capital and constit
faith and knowledge', with i
interest is an attendant tende
ing technological innovations,
tioner from Elista (43, female
plug in a mobile-phone charg
the traditional elements of 'w
to the White Old Man (or to V
ated in Kalmykia as a deity of
informants have also stressed
on a disk or memory stick, th
words 'urban' or 'neo-shamans
ritual specialists, with some r
minology, as they prefer to em
ritual and healing activity.

Conclusion

Folk religious activity, including ritual healing, seems to be experiencing a

considerable resurgence in Kalmykia, both in terms of the growing number of
ritual experts and those seeking their help. The category of religious practitio-
ners, collectively known as säküstä, who claim to have the patronage of guard-
ing entities - mainly the White Old Man and other figures from the Buddhist
pantheon - constitutes a distinctive particularity of the contemporary Kalmyk
religious scene. The initiation rite of 'accepting guardians', in which Buddhist
elements and symbols are intertwined with meat and bone offerings, trance-
like states of consciousness, incorporation of deities and spirits into the body,
and at times even animal sacrifice, is the identity-forming component defin-
ing this local category of religious specialists. The focus of their self-identity is
the idea of having been elected by gods and possessing special abilities, i.e. of
being the 'chosen vessels' containing deities and enabled to use their divine
power. Intriguingly, the predestination of accepting divine patronage - and
hence the specific life-style and talents envisaged as resulting from it - is no
longer exclusive in contemporary Kalmykia; it is no longer a privileged role of
the 'chosen' few, but is regarded as a unique characteristic of the entire Kalmyk

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 286 GAZIZOVA

people, given
spective, Kalm
as a thorny p
illness' or - a
text acquires
ment of illne
intended for
ethnic cultur
Supporting
tute perhaps
having divin
my informan
and ethnicity
Union, are ne
ing guardian
Old Man ove
tion that has
of unions of
about by the
of a broader

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