| Article | |
|---|---|
| Article name | The Cult of Geser in Mongolian Ritual Texts |
| Authors | Vanchikova T.P. Doctor of History, Professor, vanchikova_ts@mail.ru |
| Bibliographic description | Vanchikova Ts. P. The Cult of Geser in Mongolian Ritual Texts // Humanitarian Vector. 2017. Vol. 12, No. 2. PP. 145–151. DOI 10/21209/1996-7853-2017-12-2-145-151. |
| Section | ORIENTAL STUDIES |
| UDK | 82-13:2-265.3:811.512.36 |
| DOI | 10.21209/1996-7853-2017-12-2-145-151 |
| Article type | |
| Annotation | The aim of this article is to convey an analysis of several religious texts in old Mongolian script connected with Geser and to give detailed analysis of the work “The Offering of incense to Geser Khan” as a source for the study of the cult of Geser – a literary hero, whose life and deeds are described in the epic “Geser-Khan”, one of the largest epics in the world’s literary heritage, which traditions of transmission have been preserved until the present time and are still alive among the Tibetans and the Mongols of China. Epic tales of Geser were very popular and widespread among the peoples of Central Asia and they have preserved their ethnic and regional features. They have been passed through from generation to generation in two ways: through oral tradition and through the printed or handwritten version. Despite the fact of more than two centuries of studying the epic, many of the issues related to the history of its origin, relationships between the different versions, editions, some of the least explored are the issues related to the emergence of the cult of Geser, how and why the hero of the epic became the object of religious veneration. In this regard, this paper is a preliminary attempt to answer these questions. Several Mongolian ritual texts of his cult are identified and examined for the first time. It was found that they contain sufficient information base, testifying the polysemanticity and syncretic character of cult of Geser Khan’s veneration. The cult of offering incense was the most common ritual. It was also found out that the cult of Geser included different traditional forms of shamanistic beliefs and Buddhist elements that contributed greatly to making Gesar the object of cult worship to whom the people addressed with prayers and requests for the help and salvation, deliverance from evil spirits and diseases, asking for good luck and assistance, for which he had become a universal and protective deity. |
| Key words | Geser epic, Tibet, ritual texts, the cult Geser, Mongolian ritual texts |
| Article information | |
| References | 1. Baradin Bazar. Zhizn’ v tangutskom monastyre Lavran. Dnevniki buddiiskogo palomnika 1906–1907 gg. / podgot. k publ., vved., komment. Ts. P. Vanchikovoi. Ulan-Ude; Ulan-Bator, 1999. 293 s. 2. Zhamtsarano Tsyben. Putevye dnevniki 1903–1907 gg. / sost. Ts. P. Vanchikova, V. Ts. Lyksokova, I. V. Kul’ganek. Ulan-Ude: Resp.tip., 2011. 264 s. 3. Poppe N. N. Opisanie mongol’skikh «shamanisticheskikh» rukopisei Instituta Vostokovedeniya // Zap. In-ta vostokovedeniya. 1932. № 1. S. 151–200. 4. Rerikh Yu. N. Skazanie o tsare Kesare Lingskom // Dekorativnoe iskusstvo: dialog istorii i kul’tury. 1995. № 1–2. S. 72–81. 5. Forgues Gregory. Materials for the study of Gesar Practices. Diplomarbeit. Universitat Wien, 2011. 412 p. 6. Chiodo E. The Mongolian Manuscripts on Birch Bark from Xarbuxyn Balgas in the Collection of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Part 1. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 2000. 305 p. 7. Gereljab. The Mongolian Version of Geser in China // The Comprehensive Collection of Geser / ed. by Zhao Bingli. Lanzhou: Gansu National Publishing House, 1994. Vol. 4. P. 23–24. 8. David-Neel A., Lama Yondon. La vie Surhumaine de Guésar de Ling le Héros Thibétain. Racontée par les bardes de son pays preface from Sylvain Lévi, with the collaboration of Lama Yongden translation. Paris, 1931. 400 p. 9. Heissig W. Mongolische volksreligiose und folkloristische Texte. Wiesbaden, 1966. P. 23–29, 140–150. 10. Rintchen B. En marge du culte de Guesser Khan en Mongolie // JSFOu. Vol. 60, fasc. 4. P. 26–39. 11. Yang Enhong. A Comparative Study of the Singing Styles of Mongolian and Tibetan Geser // Oral tradition / Gesar Artists. 1998. No. 13. P. 422–434. 12. Yang Enhong. Folk gods of poetry: Studies of Gesar artists. Beijing: China Tibetan Studies Publishing house, 1995. 376 p. 13. Yang Enhong. Gesar. An Epic of One of China’s Minority Peoples. Hangzhou, Zhejiang Education Publishing House. 1995. March. 201 p. (Chinese Folk Culture Series). |
| Full article | The Cult of Geser in Mongolian Ritual Texts |
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