Baw & Bon, I-IV

[Buryat sections of] Bo# & Bo:n, I.ii-IV.i

Contents

*Cap.*	*Title of Cap.*	*Pt.*	*Title of Pt.*	*PP.*
I	Historical Backdrop	ii	Lands of Bo# Murgel	59-118
II	Geography of Lake Baikal	--	--	119-27
III	Types of Bo:n	--	--	129-62
IV	Cosmology	i	Model of Bo# Murgel	163-82
VII	Transmission & Initiation	--	--	311-36
VIII	Bo# Costume & Objects	--	--	337-52
IX	Cult of the Sky	--	--	353-66
X	Heavenly Deer	--	--	367-88
XI	Purification Rituals	--	--	389-413
XII	Offering Rituals	i	In Bo# Murgel	415-32
"	" "	iii	Comparative Study	442-517
XIII	The Soul	i	Multiple Souls	519-57
"	" "	ii	Post-Mortem Fate	558-81
XIV	Healing & Magic	i	Causes of Illness	583-600
"	" " "	ii	Divination Methods	601-21
"	" " "	iii	Ritual Trance	622-36
"	" " "	iv	Retrieving the Soul	637-59
"	" " "	v	Exorcism	660-65
"	" " "	vi	Destructive Magic	666-87
XV	Spread of Religious Terms	--	--	689-748
App.	Pantheon	--	--	747-51
Glo.	Terminology	--	--	753-73

p. 87 rosary of 108 beads

"Bo Murgel prayer beads are very large, number one hundred and eight beads {the 108-bead rosary is muchly-used in India} and are made of black wood."

pp. 121, 123-124 myths concerning lake Baigal (Baikal)

p. 121	"Lake Baikal was as yet unformed. In its place there was a fire-breathing volcano, Bai-gal, the seat of the heavenly smith Dabaan Zholo>o Tengeri. The lord of the mountain was Bahar-Hara Khaan. ... . ... Bai-gal was sucked deep under the earth leaving a gaping chasm which the waters of the river Angar-Baigal Muren rushed to fill." [reference :- TPSh, p. 131]
p. 123	"the chief deity of Baikal ... is known under seventy names, the most usual being Bahar-Hara Khaan (the name of the lord of the Bai-gal volcano).... The largest and most important island is Olhon which roughly mimics the shape of the lake. Olhon is the residence of a very powerful Ezhen, Oihon Baabai, his wife Sarma Hatan, his son the eagle Hotoi Burged or Shubuun Noyon, and the ten main divinities of his retinue. Oihon Baabai’s main residence is a magical cave in the sacred cliff, ... and his son Hotoi Burged is said to have his residence on the summit of Mount Zhima, the highest point on Olhon. This group of deities is very important for the eastern Buryats in general
p. 124	and for the Hori-Buryats in particular and is expressed in the cult of the Thirteen Northern Lords, Aryn Arban Gurban Tengeri."

TPSh = B. D. Bazarov : Tainstva i Praktika Shamanizma. Ulaan-Ude, 1999.

pp. 153-156 tribal religious practitioners in Nepal

p. 153	"The Tamu (Gurung) ... have ... classes of priests – Pachyu (Pajyu), Klehpre (Ghyabre) ... .
p. 154	Pachyu, with their feathered headdresses and tiger-skin waistbands, ... quivers with porcupine quills for warding off evil spirits, ... and a hornbill beak symbolizing control over the spirits. Pachyu open and end Tamu funerary rites, recite ngo spells and tell pe mythical stories ... . ... Klehpre priests ... wear a long black gown with long sleeves ornamented with yellow and white stripes, and rignga [rigs-lna], five-petalled crowns decorated with images {5-petaled image-painted crowns are typical of Taoist priests} ... . They carry a stick topped with a metal or wooden bird ... . ... The Klehpres’ specialized role ... is to drive away evil spirits and demons and protect the living. "
p. 155	"Another ... tradition is found among the Nyinba people of Humla district of Nepal ... . ... The Humla priests are called dhangre and dhami and receive their powers from the gods residing in Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. Dhami are mediums channelled by
p. 156	the god while the dhangre are ‘interpreters’ ... . A further connection is the white attire worn by the dhami, in particular the white woolen hat which forms part of the turban" {which is all of the sort of white vestments worn by Zaratustrian priests}.

p. 165 cosmogony

Ehe Yehe Burh^an, the Great Mother Goddess, "formed a duck which dived into ... the primordial ocean and when it came back it had some earth in its beak. Ehe Yehe Burkhan ... shaped the Earth’s surface out of it. But in the darkness that Earth started floating away. To prevent the Earth from doing so, Ehe Yehe Burkhan caught a wonderful four-legged turtle and set the Earth on its back. Thus ... the world is supported by the four legs of the turtle. ... Ehe Yehe Burkhan went to sleep on a certain mountain. But then she thought, ... No sooner had this thought arisen in her mind than there appeared myriads of birds, animals and fish which spread all over the earth. ... Then the Great Mother Goddess created Sun and Moon ... to provide the animals with warmth and light. ... Ehe Yehe Burkhan gave birth to two daughters, Manzan Gurma To>odei and Mais Hara To>odei.
*__ To>odei*	*became Grandmother of __*
Manzan Gurma	the White Tengeri Sky-Dwellers
Mais Hara	the Black Tengeri Sky-Dwellers

pp. 165-166 the Nine White Sons of Manzan Gurma To>odei

p.	#	*son*	*meaning of name*
165	1^st	S^udarga Esege Malaan Baabai	Skilful ...
166	2^nd	S^udarga Segeen Huhu Tengeri	Skilful ... God
	3^rd	S^ulma Burged Tengeri	Tough Garud.a God
	4^th	S^ulma H^an Guz^ir Tengeri	Tough ... God
	5^th	S^udarga Naran Gerel Tengeri	Skilful ... Sun Light God
	6^th	S^udarga Abarga Sagaan Tengeri	Skilful Champion God
	7^th	S^udarga Udei Mungen Tengeri	Skilful ... Silver God
	8^th	S^olmo Hulman Sagaan Tengeri	... God
	9^th	S^olmo Buuma Sagaan Tengeri	... God

p. 166 the Nine White Daughter s of Manzan Gurma To>odei

#	*daughter*	*meaning of name*
1^st	Buden Iren Sahala Sagaan H^atan	Proud Variegated White as Moustache
2^nd	Sagaadai Sagaan H^atan	Whiter that White
3^rd	Hormoi Sagaan H^atan
4^th	Gagar Basagaanin Hols^orto Sagaan Duurei
5^th	Gagar Basagaanin Untei Durtei Abagai	Sister Who Liketh Expensive Things
6^th	Gagar Basagaanin Ermog Sagaan Go>ohon Duuhei
7^th	Dornoi Sagaan Abagai	White Beauty from the East
8^th	Nalma Go>ohon Duuhei
9^th	Erbed Duurei Abagai

p. 167 the Thirteen Sons of Mais Hara To>odei

#	*son*	*meaning of name*
1^st	Asarangui Hara Tengeri
2^nd	Atai Ulaan Tengeri	Red Flaming God
3^rd	Guz^ir Bo>oma Tengeri
4^th	Bulin S^uhan Tengeri	Blood-Clot God
5^th	Hara Darhan Tengeri	Blacksmith God
6^th	Hara Sohor Tengeri	So Dark Can See Nothing God
7^th	Buren Hara Tengeri	Black Grey God
8^th	Haranhui Hara Tengeri	Dark Black God
9^th	Bo# Hara Tengeri	Black Shaman God
10^th	Helin Hara Tengeri	Black Tongue God
11^th	Galzuu Hara Tengeri	Wildly Black God
12^th	Balai Hara Tengeri	Somewhat Black God
13^th	Hazhagar Tengeri	None Darker God

p. 167 the Seven Pretty Daughters of Mais Hara To>odei

#	*daughter*	*meaning of name*
1^st	Han Dagnuuri Go>ohon
2^nd	Han S^aruuhai Abagai
3^rd	Han S^uuhai Abagai
4^th	Han Dals^a Go>ohon
5^th	Han Dalabs^ata Dangina
6^th	Han S^ubuuhai Dangina	Bird D.akini
7^th	S^ara So>ohor Abagai	Completely Yellow Sister

pp. 168-169 myth about White Tengeri, Black Tengeri, and the Eagle; myth about White Tengeri, Black Tengeri, and the Sun-goddess

p.	*myth*
168	"The White Western Tengeri created people ... which lived happily at first not knowing illness, miseries or sufferings. However, after some time the people aroused the anger of the Black Eastern Tengeri who sent diseases causing people ... to fall ill and perish in large numbers. Concerned, the White Western Tengeri called a council first on Pleiades and then on the Moon {cf. the [Aztec] "Moon’s Navel" (Me-Xico) as the place of the eagle perching on a cactus} in order to decide how to help them. They agreed to send a white-headed Eagle {bald eagle, U.S. of A. national emblem} to transmit the knowledge of Bo# Murgel to the people and establish lineages of Bo# who, through ritual actions and magic, could act as the regents of Tengeri on Earth protecting people ... . ... The first human he met was a woman who had fled from her husband and was sleeping under a tree. {Did the Eagle thereupon reach her by entering her dream?} The Eagle entered into sexual union with the woman at that spot; ... and she become pregnant with a son. ... The Black Eastern Tengeri, however, ...
169	sent an evil spirit ... taking the guise of a beautiful woman ... . She insisted that the man banish his first wife [that 1^st wife being the sleeping woman who was met under the tree by the Eagle] ... . ... The woman gave birth to ... the Eagle’s son ... the first Bo#." [based on SS, vol. I, p. 364] {Eagle’s son = [Persian] Zal (whose "hair was white", according to the S^N – cf. the white head-feathers of the bald eagle); woman’s human husband = [Persian] Sam (/Sam/ < */S`am/, cf. [Skt.] /s`ami/, name of fire-tindre tree). These Mongolian and Persian myths are allied to the Chinese myth of the "Nest-builder" dynasty.}
	"when the leader of the White Tengeri was Hormusta and the leader of the Black Tengeri was Atai Ulaan, ... Atai Ulaan sent twelve magical missiles into the realm of the White Tengeri which struck the goddess of the sun, Naran Go>ohon, causing her to fall sick. The sun’s light grew dim and the world was in danger of being destroyed should Naran Go>ohon die. However, she was saved by the son of Hormusta Tengeri. Following the advice of Manzan Gurme To>odei, the Grandmother of the White Sky-Dwellers, he brought a white lark with magical writings to the goddess of the sun who, upon touching this magical bird, regained her radiant good health. ... Hormusta Tengeri and Atai Ulaan ... each independently paid a visit to Sebdeg Tengeri who dwelt in neutral territory. ... . ... Sege>en Sebdeg ... was ... the father of the White-Headed Eagle Burged ... . ...
170	Hormusta’s son Buhe Beligte ... quickly sped to Manzan Gurme To>odei ... . The wise Grandmother told him that the souls of Atai Ulaan were hidden in the big toe of his right foot. The son ... struck Atai Ulaan’s right big toe with a spear. Atai’s souls were left without support and ran away". [based on AG]

S^N = S^ah Nameh http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/0/3/1/10315/10315.htm

AG = A. Ulanov (tr.) : Abai Geser. Ulaan-Ude, 1960.

pp. 170-171 myths about divine smithy and marriage-alliance between Western Tengeri and Eastern Tengeri

p.	*myth*
170	"the oldest of the gods, Asarangi Tengeri passed away. In the aftermath, ... the Tengeri separated, fifty-five going to the western sector of the sky and forty-four going to the eastern zone." "All the Tengeri dwelt in one camp until ... they split into two ... camps : Fifty-Five
171	Western White Tengeri headed by their chief Khaan Hyurmas [Hurmas] (Hormusta) and Forty-Four Eastern Black Tengeri headed by their chief, Atai Ulaan Tengeri. The two camps communicate with each other through the special envoy Sege>en Sebdeg Tengeri, Wavering Sky-Dweller, who remained neutral. ... Sege>en Sebdeg had a beautiful daughter, Sesek Nogon Abhai (Fire Flower Girl), and the Tengeri fell out with each other over her as both sides wanted to have her with them."
	"The son of the Western Hormusta, Boho Muya, and Boho Te>eli, the son of the Eastern Tengeri Hashkhir Bogdo discovered the technique of working metal together. Later, however, Boho Muya took the smithy away from Boho Te>eli ... . Furthermore, Boho Muya helped sway Sege>en Sebdeg, the Neutral Sky-Dweller, to ally himself with the Western Tengeri." [IKBSh, p. 252]
	"The Western and Eastern Tengeri once again made peace and even become kinsmen through the marriage of Teme Nogon [fn. 36 : "probably an alternative name for Sesek Nogon Abhai, daughter of , Sege>en Sebdeg Tengeri."], the daughter of one of the Western Tengeri, to the Eastern Guzhir Bomo Tengeri."
172	"This version of events has Asarangi Tengeri as the Lord of all the ... Tengeri before the split into White and Black. {cf. the [Zaratustrian] god Zrvan as original lord before the split between Ahura Mazda and Angro Mainyu.} This contradicts the ... myth where Asarangui [Asarangi] Hara Tengeri is the first son of Mais Hara To>odei".

IKBSh = D. S. Doogarov : Istoricheskie Korni Belogo Shamanstva. Moskva, 1991.

pp. 173-174 divine denizens of the 3 levels of the Upper World

p.	*Upper World*
173	"The Upper World, or Deede Zambi, is the dimension if Eternal Blue Sky, Huhe Mu:nhe Tengeri." {Vajra-dhara is likewise blue.}
	"E>e Hairan, the Merciful One {cf. [<arabi deity] /Rah.man/ ‘Merciful’} ... is not identical to Huhe Mu:nhe Tengeri but is superior, so E>e Hairan is the cosmic creative principle". {"Merciful One" = ‘Long Face’ (Makroprosopon) deity of Qabbalah}
	*level of Upper World*	*level’s divine denizens*
	top	Altan Naran (sun-goddess); Alma Hara (moon-god); H^aan Tengerinin Odo Mus^ed (star-deity)
	centre	the 9 Tengeri Progenitors : Ubgen Tengeri & his 3 sons Esege Malaan Tengeri, H^aan Sogto Tengeri,
174	"	H^aan S^argai Noyon; Algan Sagaan Tengeri & his 4 sons H^aan Hormusta Tengeri, Atai Ulaan Tengeri, Bo#luur Sagaan Tengeri, Golto Sagaan Tengeri
	bottom	55 White Western (literally, "Right-Standing") Tengeri; 44 Black Eastern (literally, "Left-Standing") Tengeri

{West as right, and east as west; imply facing southward, as is done by the emperor of China in imperial court}

pp. 174-176 White Tengeri & Black Tengeri

p.	*__ T.*	*characteristics*
174	White	"Western White Tengeri are associated with the light part of the twenty-four hour cycle ... . They are said to be the ‘smiths of human souls’ ".
175	White	"The visible sky has a special door to the Sky of the White Tengeri called Tengeriin Uden. The Tengeri open this magical door from time to time to look upon the earth and see what is happening there, to see how people ... are faring. ... When the door opens a wonderfully brilliant white light shines from there and the whole earth begins to shine with it, too. ... If someone should be lucky enough to see the door open they can ask anything from the Tengeri and their wish will be granted." [SS, vol. I, p. 419]
	Black	"Black Tengeri are associated with the dark part of the twenty-four hour cycle and generally represent the principle of punishment. While many of the Black Tengeri are owners of disease and cause epidemics ..., some ... are patrons of ... healing. Black Tengeri ... also support uligershen-bards. ...
176	Black	Some Bo#, especially from the eastern areas, maintain that Black Tengeri are manifestation of the natural ... force in the universe which ... has a ‘purifying’ function and guards law and order; a kind of police force. Black Tengeri punish those who commit acts of sacrilege ... . While they can cause diseases, ... they also have the power to prevent them when addressed in the right way through appropriate rituals and as such Black Tengeri are also associated with healing."

fn. 62 (pp. 176-177) directional groups of caelestial deities

p.	*dir.*	*# of T.*	*color of T.*	*king of T.*	*queen of T.*
176	South	99	Variegated	Esege Malaan (‘Father Wise’)	Ehe Yuuren To>odei
177	West	55	White	Zayaan Sagaan (‘Creator White’)	Zaarlik
	North	77	"Clear"	Huhedey Mergen (thunder-&-lightning)	Hultay H^ataan
	East	44	"Red-flaming"	Ata Ulaan (‘Red-flaming’)	?

p. 178 directional groups of the top-sublevel of terrestrial deities

"The upper level of this world is where the sons of Tengeri called Haat or Hahii reside. They were commanded to descend to earth [fn. 69 : "They are also called Buumal ..., literally ‘lowered from above’."] by their parents and are the lords of ninety sacred mountains."
*dir.*	*# of H.*	*ruler of H.*
West	50	"Buha Noyon Baabai, a bull-baron, the ancestor of the Bulgat tribe"
East	40	H^aan Dos^h^on Noyon
*"To this upper level also belong Bayan Hangai Khaan, Ezhen* of the taiga and Lord-Owner of all plant and animal kingdoms, as well as .. progenitors of various clans".**

p. 178 the centre sublevel of terrestrial deities

"Various helpers and servants of the above-mentioned gods reside on the second level of this world. ... One of these Zayaans, Eastern Som Sagaan Noyon, nicknamed Bydek, serves as the messenger between the Eastern and Western Haats, and the Eastern Haats and the Lords of the Underworld. He flies through the air in a horseless carriage {vimana}."

pp. 178-179 the bottom sublevel of terrestrial deities

p. 178	"Local guardian-deities ... live on the lower level of this world. They are lords of particular places; patrons of various crafts; ...
p. 179	lords of the soil; lords of the hearth; ... and so forth."

pp. 179-180 totem-animals, and zalaa-animals, of Buryat tribes ["zalaa cap-bands ... . These cap-bands are strips of wild animal fur sewn onto the hats of the Bo#".]

p. 179		pp. 179-80
*tribe’s totem*	*tribe*	*tribe’s zalaa*
Eren Gutaar ("Speckled Eel-pout")	Ehirit	2. [p. 180] ermine
Hoh Buha ("Grey-bluish Bull")	Bulgat	1. [p. 179] polar fox; squirrel
Hun S^ubuun ("Female Swan")	Hongodor	3. [p. 180] Siberian polecat
" " (" ")	Hore:odoi	4. elk

p. 180 protective deities of tribes

*tribe*	*tribe’s Tengeri*	*tribe’s Zayaan-s*
Ehirit	Huhe Mungen	Az^arai Buhe; Uha S^ara; Zulhein Ez^en (of Lena river)
Bulgat	Bulurgui Sagaan	Ulgein Ez^en Buha Noyon Baabai (of Ulgein in Tunka); Irhuuye Ez^en Emneg Sagaan (of Irkut river)
Hongodor	Urag Sagaan	Angarain Amani E^en Ama Sagaan Noyon (of source of Angara river); Uuragi Ez^en Ulaan Zalaa Mergen Degei (of Uurag river)
Hore:odoi (Hori)	Sahilgan Sagaan	Helgo Muriin E^en Hilar Sagaan Noyon; Sarbali Sagaan Noyon (of Hudan); Orboli Sagaan Noyon (of Sohondo hill)

p. 182 Erlig H^aan’s assistants

"Erlig Khaan has a huge number of assistants – scribes, judges, wardens and messengers – who help him keep records of the actions and thoughts ... of humans and other beings currently alive in the Middle World ... . These records are contained in the Table of Fate and used to judge beings when they descend into the Underworld after their death in the Middle World; it is on the basis of these records that their fate is decided. {This divine bureaucracy is typical of Confucianist religion.} ...

Bo# who made no mistakes in their career are not judged by Erlig Khaan as they are prote’ge’es of the Tengeri so it is the latter who decide their posthumous destination."

[pp. 183-186 (IV.ii) Bon cosmogony]

Dmitry Ermakov : Bo\ and Bo:n. Vajra Publ, Kathmandu, 2008.