The Kalmyks' "Tsatsa" in the context of religious and ethnic identity
(based on written and archaeological sources)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52967/akz2024.2.24.275.289Keywords:
tsatsa religious building, clay cones-shalira, ritual practice, cremation, academic expedition, Buddhism, Ganyushkino, copper coins.Abstract
The article is devoted to the cult structure of the tsatsa, which has been a stable ritual practice among the Buddhists of Kalmykia since the beginning of the 18th century. Swell is an uncommon phenomenon designed to overcome negative effects, improve the karma of a family and a particular person. As a rule, tsatsa is made with good intentions – prolongation of life or the successful rebirth of the dead, etc. The materials for this study were ethnographic and archaeological sources, some of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time and require their own understanding. Of particular interest is the stupa (tsatsa) of the 18th century, discovered near the village of Ganyushkino (Kazakhstan) and which has preserved the main structural features of the building to the present day. The stupa was a room with an entrance door on the east side and was made of clay sculptures of "cones", in the lower part of which human fingerprints are visible. Three sculptures of a lotus flower made of clay were found among the "cones". The products had eight petals with a core in the middle. Copper coins were collected around the building. Stupa-tsatsa near the village of Ganyushkino was installed at the cremation site of the deceased (a clergyman or a noble person) and is part of a single funeral complex of Kalmyk Buddhists.
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