The Buryats of the Irkutsk region are the northern outpost of the Mongolian world. Buryats

For several centuries, Buryats have lived side by side with Russians, being part of the multinational population of Russia. At the same time, they managed to preserve their identity, language and religion.

Why are the Buryats called “Buryats”?

Scientists are still arguing about why the Buryats are called “Buryats”. This ethnonym first appears in the “Secret History of the Mongols,” dating back to 1240. Then, for more than six centuries, the word “Buryat” was not mentioned, appearing again only in written sources of the late 19th century.

There are several versions of the origin of this word. One of the main ones traces the word “Buryat” to the Khakass “pyraat”, which goes back to the Turkic term “buri”, which translates as “wolf”. “Buri-ata” is correspondingly translated as “father wolf.”

This etymology is due to the fact that many Buryat clans consider the wolf to be a totem animal and their ancestor.

It is interesting that in the Khakass language the sound “b” is muffled and pronounced like “p”. The Cossacks called the people living to the west of the Khakass “pyraat”. Subsequently, this term was Russified and became close to the Russian “brother”. Thus, “Buryats”, “brotherly people”, “brotherly Mungals” began to be called the entire Mongol-speaking population inhabiting the Russian Empire.

Also interesting is the version of the origin of the ethnonym from the words “bu” (gray-haired) and “Oirat” (forest peoples). That is, the Buryats are peoples indigenous to this area (Baikal region and Transbaikalia).

Tribes and clans

The Buryats are an ethnic group formed from several Mongol-speaking ethnic groups living in the territory of Transbaikalia and the Baikal region, which did not then have a single self-name. The formation process took place over many centuries, starting with the Hunnic Empire, which included the Proto-Buryats as Western Huns.

The largest ethnic groups that formed the Buryat ethnos were the Western Khongodors, Bualgits and Ekhirits, and the Eastern ones - the Khorins.

In the 18th century, when the territory of Buryatia was already part of the Russian Empire (according to the treaties of 1689 and 1727 between Russia and the Qing dynasty), Khalkha-Mongol and Oirat clans also came to southern Transbaikalia. They became the third component of the modern Buryat ethnic group.
To this day, tribal and territorial divisions have been preserved among the Buryats. The main Buryat tribes are the Bulagats, Ekhirits, Khoris, Khongodors, Sartuls, Tsongols, Tabanguts. Each tribe is also divided into clans.
Based on their territory, the Buryats are divided into Nizhneuuzky, Khorinsky, Aginsky, Shenekhensky, Selenginsky and others, depending on the lands of residence of the clan.

Black and yellow faith

The Buryats are characterized by religious syncretism. Traditional is a set of beliefs, the so-called shamanism or Tengrianism, in the Buryat language called “hara shazhan” (black faith). From the end of the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug school - “Shara Shazhan” (yellow faith) began to develop in Buryatia. He seriously assimilated pre-Buddhist beliefs, but with the advent of Buddhism, Buryat shamanism was not completely lost.

Until now, in some areas of Buryatia, shamanism remains the main religious trend.

The advent of Buddhism was marked by the development of writing, literacy, printing, folk crafts, and art. Tibetan medicine has also become widespread, the practice of which still exists in Buryatia today.

On the territory of Buryatia, in the Ivolginsky datsan, there is the body of one of the ascetics of Buddhism of the twentieth century, the head of the Buddhists of Siberia in 1911-1917, Khambo Lama Itigelov. In 1927, he sat in the lotus position, gathered his disciples and told them to read a prayer of good wishes for the deceased, after which, according to Buddhist beliefs, the lama went into a state of samadhi. He was buried in a cedar cube in the same lotus position, bequeathing before his departure to dig up the sarcophagus 30 years later. In 1955, the cube was lifted.

The body of Hambo Lama turned out to be incorrupt.

In the early 2000s, researchers conducted a study of the llama's body. The conclusion of Viktor Zvyagin, head of the personal identification department of the Russian Center for Forensic Medicine, became sensational: “With the permission of the highest Buddhist authorities of Buryatia, we were provided with approximately 2 mg of samples - these are hair, skin particles, sections of two nails. Infrared spectrophotometry showed that the protein fractions have intravital characteristics - for comparison, we took similar samples from our employees. An analysis of Itigelov’s skin, carried out in 2004, showed that the concentration of bromine in the llama’s body was 40 times higher than the norm.”

Cult of struggle

Buryats are one of the most fighting peoples in the world. National Buryat wrestling is a traditional sport. Since ancient times, competitions in this discipline have been held as part of surkharban - a national sports festival. In addition to wrestling, participants also compete in archery and horse riding. Buryatia also has strong freestyle wrestlers, sambo wrestlers, boxers, track and field athletes, and speed skaters.

Returning to wrestling, we must say about perhaps the most famous Buryat wrestler today - Anatoly Mikhakhanov, who is also called Orora Satoshi.

Mikhakhanov is a sumo wrestler. Orora Satoshi translates from Japanese as “northern lights” and is a shikonu, a professional wrestler's nickname.
The Buryat hero was born as a completely standard child, weighing 3.6 kg, but after that the genes of the legendary ancestor of the Zakshi family, who, according to legend, weighed 340 kg and rode two bulls, began to appear. In the first grade, Tolya already weighed 120 kg, at the age of 16 - under 200 kg with a height of 191 cm. Today the weight of the famous Buryat sumo wrestler is about 280 kilograms.

Hunting for the Nazis

During the Great Patriotic War, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic sent more than 120 thousand people to defend the Motherland. The Buryats fought on the war fronts as part of three rifle and three tank divisions of the Transbaikal 16th Army. There were Buryats in the Brest Fortress, which was the first to resist the Nazis. This is even reflected in the song about the defenders of Brest:

Only stones will tell about these battles,
How the heroes stood to the death.
There are Russians, Buryats, Armenians and Kazakhs here
They gave their lives for their homeland.

During the war years, 37 natives of Buryatia were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, 10 became full holders of the Order of Glory.

Buryat snipers became especially famous during the war. Which is not surprising - the ability to shoot accurately has always been vital for hunters. Hero of the Soviet Union Zhambyl Tulaev destroyed 262 fascists, and a sniper school was created under his leadership.

Another famous Buryat sniper, senior sergeant Tsyrendashi Dorzhiev, by January 1943, had destroyed 270 enemy soldiers and officers. In a report from the Sovinformburo in June 1942, it was reported about him: “A master of super-accurate fire, Comrade Dorzhiev, who destroyed 181 Nazis during the war, trained and educated a group of snipers, on June 12, snipers-students of Comrade Dorzhiev shot down a German plane.” Another hero, Buryat sniper Arseny Etobaev, destroyed 355 fascists and shot down two enemy planes during the war years.

The Buryats, or Buryaad, are the northernmost Mongolian people, the indigenous people of Siberia, whose closest relatives, according to the latest genetic research, are Koreans. The Buryats are distinguished by their ancient traditions, religion and culture.

Story

The people formed and settled in the area of ​​Lake Baikal, where ethnic Buryatia is located today. Previously, the territory was called Bargudzhin-Tokum. The ancestors of this people, the Kurykans and Bayyrkus, began to develop the lands on both sides of Lake Baikal, starting in the 6th century. The first occupied the Cis-Baikal region, the second settled the lands east of Lake Baikal. Gradually, starting from the 10th century, these ethnic communities began to interact more closely with each other and by the time of the creation of the Mongol Empire they formed a single ethnic group called the Barguts. At the end of the 13th century, due to internecine wars, the Barguts had to leave their lands and go to Western Mongolia; in the 15th century, they moved to Southern Mongolia and became part of the Yongshiebu tumen of the Mongols. The Bargu-Buryats returned to their homeland only in the 14th century, after part of the Eastern Mongols moved west to the lands of the Oirats. Later, the Khalkhas and Oirats began to attack them, as a result, some of the Bargu-Buryats came under the influence of the Khalkha khans, and some became part of the Oirats. During this period, the conquest of the Buryat lands by the Russian state began.

Buryats are divided into ethnic groups:

• sartuls
• Uzons
• Transbaikal Buryats (“black mungals” or “brotherly yasashs of the Turukaya herd”)
• shosholoki
• Korins and Baturins
• sharanuty
• tabanguts
• Sagenuts
• cramps
• ikinats
• hongodors
• bulagats
• gotols
• ashibagata
• ehirites
• Kurkuta
• Khatagins
• terte
• hello
• Sharaites
• Shurtos
• Atagans

All of them inhabited the territories of ethnic Buryatia in the 17th century. At the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, the Songol ethnic group moved to them from other regions of Inner Asia.

From the second half of the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century, there were ethno-territorial groups of Buryats, which were also divided depending on their place of residence.

Barguts (Buryats) of the Qing Empire:

• old barguts or chipchin
• new barguts

Transbaikal Buryats living in the Transbaikal region:

• Khorinsky
• Barguzinsky
• Aginsky
• Selenga

Irkutsk Buryats living in the Irkutsk region:

• Zakamensky
• Alar
• Oka
• Balagansky or Unginsky
• Kudinsky
• Ida
• Olkhonskie
• Verkholensky
• Nizhneudinsk
• Kudarinsky
• Tunkinsky

Where do they live?

Today, Buryats inhabit the lands where their ancestors originally lived: the Republic of Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal Territory of Russia, the Irkutsk Region and the Hulun Buir District, located in the Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia of the People's Republic of China. In the countries where the Buryats live, they are considered a separate independent nationality or one of the ethnic groups of the Mongols. On the territory of Mongolia, the Buryats and Barguts are divided into different ethnic groups.

Number

The total population of Buryats is about 690,000 people. Of these, approximately 164,000 live in the PRC, 48,000 in Mongolia and about 461,389 in the Russian Federation.

Name

To this day, the origin of the ethnonym “buryaad” is controversial and not fully understood. It was first mentioned in the “Secret History of the Mongols” in 1240, the second time this term was mentioned only at the end of the 19th century. There are several versions of the etymology of the ethnonym:

1. from the expression buru halyadg (looking to the side, outsider).
2. from the word bar (tiger);
3. from the word burikha (to evade);
4. from the word storm (thickets);
5. from the ethnonym Kurykan (Kurikan);
6. from the word bu (ancient and old) and the word oirot (forest peoples). In general, these two words are translated as indigenous (ancient) forest peoples.
7. from the word of Khakass origin pyraat, which goes back to the term buri (wolf) or buri-ata (father wolf). Many ancient Buryat peoples revered the wolf and considered this animal their ancestor. The sound “b” in the Khakass language is pronounced like “p”. Under this name, the Russian Cossacks learned about the ancestors of the Buryats, who lived east of the Khakass. Later, the word “pyraat” was transformed into the word “brother”. The Mongol-speaking population living in Russia began to be called brothers, bratskie mungals and fraternal people. Gradually the name was adopted by the Khori-Buryats, Bulagats, Khondogors and Ekhirits as the common self-name “Buryad”.

Religion

The religion of the Buryats was influenced by the Mongolian tribes and the period of Russian statehood. Initially, like many Mongolian tribes, the Buryats professed shamanism. This set of beliefs is also called pantheism and Tengrism, and the Mongols, in turn, called it khara shashyn, which translates as black faith.

At the end of the 16th century, Buddhism began to spread in Buryatia, and from the 18th century Christianity began to actively develop. Today, all three of these religions exist in the territory where the Buryats live.

Shamanism

The Buryats have always had a special relationship with nature, which was reflected in their ancient faith - shamanism. They revered the sky, considered it the supreme deity and called it the Eternal Blue Sky (Huhe Munhe Tengri). They considered nature and its forces - water, fire, air and sun - to be animate. Rituals were performed outdoors near certain objects. It was believed that in this way it was possible to achieve unity between man and the forces of air, water and fire. Ritual holidays in shamanism are called tailagans, they were held near Lake Baikal, in places that were especially revered. The Buryats influenced spirits through sacrifice and observance of special traditions and rules.

Shamans were a special caste, they combined several characteristics at once: storytellers, healers and psychologists manipulating consciousness. Only a person with shamanic roots could become a shaman. Their rituals were very impressive; sometimes a large number of people, up to several thousand, gathered to watch them. When Christianity and Buddhism began to spread in Buryatia, shamanism began to be oppressed. But this ancient faith lies deeply in the basis of the worldview of the Buryat people and cannot be completely destroyed. To this day, many traditions of shamanism have been preserved, and spiritual monuments and sacred places are an important part of the cultural heritage of the Buryats.

Buddhism

The Buryats living on the eastern bank began to profess Buddhism under the influence of the Mongols living nearby. In the 17th century, one of the forms of Buddhism appeared in Buryatia - Lamaism. The Buryats introduced into Lamaism the attributes of the ancient faith of shamanism: the spiritualization of nature and natural forces, the veneration of guardian spirits. Gradually, the culture of Mongolia and Tibet came to Buryatia. Representatives of this faith, called lamas, were brought to the territory of Transbaikalia, Buddhist monasteries and schools were opened, applied arts were developed and books were published. In 1741, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree that recognized Lamaism as one of the official religions on the territory of the Russian Empire. A staff of 150 lamas was officially approved, who were exempt from paying taxes. Datsans became the center of development of Tibetan medicine, philosophy and literature in Buryatia. After the revolution of 1917, all this ceased to exist, the datsans were destroyed and closed, and the lamas were repressed. The revival of Buddhism began again only in the late 1990s, and today Buryatia is the center of Buddhism in Russia.

Christianity

In 1721, the Irkutsk diocese was created in Buryatia, from which the development of Christianity in the republic began. Among the Western Buryats, such holidays as Easter, Elijah's Day, and Christmas have become common. Christianity in Buryatia was greatly hampered by the population's adherence to shamanism and Buddhism. The Russian authorities decided to influence the worldview of the Buryats through Orthodoxy, the construction of monasteries began, the authorities also used such a method as getting rid of taxes subject to the adoption of the Orthodox faith. Marriages between Russians and Buryats began to be encouraged, and already at the beginning of the 20th century, of the total Buryat population, 10% were mestizos. All the efforts of the authorities were not in vain and at the end of the 20th century there were already 85,000 Orthodox Buryats, but with the beginning of the 1917 revolution, the Christian mission was liquidated. Church leaders, especially the most active ones, were exiled to camps or shot. After World War II, some Orthodox churches were revived, but the Orthodox Church was officially recognized in Buryatia only in 1994.

Language

As a result of the era of globalization, in 2002 the Buryat language was listed in the Red Book as endangered. Unlike other Mongolian languages, Buryat has a number of phonetic features and is divided into groups:

• Western Buryat
• Eastern Buryat
• Old Bargut
• Novobargutsky

and dialect groups:

• Alaro-Tunik, widespread to the west of Lake Baikal and is divided into several dialects: Unginsky, Alarsky, Zakamensky and Tunkino-Okinsky;
• Nizhneudinskaya, this dialect is widespread in the western territories of the Buryats;
• Khorinskaya, widespread east of Lake Baikal, is spoken by the majority of Buryats living in Mongolia and a group of Buryats in China. Divided into dialects: North Selenga, Aginsky, Tugnuisky and Khorinsky;
• Seleginskaya, widespread in the south of Buryatia and is divided into dialects: Sartul, Khamnigan and Songolian;
• The Ekhirit-Bulagat group predominates in the Ust-Ordynsky district and the territories of the Baikal region. Dialects: Barguzin, Bokhan, Ekhit-Bulagat, Baikal-Kudarin and Olkhon.

The Buryats used the old Mongolian script until the mid-1930s. In 1905, Lama Agvan Dorzhiev developed a writing system called Vagindra. It is worth noting that the Buryats are the only indigenous people of Siberia who own literary monuments and founded their own historical written sources. They were called Buryat chronicles and were written mainly in the 19th century. Buddhist teachers and clergy left behind a rich spiritual heritage, their works, translations on Buddhist philosophy, tantric practices, history and Tibetan medicine. In many datsans of Buryatia there were printing houses in which books were printed using woodblock printing.

Housing

The traditional dwelling of the Buryats is the yurt, which many Mongolian peoples call ger. These people had portable yurts made of felt and yurts made of wood, which were built in one place.

Wooden dwellings were made of logs or logs, were 6- or 8-corner, without windows. There was a large hole in the roof designed for lighting and smoke escape. The roof of the dwelling was installed on 4 pillars, which are called tengi, and large pieces of coniferous bark were placed on the ceiling with the inside down. Smooth pieces of turf were placed on top.

The door to the yurt was always installed on the south side. Inside, the room was divided into two halves: the right was for men, the left for women. On the right side of the yurt, which belonged to a man, a bow, arrows, a saber, a gun, harness and a saddle hung on the wall. Kitchen utensils were located on the left side. There was a fireplace in the middle of the dwelling, and there were benches along the walls. On the left side were chests and a table for guests. Opposite the entrance there was a shelf with ongons and buhrans - Buddhist sculptures. In front of the dwelling, the Buryats installed a hitching post (serge), which was made in the form of a pillar with an ornament.

Portable yurts are lightweight and easy to assemble and disassemble due to their design. This was very important for the nomadic Buryats, who moved from place to place in search of pastures. In winter, a fire was lit in the hearth to heat the home; in summer it was used as a refrigerator. The lattice frame of the portable yurt was covered with felt, soaked for disinfection with a mixture of salt, tobacco or sour milk. The Buryats sat around the fireplace on quilted felt.

In the 19th century, wealthy Buryats began to build huts, which they borrowed from Russian settlers. But in such huts all the decoration of the elements of the Buryat national home was preserved.

Food

Products of animal and animal-plant origin have always occupied an important place in the Buryat cuisine. They prepared sour milk (kurunga) of a special leaven and dried compressed curd mass for future use. The Buryats drank green tea with milk, to which they added salt, lard or butter, and prepared an alcoholic drink from the distillation of kurunga.

In Buryat cuisine, a significant place is occupied by fish, herbs, spices, strawberries and bird cherry. A very popular dish of national cuisine is smoked Baikal omul. The symbol of Buryat cuisine is buuza, which Russians call poses.

Character

By nature, Buryats are distinguished by their secrecy; they are usually peace-loving and meek, but vindictive and angry if offended. They are compassionate towards relatives and never refuse help to the poor. Despite their outward rudeness, love, justice and honesty towards their neighbors are very developed among the Buryats.

Appearance

The skin color of the Buryat is brown-bronze, the face is flat and wide, the nose is flattened and small. The eyes are small, slanted, mostly black, the mouth is large, the beard is sparse, and the hair on the head is black. Medium or short height, strong build.

Cloth

Each Buryat clan has its own national clothing, which is very diverse, especially for women. The Transbaikal Buryats have a national dress called degel - a type of caftan made from dressed sheepskin. At the top of the chest there is a pubescent triangular notch. The sleeves are also pubescent, narrowing at the wrist. Various types of fur were used for trimming, sometimes very valuable. The caftan was tied at the waist with a belt. A knife and smoking accessories were hung on it: a pouch with tobacco, a flint and a hansa - a small copper pipe with a short chibouk. Three stripes of different colors were sewn into the chest part of the degel: yellow-red at the bottom, black in the middle, and various at the top: green, white, blue. The original version was yellow-red, black and white embroidery.

In bad weather, a sabu was worn on top of the degel; this is a type of overcoat with a large fur collar. In cold weather, especially if the Buryats went on the road, they wore a wide dakha robe, which was sewn with the wool outward from tanned skins.

In summer, degel was sometimes replaced with a caftan made of cloth of the same cut. Often in Transbaikalia in the summer they wore robes, which were made from paper by the poor Buryats and from silk by the rich.

Buryats wore long and narrow pants, made of rough leather, and a shirt made of blue fabric. In winter, high boots made from the skin of foals' legs were worn as footwear; in spring and autumn, boots with pointed toes, called shoe boots, were worn. In summer they wore shoes knitted from horsehair with leather soles.

As headdresses, women and men wore round hats with small brims and a red tassel at the top. The color and details of the dress have their own meaning and symbolism. The pointed top of the cap is a symbol of well-being and prosperity, the silver top of the denze with red coral on the top of the cap symbolizes the sun, which illuminates the entire Universe with its rays. The brushes represent the rays of the sun. The zalaa fluttering at the top of the cap means an invincible spirit and a happy destiny, the sompi knot symbolizes strength and strength. Buryats are very fond of the color blue; for them it is a symbol of the eternal and blue sky.

Women's clothing differed from men's clothing in embroidery and decorations. The female degel is surrounded by blue cloth, and at the top in the back area it is decorated with embroidery in the form of a square. Decorations made of copper and silver buttons and coins are sewn onto the degel. Women's robes consist of a short jacket sewn to a skirt.

As a hairstyle, girls wear braids, braid them in quantities from 10 to 20 and decorate them with a large number of coins. Women wear gold or silver coins and corals around their necks, and huge earrings in their ears, which are supported by a cord thrown over their heads. Polta pendants are worn behind the ears. They wear copper or silver bugaks on their hands - bracelets in the form of hoops.

Men belonging to the clergy had their hair cut at the front of their heads and wore a braid at the back, into which horsehair was often woven for thickness.

Life

The Buryats were divided into nomadic and sedentary. The economy was based on cattle breeding; they usually kept 5 types of animals: rams, cows, camels, goats and horses. They were also engaged in traditional crafts - fishing and hunting.

The Buryats were engaged in processing animal wool, skins and tendons. The skins were used to make bedding, saddlery and clothing. Felt, materials for clothing, hats and shoes, and mattresses were made from wool. Tendons were used to make thread material, which was used in the manufacture of ropes and bows. The bones were used to make toys and jewelry, and were used to make arrows and bows.

The meat was used to prepare food, processed using waste-free technology, and made into delicacies and sausages. The spleen of animals was used by women when sewing clothes as an adhesive material. Various products were made from milk.

Culture

Buryat folklore consists of several directions:

• legends
• uligers
• shamanic invocations
• sayings
• fairy tales
• riddles
• legends
• proverbs
• cult hymns

Musical creativity is represented by various genres, some of them:

• epic tales
• dance songs (the round dance yokhor is especially popular)
• lyrical ritual

Buryats sing various songs of a lyrical, everyday, ritual, table, round dance and dance nature. The Buryats call improvised songs duunuud. The modal basis belongs to the anhemitonic pentatonic scale.

Traditions

The only public holiday in the Republic of Buryatia, when the entire population officially rests, is the first day of the New Year according to the Lunar calendar - the White Month holiday called Sagaalgan.

Other holidays are also celebrated in Buryatia in accordance with religious and national traditions:

• Altargana
• Surkharban
• Yordyn games
• Ancient City Day
• Ulan-Ude Day
• Baikal Day
• Hunnic New Year
• Zura Khural

According to tradition, Buryats invite close neighbors to eat fresh food when they slaughter a ram, bull or horse. If a neighbor could not come, the owner sent him pieces of meat. Days of migration are also considered solemn. On this occasion, the Buryats prepared milk wine, slaughtered sheep and held festivities.

Children occupy an important place in the life of the Buryats. Having many children has always been revered. Parents who have many children enjoy great respect and respect. If there were no children in the family, this was considered a punishment from above; to remain without offspring means the end of the family line. If a Buryat died childless, they said that his fire had gone out. Families in which children often got sick and died turned to shamans and asked them to become godfathers.

From an early age, children were taught knowledge of customs, their native land, traditions of their grandfathers and fathers, and they tried to instill in them work skills. Boys were taught to shoot a bow and ride a horse, girls were taught to take care of babies, carry water, light a fire, wrinkle belts and sheepskin. From an early age, children became shepherds, learned to survive the cold, slept in the open air, went hunting and stayed with the herd for days.

, Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug and other areas of the Irkutsk region, Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug and other areas of the Chita region. Outside Russia, Buryats live in northern Mongolia and in small groups in northeastern China (mainly the Shenehen area of ​​the Hulunbuir aimag of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region).

It is believed that the ethnonym “Buryat” (Buriyat) was first mentioned in “The Secret History of the Mongols” (). However, whether this ethnonym is related to modern Buryat-Mongols is unknown. The etymology of the ethnonym has several versions:

1. From the term “buri” (Turkic) - wolf, or “buri-ata” - “father wolf” - suggests the totemic nature of the ethnonym. In all likelihood, the word “wolf” was taboo in the Mongolian languages, since another word is usually used - chono (bur. Shono, written Mongolian chinu-a);
2. From the term “burut” (Mongolian) – wrong, unfaithful, (sometimes) traitor. By Burut, Mongol groups meant Muslim Kyrgyz, so the use of this term to refer to northern Mongol groups who were shamanists and Buddhists like all other Mongols is unlikely. [ ]
3. From the word bar - tiger, it is also unlikely. The assumption is based on the dialect form of the word “Buryat” - “baryaad” (Shadayeva. “Some problems of the ethnocultural history of the Buryats.” 1998).

The number of Buryat-Mongols is estimated at 550 thousand people, including:

• In Russia - 445 thousand people. (census year)
• In northern Mongolia - 70 thousand people. (according to year)
• In northeast China - 25 thousand people.

Buryat-Mongols speak the Buryat language of the Mongolian group of the Altai language family. In turn, the Buryat language consists of 15 dialects, some of which differ quite significantly. Like other Mongols, the Buryat Mongols used a writing system based on the Uyghur script. Most of the Buryat-Mongols (Eastern) used this writing before the year, since the year - a writing based on the Latin alphabet, and from the year - on the basis of the Russian alphabet. The basis of the modern literary language was the Khorin dialect.

For the Buryats, as for all other Mongols, a traditional set of beliefs is designated by the term shamanism or Tengrism; in the Mongolian language it was called “hara shashin” (black faith). Since the end of the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism (inaccurately called Lamaism) of the Gelug school or “Shara Shashin” (yellow faith), which partially absorbed pre-Buddhist beliefs, became more widespread. A feature of the spread of Buddhism in the Buryat-Mongolian territories is the greater proportion of shamanic beliefs compared to other territories inhabited by the Mongols.

The forced spread of Christianity among the Buryat-Mongols began with the advent of the first Russian colonists. The Irkutsk diocese, created in the city, widely launched missionary work. Christianization intensified in the 2nd half of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, 41 missionary camps and dozens of missionary schools functioned in Buryatia. Christianity achieved the greatest success among the Irkutsk Buryats. This was manifested in the fact that Christian holidays became widespread among the Western Buryats: Christmas, Easter, Elijah’s Day, Christmastide, etc. Despite the superficial (often violent) Christianization, the Irkutsk Buryats remained shamanists, and the eastern Buryats remained Buddhists.

In the city, Buddhism is recognized as one of the official religions in Russia. At the same time, the first Buryat permanent monastery was built - Tamchinsky (Gusinoozersky) datsan. The establishment of Buddhism in the region is associated with the spread of writing and literacy, the development of science, literature, art, architecture, crafts and folk crafts. It became an important factor in shaping the way of life, national psychology and morality. From the second half of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century there was a period of rapid flowering of Buryat Buddhism. Philosophical schools operated in datsans; Here they were engaged in book printing and various types of applied arts; Theology, science, translation and publishing, and fiction developed. In the city of Buryatia there were 48 datsans with 16,000 lamas. By the end of the 1930s, the Buryat Buddhist community ceased to exist, all datsans were closed and looted. Only in the city were 2 datsans re-opened: Ivolginsky and Aginsky. The true revival of Buddhism in Buryatia began in the second half of the 80s. More than two dozen old datsans have been restored, lamas are being trained in Buddhist academies in Mongolia and Buryatia, and the institute of young novices at monasteries has been restored. Buddhism became one of the factors of national consolidation and spiritual revival of the Buryat-Mongols. In the second half of the 1980s, a revival of shamanism also began.

Modern Buryat-Mongols were formed, apparently, from various Mongol-speaking groups, which were united by the khan

  Number– 461,389 people (as of 2010).
  Language- Buryat language.
  Settlement– Republic of Buryatia, Irkutsk region, Transbaikal region.

   (self-name - Buryaad, Buryaad zone, Buryaaduud) - Mongolian people speaking the Buryat language. The most northern Mongolian people.

The Buryats historically formed into a single people in the area of ​​Lake Baikal on the territory of ethnic Buryatia, known from medieval sources as Bargudzhin-Tokum. Currently settled on the lands of their original residence: the Republic of Buryatia, the Irkutsk region, the Trans-Baikal Territory of the Russian Federation and the Hulun Buir urban district of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

The active resettlement of Russians and Chinese to these lands since the 17th century, especially in the 20th century, made the Buryats a national minority in all these regions.

The supposed ancestors of the Buryats (Bayyrku and Kurykan) began to develop the lands on both sides of the lake. Baikal since the 6th century. The Kurykans settled in the lands to the west of Lake Baikal, and the Bayyrku settled in the lands from Lake Baikal all the way to the river. Argun. At this time they were part of various nomadic states. The strengthening of the Khitans led to the fact that the core of the Bayyrku settlement shifted from the eastern to the western part of Transbaikalia. This marked the beginning of closer interaction between the bayyrku and the kurykan. Around this time, neighboring peoples began to call the Bayyrku in the Mongolian manner Barguts, the same thing happened with the Kurykans, who in the sources were already called Khoris. By the time the Mongol Empire was created, the territory around Lake Baikal already had a single name, Bargudzhin-Tokum, and the bulk of its population had a common supra-tribal ethnonym, Barguts.

  Transbaikal Buryats (Gustav-Theodor Pauli. “Ethnographic description of the peoples of Russia,” St. Petersburg, 1862)

At the beginning of the 13th century, Bargudzhin-Tokum was included in the Mongol state. Probably, at the end of the 13th century, the Barguts were forced to leave their lands to Western Mongolia due to internecine wars in the Mongol Empire. After the collapse of the Mongol Empire, the Barguts, who in Oirat sources are already called Bargu-Buryats, participated in the creation of the Oirat Khanate. In the second half of the 15th century, they moved to Southern Mongolia, where they became part of the Yunshiebu tumen of the Mongols. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Yunshiebu tumen fell apart or was divided into several parts. Probably, in the second half of the 16th century, the Bargu-Buryats began to move in a northwestern direction, returning to their historical homeland by the beginning of the 17th century. But after some time, another Oirat-Khalkha war broke out, the Bargu-Buryats began to be attacked by both the Khalkhas and the Oirats. As a result, part of the Bargu-Buryats was taken into the possession of the Oirat Taishas, ​​and part was forced to recognize the supremacy of the Khalkha khans.

After these events, the Russian state began the conquest of the Buryat land. By the first decade of the 17th century, the Russian state completed the annexation of Western Siberia and already in 1627 began sending detachments to tax the population of the Baikal region. However, faced with resistance from the indigenous population, Russian explorers were forced to slow down their advance in this region and begin building forts and fortified points. By the middle of the 17th century, a network of forts in the Baikal region was built. One part of the Mongol-speaking “tribes” was pacified by the Cossacks, and the other was forced to move to Khalkha. In 1658, due to the actions of Ivan Pokhabov, almost the entire population subordinate to the Balagan fortress migrated to Khalkha. At the same time, a strong Manchu state arose in the Far East, which from the very beginning pursued an aggressive foreign policy towards Mongolia, which was experiencing a period of fragmentation.

  Dance of the Burkhanovs, 1885

In 1644, Vasily Kolesnikov’s detachment, which penetrated the eastern shore of Lake Baikal, was stopped by the detachment “ big brotherly people"(Trans-Baikal Buryats) and upon returning Kolesnikov decided to attack " Baturin family"in the Baikal region, despite the fact that he had already paid tribute to the Cossacks. This was the reason for the uprising" Korins and Batulins"and their departure from Cisbaikalia in 1645.

In 1646, the troops of Setsen Khan and Tushetu Khan, sent to help the southern Mongolian principality of Sunit, which rebelled against the Manchus, were defeated by Qing troops. Among the troops of Setsen Khan, the Barguts, who were one of his four otoks, are also mentioned. By 1650, Setsen Khan Sholoy died, after which turmoil began in the possessions of Setsen Khan and his vassals, taking advantage of which to “ fraternal people and Tungus“The detachments of Ivan Galkin and then Vasily Kolesnikov begin to attack. In 1650, a detachment of Transbaikal Buryats (“ fraternal Yasash Turukaya herd"), numbering about 100 people, attacked the royal embassy led by Erofei Zabolotsky, confusing it with another detachment of Cossacks attacking the Turukhai uluses. As a result, some of the embassy people were killed, including Zabolotsky himself. The embassy survivors decided to continue their mission. Having reached the possessions of the Setsen Khans, they met with the widow of Sholoy Akhai-Khatun and Turukhai Tabunang, inviting them to accept Russian citizenship, but were subsequently refused by each of them.

In 1654, the Transbaikal Buryats attacked a detachment of Cossacks on the Khilok River led by Maxim Urazov, who was sent by Pyotr Beketov to the Yenisei fort with collected yasak from the Evenks. After this event, mentions of them ceased for a certain time, which indicates their resettlement deep into the possessions of the Khalkhas. About ten years later, the Barguts were mentioned in the Kangxi decree of 1664, where the peoples dependent on the Manchus: the Chakhars, Daurs and Solons were prohibited from trading and having relations with the Khalkhas, Oirats, Tibetans and Barguts. In 1667, some of them returned and began paying yasak to the Nerchinsk fort, but in 1669 the troops of Setsen Khan took them back. In the 1670s, the Barguts were mentioned in the three rivers Arguni, Hailar and Genhe.

Selenga Buryats, (photo taken in 1900)

Around 1675, a group of Transbaikal Buryats appeared at the Nerchinsk fort and asked to be let into their " rock lands"to Baikal and Olkhon, but was detained near Nerchinsk. Despite this, a small part of them voluntarily went to Baikal, the rest were forced to go back due to the atrocities of the Cossacks led by Pavel Shulgin. Where did they begin to attack Russian possessions? But after the arrival of the Russian embassy led by N.G. With Spafariy, they again asked to be allowed into their lands, noting that their overlord Dain-kontaisha, having found out “ about your new, great sovereign, army, he refused them and migrated to distant places and told them that he could not defend them».

When the Transbaikal Buryats returned to their former lands, they found them already occupied by others. So " Korins and Baturins“The Ekhirits were driven out from the western shore of Lake Baikal (Olkhonye) in 1682. After the Ekhirites turned to the Russians with a complaint against them, a long dispute began over these lands. And only after most of the Trans-Baikal Buryats leave the Russian state and the subsequent sending " Korins and Baturins"and the remaining part of the Transbaikal Buryats delegation to Peter I in 1702-1703 with a request to legally assign to them the lands only east of Baikal, this conflict exhausted itself. According to the description of the Nerchinsk district compiled by G.F. Miller in 1739, their number was 1,741 males, while it is indicated that their self-name is Hori, but they are divided into two groups, each of which is governed by different taishas.

In 1766, four regiments were formed from the Buryats to maintain guards along the Selenga border: 1st Ashebagatsky, 2nd Tsongolsky, 3rd Atagansky and 4th Sartulsky. The regiments were reformed in 1851 during the formation of the Transbaikal Cossack Army.

Russian-Buryat school. Late 19th century

Within the framework of Russian statehood, a process of socio-cultural consolidation of various ethnic groups began, historically determined by the proximity of their cultures and dialects. The most important thing for the development of consolidating trends was that as a result of the involvement of the Buryats in the orbit of new economic and socio-cultural relations, they began to develop economic and cultural communities. As a result, by the end of the 19th century, a new community was formed - the Buryat ethnic group.

After the February Revolution of 1917, a national state of the Buryats was formed - the State of Buryat-Mongolia. Burnatsky became its highest body.

  Shaman. Postcard from 1904

In 1921, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Region was formed as part of the Far Eastern Republic. In 1922, the Mongol-Buryat Autonomous Region was formed as part of the RSFSR. In 1923 they united into the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the RSFSR. In 1937, a number of districts were withdrawn from the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, from which autonomous okrugs were formed - the Ust-Orda Buryat National Okrug and the Aginsky Buryat National Okrug; at the same time, some areas with a Buryat population were separated from the autonomous regions (Onon and Olkhon). In 1958, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was renamed the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992, the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transformed into the Republic of Buryatia.

The Buryat language is one of the Mongolian languages ​​and has its own literary standard.

Buryat believers predominantly profess Buddhism or are shamanists. Buryat Buddhists are adherents of Northern Buddhism (Mahayana), which is widespread in the regions of East Asia: China, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. Shamanism, in turn, is widespread among the Buryats of the Irkutsk region, as well as among the old Barguts of China.

In the main countries of residence, the Buryats are considered either one of the ethnic groups of the Mongols, or an independent nationality separate from them. In the Russian Federation, the Buryats are considered a separate nationality from the Mongols. In Mongolia, they are considered one of the Mongolian ethnic groups, with the Barguts and Buryats being considered different ethnic groups.

Winter yurt. The roof is insulated with turf.
Exhibit of the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia

The traditional dwelling of the Buryats, like all nomadic pastoralists, is the yurt, called ger (literally dwelling, house) by the Mongolian peoples.

Yurts were installed both portable felt and stationary in the form of a frame made of timber or logs. Wooden yurts of 6 or 8 corners, without windows. There is a large hole in the roof for smoke and lighting to escape. The roof was installed on four pillars - tengi. Sometimes there was a ceiling. The door to the yurt is oriented to the south. The room was divided into the right, male, and left, female half. There was a fireplace in the center of the dwelling. There were benches along the walls. On the left side of the entrance to the yurt there are shelves with household utensils. On the right side are chests and a table for guests. Opposite the entrance is a shelf with burkhans or ongons.

Interior of a Transbaikal Buryat yurt. End of the 19th century.

In front of the yurt there was a hitching post (serge) in the form of a pillar with an ornament.

Thanks to the design of the yurt, it can be quickly assembled and disassembled and is lightweight - all this is important when migrating to other pastures. In winter, the fire in the hearth provides warmth; in summer, with an additional configuration, it is even used instead of a refrigerator. The right side of the yurt is the men's side. On the wall hung a bow, arrows, a saber, a gun, a saddle and harness. The left one is for women; here were household and kitchen utensils. In the northern part there was an altar. The door of the yurt was always on the south side. The lattice frame of the yurt was covered with felt, soaked in a mixture of sour milk, tobacco and salt for disinfection. They sat on quilted felt - sherdeg - around the hearth. Among the Buryats living on the western side of Lake Baikal, wooden yurts with eight walls were used. The walls were built mainly from larch logs, while the inside of the walls had a flat surface. The roof has four large slopes (in the form of a hexagon) and four small slopes (in the form of a triangle). Inside the yurt there are four pillars on which the inner part of the roof - the ceiling - rests. Large pieces of coniferous bark are placed on the ceiling (inside down). The final covering is carried out with even pieces of turf.

In the 19th century, wealthy Buryats began to build huts borrowed from Russian settlers, preserving elements of the national home in the interior decoration.

Since ancient times, products of animal and combined animal-plant origin have occupied a large place in the food of the Buryats. Sour milk of a special leaven (kurunga) and dried compressed curd mass - khuruud - were prepared for future use. Like the Mongols, the Buryats drank green tea, into which they poured milk and added salt, butter or lard.

Unlike Mongolian cuisine, a significant place in Buryat cuisine is occupied by fish, berries (cherry cherry, strawberries), herbs and spices. Baikal omul, smoked according to the Buryat recipe, is popular.

  Women's national costume. 1856

Each Buryat clan has its own national clothing, which is extremely diverse (mainly among women). The national clothing of the Transbaikal Buryats consists of degel - a kind of caftan made of dressed sheepskin, which has a triangular cutout on the top of the chest, trimmed, as well as the sleeves, tightly clasping the hand, with fur, sometimes very valuable. In summer, the degel could be replaced by a cloth caftan of a similar cut. In Transbaikalia, robes were often used in the summer, the poor had paper ones, the rich had silk ones. In inclement times, a saba, a type of overcoat with a large fur collar, was worn over the degel. In the cold season, especially on the road - dakha, a type of wide robe made from tanned skins, with the wool facing out.

Degel (degil) is tied at the waist with a belt on which a knife and smoking accessories were hung: a flint, a hansa (a small copper pipe with a short chibouk) and a tobacco pouch. A distinctive feature from the Mongolian cut is the chest part of the degel - enger, where three multi-colored stripes are sewn into the upper part. At the bottom - yellow-red (hua ungee), in the middle - black (hara ungee), at the top - white (sagaan ungee), green (nogon ungee) or blue (huhe ungee). The original version was yellow-red, black, white.

Tight and long trousers were made of roughly tanned leather (rovduga); shirt, usually made of blue fabric - in order.

Shoes - in winter, high boots made from the skin of foals' feet; in the rest of the year, shoe boots - boots with a pointed toe. In summer they wore shoes knitted from horsehair with leather soles.

Men and women wore round caps with small brims and a red tassel (zalaa) at the top. All the details and the color of the headdress have their own symbolism, their own meaning. The pointed top of the hat symbolizes prosperity and well-being. A silver top of a denze with a red coral on the top of the cap as a sign of the sun illuminating the entire Universe with its rays. Brushes (zalaa seseg) represent the rays of the sun. The semantic field in the headdress was also involved during the Xiongnu period, when the entire complex of clothing was designed and introduced. The invincible spirit and happy destiny are symbolized by the zala developing at the top of the cap. The sompi knot means strength, strength. The favorite color of the Buryats is blue, which symbolizes the blue sky, the eternal sky.

Women's clothing differed from men's in decoration and embroidery. Women's degel is wrapped in a circle with colored cloth, on the back - at the top, embroidery in the form of a square is made with cloth, and copper and silver decorations from buttons and coins are sewn onto the clothes. In Transbaikalia, women's robes consist of a short jacket sewn to a skirt.

Girls wore from 10 to 20 braids, decorated with many coins. Women wore corals, silver and gold coins, etc. around their necks; in the ears there are huge earrings supported by a cord thrown over the head, and behind the ears there are “poltas” (pendants); on the hands are silver or copper bugaks (a type of bracelets in the form of hoops) and other decorations.

According to some Buryat myths about the origin of the world, at first there was chaos, from which water was formed - the cradle of the world. A flower emerged from the water, and a girl emerged from the flower. A radiance emanated from her, which turned into the sun and moon, dispelling the darkness. This divine girl - a symbol of creative energy - created the earth and the first people: man and woman.

The highest deity is Huhe Munhe Tengri (Blue Eternal Sky), the embodiment of the masculine principle. Earth is feminine. Gods live in the sky. During the time of their ruler Asarang Tengri, the celestials were united. After his departure, power began to be contested by Khurmasta and Ata Ulan. As a result, no one won and the Tengris were divided into 55 Western good and 44 Eastern evil, continuing the eternal struggle among themselves.

Dugan of Green Tara

The Buryats were divided into semi-sedentary and nomadic, governed by steppe dumas and foreign councils. The primary economic basis consisted of the family, then interests flowed into the closest relatives (bule zone), then the economic interests of the “small homeland” in which the Buryats lived (nyutag) were considered, then there were tribal and other global interests. The basis of the economy was cattle breeding, semi-nomadic among the western tribes and nomadic among the eastern tribes. It was practiced to keep 5 types of domestic animals - cows, rams, goats, camels and horses. Traditional trades - hunting and fishing - were common.

The entire list of livestock by-products was processed: hides, wool, tendons, etc. The skin was used to make saddlery, clothing (including coats, pinigs, mittens), bedding, etc. Wool was used to make felt for the home, materials for clothing in the form of felt raincoats, various capes, hats, felt mattresses, etc. . The sinews were used to produce thread material, which was used to make ropes and in the manufacture of bows, etc. Jewelry and toys were made from bones. Bones were also used to make bows and arrow parts.

From the meat of the 5 above-mentioned domestic animals, food products were produced and processed using waste-free technology. They made various sausages and delicacies. Women also used the spleen to make and sew clothes as an adhesive material. The Buryats knew how to produce meat products for long-term storage during the hot season, for use on long migrations and marches. A large range of products could be obtained by processing milk. They also had experience in the production and use of a high-calorie product, suitable for long-term isolation from the family.

In economic activities, the Buryats widely used available domestic animals: the horse was used in a wide range of activities when traveling long distances, when grazing domestic animals, when transporting property with a cart and sleigh, which they also made themselves. Camels were also used to transport heavy loads over long distances. Emasculated bulls were used as draft power. The nomadic technology is interesting, when a barn on wheels was used or the “train” technology was used, when 2 or 3 carts were attached to a camel. A hanza was installed on the carts to store things and protect them from the rain. They used a quickly erected felt house ger (yurt), where the fees for migration or settling in a new place were about three hours. Also, dogs of the Bankhar breed were widely used in economic activities, the closest relatives of which are dogs of the same breed from Tibet, Nepal, as well as the Georgian Shepherd. This dog shows excellent qualities as a watchman and a good shepherd for horses, cows and small livestock. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. Agriculture began to spread intensively in Transbaikalia.

   Yokhor is an ancient circular Buryat dance with chants. Other Mongolian peoples do not have such a dance. Before or after the hunt, in the evenings, the Buryats went out into the clearing, lit a large fire and, holding hands, danced the ekhor all night with cheerful rhythmic chants. In the ancestral dance, all grievances and disagreements were forgotten, delighting the ancestors with this dance of unity. In Ulan-Ude, the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia hosts the summer festival Night of Yokhora. Representatives from different regions of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region compete in the competition for the best ekhor. At the end of the holiday, everyone can plunge into this ancient dance. Hundreds of people of different nationalities, holding hands, are merrily spinning around the fire. In 2013, the number of yokhor participants became a record in recent history: the national round dance was danced in 270 Russian cities.

Buryat folklore consists of myths, uligers, shamanic invocations, legends, cult hymns, fairy tales, proverbs, sayings, and riddles.

Topics of proverbs, sayings and riddles: nature, natural phenomena, birds and animals, household and agricultural items.

Buryat folk music is represented by numerous genres: epic tales (uliger), lyrical ritual songs, dance songs (the round dance yokhor is especially popular) and other genres. The modal basis is the anhemitonic pentatonic scale.

BOOKS ABOUT BURYATS

Bardakhanova S.S., Soktoev A.B. System of genres of Buryat folklore. - Ulan-Ude: Buryat Institute of Social Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1992.
Buryats / Ed. L.L. Abaeva and N.L. Zhukovskaya. - M.: Nauka, 2004.
Buryats // Siberia. Atlas of Asian Russia. - M.: Top book, Feoria, Design. Information. Cartography, 2007.
Buryats // Peoples of Russia. Atlas of cultures and religions. - M.: Design. Information. Cartography, 2010.
Buryats // Ethnoatlas of the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Council of the Administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Public Relations Department; Ch. ed. R.G. Rafikov; editorial board: V.P. Krivonogov, R.D. Tsokaev. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - Krasnoyarsk: Platinum (PLATINA), 2008.
Dondokova L.Yu. Status of women in traditional Buryat society (second half of the 19th - early 20th century): monograph. - Ulan-Ude: Publishing House of the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, 2008.
Dugarov D.S., Neklyudov S.Yu. Historical roots of white shamanism: Based on the material of ritual folklore of the Buryats. - M.: Nauka, 1991.
Zhambalova S.G. The profane and sacred worlds of the Olkhon Buryats (XIX-XX centuries). - Novosibirsk: Science, 2000.
Zalkind E.M. Social system of the Buryats in the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. - M.: Nauka, 1970.
Historical and cultural atlas of Buryatia. / Scientific ed. N.L. Zhukovskaya. - M.: Design. Information. Cartography, 2001.
Peoples of Russia: picturesque album. - St. Petersburg: printing house of the Public Benefit Partnership, 1877.
Nimaev D.D. The beginning of the formation of the ethnic core of the Buryats // Buryats. Series: Peoples and cultures. - M.: Nauka, 2004.
Okladnikov A.P. Essays on the history of Western Buryat-Mongols (XVII-XVIII centuries). - Ulan-Ude, 2014.
Khankharayev V.S. Buryats in the XVII-XVIII centuries. - Ulan-Ude: Publishing house BSC SB RAS, 2000.
Tsydendambaev Ts.B. Buryat historical chronicles and genealogies as sources on the history of the Buryats / Ed. B.V. Bazarova, I. D. Buraeva. - Ulan-Ude: Republican Printing House, 2001.

A nation of Mongolian origin living in the territory of Transbaikalia, Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. In total, there are about 690 thousand people of this ethnic group according to the results of the latest population census. The Buryat language is an independent branch of one of the Mongolian dialects.

Buryats, history of the people

Ancient times

Since ancient times, the Buryats have lived in the area around Lake Baikal. The first written mention of this branch can be found in the famous “Secret History of the Mongols,” a literary monument of the early thirteenth century that describes the life and exploits of Genghis Khan. The Buryats are mentioned in this chronicle as a forest people who submitted to the power of Jochi, the son of Genghis Khan.
At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Temujin created a conglomerate of the main tribes of Mongolia, covering a significant territory, including Cisbaikalia and Transbaikalia. It was during these times that the Buryat people began to take shape. Many tribes and ethnic groups of nomads constantly moved from place to place, mixing with each other. Thanks to such a turbulent life of nomadic peoples, it is still difficult for scientists to accurately determine the true ancestors of the Buryats.
As the Buryats themselves believe, the history of the people originates from the northern Mongols. And indeed, for some time, nomadic tribes moved north under the leadership of Genghis Khan, displacing the local population and partially mixing with them. As a result, two branches of the modern type of Buryats were formed, the Buryat-Mongols (northern part) and the Mongol-Buryats (southern part). They differed in type of appearance (the predominance of Buryat or Mongolian types) and dialect.
Like all nomads, the Buryats were shamanists for a long time - they revered the spirits of nature and all living things, had an extensive pantheon of various deities and performed shamanic rituals and sacrifices. In the 16th century, Buddhism began to spread rapidly among the Mongols, and a century later, most Buryats abandoned their indigenous religion.

Joining Russia

In the seventeenth century, the Russian State completed the development of Siberia, and here sources of domestic origin mention the Buryats, who for a long time resisted the establishment of the new government, raiding forts and fortifications. The subjugation of this numerous and warlike people occurred slowly and painfully, but in the middle of the eighteenth century, the entire Transbaikalia was developed and recognized as part of the Russian state.

Life of the Buryats yesterday and today.

The basis of the economic activity of the semi-sedentary Buryats was semi-nomadic cattle breeding. They successfully bred horses, camels and goats, and sometimes cows and sheep. Among the crafts, fishing and hunting were especially developed, as among all nomadic peoples. All livestock by-products were processed - sinews, bones, hide and wool. They were used to make utensils, jewelry, toys, and sew clothes and shoes.

Buryats have mastered many methods of processing meat and milk. They could produce shelf-stable products suitable for use on long journeys.
Before the arrival of the Russians, the main dwellings of the Buryats were felt yurts, six or eight walls, with a strong folding frame that made it possible to quickly move the structure as needed.
The way of life of the Buryats in our time is, of course, different from before. With the advent of the Russian World, the traditional yurts of nomads were replaced by log buildings, tools were improved, and agriculture spread.
Modern Buryats, having lived side by side with Russians for more than three centuries, have managed to preserve the richest cultural heritage and national flavor in their everyday life and culture.

Buryat traditions

The classical traditions of the Buryat ethnic group have been passed down from generation to generation for many centuries in a row. They were formed under the influence of certain needs of the social structure, improved and changed under the influence of modern trends, but kept their basis unchanged.
Those wishing to appreciate the national color of the Buryats should visit one of the many holidays, such as Surkharban. All Buryat holidays - big and small - are accompanied by dancing and fun, including constant competitions in dexterity and strength among men. The main holiday of the year among the Buryats is Sagaalgan, the ethnic New Year, preparations for which begin long before the celebration itself.
Buryat traditions in the area of ​​family values ​​are most significant for them. Blood ties are very important for this people, and ancestors are revered. Every Buryat can easily name all of his ancestors up to the seventh generation on his father’s side.

The role of men and women in Buryat society

The dominant role in the Buryat family has always been occupied by a male hunter. The birth of a boy was considered the greatest happiness, because a man is the basis of the material well-being of the family. From childhood, boys were taught to stay firmly in the saddle and care for horses. The Buryat man learned the basics of hunting, fishing and blacksmithing from an early age. He had to be able to shoot accurately, pull a bowstring and at the same time be a deft fighter.
The girls were raised in the traditions of tribal patriarchy. They had to help their elders with housework and learn sewing and weaving. A Buryat woman could not call her husband’s older relatives by name and sit in their presence. She was also not allowed to attend tribal councils; she had no right to pass by the idols hanging on the wall of the yurt.
Regardless of gender, all children were raised in harmony with the spirits of living and inanimate nature. Knowledge of national history, reverence for elders and the unquestioned authority of Buddhist sages is the moral basis for young Buryats, unchanged to this day.