Sanal is originally from the village of Ketchenery in Kalmykia. He is from the Bagshin Shevnr clan. In 2001 at the age of 17 he became a monk. He made this decision after reading extensively about Buddhism and long reflections. Sanal is not the first monk in his family....

There are three famous temples in Kalmykia, namely the Ik Khurul (Big Temple), the Dund Khurul (Middle Temple) and the Bag Khurul (Small Temple) believed to be founded by three brothers. According to yet another story, the temples’ founders were a father and his two son...

This video contains some interesting details about the history of the Ejine Torghuts. After their settlement in Ejine almost 300 years ago, Torghut nobles took wives mostly from the Halh Mongols. Yonghong says that although traditional Torghut clothes have been preserve...

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The Oirats helped the Gelug school of Buddhism, of which the Dalai Lama is the head, come to power in Tibet. The Kalmyks took upon themselves a lot of sin by killing monks from other Buddhist schools. Ubush’s grandmother used say to him that the Kalmyks were atoning the...

Sergei is an artist. He was born in Elista but moved to Leningradskaya oblast’ in 2009 where now he runs an art studio, Red Star, with his wife Galina. Sergei’s parents are from the village of Aktyubeevka in Astrakhan oblast’. Sergei’s father was also good at drawing, a...

In this interview Bulyash talks about her clan, including its deity-protector and stamp. Question: Are you a Derbet? Bulyash: Yes, I am. And you are a Torghut, right? Question: You said something about people teasing Derbets. Bulyash: ‘Stinky Derbets’. Question: Why wou...

Petr says the following: We lived in Kharabalinsky rayon which was not far from Tsagan-Aman, but on the other bank of the Volga. Our clan is called Baga-Tsokhur. Our clan’s temple was built near Dzhakuevka to commemorate Russia’s victory over Napoleon in 1812. During th...

Sanjiin Khand is an urtiin duu singer and deputy head of the Ejine Torghut Urtiin Duu Association. She says that her father often sang in the toorai (diversifolious poplar) forest of Ejine when he herded sheep and locals called him toorain duuchin. Her mother was also a...

In this interview Ulyumdzhi talks about the Chonos clan, including its history, composition, and a legend about its origin.Ulyumdzhi: I will talk briefly about the Chonos. The Chonos came from north-western Mongolia a long time ago. Our ancestors still live there. We ha...