Scientific article

УДК 94(47)+930.253+94(571.54)

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2021-1-68-81

Lyudmila S. Dampilova

Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation

Secrets of the Soviet Archive: Buryat Shaman Materials in the Book of B. Rinchen

Abstract

For the first time, the author presents results of her long-term work on comparative analysis of the archive materials included in the collection of shaman texts of the Buryats of Russia “Les materiaux pour L'etude du shamanisme Mongol.” The book was published by academician B. Rinchen in Wiesbaden in 1961. As shaman texts were published without accompanying records, the scientific research cries out for comparison of texts from B. Rinchen’s anthology with archival materials of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOS RAS) and those of the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (COMX IMBTS SB RAS). Shaman materials are considered in the context of ethnocultural history of the Buryats. The author strives to reconstruct the archival data in order to identifying territorial and temporal context. The introduction of this unique material into scientific use seems significant. While working recurrently with shaman materials of the fond 62 of Ts. Zh. Zhamtsarano from the archive of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, a comparative analysis of archival materials and texts from the B. Rinchen’s book has been conducted. It has been identified that 19 songs from 56 texts contained in Rinchen’s book were copied from the fond 62 of Ts. Zhamtsarano. In the fond 753 of T. K. Alekseeva from the COMX IMBTS SB RAS 20 more texts have been found, that were included in the Rinchen’s book. The comparative analysis of shaman songs from the Alexeeva fond with Rinchen’s book reveals one major difference (minor variations notwithstanding): the description of rites clarify the text semantics. Repeated search and comparative analysis of materials has allowed the author to conclude that texts from the T. Alexeeva’s fond are not absent in the fond of Ts. Zhamtsarano from the archive of the IOS RAS. Thus, shaman materials published in B. Rinchen’s book can’t originate just from the C. Zhamtsarano fond, as has been formerly assumed. It is quite possible that the book mostly contains poetic songs from the fond of T. K. Alexeeva (90 of 134 pages). Thus textual comparative analysis of songs concludes that T. K. Alexeyva fond is of great scientific interest from ethnographic point of view. It is believed that future researchers may require its data for further research and publication of unique shaman materials with full supplementary records and names of collectors.

Keywords

Buryats shaman materials, historical source, manuscript, publication abroad, Latin alphabet, fond, comparison, rite, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies.

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References

DASHIBALOVA, D. V. Fol'klornye materialy C. Zh. Zhamtsarano v rukopisnykh sobraniyakh Sankt-Peterburga i Ulan-Ude [Folklore materials of Ts. Zh. Zhamtsarano in handwritten collections of St. Petersburg and Ulan-Ude. In Russ.]. IN: Istoriya i kul'tura narodov Tsentral'noi Azii [History and Culture of the peoples of Central Asia. In Russ.]. Ulan-Ude, Izd-vo BNTs SO RAN publ., 2008, pp. 32–38.

CHIMITDORZHIEV, Sh. B. Byambyn Rinchen – vydayushchiisya uchenyi i pisatel' (1905–1977) [Byambyn Rinchen – an outstanding scientist and writer (1905–77). In Russ.]. Ulan-Ude, Izd-vo BNTs SO RAN publ., 2005, 100 p.

About the authors

Dampilova Lyudmila Sanzhiboevna, PhD in Philology, associate professor, Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, department of the literature and folklore, chief researcher, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation, +7-914-631-10-40, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

The research was carried out within the state assignment (project «Ethnocultural Identity in the Architectonics of Folklore and Literary Texts of the Peoples of the Baikal Region», № 121031000259-6)

Submitted 23.03.2020, published (for citation):

DAMPILOVA, L. S. Tainy sovetskogo arkhiva: buryatskie shamanskie materialy v knige B. Rinchena [Secrets of the Soviet Archive: Buryat Shaman Materials in the Book of B. Rinchen. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2021, no. 1, pp. 68-81. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2021-1-68-81