Culture | MONGOLIA


The Shamanistic and Religious Connections


In Buryatia, the main shamanistic ritual called the Great Sacrifice is held on the third day of Tsagaan Sar. In an offering to the sky, the Seven Stars - also known as the seven old men - and all of the spirits of a household are remembered. A small table is placed in the yard, on which nine bowls of water and sticks of incense are placed, and a huge fire is lit outside the courtyard, its smoke rising to heaven: The heat of the smoke should melt the icicles on the whiskers of the dragon, protecting the family and spirits from harm.


In addition to the Great Sacrifice, the shaman holds a communal ritual shortly after New Year in his home. He completes a “purifying body ritual” at the beginning of the


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first month of each lunar New Year by placing a mirror and some colored stones into a pot of water, boiling the water to transform it into arshan – sacred water. The arshan is splashed over the shaman’s body and over the clan members, to give protection.


Religious Buryats also relate the lunar New Year to Lamaism, making Tsagaan Sar an extremely religious holiday. For the highly religious, canvas paintings with wide silk borders are reserved only for the holiday. The religious paintings are displayed behind lamps of oil, incense, and prayer wheels, used to say prayers in honor of patrilineal ancestors. Also, rubbish is burned at monasteries on New Year’s Eve to symbolize forgiving last year’s sins, after which a service to Lhame, the protector of the faith, is held.


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