The Analysis of Cultural Elements Reflected in the Mongolian Epic Jangar

【Abstract】Language is the carrier of culture, and vocabulary is an essential part of language. It is the pillar that the system of language relies on. Language can also be described as the outcome of nationality. Its significance bases on the culture created by thousands of years. It is the main carrier of national culture information and the medium of cultural spread. Language reflects culture. Language does not exist without culture, and language cannot be divorced from all kinds of inherited practices and faiths. Furthermore, the careful selection of words used in language reflects the living habits, values, and concepts of a nation. After analyzing the vocabulary and the context, and inquiring into Mongolian contextual elements, we discovered that in Jangar, there exist Mongolian historical cultural elements.

【Key words】Mongolian heroic epic Jangar; cultural elements

【作者簡介】阿勒腾，新疆师范高等专科学校(新疆教育学院)。

1. Introduction

Jangar, a Mongol Hero Epic, is rated as China’s top three heroic epics along with King Gesar and Manas. It is a narrative poem presented in the form of singing and story-telling, popular among the Mongolian ethnic group in China, especially in areas with a large population of Mongolians in Xinjiang. Jangar was orally created by the people from the Mongolian Torgud (Torgut; Torghud) Tribe, probably in the 13th century, and handed down until modern times by word of mouth. There wasn’t a written text that existed until the early 19th century. Benjamin Bergmann, a German traveler, collected the first Jangar at the beginning of the 19th century among the Kalmyks in Russia. Later, the epic was introduced to other parts of the country and to foreign nations in Kalmyk, Todo, and Mongolian texts etc.

Bayanbatu, a scholar from Inner Mongolia, pointed out that “Jangar is just like a huge mysterious snowball, rolling to and fro in time and space, with the Mongolian plateau as its center, getting bigger and bigger until it became an enormous ‘growth ring ’of Mongolian history and culture”( T.Jamcha,2010:3). He vividly summed up the rich historical and cultural contents of Jangar during the process of its production, development and finalization. After analyzing the vocabulary and the context, and inquiring into Mongolian context elements, we discovered that in Jangar, there exist Mongolian historical cultural elements.

2. Social and economic forms reflected in the epic Jangar

(1) Social forms reflected in the epic Jangar

Sedorji, a famous scholar and researcher, wrote in his article On Jangar Once Again “The heroic epic Jangar, from its emergence and circulation to its finalization, has spanned many centuries. When analyzing the social life and language characteristics reflected in the epic, we can see that some of its chapters were produced in the last period of the Mongol primitive society and others in the slave society. It finally became fixed during the feudal Yuan and Ming Dynasties.” ( T.Jamcha,2010:49) In Jangar, there often appear words like Noyon (means official in Mongolian), Bool (slave) and haan (khan). These words appeared after the Mongol nationality entered a class society. As a matter of fact, when we read some chapters of Jangar, we discovered certain elements that can only exist in the slavery society of the human history in the epic. In the following paragraph, we’ll mainly analyze these elements in Jangar.

1)Elements of Slavery reflected in Jangar

The contents of slave trade can be seen in the epic Jangar. For example, in chapter 9 of Jangar, Loyal Hongar’s Marriage to Alachi Khan’s Daughter, Princess Altan Denjukei there appears expressions about slave trade, alluding to the fact that slaves were cheap. Seventy slaves were worth only one piece of leather armor :( see verse lines 337-347)

337 Hongor wore an iron girdle/That was worth seventy horses, /And held a lance with a handle/340 Seventy-one arm-spans long. /On his shoulders lean and strong,/Leather armor, worth seventy slaves./On his head, a golden helmet,/A black whip in his right hand:/345 The entire length of this whip/Was made from a single ox-hide strip,/Which in poison had been dipped.

In chapter 10 of Jangar, The Fight and Reconciliation Between Jangar Khan and Hara Jilgan Khan, lines 108-119 of the poem, an elegant cloak worth ten thousand slaves:

Besides the red boots, Hongor/Many other garments wore:/110 A soft-textured satin shirt;/A three-layered, jeweled war robe;/A three-layered gold armor;/A belt made of satin,/115 Embroidered with a dragon,/Worth seventy five-year-old horses;/An elegant cloak on his shoulders, /Worth ten thousand slaves; and/A gold helmet on his head.

We can find more examples of these contents in Jangar Epic. Sedorji pointed out in his article The Social Life Reflected in the Epic Jangar: “In Jangar, there appeared expressions about slave trade many times and slaves were cheap. Ten thousand slaves were only worth a good horse; a slave was only worth a small handkerchief or a pair of gold earrings…etc.”. “As a literary work, Jangar has many elements extremely exaggerated, but it also reflects certain historical realities.” (T.Jamcha, 2010:49) There are also some comments about slave trade in The Secret History of the Mongols; for example, a slave for a deer thigh. (T.Jamcha, 2010:49) The story runs as follows:

Dobun Mergen went on, carrying the three-year-old deer on the back of his horse. On the way he met a poor man on foot who was leading his son by the hand. Dobun Mergen asked him, ‘To which clan do you belong?’ The man said, ‘I am a man of the Ma’aliq Baya’ut, and I am in desperate straits. Give me some of the meat of that animal and I will give you this child of mine.’ At these words Dobun Mergen cut off one thigh of the three-year-old deer and gave it to him, and he took the child to be a servant in his house. (See Chapter 1 of The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century translated by Igor de Rachewiltz)

2) Main source of slaves reflected in Jangar

In Jangar, the slaves are mainly from the following three sources: 1) through captivation in war, 2) through buying and selling, or 3) when weak tribes turned to men of power, such as Jangar khan, in hopes of seeking refugee. In the Jangar epic, the main source of slaves is through captivation during wartime.

One of the important themes of Jangar epic is war. Many wars between Mangus and Jangar khan are described. It vividly describes the challenges that people faced in the great grass land long time ago: tribes warred against each other; robberies and violence were common; people had no security and lived a hard life. Just as the Secret history reports “There was chaos everywhere/Kingdoms were all at war. /People had no time to doze off. / They looted and pillaged each other.” (T.Jamcha, 2010:23)

People were either killed in the war, or captured by Mangus to be slaves, as is described in chapter 4 of Jangar, Two-Year-Old Brutal Shara Mongus(Shara Mongus means yellow monsters in Mongolian)Killed Uzeng Alder Khan: Shara Mongus and his army devastated the land of Uzeng Alder’s tribe. Uzeng Alder and his wife were killed; their people and servants were taken away. When the mighty king Mengen Shikshirg happened to visit Uzeng Alder’s tribe, he was shocked by the miserable scene before him. The poem runs as follows:

One day Shara, on a whim, / Gave an order grave and grim, / “Uzeng Alder Khan’s tribe/ Has land too perfect to describe. / In all the world it is the best—/ 35 Even better than the glorious/ Islands of the Blest. / Go and devastate it tonight/ And capture its people outright!”/ Forthwith he led his tribe/40 Of ten thousand ruffians or more./ On fat, black stallions they rode,/ Which all had iron-strong legs,/ Seeming from the same mold,/ With manes and tails bright./45 They got there at twilight,/Burning, killing, looting/ From morning till late at night./ The Bumba Sea was burnt dry/And smoke from the hill rose high./50 Of all things Bumba was bereft,/ No wealth and no people left.

Jangar’s father and mother were also killed, leaving him an orphan in this cruel world:

Uzeng Alder Khan and his wife/Were in danger of losing their lives./........../............/(omit many lines here) As soon as they had finished this(*hid their baby in a cave),/ Shara Mongus came up to them./70 With a burst of rage he roared,/ And he put them to the sword./ He cut off their ears,/ Dug out their eyes,/ Broke their legs, and/75 Pounded their bones./ All their people and/ Servants were taken away,/Not even a baby or a dog /Was spared this cruel fate.

Sometimes the epic’s narrator directly describes the reasons for which Mangus started the war. For example, in Chapter 8 of Jangar, The Intractable Hero Hongor Made the Ayu Mongus Brothers Swear Allegiance to Jangar:

Then the two elder brothers/ Gave Hara Sangsar these orders: / “This time you must look for

180 Three fine spoils of war: / The first one is Mingyan, / A unique, handsome man; / The second, Abai Gerel Hatun,/ Daughter of Emperor Jade,/185 Whose beauty will never fade;/ The third, the date-red horse/ With ears flapping scissors-like, / And four teeth sharp as pikes.”

Also in Chapter 24 of Jangar, Hongar’s Son Killed Naran Dalai Khan’s Son and Captured the Tribe of Andulma Mangus, it was written:

155Jangar asked, “Who are you? /What do you come here for? ” “Well, sir, I am the son of Naran Dalai Khan, / Eighty thousand years old. /160 I’ve heard that you have/ A daughter who is pretty-/ Please marry her to me./ let Abai Gerel, your wife,/ Be maidservant of my wife./165 Then let Loyal Lion Hongor/ Be my trusted manservant./Finally, please give me / Your divine purplish-red steed-/ I want it to pull my cart.”

The Jangar epic describes many wars between Mangus and Jangar khan. More examples like these can be found in the epic Jangar. It provides us with information about the tribal wars, the cruelty of war, and the fate of people living in ancient times. Common people were either killed or taken into slavery after the war. Even Khan, his wife, and their children could not escape from this cruel fate.

(2) Traces of the economic form in Jangar

The epic basically reflects the coexistence of animal husbandry and hunting economy, with the animal husbandry economy as the main socio-economic form. In the epic, we do not see any phenomenon of agriculture as an independent production sector. Instead, what we see is simply a moving scene of animal husbandry production:

In Chapter 7 of Jangar, Jangar Fought Habhan Hara Soyo and the Four-Year-Old Shara Mangus, it was written:

Domestic animals were there,/ Rich in variety, common and rare:/ Spotted yaks, black and white,/ Pink-mouthed and ring-eyed,/40 In the bush-studded plain so wide;/ Yellow-headed sheep,/ The bridges of their noses white,/ In the grasslands far and deep;/ Brown-striped cattle could be seen/ 45 In the desert with tamarisk green;/ Face-spotted camels plodding,/ Into the dusky Gobi winding;/ Herds of horses, black and roan,/ In the vast and open plain,/ 50 Crossed by ravines of stone.

In chapter 13 of Jangar Valliant Hongor Defeated the Brutal Mongus Doronga Brothers and Took Possession of Their Land:

105 Jangar, also called Noyan,

Was an incomparable rich khan.

His herds of spotted horses

Covered the Altai Mountains;

His herds of purplish-red horses

110 Covered the Ulasutu Mountains;

His herds of camels grey

Covered the vast grassland;

His herds of red cattle

Covered the Hulustu reed sands;

115 His sheep, ten thousand a herd,

Covered the needle-grass sands;

His goats, hundred thousand a herd,

Covered the upper Bombatu River.

The five domestic animals most important in the Mongol society were horses (most important in Mongol Empire), cattle, camels, sheep, and goats. All of these animals were valued for their milk, and all of the animals’ hides were used for clothing and shelter. In the above descriptions, we not only saw five different kinds of livestock - horses, cattle, camels, sheep, and goats - but also saw the large quantity of each of the five types of animals. According to historical records, the Mongolian herding of the five livestock was something that their livestock husbandry had experienced for some time. Moreover, the grazing of a large number of livestock groups was possible only under conditions of stability in the social order. In the event of an attack, plunder, or war, similar nomadic conditions cannot be maintained. According to this assumption, the epic should depict the socio-economic conditions in which the development of animal husbandry has reached a considerable scale.

3.Mongolian nomadic way of life reflected in the epic Jangar

(1) Mongolian traditional food and beverage reflected in Jangar

People’s daily life like what they eat, drink or wear, are all reflected in the epic Jangar. For example, fermented mare’s milk, which is still widely drunk by the Mongolian people in the pastoral area during the summer today, often appeared in Jangar. Meat, the main food source of the nomadic Mongolian during the winter, is also described in the epic. We can also find many other food and drinks in the epic that Mongols lived on. Considering the length of this article, we can only analyze a few typical ones as examples.

For example, in Chapter 1 of Jangar, Prologue, Jangar khan holds a grand feast after his new palace is finished. He invites the Khans of Four Continents and four hundred thousand people to his seven-day feast - which actually ends up being an eighty day celebration. While they are drinking at the feast, Jangar orders his interpreter, Kee Jilgan, to introduce the guests. Obeying this order, Kee Jilgan introduces the guests one by one. After Jangar khan finishes his toast, the whole-sheep banquet begins. The heroes and the guests eat the whole sheep in a short period of time, leaving only piles of bones behind. Queen Shabudal fetches the jade-headed zither and plays it. The uniquely handsome man Mingyan begins to sing and all the married and unmarried young women join in. Meanwhile eight thousand attendants offer wine to everyone. The six thousand and twelve heroes then get drunk and utter bold words like, “We shall go to that far place to meet our sinister foes Mongus. When shall we find the game and kill it? When shall we meet our strong enemies and fight against them?”

Fermented mare’s milk:

In lines 283-289 of the poem, there were descriptions about fermented mare’s milk:

Sweet wine was made / From young mares milk,/ 285 A fragrant spirit fermented/ And smoother than silk./Poured into huge skins /That were loaded on beasts,/Carried by camels to the famed feast.

Meat:

The feast of Bor Shusin began,/Eight thousand men to service ran./Platters of mutton never ceased,/To find the mouths of guests with ease./……………….(omit some lines of the poem here)

………………………………./They sat cross-legged prepared to sup,/Rows and rows with sleeves rolled up./490 With mouths wide open /They ate with pleasure,/Their appetites beyond all measure./The pile of bones was like a hill,/All stomachs full, they ate their fill./

In the above verses, Bor Shusin feast is a feast served with a whole –cooked sheep or half-cooked sheep.(see chapter 1 of Jangar, Prologue, note 44 )

Milk tea:

When you visit Mongolian nomadic family, they often serve you milk tea (i.e. tea with milk). The process of making milk tea is easy. All that one needs to do is pour water into a tea pot, add a little brick of tea, salt and milk, and then boil it.

In chapter 4 of Jangar, Two-Year-Old Brutal Shara Mongus(Shara Mongus means yellow monsters in Mongolian)Killed Uzeng Alder Khan:

His wife was boiling milk tea,/ Ladling extra butter into it—/185 Enough to make one salivate./ She filled a bowl with it and/ Brought it to her husband.

(2) Transhumance, form of pastoralism or https://www.britannica.com/topic/nomadismnomadism reflected in Jangar

Certain features of the Mongolian epic have their roots in real-world practices and customs. In the old days, traditional nomadic groups often settle into a regular seasonal pattern of transhumance.. They know where to graze during the winter and summer, spring and autumn. During the winter, they go down to warmer regions in the south; while during the summer, they go up to cooler regions towards the north. The pasture lands without water they graze over in winter when there is snow there, for the snow serveth them as water. A few lines of verses in Chapter 7 of Jangar, Jangar Fought Habhan Hara Soyo and the Four-Year-Old Shara Mangus described this seasonal nomadism. It runs as follows:

10 By Mount Gendon Chagan,/There were camps for summer,/Used to keep away the heat;/On the southern mountain slope,/—its view like a kaleidoscope—/15 There were camps for autumn,/Surrounded by plants with blossom./In the north of the land:/In a valley enclosed/By Mount Gendon Shara,/20 There were camps for winter,/Used to keep off the cold wind;/In the plain, surrounded by hills,/There were camps for spring,/With green grass flourishing.

The epic Jangar paints us a vivid picture of the nomadic Mongolian way of life. Vast grasslands, limitless desert, galloping steeds, brave warriors, simple and honest herdsmen, mellow milk tea, inviting mutton, joyful dance and song, and enchanting melody… a rich, glorious, ethnically styled Mongol culture.

4. Conclusion

Eugene A.Nida wrote in his book Language and Culture: “Since language is defined succinctly as ‘the totality of beliefs and practices of a society, ’nothing is of greater strategic importance than the language through which its beliefs are expressed and transmitted and by which most interaction of its members takes place.” (Eugene A.nida, Language and Culture 2001:78) Through analyzing the language and the context of the epic, we can deduce useful information about Mongols and their life in the past. Like one said, the ambitions of ancient nomadic people who seek to live in harmony and quest for peace are reflected in the actions and views of the epics. Famous Mongolist J. Vladimirtsov noted that Mongolian epics are strongly linked to life on the steppe. The epics are national poems that gracefully express nomadic views and ambitions by describing their conditions.

References:

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