Galina Yavanova, Legends of the Bogdakhin Clan

Duration: 6 mins 6 secs

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Description:	According to a legend, the Dalai Lama V and the Panchen Lama IV gave the Kalmyk people a mobile temple as a present. A group of Kalmyks (who were founders of the Bogdakhin clan) were given a task to protect that temple on its way from Tibet to Kalmykia. On their way, these Kalmyks met an oracle who gave them a flower seed and asked them to plant it. ‘When the flower blooms’, the oracle said, ‘look for a special sign on its petals’. As requested, the Kalmyks planted the seed in a pot. Soon it grew and the time came when the flower was about to open its petals. But the flower bloomed when the Kalmyks were all asleep. The pilgrims who had stayed with them the previous night had picked the precious flower and taken it away. After hearing what had happened, the monk of that temple said to that group of Kalmyks that they and their descendants would always give their labour to others for free. This prophecy turned out to be true. The descendant of those Kalmyks, who came to comprise the Bogdakhin clan, have always worked for others. The Bogdakhin clan has another legend or prophecy which is kept in secret and only a chosen number of its members knows about the content. This legend has to stay secret, because if an outsider learns about it the prophecy will never materialize.

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According to a legend, the Dalai Lama V and the Panchen Lama IV gave the Kalmyk people a mobile temple as a present. A group of Kalmyks (who were founders of the Bogdakhin clan) were given a task to protect that temple on its way from Tibet to Kalmykia. On their way, these Kalmyks met an oracle who gave them a flower seed and asked them to plant it. ‘When the flower blooms’, the oracle said, ‘look for a special sign on its petals’. As requested, the Kalmyks planted the seed in a pot. Soon it grew and the time came when the flower was about to open its petals. But the flower bloomed when the Kalmyks were all asleep. The pilgrims who had stayed with them the previous night had picked the precious flower and taken it away. After hearing what had happened, the monk of that temple said to that group of Kalmyks that they and their descendants would always give their labour to others for free. This prophecy turned out to be true. The descendant of those Kalmyks, who came to comprise the Bogdakhin clan, have always worked for others.
The Bogdakhin clan has another legend or prophecy which is kept in secret and only a chosen number of its members knows about the content. This legend has to stay secret, because if an outsider learns about it the prophecy will never materialize.


Created:	2015-09-25 15:47
Collection:	Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project (DERBET)
Publisher:	University of Cambridge
Copyright:	University of Cambridge
Language:	rus (Russian)

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