Sangadzhi Kononov, Legends from Dund Khurul

Legend One. In the past an astrologist calculated the time and place where a boy with the head of a wolf would be born. Upon hearing this terrible news, some worried people went to the prophesized place only to find a woman who was in labor. As soon as the woman gave birth, the newborn who had a wolf’s head set about running around the tent trying to escape from the crowd. The people caught the baby and when they were about to kill him, the baby said, ‘If only had I sucked the milk of my mother, then you would never be able to defeat me!’ Legend Two. About the origin of the Ajirhsud clan of Dund Khurul. Once upon a time there lived a man called Ovgn Mergn Baatr in the territory of Dund Khurul. He was so heavy and strong that no horse could carry him. He had to go by foot at all times. At that time a plague erupted in Tibet that decimated both people and animals alike. The plague was caused by a bird that had escaped from the afterlife. The lamas prophesized that only a Kalmyk hero from Dund Khurul could chase the bird away and save the country. Messengers were dispatched to Kalmykia to bring the savior to Tibet. When Ovgn Mergn Baatr chased the bird, the plague stopped. But not all Tibetans were happy with the end of the plague. Tibetans from the ruling families did not like the fact that it was someone from a far-away land who saved Tibet. They killed their Kalmyk savior. Upon learning about the murder, the lamas chastised the murderers and prophesized that bad times would come unless the perpetrators atoned their collective sin. 500 families were to give a son each to carry the corpse of the Kalmyk hero back to his homeland. The journey was hard and exhausting. When the procession finally reached Kalmykia, only 17 out of 500 carriers made it to the destination alive. These 17 Tibetans were the ancestors of the Ajirhsud clan which means ‘male horses (who carry weight)’. A ghost story. Sangadzhi heard the following story from an old Kalmyk. When the grandfather of this old man was a boy, a very special relic had to be delivered from the Dund Temple to the Khosheutovskiy Temple under the cover of the night. The journey had to start at sunset and finish before dawn. The boy took the relic and set about galloping towards the Khosheutovskiy Temple. On his way, distracted by evil spirits and tired, the boy decided to stop and quickly fell asleep. He was woken up by light coming from a fire which was circled by dancing babies. The boy quickly jumped on the back of his horse and galloped away. He reached the Temple just before dawn. After he handed the relic to a monk who had been waiting for him, the first rays of the sun appeared behind the horizon.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin