Dmitriy Mandzhiev, About Burul and Baga-Burul Clans and My Ancestors

Dmitriy is from the Khongrmud lineage of the Baga Burul clan. He talks about the Burul tribe and his ancestral land: Our tribe consists of 5 major clans: Iki-Burul, Mandzhikin, Dzhedzhikin, Kevyud and Baga-Burul. The largest among them is Iki Burul which, according to our elders, was comprised of 1000 tents or households. The second largest is Mandzhikin and Dzhedzhikin that had 500 tents each. Kevyud had from 300 to 400 tents, and the smallest was my clan which only had 100 tents. Despite its size, many people from my clan were educated. In the beginning they studied in temples, and later after the Soviets came to power many people from my clan headed collective and state farms. For example, my grandfather went to school, was an excellent student and later was sent to Astrakhan to continue his studies. Each clan has its land. Our clan inherited its land from a wrestler, who received it from a noble man as a reward. In 2006, we all gathered together and performed a ritual near where our clan temple once stood. Our elders requested that we rebuild the temple, which we did. The first clan to come this area was Iki Burul from whom split Mandzhikin, Dzhedzhikin and other clans. I know well the boundaries of my ancestral/clan land which was the biggest in this area. My lineage takes its beginning from a man called Temyach. He was the only son in the family. Temyach himself also had a son called Mandzhi. Mandzhi had 3 sons, Shokadyk, Boldyr and Lobin. We are descendants of Shokadyk. There are 10 members in our family. We all work on the farm, raise cattle, keep a few horses and camels. In the past, one of my ancestors was a wrestler who served a noble man. When my ancestor became old the noble man gave him people, land and cattle and let him live separately. That is how the best land in Iki-Burulskiy rayon belongs to our clan. In its turn our clan is divided into several lineages (arvn): Mangdmud, Olchakhn, Darzhakhn, Khongrmud, Gelngud. Today we all live in different places. In the village of Baga-Burul itself there are practically no indigenous people left. The reason for this is that after returning from Siberia, our people did not find a place where they could settle. By the time the village was built more than half of our people had already left. Our clan, for example, moved to the neighboring village of Orgakin, where I grew up.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwi