Mingiyan Lidzhiev, about kinship terminology and the revival of Kalmyk clans

Mingyan talks about how in the 1990s Kalmyks began to revive their clans. He also talks about kinship terminology: The Kalmyks have retained their clan divisions from times immemorial. In Soviet times, however, this tradition was forgotten. In the 1990s, representatives of some clans began to come together again, and old people told their younger relatives about clans, aimak and ulus that they belonged to. People began to interview older people and collect information in archives or online. People from various clans, including Sharnut-Chonos, Baga-Chonos, Iki-Chonos, Bagud, Tsaatan, Khookchud and many others, began to get together and introduce themselves to each other. Many young people were introduced into their clans by older people. Baga-Chonos people today gather at the ancestral place every year. When people from Sharnut-Chonos clan get together, they set up eight tents for the eight constituent clans. In our family, we call our father ‘baba’ or ‘yadya’. Paternal uncles are addressed as ‘baaja’, ‘baav’ or ‘dyadya’.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwi