Tatyana Dordzhieva, About Zul and Tsagan Sar

Tatyana talks about Zul and Tsagan Sar. During Zul, Kalmyks perform a ‘ritual to prolong their lives’. People make candles from dough and stick candlewicks made from grass blades into these candles. The number of grass blades in a candlewick should be 2 to 3 blades more than the actual age of the person to whom the wick is dedicated. Each member of the family has a separate wick for themselves. All wicks are placed together on a single candle. The head of the family lights the candlewicks outside the house as soon as the first stars appear in the sky. After that he offers tea libations to the lama Tsongkapa. During Zul people do not eat. By contrast, people eat meat during Tsagan Sar; but the animal should be slaughtered several days before the start of the celebrations. Tsagan Sar celebrates two events, namely (1) the return of the goddess Okn Tengri from the land of monsters and (2) the beginning of the spring. During Tsagan Sar, temples carry out large scale prayers, and people toss fat into fire as an offering to Okn Tengri. After her stories, Tatyana utters well-wishes that people say to each other during Zul and performs a song dedicated to Zul.Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwi