О видах калмыцких родовых тамг

Abstract

The study gives a review of the Kalmyk clan sings called tamga. The article identifies the main types of these signs. The author points out that tamgas in their image have simple geometrical figures that can be the evidence of their ancient origin and the high probability of duplication in different nations. The most simple geometrical figure in the system of the clan signs has a form of a straight line and also an angle with sides of different length. One of the most popular images is a cross that in the folk culture is associated with cross piece of the smoke flap of the yurt. There are a lot of tamgas in the shape of a circle or, as the Kalmyks call it in the system of tamgas, iron ring. The variety of this type of tamgas is set up based on the number of rings and their position in relation to each other. There were popular tamgas in the shape of a semicircle that differed in the direction of the image and also in the shape of bident or trident. The authors’ materials point to the fact that there could also be sings in the form of Chinese characters. All things considered, there are several desiderata in the study of Kalmyk tamgas and their further study will allow to enlarge the list of tamga types.