Ritual, religion and magic in West Mongolian (Oirad) heroic epic performance

Abstract

This paper is based on the multiple voices of bards of different ethnic groups, visited during fieldwork in West Mongolia in 1989 and 1990. It looks briefly at the brutal demise of heroic epic performance under the Soviet regime (1921–90) and questions Vladimirtsov's contention that the steppe aristocracy was the creator, bearer, preserver and disseminator of Oirad epics. It suggests instead that epic performance was a ritual and magical activity within the homes of ordinary Mongolian herders as well as in monasteries. This paper presents for the first time the folk and shamanist beliefs and activities surrounding the performance of West Mongolian epics, as well as the power of the epic text, the musical instrument (tovshuur) and the bard. It looks at the religious syncretism within the texts—the object of bowdlerisation by the communists—and at worship of the epic hero as deity. Finally, it contributes to the oral and textual traditions debate by considering the ritual performance of epic texts.