The Tangut Manuscript <i>The First [Shamanistic] Ritual</i> from IOM, RAS Collection. Textual Research and Translation

Abstract

The Tangut manuscript Танг 1621 is recorded evidence of the Tangut shamanistic tradition that existed in the Xixia state, but had originated from the religious beliefs of the Tanguts ancestors. This text was discovered among unidentified Tangut texts in the process of cataloguing work. Prior to this this discovery, we came across some indirect references to Tangut shamanism in various sources such as historical documents (The Tangut Codex), ritual or religious text fragments. Most likely, the text in question is an original Tangut text that had originally existed in verbal tradition and was later recorded. Structurally, it consists of 14-syllable verses, including archaisms, unclear metaphors and symbolism. It is a complete manuscript with a title, a short preface, and a logical ending. The titles translation can be only interpreted tentatively, as it literally means The Origin of [Religious] Ecstasy (Russian kamlaniye). However, I guess that to translate the Tangut word 影 as [religious] ecstasy would not be entirely correct in this case, because we find in this text a description of a shamanistic ritual that includes kamlaniye only as its part. The main goal of the rite described here is to defend the world of living beings from the disasters that astral spirits visit on some tribes or ethnic groups for being neglectful of the rules of sacrificial rites or for damaging sacred items. Therefore, this ritual, when it was performed for the first time, was aimed at procuring Heavens support for people. On can assume that, once performed, this rite had laid the foundation for a ritual tradition that preserved the wealth and stability of the community that observed it, and later it became the most basic, principal ritual of the state. I can also assume that it was this archetypal rite that emperor Yuanhao performed as he proclaimed himself emperor of the Xixia State. I should add that the above-mentioned linguistic traits pose a serious challenge to the textual research into this sourcefirst of all, to its proper translation. That is why this study is only a preliminary one. The main goal of interpreting this text is to determine the place of the Tangut shamanistic tradition within the context of the long-time scholarly definition of such religious beliefs.