Zul
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For Kalmyks, Zul is equivalent to New Year's Day in that it marks the first day of a new year according to Kalmyk lunar calendar. In Kalmyk 'zul' means a candle. On this day people make a number of candlewicks (zulyn gol) according to their age and stick them on small boat-shaped candles made of dough. The candles are lit up when the first stars appear in the sky. On this day Kalmyks add a year to their age.
During Zul people are encouraged to perform good deeds, wish each other well, and abstain from alcohol and meat products. In the morning Kalmyks brew traditional tea (jomba) and bake traditional biscuits (bortsg). Before partaking of food, fresh tea and some biscuits are placed on the altar as an offering to gods and ancestors. It is believed that the aroma of the biscuits drives all the bad and negative things from the house and brings good luck and prosperity.
Given Buddhism is intertwined with every aspect of the life of Kalmyks, Zul is also a holiday to commemorate the birth, life and ascent of Tsongkapa (1357-1419), the founder of the Gelugpa school of Buddhism, to nirvana. Before Zul the Kalmyks go to monasteries for a special ritual called nas uttullgn to prolong life. On the day of Zul itself monasteries carry out prayers, including those dedicated to Tsongkapa, and light candles as an offering to the great Buddhist teacher.
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Item Open Access Tamara Bazyreva, about Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2015-11-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumov, Anton; Kovaeva, Bair; Churyumov, AntonItem Open Access Svetlana Ubushaeva, Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-07-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Koldaev, Tseren; Churyumov, Anton; Okonova, AltanaItem Open Access Sangadji Tarbaev, About traditional holidays(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-07-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Terbish, BaasanjavItem Open Access Petr Tazaev, About Zul and Tsagan Sar(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2018-02-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Bembeev, Aleksandr; Sandzhiev, ArturItem Open Access Lari Ilishkin, About Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-12-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Koldaev, Tseren; Bembeev, AleksandrItem Open Access Gerel Shakeeva, About Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2016-09-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Churyumov, AntonItem Open Access Ekaterina Zhuzhaeva, about Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2016-10-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumov, Anton; Okonova, AltanaItem Open Access Borla Ochaeva, About Zul and Tsagan Sar(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2018-04-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Churyumov, AntonItem Open Access Zoya Moskina, Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-12-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Bembeev, AleksandrItem Open Access Vitaliy Mankirov, About Zul and Tsagan Sar(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-07-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Koldaev, Tseren; Churyumov, Anton; Okonova, AltanaItem Open Access Vera Inzheeva, Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-07-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Koldaev, Tseren; Churyumov, Anton; Okonova, AltanaItem Open Access Tatyana Lidzhieva, About national holidays(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-07-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Terbish, BaasanjavItem Open Access Boba Kokueva, About zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2018-11-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Korneev, Gennadiy; Bembeev, Aleksandr; Sandzhiev, ArturItem Open Access Nadezhda Burukchinova and others, about zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2016-04-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Churyumov, AntonThe women in the video talk about Zul.Item Open Access Vladimir Kartulinov, Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-12-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Koldaev, TserenVladimir says that Zul is a very important holiday for Kalmyks. People prepare for it in advance by procuring new clothes, cleaning their house, preparing gifts and making biscuits. During the holiday people visit each other’s houses and congratulate each other. In the past, people did not drink alcohol during Zul.Item Open Access Tatyana Dordzhieva, About Zul and Tsagan Sar(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2017-10-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Churyumov, AntonTatyana 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.Item Open Access Angira Shaburova, About Zul(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2016-10-01) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Churyumov, AntonAngira says that during Zul people light candles and put offerings on the altar. The candlewicks should consist of the same number of grass blades as the age of the person to whom the candlewicks are dedicated. The candles are ignited in the evening after stars appear in the sky. During Zul and Tsagan Sar people pay each other visit, drink tea, eat food, and utter well-wishes.Item Open Access Zoya Chokaeva, about Kalmyk holidays(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2019-04-22) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Bembeev, Aleksandr; Sandzhiev, ArturZoya says that all holidays are connected with Buddhism. Zul is a birthday during which all women add a year to their age. The week after Zul, called ‘Jilin Noyon’ (Master of the Year), is when men add a year to their age. At Tsagan Sar people bake biscuits and visit each other. ‘Togshi’ biscuits are tied together with a thread to form gift bundles. People give each other these bundles.Item Open Access Rimma Badmaeva, About Zul and Tsagan Sar(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2019-04-22) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Bembeev, Aleksandr; Sandzhiev, ArturDuring Zul and Tsagan Sar people make biscuits, tea, and cook meat. Different biscuits have different meanings and symbolisms. During Tsagan Sar people make a variety of biscuits, whereas during Zul – simple biscuits. Torghuts have the following custom. During Zul, their old men give their young men a coin wrapped in a paper wishing them to grow into brave defenders of the motherland. During Zul, Kalmyks perform a ritual to prolong their lives. They make candles from dough in the shape of a small pan and stick candlewicks into it. The candle is lit when the first star appears in the sky. A person who performs this ritual holds the candle, standing with one leg outside the house and the other leg inside the house, and utters ‘khuree, khuree’. After the ritual the candle is put on the domestic altar. The next day the dough of the candle is fried and shared among family members. Candles can be made on other occasions as well. During Tsagan Sar, people make various bortsg biscuits, including khorkha (symbolizes abundance), jola (symbolizes the continuation of one’s clan), shovgor, and kit. People greet each other by holding each other’s elbows. The greeting during is: ‘Did you spend the winter well?’ People also hang new clothes on a rope to symbolize abundance. At the end, Rimma utters a well wish that people say during Tsagan Sar.Item Open Access Evdokia Erdnieva, Zul and Tsagan Sar(Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge, 2019-05-04) Terbish, Baasanjav; Churyumova, Elvira; Korneev, Gennadiy; Bembeev, Aleksandr; Sandzhiev, ArturEvdokia talks about how people celebrate Zul and Tsagan Sar: For Zul, people make biscuits, light candles, and invite their relatives to their homes. Before the celebrations, people collect special grass the stems of which is cut into pieces to make candlewicks. All stems are individually wrapped in cotton and then all the stems are wrapped together to form a candlewick. The number of grass stems inside each wick should be more by 3 stems than the age of the person to whom it is dedicated. The candlewicks of people from the same family are put together into a single candle. The candle is then filled with butter, taken to the street and lit. During this ritual old man read prayers and children play. After that, all come home to drink tea and eat biscuits. During Tsagan Sar people also light candles for three consecutive days. After that, it is okay to light candles in the evening for the rest of the month. People make biscuits. Another dish that people make is a cooked sheep’s head. Bits of its meat is given to children, and the head is left in a secluded place. It cannot be given to dogs.