Nikolai talks about the Tsaatan clan, its composition, etymology, and clan stories: Besides Bag Tsaatan, there are Akh Tsaatan, Kereit Tsaatan, Erketen Tsaatan and many other Tsaatans. The Tsaatan also includes Khornyakhn. Gurvdakhn, according to historian Erdniev, also belong to the Tsaatan. There is even a Kalmyk saying that ‘Although there are many Tsaatans, they are of no use at war’. Originally they were not called ‘Tsaatan’, but were called Khoit, which was a constituent tribe of the Oirat confederation of tribes. This confederation also included the Olet, the Baatud and other tribes. When other nations began to fight with each other, the Oirat confederation did not intervene but kept their neutrality. One day Chingis Khan sent his eldest son Jochi to conquer the northern peoples. When Jochi was crossing the Oirat land, their elders went out to meet him, offering their help. The Oirats helped Jochi conquer the Buryats. Delighted with his sons’ achievements, Chingis Khan praised the Oirat leader Khudukha-beki and married 2 princesses (Jochi’s sister and Jochi’s daughter) to Khudukha-beki’s sons. When Chingis Khan asked his daughter what she wished for her bride wealth, she asked for his white banner. Chingis Khan objected: ‘If I give you my white banner, how am I supposed to be without it? I am a khan after all. No, I will not give you my white banner’. That white banner was used at peacetime during holidays and celebrations. For warfare the khan used his black banner. All the same, the daughter stole her father’s white banner and brought it with her to the Khoits who declared themselves as ‘Khoits with the white banner (tsagan tug khotn bolv)’. Since this phrase was very long, it was reduced to one word ‘Tsaatan’ meaning ‘those with the white banner’. The academician Boris Yakovlevich Vladimirtsov said that the word ‘Baatud’ derives from ‘baatr’ meaning a hero, a warrior. In the past, the Erketen Tsaatans had 2 temples. The Tsaatans in Ik Tsookhr (in Yashkul rayon) had 3 temples and lived on both sides of a river. Those who lived on the further side of the river were called Tsaatan, whereas those who lived on the opposite side were also known as Naatan. Ubushi Khan’s father Donduk-dashi was also known as Balvad Khan. This name was given to him by the Tsaatans. If you look at the paternal genealogy of Kalmyk khans, Kho Urlyuk (who established the Kalmyk Khanate) was also a Tsaatan. Kalmyks who live today in China say that Princess Suvsa is Kereit. But we say that she is also from the Tsaatan clan. Having defended my doctorate degree, in 1965 I returned to my institute where for the next 10 years I traveled up and down the republic, collecting ethnographic materials. People from various clan backgrounds, including Derbets, Torghuts and Khoshuds, confirm that Kalmyk khans were of the Tsaatan clan. Previously, some people, thinking that ‘Tsaatan’ was a bad word, did not want to be identified as Tsaatan. I explained to everyone about the etymology of this word that it derives from the white banner of Chingis Khan himself. Today a lot of people want to be Tsaatan.