Article

Name: Love, wealth, power, and sinfulness in “wish texts”: the features of Buryat conspiracies

Authors: M. M. Sodnompilova, S. D. Gympilova

Institute of Mongolian, Buddhism and Tibetan Studies of SB RAS, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation

In the section Обрядовый фольклор

Abstract:

This article delves into the examination of “wish texts,” specifically Buryat conspiracies centered around the topics of love, wealth, and power. One of the earliest forms of oral poetry, conspiracies hold great significance within the traditional ritual folklore of the Buryats and were widely utilized in their magical practices. There are special Buryat conspiracies aiming to possess magical abilities, achieve material advantage, or possess a beloved person. These conspiracies are of particular interest since they reflect the ideas of the Buryats about sin, the traditional values of Buryat society. The sinful nature of conspiracies was not so much determined by their goals but rather by the methods employed to achieve them. The depiction of sinfulness is particularly evident in the text of the love plot origins, which explicitly portrays the fundamental spiritual values of the Buryats that the petitioner is willing to forsake in pursuit of their desires. The analysis indicates the existence of a unique category of social conspiracies within the Buryat, Yakut, and Tuvinian texts, primarily involving male individuals as perpetrators. The majority of these individuals were considered outsiders, who, for unclear reasons, were willing to defy societal norms and regulations, including both the impoverished and solitary individuals, as well as the wealthy and those who had fallen out of favor with authorities.

Keywords: ritual poetry, Buryats, conspiracy, conspiracy structure, genre variety of conspiracy, love, sin, magical knowledge

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