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Mongolian Word of the Week #63: Бурхан

Cyrillic	бурхан	Breee%
Transcription	burhan
IPA	[ˈpʊr.χəŋ]
Layman’s Pronunciation	BOOR-khung
Meaning	god, buddha, boddhisattva
In Genghis Khan’s time it was burqan.

Бурхан is what most religious Mongolians worship. You could call it God, although it’s not really the same. And of course, I mentioned before in my first entry that Тэнгэр meant God, right? Well, kind of. Mongolian traditional religion is a melding of elements from Tibetan Buddhism and native, pre-Buddhist shamanic traditions, each with their own objects of worship. To understand  Бурхан and Тэнгэр, let’s talk about five kinds of entities that could be called “gods,” although none of them are quite what Westerners usually think of as “God.”

1. Тэнгэр (Tenger)
   
2. Онгод (Ongod)
3. Devas
4. Buddhas
5. Boddhisattvas

Тэнгэр (Tenger - also encountered as Tengri) is a concept stretching back as far as we can see into the past. Тэнгэр can refer both to the physical sky, and also to Heaven, the manifestation of divine will in the cosmos. In this second sense, Тэнгэр is the closest native Mongolian thing to the Christian God. Тэнгэр is the creator and sustainer of the world. Humans, animals, and plants all depend on Him/Her/It. (I can’t say what pronoun is appropriate; Mongolian doesn’t have grammatical gender.) Earthly governments derive their right to rule from Heaven’s will, similar to the Chinese concept of the "Mandate of Heaven." Тэнгэр maintains the balance of nature and moral order. It punishes illegitimate regimes by making them collapse and will even smite much less significant individuals as well. It seems that it’s also possible to have a direct personal relationship with Тэнгэр. Тэнгэр was the only authority acknowledged by Chinggis Khaan, and he prayed to it every morning.

Онгод (ongod), singular онгон (ongon), are also ancient Mongolian. [1] Онгод are local deities of nature and may best be compared to Greek nymphs. These are the spirits that shamans usually interact with. Ongod can be divided into the broad categories лус (lus, water spirits) and савдаг (savdag, earth spirits). [2]

A poster advertising a sale on divine postage stamps

The next three categories came with Buddhism. Deva is the Sanskrit term for god, cognate with the Latin word for god, deus (hence also the English word divine). [3] The devas include all the gods inherited from Hinduism, e.g. Brahma and Indra, and other kinds of powerful beings as well. In Hinduism they are gods. But Buddhism denies that the devas are immortal, that they created the world, or that they can save human beings from their karma - in other words, the Hindu gods don't sound very godlike. But Buddhism never got rid of them, and in Mongolian they are also called by the word тэнгэр, or the Tibetan loanword лха (lha, prounced la).

Painting of a бурхан.

A Buddha [4] is anyone who has become enlightened and thus gained freedom from karma and the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (samsara), and supposedly lots of other powers as well. When a Buddha dies, he enters a state called nirvana and is never born again. The historical Siddhartha Gautama is one example, but there is theoretically an infinite number of Buddhas. Like devas, they didn’t create the universe. But being a Buddha is actually better than being a deva, because devas, no matter how powerful, are still bound by the chains of karma. In fact, Buddhas are known as the teachers of gods, as well as men. Thus in Mongolian the Buddha is also called Бурхан багш (Burhan bagsh), "God-teacher."

Bodhisattvas are Buddhas-to-be. In Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, Bodhisattvas have become as important as Buddhas, because of their special dedication to enlightening other beings. They take a vow to postpone their own entrance into Nirvana in order to help others find enlightenment too.

Another бурхан at Tsonjin Boldog

Today most Mongolians follow the Gelugpa "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, which is headed by the Dalai Lama. Both Buddhas and Boddhisattvas are commonly referred to as Бурхан, and Buddhism itself is usually called Бурханы Шашин (Burhany Shashin), "God's Religion." Technically, they aren’t gods in the western sense. The historical Buddha never asked anyone to worship him and denied that he was a god. But in practice, most Buddhists around the world pray to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in a way that people from any religion would recognize. Mongolians keep icons of Buddhas in a гүнгэрваа (güngervaa) on the хоймор (hoimor) in their gers, light зул (zul) in front of them, and make offerings of food to them.

One more thing. What do you call the Christian God? Mongolian Christians call Him Бурхан. They also use the word Эзэн, meaning “Lord.” Referring to the three persons, the Father is Эцэг (Etseg), the Son is Есүс Христ (Yesüs Hrist) or Бурханы Хүү (Burhany Hüü, "God's son"), and the Holy Spirit is Ариун Сүнс (Ariun Süns). However, the naming is apparently controversial. For more, I recommend this interesting little article: "Case Study: Translating God in Mongolia."

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Notes

1. From Otgony PUREV's Mongolian Shamanism, fifth edition (ISBN 99929-0-239-6).
   
2. Also from Mongolian Shamanism, specifically page 82.
   
3. Watkins, Calvert, The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, second edition. These words are also related to the names Zeus (king of the Greek gods), *Tiwwaz (the Germanic god who gave his name to Tuesday), and daevas (the demons of Zoroastrianism). All of these words go back to a reconstructed Indo-European root *dyeu- "sky, heaven, god." There is a lot of information and theorizing about this word.
4. Buddha and Bodhisattva, both Sanskrit words, also go back to an Indo-European root - in this case *bheudh- "to be aware, make aware." Same source as Note #3.
   

Mongolian Words of the Week #61 and #62: Унах and Унах

Унах and Унах

The thin line between riding and falling

Cyrillic	унах		унах
Transcription	unah		unah
IPA	[ˈʊ.nǝx]		[ˈʊ.nǝx]
Layman’s Pronunciation	OO-nukh		OO-nukh
Translation	ride		fall
In Genghis Khan’s time it was unuqu...			...and unaqu.

Today's Mongolian word of the week is two: унах and ... унах! Yes, the Mongolian language has two verbs both called унах.  Унах means "ride," while унах means "fall." If you look at the Mongolian script versions though, you'll notice that they are spelled differently, because the traditional script reflects an older form of Mongolian. Back in Genghis Khan's time, "ride" was unuqu, and "fall" was unaqu, differing by only one sound. Over the next eight hundred years, they fell together, becoming identical. [1]

So how does Mongolian tell "riding" apart from "falling"? There are certain things - horses, for example - that can be ridden and fallen off of, so this could clearly be a problem. How do they do it? (If you've already read Mongolian Word of the Week #53: Морь, then you may already know the answer. If so, shhh!)

The answer is in the way these verbs affect other words in the sentence. Think about how those verbs work in English. You would say "I rode a horse," but "I fell off a horse." Now let's look at the equivalent sentences in Mongolian.

        Би морь унасан. (Bi mori unasan.) "I rode a horse."
        Би мориноос унасан. (Bi morinoos unasan.) "I fell off a horse."

The difference is in the word for "horse." In the sentence "I fell off a horse," морь "horse" adds the ending -оос. [2] "Horse" is now in the ablative case, which means "from," "off" or "out of." Instead of a separate word, Mongolian uses a suffix.

A fanciful rendition of унах "ride" in traditional Mongolian script

Riding

The verb "ride" is the basis for other words such as унаа (unaa), "a ride." Many times when I was planning to leave town for Ulaanbaatar, other teachers would ask me, "Унаа олсон уу?" (Unaa olson uu), "Have you found a ride?"

Another word that is becoming very important is унаач (unaach) "rider, jockey," because of the growing debate over унаач хүүхэд (unaach hüühed), or child jockeys. Mongolian child jockeys compete in dangerous races, but many of them are uninsured and do not have protective gear. Some have been seriously injured, or even killed.

Although I have no evidence, I've always wondered if унах is related to унага (unaga), the word for a foal or baby horse.

Унах "fall" in Mongolian script

Falling

"Fall" has several extended uses, among the most important of which is "fail" - a usage I am quite aware of. It was not uncommon for bad students to have шалгалтад унасан (shalgaltad unasan, "fallen (failed) in an exam.") Perhaps it seems natural to people whose lives depend on horses to equate falling off with failure.

It may seem strange that Mongolian would say the same thing for "ride" and "fall," but it just goes to show how much ambiguity language can put up with. All languages have ambiguity due to same-sounding words, but manage to work with it. In Mongolian, the words around help distinguish "ride" and "fall." What ambiguities does English get by with?

Sentences

Би морь унасан. Тэгээд мориноос унасан.
I rode a horse. Then I fell off the horse.

Унаа олсон уу?
(Unaa olson uu)
Have you found a ride?

Эрхэм гишүүд ээ, унаач хүүхдийн амь насыг хамгаалсан хуулиа хэзээ батлах гэж байна вэ?
Members of Parliament, when will you approve the law to protect the lives of child jockeys?
(http://mnb.mn/p/4241)

Шалгалтад унасан эмнэлгийн дарга нар хэн бэ?
Who are the directors of the hospitals that failed the test?
(http://www.news.mn/content/141510.shtml)

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Notes

1. In a common change in Khalkh Mongolian, one of the u's in unuqu became an a, making both words identical.
2. The ablative case suffix can also be -аас, -ээс, or -өөс depending on the vowel in front of it, because of the rules of vowel harmony. The word морь is also a "hidden N" stem noun, which is why the -н- shows up suddenly in front of the -оос.

Los Angeles Naadam 2015

Naadam in Los Angeles

Two days ago I saw Naadam (Наадам), Mongolia's summer sports festival, in Los Angeles, thanks to the Mongolian Association of Los Angeles (Лос Анжелесийн Монголчуудын холбоо). The event was held in spacious Griffith Park, north of the Observatory, south of the Zoo, and next to the golf course. Although I'd seen several Naadams in Mongolia, this was my first Naadam abroad. I ran into some Mongolians I knew here, as well as some fellow Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs, for those who know) from Mongolia. The event also attracted quite a few businesses, such as representatives of Mongolia's airline MIAT and the Korean company Coway.

The main Naadam tent, on the north side of the field, naturally

I showed up at 11:00 AM, as stated on the announcement on the LA Mongols site, so I was put to work setting up chairs and tables. In Mongolia, the stated time of an event is often actually the time people start setting up for the event, so those who don't want to help ought to show up one or two hours late.

Just like the local Naadam in Khashaat that I witnessed, the events took place in the center of a giant ring of inward-facing tents.

Baby's first Naadam. Hello Rinchen!

The celebration got underway close to 1:00 when a procession in traditional costume marched around the inside of the circle with the Mongolian flag and finally raised it in the center of the ring.
Cultural performances dominated the first half of Naadam, including dancers, singers, a gymnast, a морин хуур (horsehead fiddle) player, and the rock band Dayan (Даян хамтлаг).

Getting ready to raise the Mongolian flag

Young girls don their хатан (queen) outfits for the cultural performance

Horsehead fiddle (morin huur) player

A selection of medals to be awarded to the victors

Prize statues

Rock band Dayan performing at the 2015 Los Angeles Naadam festival

Huushuur (хуушуур), creamy airag (айраг, fermented horse milk) and other food for the public was provided by Golden Mongolian Restaurant (Алтан Монгол зоогийн газар) Los Angeles's REAL Mongolian restaurant, who set up a tent on the west side. So many people lined up to get huushuur from them, a couple of my friends were in line for two hours.

The line for huushuur (хуушуур)

After the cultural performances, the wrestling finally started.

Unfortunately, there was no archery or horse-racing - the other two major Naadam events. It's a lot easier to get a park use permit for wrestling than archery or racing, perhaps because of greater perceived danger, as I discussed in "Safety in the Art of Archery." Hopefully future events can incorporate more of Mongolian culture.

Wrestlers at the 2015 Naadam in Los Angeles. Notice the other guy on the side. Several matches take place simultaneously, so there's never a dull minute

One of the final events was a national costume fashion show.

Getting in line for the fashion show

There was an afterparty at a club in Koreatown, which I didn't attend, but I'd already had quite a lot of Mongolia for a day in America!

MWW 60: Барих

Wrestling: "Grabbing Each Other" in Mongolian

Cyrillic	барих	bErieeO
Transcription	barih
IPA	['pærʲɪx]
Layman’s Pronunciation	BARE-ikh
Translation	1. hold, grip, grab, keep 2. put together, build
In Genghis Khan’s time it was bariqu.

Last week in Mongolian Word of the Week #59: Бөх ("wrestler"), I mentioned that wrestling itself is called барилдаан (barildaan). Барилдаан is ultimately derived from the Mongolian verb барих, (barih) meaning to "hold," "grip," "grab," or "keep" something. Getting from барих to барилдаан is an interesting demonstration of what Mongolian verbs can do, but first let me say something about verbal voice.

English and most European languages have an active voice and a passive voice: the active is when the subject does something to something else, and the passive is when the subject gets something done to it. Mongolian has a richer array of voices. In addition to active and passive, it has a reciprocal voice. The reciprocal means two or more people do things to each other. Often, it has a tone of competition or conflict - just like wrestling.

The reciprocal voice is marked with the suffix -лд-. Inserted into бариx, you get барилдах (barildah) "wrestle." Since барих is "grab," барилдах is basically "grab each other." (Isn't wrestling mostly an exalted form of grabbing?) The final step is to add the suffix -аан, which turns the verb барилдах "wrestle" into the noun барилдаан "wrestling." [1]

Hold on: more about барих

You can also мацаг барих (observe a fast), холбоо барих (keep in touch), зай барих (keep at a distance), and биеэ барих (control your temper). Among the many things that Mongolians барих is the жолоо (joloo) "steering wheel," and by extension the entire машин (mashin) "car." So one day while riding across the steppe the driver asked me,

Та машин барьж чадах уу?
Ta mashin barij chadah uu?
Can you drive (hold) a car?

To which I answered "Тийм, Америкийн Нэгдсэн Улсад" (Yes, in the United States).

Барих has a secondary meaning of "put together, build." As such, Mongolians talk about гэр барих, "building a home." (By the way, remember to check out my look at how a Mongolian home, or гэр, is taken apart and put together!) Hence the common word for "building, construction," барилга (barilga).

Барих is an extremely common, useful, and productive verb. Other than барилдах and барилдаан, it has given birth to many other words, such as

• бариул (bariul) "handle"
• баривчилгаа (barivchilgaa) "an arrest"
• бариач (bariach) "chiropractor, masseuse"
• баригдашгүй (barigdashgüi) "elusive"
• баригдмал (barigdmal) "constricted" - баригдмал үзэл "constricted worldview"
  
• барьцаа (baritsaa) "money that you put down: stock, security, collateral, advance, guarantee, wager, deposit bond" and many other uses in finance.

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Notes

1. Mongolian verbs are usually cited in the dictionary in the form ending in -х. However, suffixes are not added to this form, but to the stem, and to get the stem you must remove -х. Thus the stem of барих is бари- and the stem of барилдах is барилд-.
   

MWW 59: Бөх

Little boy in a wrestler's outfit, or зодог (zodog)

Cyrillic	бөх	BikEt
Transcription	böh
IPA	[pɵx]
Layman’s Pronunciation	BOOKH
Meaning	1. wrestler 2. strong, firm
In Genghis Khan’s time it was böke.

Наадам (Naadam) is coming, so it's time for wrestlers. Wrestling is probably the most popular sport in Mongolia, and бөх is the Mongolian word for wrestler. Western-style wrestlers are called чөлөөт бөх (chölööt böh), "free wrestler." Western-style wrestling is important in Mongolia too, evidenced by С.Батцэцэг (S. Battsetseg), who won an Olympic medal in 2012. [1] Practitioners of judo and sumo wrestling can also be called бөх, and Mongolians excel at sumo too. (Ever heard of Asashōryu? His real, Mongolian, name is Дагвадорж (Dagvadorj).)  But by itself бөх refers especially to wrestlers in Mongolia's own national style of wrestling.

High school boys wrestling. Wrestling is a popular activity for boys all over the country. It doesn't require any fancy equipment - you already have it. Wrestling can happen anytime, and anywhere. (Even in the classroom, unfortunately.)

The activity that wrestlers engage in is called барилдаан (barildaan). They wear a distinctive tight outfit called a зодог (zodog) and attack each other with various мэх (meh, techniques). If they're successful, they get a цол (tsol, title, rank), and someone will sing their praises, known as цол дуудах (tsol duudah).

Бөх is also an adjective meaning "strong, firm, fast, hard," often together with бат (bat), which means practically the same thing. In fact, Бөхбат and Батбөх are also common names. I'm not sure whether the adjectival or nominal meaning is original. But one can talk about a бөх уяа (böh uyaa) "tight knot" [2], бөх бат хана (böh bat hana) "sturdy wall," and even a бөх нойр (böh noir) "sound sleep." [3] In general, strength, reliability, and endurance - all qualities of a good wrestler - may be called бөх чанар (böh chanar) or бат бөх байдал (bat böh baidal).

A victorious wrestler at a local Наадам (Naadam) shows does a victory dance, showing off his sequined зодог jacket.

Дүүгийн холбоо ураг төрлийнхөөс илүү бөх.
(Düügiin holboo urag törliinhöös ilüü böh.)
"A younger brother's relationship is stronger than a relative's." (i.e., "Blood is thicker than water.")

Бөөгийн хэрэгсэл ламд гай
Бөхийн зодог эхнэрт лай
Бурхан тахил чөтгөрт дараа
Буу саадаг чавганцад төвөг

A witch's wares are anathema to a priest
A wrestler's shirt is a nuisance to a wife
A god's prayer is trouble to a demon
A gun and shells are useless to granny [4]

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1. By the way, she's from my town. A famous traditional wrestler from my town is Ч.Санжаадамба (Ch. Sanjaadamba).
2. While this may be in the dictionary, in my extensive experience with knots, I have always heard чанга уяа (changa uyaa) "tight knot."
3. Böh noir makes me imagine a black and white movie about jaded detectives looking for Mongolian wrestlers in the shadowy alleys of the UB ger districts.
   
4. By Р.Чойном (R. Choinom), my translation. A бөө isn't really a witch, but it fits the alliteration better.