Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding Revisited

Introduction. The article deals with the term ‘shaγata’ (Kalm шаһата) to have denoted both the matchmaking process and the young woman as bride proper. The insight into materials on wedding rites of 19th-century Kalmyks and Oirat groups of Mongolia and China attests to that the term is rather widesp...

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Main Author: Tatyana I. Sharaeva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Российской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центр 2022-07-01
Series:Oriental Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/3647
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author Tatyana I. Sharaeva
author_facet Tatyana I. Sharaeva
author_sort Tatyana I. Sharaeva
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. The article deals with the term ‘shaγata’ (Kalm шаһата) to have denoted both the matchmaking process and the young woman as bride proper. The insight into materials on wedding rites of 19th-century Kalmyks and Oirat groups of Mongolia and China attests to that the term is rather widespread in traditional communities. So, the lexeme is virtually absent in present-day Kalmyk wedding discourse. Materials and methods. The study analyzes works to have examined traditional household activities and cultural phenomena of Kalmyks related to traditional wedding rites. Special attention is paid to publications exploring ethnic ritual cultures of Southern Siberia, Mongolia, and Xinjiang (China). The employed research methods include the comparative/historical, comparative proper, and structural/functional ones. Results. The analysis of materials dealing with the term ‘shaγata’ in the Kalmyk wedding tradition makes it possible to suggest a polysemantic meaning inherent thereto. So, it served to mark a number of aspects, such as a young woman’s status of bride, emergence of a new family, introduction of the woman into the community of relatives, property relationships between the two sides of the marriage, and numbers of wedding treats. In traditional Kalmyk society, the term was closely associated with nomadic lifestyle, traditions and centuries-old worldviews of nomads. The factors to have caused its disappearance are changes in economic patterns and modes of life, transformed ritual culture of Kalmyks.
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spelling doaj.art-b281cc1e0456430ea531a5ceb54c12a12022-12-22T04:38:33ZengРоссийской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центрOriental Studies2619-09902619-10082022-07-01152361372http://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2022-60-2-361-372Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding RevisitedTatyana I. Sharaeva0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2242-5136Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RASIntroduction. The article deals with the term ‘shaγata’ (Kalm шаһата) to have denoted both the matchmaking process and the young woman as bride proper. The insight into materials on wedding rites of 19th-century Kalmyks and Oirat groups of Mongolia and China attests to that the term is rather widespread in traditional communities. So, the lexeme is virtually absent in present-day Kalmyk wedding discourse. Materials and methods. The study analyzes works to have examined traditional household activities and cultural phenomena of Kalmyks related to traditional wedding rites. Special attention is paid to publications exploring ethnic ritual cultures of Southern Siberia, Mongolia, and Xinjiang (China). The employed research methods include the comparative/historical, comparative proper, and structural/functional ones. Results. The analysis of materials dealing with the term ‘shaγata’ in the Kalmyk wedding tradition makes it possible to suggest a polysemantic meaning inherent thereto. So, it served to mark a number of aspects, such as a young woman’s status of bride, emergence of a new family, introduction of the woman into the community of relatives, property relationships between the two sides of the marriage, and numbers of wedding treats. In traditional Kalmyk society, the term was closely associated with nomadic lifestyle, traditions and centuries-old worldviews of nomads. The factors to have caused its disappearance are changes in economic patterns and modes of life, transformed ritual culture of Kalmyks.https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/3647kalmyksweddingtraditional performancestibiachildbearingproperty relationshipswedding treats
spellingShingle Tatyana I. Sharaeva
Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding Revisited
Oriental Studies
kalmyks
wedding
traditional performances
tibia
childbearing
property relationships
wedding treats
title Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding Revisited
title_full Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding Revisited
title_fullStr Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding Revisited
title_full_unstemmed Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding Revisited
title_short Shaγata / Шаһата: One Term of Kalmyk Traditional Wedding Revisited
title_sort shaγata шаһата one term of kalmyk traditional wedding revisited
topic kalmyks
wedding
traditional performances
tibia
childbearing
property relationships
wedding treats
url https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/3647
work_keys_str_mv AT tatyanaisharaeva shagatašaһataonetermofkalmyktraditionalweddingrevisited