Jangar: The Heroic Epic of the Kalmyk Nomads

Description

JANGAR IS THE HEROIC EPIC OF THE KALMYK NOMADS, who are the Western Mongols of Genghis Khan's medieval empire in Europe. Today, Kalmykia is situated in the territory that was once the Golden Horde, founded by the son of Genghis Khan, Juchi. Although their famed khanates and cities have long since disappeared under the sands of the Great Eurasian Steppe, the Kalmyks have witnessed, memorized, and orally transmitted some of the most transformative developments, both victorious and tragic, in the history of civilizations. A tribute to the protectors of the mythical country Bumba, Jangar reflects the hopes and aspirations of the Kalmyk people as well as their centuries-long struggle for their cultural existence. This book is an important step in the Kalmyk people's struggle for cultural survival following Soviet repression. Making Jangar available in English is a landmark event, bringing a lost classic to the world's attention and restoring the voices of an almost-erasedtradition at the heart of the history of Eurasia."This translation opens up a major work to an English-reading audience. Standing alongside other traditional epics such as The Odyssey and Beowulf, Jangar is a unique work of the oral imagination with stunning characteristics, both fantastic and surreal, of its own!' - Jerome Rothenberg, Professor Emeritus, Visual Arts and Literature, University of California, San Diego. Saglar (Saga) Bougdaeva was born and raised in Kalmykia. Before receiving a PhD in Sociology from Yale University, Bougdaeva studied Mongolian-Tibetan-Mandarin linguistics at Saint Petersburg State University.