Bargut Oboo in Eastern Mongolia

Abstract

The focus of the article is description and identification of individual sacral objects (oboo) in Eastern Mongolia, venerated by the residents of the Bargut somon Gurban Zagal (Gurban Zagal sum, in Mongolian) of the Dornod Aymak. The research draws on the outcome of fieldwork carried out in Gurban Zagal in August 2019. Among the Bargut cult places and local traditions of worship identified, there are the sacred mountains of Tsagaan-chuluutai, or “White Stone” (Tsagaan Chuluutai oboo, in Mongolian), and Delger-munh, or “Eternal Prosperity” (Delger munh oboo, in Mongolian). An examination of traditional religious representations of the Barguts of Eastern Mongolia shows once again that the ethnic history and cult rites of the Barguts correlate with the religious-ritual system of the Buryat in the context of Mongolian traditional culture. As the field data demonstrate, in ritual practices in some places of residence of the Barguts of Eastern Mongolia, there is no special mention of “host spirits” of the Barguzin Valley and the Olkhon Islands located in Bargujin-Tokum – the historical homeland of the Barguts.