Burials Nearby Ganyushkino as a Source for Studying the Transformation Processes of the Kalmyk Burial Rite from the XVIII to the XX Centuries

Abstract

The paper presents information about the Kalmyk burials of the XVIII–XX centuries, revealed near the settlement of Ganyushkino (modern Kurmangazy) in the Kurmangazy District of the Atyrau Region (Republic of Kazakhstan). In the context of the analysis of materials, variations in the orientation of the deceased in relation to the cardinal directions are clearly seen: head to the east when buried in the ground at a shallow depth; head to the west or east when buried in coffins. This is evidence of religious syncretism, when traditional rituals are combined with Buddhist and Christian prescriptions. The above data allow us to trace the transformation of the Kalmyk burial rites from inhumation on the earth surface to underground burial, including in coffins. The latter trend has become dominant since the end of the XIX century, and then the only form of the burial rite of the Kalmyks in the XX–XXI centuries.

Keywords

• archaeology
• republic of kazakhstan
• ganyushkino
• baer knolls
• burial rite
• inhumation
• coffins
• syncretism
• copper coins
• interdisciplinary approach
• traditional ritual