The Origins of the Üldchnr Ethnic Group Revisited

Abstract

The article considers the origins of the sub-ethnic group known as Üldchnr which is absent from any member lists of the Oirat ethno- political alliances that arrived in the Lower Volga Region in the 17th century, nor is it on the 18th century list of the “indigenous” Kalmyk clans. Nowadays representatives of the Üldchnr identify their clan as a separate one, i.e. sharing no direct common ancestry with the Buurl which it used to be assigned to according to the 19th century sources. There are data indicating that the Üldchnr were formed by individuals of Torghut ancestry primarily from Eretenevsky Ulus (‘District’) the population of which had been forcibly dispersed among the other uluses of the Kalmyk Khanate in the late 18th century. The ancestral legends about the origins of the group retain a version according to which it was compiled from representatives of diverse clans after the 1771 exodus of the Kalmyks, including those connected with such zayisangs (‘noblemen’) as Miitr Noyon and Mazan-Baatr (Baghatur). The changes in the number of ayimags (‘settlements’) of the Üldchnr in less than half a century were due to the reforms of the ulus-ayimag system among the Kalmyks, constriction of pasturing lands and merging of ayimags following the principle of kinship. The ethnic group of Üldchnr comprises a considerable number of patronymies – arvans (Kalm. ‘ten’) – that are to be studied using a comprehensive approach. According to the available legends, some of them are of alien ethnic origin. A number of present-day Üldchnr arvans originate from representatives of the neighboring clans that had long shared common pasturing territories with the former, e.g. Baγ Buurl, Daajakhn, Kelkyakhn. The origins of the rest of Üldchnr arvans are still understudied. The materials on the ethnic group can be used for further development of a Catalogue of Kalmyk Clans.

Keywords

• ethnic group
• üldchnr
• clan
• kalmyk
• ethnic history
• mazan-baatr
• miitr noyon