Sanal Bovaev, about mutton in rituals and divination
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Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge
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Sanal talks about the importance of mutton and cooked sheep’s head for rituals and says that sheep’s blade bone and intestines were used for divination:Since we are nomads, all our customs are connected with livestock breeding. We performed various rituals for various occasions, including births, weddings etc. All rituals involved meat offerings to gods. The most important part of the sheep is its head, which was used for the purpose of rituals. The sheep’s head has to be offered with its jaw removed. Also, matchmaking ceremonies always included three sheep legs. In the past Kalmyks used the sheep’s blade bone for divination, usually for weather forecasting. People also used animal intestines or internal organs to do divination.
Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin
Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin