Publication details
Ööldiin gegeen khemeegdsen Tsagaan gegeen Gungaajaltsany aman ulamjlalyn dür
| Title in English | Oral Tradition about Tsagaan Gegeen called His Holiness of the Olots |
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Scholars believe that Tsagaan Gegeen Gungaajaltsan (T. bla ma dkar po kun dga' rgyal mtshan, 1835–1895) played an important role in defending the position of the Qing Empire in the Zunghar basin in the second half of the 19th century. During the Muslim (Dungan) uprising, Gungaajaltsan tried to protect the Qing position in the vicinity of Tarwagatai and Khorgos, but in 1866, he retreated north to the foothills of the Altai Mountains with his army, mainly composed of Olot Mongols, and suppressed the Chinese uprising in the area. Based on his success, he obtained an imperial permission to establish a new monastery on the river Kiran (known as Shara Süme). Later, in 1878, Tsagaan Gegeen accepted an invitation by the Torgud Prince Bayar of Khar-Usun and founded a monastery there. As the Shara Süme became an important pilgrimage, trade and administrative centre of the Altai Uriankhais, an awareness about Tsagaan Gegeen spread widely among the Altai Uriankhais and gradually he was transformed into a mythological figure. The formation of the mythological character of Tsagaan Gegeen was influenced by the concept of the return of Amarsanaa among the Oirad, and ideological concepts such as the cult of Tsagaan Aav (White Father) and Tsagaan Övgön (White Old-Man). The Altai Urianhais have been venerating Tsagaan Gegeen as a deity, often calling him „The Holiness of the Olots“. There is a popular expectation that Tsagaan Gegeen will come again in the future to take revenge on his former enemies and save and protect the self-righteous Uriankhais or the Mongolian people in general, but the notions of Tsagaan Gegeen have been preserved in the local oral tradition with many particular characteristics. |
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