Ekaterina Sobkovyak | Bern University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Ekaterina Sobkovyak
Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques, 2024
A manuscript entitled Ongγod qar-a sakiγus-un teüke sudur bičig orosiba, written in the Classical... more A manuscript entitled Ongγod qar-a sakiγus-un teüke sudur bičig orosiba, written in the Classical Mongolian script, was acquired by Henning Haslund-Christensen in the Barga area of the Chakhar province of Inner Mongolia during the Royal Danish Geographical Society’s Central Asian Expedition (1938–1939). The text is currently preserved in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. Scholars who have previously worked with the source have characterised it as a secular chronicle on the origins of shamanism among the Chakhars or a Mongolian shamanistic manuskript, dating not later than the eighteenth century. The present article offers a detailed philological-historical analysis of the chronicle’s content and language as well as the historical circumstances of its discovery. Based on this analysis, the authors reconsider the source’s dating, re-evaluate the information included in the chronicle in the context of the political and cultural history of particular ethnic groups such as the Bargas, Solons and Uriankhais, and seek to prove that the text cannot be viewed as a source on Mongolian or Central Asian shamanism considered as a homogeneous religious system.
Gods' Collections, 2023
Ivolginskii datsan (Tib. grwa tshang) Gandan Dashi Choinkhorlin (Tib. dga' ldan bkra shis chos 'k... more Ivolginskii datsan (Tib. grwa tshang) Gandan Dashi Choinkhorlin (Tib. dga' ldan bkra shis chos 'khor gling) is a Buddhist monastery situated in the territory of the Republic of Buryatia (Russian Federation), about 25 km west of the centre of Ulan-Ude, in the village of Verkhnyaya Ivolga. This monastery is presently the centre of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia (hereafter, BTSR), a centralised religious organisation and the largest Buddhist community of Buryatia. As the residence of its head, the Pandito Khambo Lama, it occupies a special place in the history of Buryat Buddhism. It continues a tradition that began in the middle of the 18th century when the Buryats built their first stationary Buddhist monasteries, representing a new, peculiar turn in its development. The extraordinary history of Ivolginskii datsan formed the unique nature of its material dimension. The entirety of material items accumulated, preserved and utilised within a complex of architectural structures which mark all together the place known as Ivolginskii datsan, has, in its turn, influenced considerably the course and dynamics of development of the Buryat Buddhist tradition and Buddhism in Russia. Accumulation begins: The foundation of the monastery Ivolginskii datsan came into being under extraordinary circumstances. After the October Revolution of 1917 and the overthrow of the Russian monarchy, the religious policy that the new communist power implemented led, by 1941, to no active Buddhist monasteries existing in Transbaikalia. The antireligious Gods' Collections About Essay Collections Contact
Acta Mongolica, 2020
The adaptation of Buddhism signifzcantly changed Mongolian society. The establishment of numerous... more The adaptation of Buddhism signifzcantly changed Mongolian society. The establishment of numerous Buddhist monasteries acconzmodating Zarge monastic communities influenced, among others, the mode and range of mobility of the nomadic Mongolian people. Various types of legislation regulating the everyday life of the monasteries included rules which organised, restricted or forced the mobility of clergy in different ways. The present article provides examples of regulations regarding monastic mobility found in different normative legislative sources produced by the Mongolian Buddhist organisation itself, by the local Mongolian administration, and by the Qing and Russian imperial administration. lt also juxtaposes this legislation with a letter written by the Buryat Bandido Khambo Lama to the abbat of the Atsagatsldi datsan, in which some problems related to the monks 'mobility are discussed. The latter document allows to assess the actual situation in the Mongolian Buddhist monasteries of Transbaikalia as regards the geographical movement of the clergy. lt also demonstrates the ways in which the authorities tried to keep the order and make the people subordinate to them obey the law established by the legislation mentioned above. Some Words on Mobility, Nomadism and Mongolian Coenobitic Monasticism Over the previous two decades, the concept of mobility has attracted considerable scholarly attention and has been actively discussed, reconsidered and reintroduced to. social studies in particular and humanities in general. Acknowledging the crucial role that mobility plays in the construction and maintenance of social networks and cultural forms, Urry stated that cultures "are themselves mobile as a result of the mobilities that sustain diverse pattems of sociality". 1 Considering mobility "as socially produced motion" and defining it as both "part of the process of the social production of time and space" and itself "a necessary social production", Cresswell noted that it is "more central to both the world and our understanding of it than ever before". 2 Investigating various aspects ofthe concept of mobility, scholars make extensive use of the terms nomad and nomadism, applying them metaphorically for mobility. 3 Some note, however, that such metaphors are not quite adequate for the discussion of
Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines , 2021
When sacred turns out commodified. The property inventories of the 19 th century Buddhist monaste... more When sacred turns out commodified. The property inventories of the 19 th century Buddhist monasteries in Buryatia Quand le sacré devient commodifié. Les inventaires des biens des monastères bouddhiques du XIX e siècle en Bouriatie.
Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types, 2015
The gaṇḍī beam is a monastic tool which was already known to have been used in Buddhist monasteri... more The gaṇḍī beam is a monastic tool which was already known to have been used in Buddhist monasteries in ancient India for the purpose of calling the monks to gather for a joint activity. With the spread of Buddhism the instrument was transmitted to the Tibetan and later Mongolian Buddhist cultures. It has been
in use in the Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist monastic traditions till the present day. One of the most prominent cases of the gaṇḍī beam application in modern Mongolia relates to the poṣadha ritual. In this article I attempt to present the
history of the gaṇḍī beam within the framework of material culture studies. The analysis aims at the investigation of the mutual relations between the artefact and the societies that have made use of it as well as of the ways in which these
relations could have changed. In order to accomplish this task I study the testimonies of the original Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, religious images and accounts of ritual practices.
Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques, 2024
A manuscript entitled Ongγod qar-a sakiγus-un teüke sudur bičig orosiba, written in the Classical... more A manuscript entitled Ongγod qar-a sakiγus-un teüke sudur bičig orosiba, written in the Classical Mongolian script, was acquired by Henning Haslund-Christensen in the Barga area of the Chakhar province of Inner Mongolia during the Royal Danish Geographical Society’s Central Asian Expedition (1938–1939). The text is currently preserved in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. Scholars who have previously worked with the source have characterised it as a secular chronicle on the origins of shamanism among the Chakhars or a Mongolian shamanistic manuskript, dating not later than the eighteenth century. The present article offers a detailed philological-historical analysis of the chronicle’s content and language as well as the historical circumstances of its discovery. Based on this analysis, the authors reconsider the source’s dating, re-evaluate the information included in the chronicle in the context of the political and cultural history of particular ethnic groups such as the Bargas, Solons and Uriankhais, and seek to prove that the text cannot be viewed as a source on Mongolian or Central Asian shamanism considered as a homogeneous religious system.
Gods' Collections, 2023
Ivolginskii datsan (Tib. grwa tshang) Gandan Dashi Choinkhorlin (Tib. dga' ldan bkra shis chos 'k... more Ivolginskii datsan (Tib. grwa tshang) Gandan Dashi Choinkhorlin (Tib. dga' ldan bkra shis chos 'khor gling) is a Buddhist monastery situated in the territory of the Republic of Buryatia (Russian Federation), about 25 km west of the centre of Ulan-Ude, in the village of Verkhnyaya Ivolga. This monastery is presently the centre of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia (hereafter, BTSR), a centralised religious organisation and the largest Buddhist community of Buryatia. As the residence of its head, the Pandito Khambo Lama, it occupies a special place in the history of Buryat Buddhism. It continues a tradition that began in the middle of the 18th century when the Buryats built their first stationary Buddhist monasteries, representing a new, peculiar turn in its development. The extraordinary history of Ivolginskii datsan formed the unique nature of its material dimension. The entirety of material items accumulated, preserved and utilised within a complex of architectural structures which mark all together the place known as Ivolginskii datsan, has, in its turn, influenced considerably the course and dynamics of development of the Buryat Buddhist tradition and Buddhism in Russia. Accumulation begins: The foundation of the monastery Ivolginskii datsan came into being under extraordinary circumstances. After the October Revolution of 1917 and the overthrow of the Russian monarchy, the religious policy that the new communist power implemented led, by 1941, to no active Buddhist monasteries existing in Transbaikalia. The antireligious Gods' Collections About Essay Collections Contact
Acta Mongolica, 2020
The adaptation of Buddhism signifzcantly changed Mongolian society. The establishment of numerous... more The adaptation of Buddhism signifzcantly changed Mongolian society. The establishment of numerous Buddhist monasteries acconzmodating Zarge monastic communities influenced, among others, the mode and range of mobility of the nomadic Mongolian people. Various types of legislation regulating the everyday life of the monasteries included rules which organised, restricted or forced the mobility of clergy in different ways. The present article provides examples of regulations regarding monastic mobility found in different normative legislative sources produced by the Mongolian Buddhist organisation itself, by the local Mongolian administration, and by the Qing and Russian imperial administration. lt also juxtaposes this legislation with a letter written by the Buryat Bandido Khambo Lama to the abbat of the Atsagatsldi datsan, in which some problems related to the monks 'mobility are discussed. The latter document allows to assess the actual situation in the Mongolian Buddhist monasteries of Transbaikalia as regards the geographical movement of the clergy. lt also demonstrates the ways in which the authorities tried to keep the order and make the people subordinate to them obey the law established by the legislation mentioned above. Some Words on Mobility, Nomadism and Mongolian Coenobitic Monasticism Over the previous two decades, the concept of mobility has attracted considerable scholarly attention and has been actively discussed, reconsidered and reintroduced to. social studies in particular and humanities in general. Acknowledging the crucial role that mobility plays in the construction and maintenance of social networks and cultural forms, Urry stated that cultures "are themselves mobile as a result of the mobilities that sustain diverse pattems of sociality". 1 Considering mobility "as socially produced motion" and defining it as both "part of the process of the social production of time and space" and itself "a necessary social production", Cresswell noted that it is "more central to both the world and our understanding of it than ever before". 2 Investigating various aspects ofthe concept of mobility, scholars make extensive use of the terms nomad and nomadism, applying them metaphorically for mobility. 3 Some note, however, that such metaphors are not quite adequate for the discussion of
Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines , 2021
When sacred turns out commodified. The property inventories of the 19 th century Buddhist monaste... more When sacred turns out commodified. The property inventories of the 19 th century Buddhist monasteries in Buryatia Quand le sacré devient commodifié. Les inventaires des biens des monastères bouddhiques du XIX e siècle en Bouriatie.
Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types, 2015
The gaṇḍī beam is a monastic tool which was already known to have been used in Buddhist monasteri... more The gaṇḍī beam is a monastic tool which was already known to have been used in Buddhist monasteries in ancient India for the purpose of calling the monks to gather for a joint activity. With the spread of Buddhism the instrument was transmitted to the Tibetan and later Mongolian Buddhist cultures. It has been
in use in the Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist monastic traditions till the present day. One of the most prominent cases of the gaṇḍī beam application in modern Mongolia relates to the poṣadha ritual. In this article I attempt to present the
history of the gaṇḍī beam within the framework of material culture studies. The analysis aims at the investigation of the mutual relations between the artefact and the societies that have made use of it as well as of the ways in which these
relations could have changed. In order to accomplish this task I study the testimonies of the original Sanskrit and Tibetan texts, religious images and accounts of ritual practices.