Buryat languageBuryat or Buriat, known in foreign sources as the Bargu-Buryat dialect of Mongolian, and in pre-1956 Soviet sources as Buryat-Mongolian, is a variety of the Mongolic languages spoken by the Buryats and Bargas that is classified either as a language or major dialect group of Mongolian. The majority of Buryat speakers live in Russia along the northern border of Mongolia where it is an official language in the Republic of Buryatia and was an official language in the former Ust-Orda Buryatia and Aga Buryatia autonomous okrugs.
SoyotThe Soyot are ethnic group of Turkic origin who live mainly in the Oka region in the Okinsky District in the Buryatia, Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 3,608 Soyots in Russia. Their extinct language (partly revitalized) was of a Turkic type and basically similar to the Dukhan and closely related to the Tofa language. The Oka River, the largest river flowing down from the Western Sayans into the Angara is called the Ok-hem meaning "an arrow-river" by the Soyots of the Oka River basin.
Daur peopleThe Daur people, Dagur, Daghur or Dahur (Russian: Дауры, Daury; Dagur:Daure; Khalkha Mongolian: Дагуур, Daguur; ) are a Mongolic people in Northeast China and Siberia (Russia). The Daur form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised in the People's Republic of China. They numbered 131,992 according to the latest census (2010) and most of them live in Morin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner in Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia and Meilisi Daur District in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang of China.
TransbaikalTransbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia (Забайка́лье), or Dauria (Даурия, Dauriya) is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal in Far Eastern Russia. The steppe and wetland landscapes of Dauria are protected by the Daurian Nature Reserve, which forms part of a World Heritage Site named "The Landscapes of Dauria". The alternative name of the Transbaikal, Dauria, derives from the ethnonym of the former inhabitants, the Daur people, whom Russian explorers first encountered in 1640.
OvooOvoo, oboo, or obo (овоо, , обоо, обаа, Traditional Mongol: , "heap"; Chinese: 敖包 áobāo, lit. "magnificent bundle [i.e. shrine]") are cairns used as border markers or shrines in Mongolian folk religious practice and in the religion of other Mongolic peoples. While some ovoos simply consist of a mound of stones, most have branches and khadag stuck into them. In the absence of stones, ovoos can be made entirely of branches, or even soil or sand. Ovoos are often found at the top of mountains and in high places, like mountain passes.
Secret History of the MongolsThe Secret History of the Mongols (Middle Mongol: Mongɣol‐un niɣuca tobciyan; Traditional Mongolian: Mongɣol‐un niɣuca tobcii'a, Khalkha Mongolian: Монголын нууц товчоо, ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal family some time after the 1227 death of Genghis Khan (born Temujin). The author is anonymous and probably originally wrote in the Mongolian script, but the surviving texts all derive from transcriptions or translations into Chinese characters that date from the end of the 14th century and were compiled by the Ming dynasty under the title The Secret History of the Yuan Dynasty ().
Dörbet OiratThe Dörbet (Дөрвд, Dörwyd; Дөрвөд, Dörvöd, lit. "the Fours"; ; also known in English as the Derbet) is the second largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia and was formerly one of the major tribes of the Four Oirat confederation in the 15th-18th centuries. In early times, the Dörbets and the Öold were ruled by collateral branches of the Choros lineage. The Dörbets are distributed among the western provinces of Mongolia, Kalmykia and in a small portion in Heilongjiang, China.
SableThe sable (Martes zibellina) is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kazakhstan, China, North Korea and Hokkaido, Japan. The name "sable" originates from Slavic languages and entered Western European languages through the medieval fur trade. Sables are small, omnivorous mammals that inhabit dense forests in regions like Russia, Mongolia, and China.
Yellow shamanismYellow shamanism is the term used to designate a particular version of shamanism practiced in Mongolia and Siberia which incorporates rituals and traditions from Buddhism. "Yellow" indicates Buddhism in Mongolia, since most Buddhists there belong to what is called the "Yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism, whose members wear yellow hats during services. The term also serves to distinguish it from a form of shamanism not influenced by Buddhism (according to its adherents), called "black shamanism".
Black shamanismBlack shamanism is a kind of shamanism practiced in Mongolia and Siberia. It is specifically opposed to yellow shamanism, which incorporates rituals and traditions from Buddhism. Black Shamans are usually perceived as working with evil spirits, while white Shamans with spirits of the upper world. Black shamans were thought to be able to stop demons by conversing with the spirits of human dead, turn into animals, fly, and go into trances. Buddhism entered Mongolia in the sixteenth century after the conversion of Altan Khan.
