Garya Naminov, About the Kalmyk Groups

Abstract

Garya: From what I heard from knowledgeable people and read from newspaper articles, the Kalmyks consisted of the Torghuts and the Derbets. In the beginning, there were no Buzavas. I traveled many times to the land of the Buzavas and talked to them. People argue with each other and make various jokes about the Buzavas. One old man said to me: ‘The Buzavas did not exist as a tribe. Only the Torghuts and the Derbets existed’. How did the Buzavas come about? In the past, the Kalmyks lived poorly and traveled in search of work. So, a couple of families went to Rostov oblast where they found employment with wealthy Russians. Later these Kalmyks called their relatives to join them. The number of Kalmyk families went up. The Russians said to them: ‘You have already settled here. If you want to stay, live according to our traditions.’ ‘To live according to our traditions’ meant that the Kalmyks had to get baptized. The Kalmyk word ‘bu zuukh’ means ‘to wear a cross’ (the word buzava derives from buu zuukh). (After the Russian ultimatum) what did the Kalmyks do? They consulted with each other: ‘What is to be done? The Russians told us to live according to their traditions. They also told us to bring more Kalmyks’. The Kalmyks who were baptized came to be known as Buzava. That is what I heard from some people. Others say that this word derives from the river Buza where some Kalmyks lived. The Torghuts live in places such as Yustinskiy rayon, Erdnievskiy, Lagan’ and Komsomol’sk. The Derbets live in Maloderbetovskiy rayon and further. The Derbets consist of Bag Derbet and Ik Derbet. Here is a story about them: ‘Once upon a time there lived two brothers who traded livestock and grains. Over time as their trade expanded their land became too small for them. They went to see their uncle, who said to them: “You cannot carry on living like this, quarrelling with each other. Therefore, you should live separately”. Their uncle called a meeting and divided the property between the two brothers. Bag Derbet remained in his place, while Ik Derbet moved in the direction of Yashaltinskiy and Gorodovikovskiy rayon. Tsagan: What do you know about the Khoshuds? Garya: The Khoshuds are the same as the Torghuts. They divided into two. The Khoshuds live in Sarpa. The Torghuts live further in Ulan Khol.