Badma Amulakova, A Legend About a Cooking Pot

Abstract

Badma recounts a Kalmyk legend about a cooking pot (khyasn). Once upon a time there lived a wealthy man who had so many livestock that there was no space left for people even to sit down on the land. Thinking about what to do with all his livestock, he went to see a lama. The lama said to him: ‘Go home, take your cooking pot by its handle and throw it into a corner’. When the wealthy man did as he had said, all his livestock disappeared. The idea behind the legend is that the Kalmyks have always valued their tableware and utensils. Every utensil had its designated place inside the yurt and it was a bad sign to through them out at will.