Mingiyan talks about his clan: I was born in the aimak of Sharnut-Chonos in 1975. I belong to the arvan (lineage) of Jab Lamin. Our arvan comprises of a dozen families. Jab Lama was a monk himself. One day, the tsar summoned the prince of the Sharnut-Chonos clan, without proving any explanation. In order to learn what it was all about, the prince went to see Jab Lama on the advice of his friends. After looking at sutras, Jab Lama said he could help him and recommended another monk who was more knowledgeable. The second monk told the prince that the tsar had invited him for a feast and gave the prince the following advice: ‘Take your assistants with you, including the monk who sent you to me. When the Russians serve drinks say to them that according to a Kalmyk tradition you can drink only after a monk drinks, and give your drink to the monk.’ As prophesized, at the feast the prince was offered a drink, but he gave it to the monk. After three days Jab Lama died, saving the prince. The monk’s relative came to be known as the Jab Lama clan. I heard this legend from my father who heard it from his father. In the past there lived two related clans: Sharnut and Chonos. Upon arriving in the Volga, some members of the two clans intermixed to form a separate aimak called Sharnut-Chonos. Sharnut-Chonos consist of eight clans: Aatyg, Avyg, Jaanyg, Emgyachud, Eejinkin, Jab Lamykhn, Baygud and Khadynkin. In the second half of the 19th century, the Sharnut-Chonos was headed by a zaisang called Zundu Amashkiev. He had a son Tegus, whose son was Barva, whose son was Muutya, whose son was Petr, whose sons are Vladimir and Alexei. Muutya was a zaisang until 1931, when he was arrested and sent to Kazakhstan. He left one daughter back in Kalmykia by changing her surname, and took another daughter and a son with him. When his son grew up he married a Russian woman. In 1961, Muutya and his family all returned to Kalmykia. Old people were happy to see their former zaisang. After Muutya died, people put a monument on his grave. His children and grandchildren live in Kalmykia, and some of his great grandchildren live in Moscow. The river along which our ancestors nomadized is called Oonta. It is said that in the past a saigak antelope got stuck in the muds on its bank. The name Oonta comes from the word ‘oon’ which means antelope in Kalmyk. The battle cry of our clan is also ‘oon’. The protectors of our clan is Tsongkapa. Our clan stamp is the wheel of Dharma.