Maria is from the village of Utta. Her parents lived in a khoton (nomadic encampment) that around the village. Maria’s grandfather was Matsga Kootyg. Maria’s father Khaalga was a Torghut from the clan of Erdnikhn. He belonged to the Tsoros arvn. Maria’s mother was a Khoshud. Maria was deported to Siberia along with her mother and two sisters, all of whom died there. Orphaned, Maria lived with her aunt. Maria married a man from the Khornyakhin arvn of the Taltakhin clan with whom she had three sons and a daughter. Today Maria has 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. During World War II, Maria’s family migrated from Utta to the village of Chilgir and from there to the village of Tyulinka. During the deportation of the Kalmyk people, her family was exiled from Tyulinka to Siberia. The travel inside a cold cart to Siberia, Maria reminisces, was difficult. People were given a piece of bread each and water to drink. Since there were no toilets inside the carts, people made holes on the floor. The journey to Altai krai lasted 15 days.