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The steppes of our Kalmyk Republic occupy the right bank of the Volga River downstream to the banks of the Manych and Kuma, which separate the Volga’s right bank from the Stavropol uplands. The territory is not insignificant - 75.9 thousand square km.  It is almost twice as much as the territory of Denmark or Holland and a little less than Austria.  On the territory of Kalmykia there are three geographic landscape zones - the Yergenini highlands, the Kumo-Manych depression and the Caspian lowlands. 
 
Lushly blooming steppes are beautiful in spring but incessant dry winds in summer often turn blooming steppe into a standing herbarium - a collection of dried and semi-dried herbs, by the mid-summer. It's as if nature herself takes care of preserving the cattles’ winter fodder, the most natural and beneficial "hay". In spring, all small lakes on the steppe fill up with water, the songs and sounds of birds fill the air, the wind ruffles with green stalks of grassy reeds. But during the long, hot summer the small lakes dry out, the shallows turn shallower and large lakes turn into wet marshes. In autumn, birds migrate with  their young. All that remains are the tall reeds that have grown over the summer, the wind rustling through their tops and there is a lull below. Here you can shelter flocks of sheep in bad weather. Cows graze willingly here, picking out the still green parts of the young reeds. Dry reeds are an excellent fuel during the cold winter, and their bundles can also be used to reinforce and insulate felt yurts - the homes of the "eternal traveler" nomads. 

Cold piercing winds are as relentless in winter as are the hot dry winds in summer.   It is they that steal the heat out of our homes, it is they that turn mild frost into piercing frost, it is they that sweep away and scatter rare and scarce snow, leaving the bare steppe covered with dry grass. Only shepherds rejoice in this harsh wind, grazing their bountiful flocks of sheep on the snowless, wind-blown plains. They know that the most important thing for them is to safeguard their cattle and not let them get weak or die of starvation during the long winter. And for that they need grazing weather like the air they breathe, so that every day the cattle can re-nourish themselves with the very dry grass which nature herself has prepared since summer.
These features of climate and relief have at all times attracted nomads here - the ability to keep cattle on pasture all winter and the abundance of convenient places for winter camps on the shores of the steppe lakes. 
 
It is by no accident that in the early years of their arrival on the Volga River in the 17th century, the Oirat tribes made every effort to occupy the right bank of the river.  And even in the years when this territory was still controlled by the Nogais, despite the danger of bloody confrontation, some Kalmyk Khoton moved to the right bank for wintering. The risk was justified as they had a better chance of preserving their livestock there. The Ryn-Peski tract between the Volga and the Ural rivers was also used by the Oirat as winter pasture. There, the area was not covered by snow in winter, but it was much smaller and less grassy in the spring and autumn. The latter was very important, as the cattle weakened after the winter, needed new pastures which were not used during the winter before the new grass sprouted.  Therefore, the mountain side, or as the Kalmyks called it, the Crimean side of the Volga was of great value for the nomads.

It should be taken into account that winter pastures played a decisive role for nomads.  There were special requirements for winter nomads. Winter is dangerous for nomadic economy because of scarce vegetation, hungry wolf packs, blizzards and freezing temperatures.  No matter how bad the summer pastures are, the cattle do not die of starvation in summer. Unwise choice of winter pasture could lead to total loss of livestock.  Therefore, winter pastures were allocated particularly carefully and their boundaries were strictly observed. Winter pastures were also perceived by the nomads themselves as something stable and more native than summer pastures. The old Kalmyks always wished they would die on a winter pasture: "Uvzgdnyan kurch ukhlya-bolkh (the main thing is to die when you get to the winter pasture)" they used to say. Having survived the winter they greeted each other at the main feast of the year, the spring Tsagan Sar, with a traditional exclamation: "Was the winter well spent! (Uvlyas syayahn mend garuta!)". In ancient times it was not a rhetorical question.  

Nowadays, the inhabitants of modern cities and villages often complain about the peculiarities of our climate and landscape without suspecting that they attracted our ancestors, the nomadic Oirat, to the lower reaches of the Volga.

Lushly blooming steppes are beautiful in spring but incessant dry winds in summer often turn blooming steppe into a standing herbariums

Learn the Steppe through Me and Learn Me through the Steppe (J. Nasunov)

Among the nomadic Oirat-Kalmyks, who practice Buddhism, a woman's social status was  linked to her age, from times of yore. Three cycles stand out clearly in a woman's life: the first is as a young girl in her immediate family; the second is as a married woman in her husband's family; and the third is as the matriarch of the entire bloodline.

Transitioning from one cycle to another would be signified by a change of her traditional clothing and headwear.  There are three types of traditional female outfits still known to play a symbolic role amongst the Oirat-Kalmyks: that of an unmarried girl’s, a married woman’s and an elderly grandmother’s.

![Kalmyk Girl](/images/posts/kalmyk_girl_2.png)

According to the Oirats’ traditional beliefs: a girl was considered a pure being, a temporary guest in her parents' house. Girls were typically given away in marriage early - at the age of twelve to fourteen. Therefore, they were considered a guest in their parents' house who would soon depart their immediate relatives forever. This premise determines the whole attitude towards the daughter. Girls were not burdened with heavy work and were more engaged in sewing and embroidery, etc. If possible, parents would pamper and dress them in more ornate and luxurious clothing.  The girls had to braid their hair into one braid and wear it slung onto their backs and wear one earring in their right ear. The color of the fabric for girls' dresses was chosen in light shades of blue or green, where possible. If the fabric was patterned, it would be simple and not too bright. The girl, as a heavenly pure being, is not to excite the senses with various shapes and colors. That is, spirituality and purity were emphasized in every possible way.

![Kalmyk Woman](/images/posts/kalmyk_woman_2.jpg)

When a girl got married, according to Kalmyk tradition, there would be a radical change of status. She essentially stops being a member of her immediate family and becomes a member of the husband’s family. So, when a bride is taken out of her parents’ home, they are obliged to perform the ritual "daalkh avlhon (taking the life force)", which similarly occurs when a deceased member is carried out of the home so that "happiness, the life force of the family" does not evaporate with the newly departed girl. Then, arriving at her in-laws home, she is given a new name, redressed as a married woman and her maiden jewelry is replaced with two earrings.  At the wedding, a special ritual also takes place which involves splitting the single braid into two.

![Kalmyk Woman](/images/posts/kalmyk_woman_3.jpg)

A married woman's costume was very ornate, often embroidered with gold and silver. The color for the dress (terlik) and the cape (tsegdg) would have bright colors, the most popular being various shades of red. Red represents the color of blood, love and life and is meant to emphasize the main function of a married woman - the giving of new life. The status of a married woman was associated with many restrictions on her behavior with her husband's relatives as well as with strangers and/or guests. For example, she would not be allowed to approach the Buddhist altar in her own yurt or sit on the male side of the room where that was considered a place for honored guests and elder relatives to sit. These restrictions reflect the protracted process of inclusion of "strangers" into the circle of blood relatives, as well as measures to prevent extramarital relationships.

![Kalmyk Woman](/images/posts/kalmyk_family_02.jpg)

A third transformation takes place when a Kalmyk woman completes her childbearing years and becomes a grandmother. Elderly women were obliged to wear an outfit, that essentially resembles a man's outfit. The headwear was made of black or gray karakul with a red tassel. The dress-berz, devoid of embroidered ornaments, was the same as a man's beshmet, only worn long down to the ankles and sewn from dark blue or dark brown single-tone fabric. Earrings would be made of silver, but without a gemstone . The elderly woman would be held in high regard and with a privileged status. Like elderly men, she is seated in a place of honor during visits by others, she smokes her pipe and her advice is listened to.  There are also cases when an elderly mother becomes the ruler of an entire clan. I believe that this acknowledges the woman's merits as the founder of the family and because her blood runs in the veins of all her children and grandchildren, she is finally accepted into the circle of the relatives.

![Kalmyk Woman](/images/posts/kalmyk_family_01.png)


Among the nomadic Oirat-Kalmyks, who practice Buddhism, a woman's social status was  linked to her age, from times of yore.

Culture

Three Lives of a Woman in Traditional Kalmyk Culture

Learn the Steppe through Me and Learn Me through the Steppe (J. Nasunov)

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