Kalmyk Tea: More Detailed Information

A Kalmyk friend of one of my friends passed along a very interesting and informative article about the history and rituals associated with Kalmyk tea. I wanted to pass along the article so you could read it also.

My translation from Russian is below. I apologize that parts are not particularly smooth, but I think you will get the basic idea. I tried to make parts as colloquial as they could be in English but still retain the main ideas from the origin. (Natalia and Andrei, please correct my Russian translations from the original! Thank you again to both of you.)


Kalmyk Tea

"Kalmyks konw of a legend in which the origin of their tea is related to the religious reformer Tszonkhava (Lama Tsonkap). The legend was put into writing by the author of an article in 1980 based on information from Ovshin Ernzhen (1918-1988).

A variant of this legend is available in the anthology "Khalmg Tuuls" (published in Elista, Russia). It says that one day, Tszonkhava fell sick and appealed to a well-known healer. The healer prescribed him a certain drink that he called "divine" and recommended that Tszonkhava take it for seven days on an empty stomach. Following the advice of the healer, Tszonkhava was cured of his illness on the seventh day, which corresponded with the 25th day of the lunar calendar month Bars. Because of this event, on this day Tsvonkhava commanded all believers to light a candle to honor the Buddha, add one year to his age, and prepare his healing drink, later called "Khalmg Tse" ("Jomba") by the Kalmyks.

After this time, Kalmyks began to celebrate the holiday Zul in dedication to this event, and on this holiday the most esteemed dish became Kalmyk tea. Also in memory of the healing miracle, they began to daily carry out the tea ritual of presentation to the divine.

Another source (Khamg Tuuls, 2, Elista, 1968) says that Kalmyk tea was known long before the time when the Kalmyk's ancestors began to eat meaty food. At that time, there was a prohibition on eating food with meat.

This source reports that one Lama decided to create a vegetarian dish that would provide the same calories as meat dishes. With this goal, he recited a special prayer for 30 days. According to the legend, thanks to the prayer invocation, a miraculous culture arose to the Lama on the 30th day. This is how the Kalmyks got the tea that became their most esteemed food. From this time forward, the average day for a Kalmyk started with tea, and not a single holiday passed without it.

Special relations related to tea as a "divine drink" came to define the specific tea ritual of the Kalmyks. Many customs exist related to ceremonial preparation and presentation of Kalmyk tea. We have settled on a few that are presented below.

It is considered a good sign when a person has the luck to find someone at morning tea. In this situation, the hosts of the home say, "Sen kuune amn tosta" ("A good perosn always finds nourishing food") and invite the visitor to take part in the morning tea-drinking. As a rule, Kalmyks never refuse this kind of invitation because a successful solution to the start of work begins with morning tea, which is confirmed in the proverb: "Orun tse uupad iarkhla, kerg kutskh" ("If you drink tea from the morning, work is fulfilled").

Offering unfresh tea, even in the most constraining circumstances, is considered extremely improper. This is why the preparation of tea is performed in the presence of a guest. If in the process of tea preparation, the hostess commits a blunder, this is interpreted by the guest as disrespect to him.

What kind of rules should the hostess follow when preparing and presenting Kalmyk tea?

1. First, it is forbidden to prepare tea with simple boiling water; tea leaves should be added to it. Plain boiled water is used only in exceptional circumstances such as a time of sickness, extreme poverty, etc. Anticipating the possibility of this, people will boil water and add one of the ingredients of traditional tea (salt, tea leaves, drops of milk).

2. All movements during the tea preparation and ritual of tea presentation are done from the left to the right, like the path of the sun. In the foundation of this rule, one can see remnants of the sun cult, which had enormous significance for Kalmyks. It is thought that carrying out circular motions, people hope that life and all good intiatives will irreversibly move forward in agreement with the laws of the dialectic.

3. After the tea is well brewed, it is salted, milk is added to taste and so is nutmet, which has been ground with butter. Then the tea is carefully mixed with a ladle.

4. The first serving of prepared tea is presented to the Buddha. The tea is poured into a sacrificial teacup, which should be permanently located on an altar. After a certain period of time has passed, this tea is given to children, especially to boys.

5. It is known that Kalmyks traditionally worshipped the sun, moon, and earth. For this reason, they regularly performed ceremonies of sacrifice to the heavenly bodies and the earth and related in a special way to forms that were reminiscent of the objects of the cult. For example, for Kalmyks it was forbidden to pass through the threshold of a caravan wagon with a round frame or to carry into the home a cup with broken edges. Dishes intended for guests should correspond to the canon of traditional etiquette. A Kalmyk proverb says: "Give the best food to a guest." The quality of the serving dish should match the quality of the food. A guest could entirely refuse tea if it is served in a cup with broken edges or if while presenting it, the index finger dips into the cup of tea.

6. The person presenting tea should carry the cup with both hands level with his chest, so as to specially demonstrate his respect and heartfelt affection to the guest. In the past, the presentation ritual was carried out in a kneeling posture, since the Kalmyk's ancestors drank tea sitting on the ground or at a low table.

7. During the presentation of tea, the hierarchy of those presentation is strictly observed: tea is served first to the eldest, whether or not he is a guest, relative, or someone else. If the addressee is a member of the clergy or an important government official, then the presentation ritual is carried out by the host of the home.

8. The receiving presentation should take the cup in both hands, perform the ritual of aspersion (tsatsl tsatskh) with the ring finger of the right hand, and pass on wishful thinking, in which good wishes are addressed to the drink itself, the person, the tea being served, and to his family. The speaker, as a rule, also mentions himself.

9. Having drunk the tea, Kalmyks return the empty dish to the host. It is forbidden to turn an empty cup upside down. This is akin to a curse.

The tea ceremony is only one of many ceremonies and rituals of the Kalmyks. However, in it reverberates the Kalmyk national character, their religious devotion, their enviable continuity, and their allegiance to the traditions and practices of their ancestors."