Myths of Baikal. From the Son of Heaven Gesar and the Afterlife Bureau to Mount Sumber and Genghis Khan

The peoples living near Baikal call it not a lake, but a sea. And in all directions from this sea stretches a magical and densely populated world: in the sky reside stars and deities-tengri, on the ground there are spirits that look like needles, one-eyed, one-legged chulugdy, and other evil entities, while in the "underground bureau," Erlik Khan and his demons settle their disputes.

Alexander Isakov's book is an intriguing presentation of the legends, traditions, and tales of the Buryats and Evenks, whose unique culture has lived for centuries at the crossroads of paths—between shamanism, Buddhism, and Christianity. You will learn how the earth was formed and how shamans acquired their gifts, read about the sacred mountain Sumber, which was considered a gateway to another world, and the remarkable feats of Gesar and Genghis Khan himself. And also—how shamans save people from evil forces and why they periodically travel to the "abode of darkness," where they feed solely on grasshoppers…

Why does the name Baikal mean "Stop, fire"? Why does the large moose steal the Sun at night? What is the difference between "western" and "eastern" tengris—and between "white" and "black" blacksmiths? What is the supreme deity in Buryatia—analogous to Father Frost? Why did the god of the dead have both legs rot? How did the bureaucratic apparatus of Tsarist Russia influence the Buryat ideas about the structure of the afterlife? Finally, how did Genghis Khan transform for the Baikal peoples from a historical figure into a demiurge and primordial ancestor?

Through shamanic tales, ancient chronicles, and ritual songs, this book immerses you in the world of magical steppes, where every tree and stone is filled with mystery.