• 1 I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues Jargal Badagarov, Isabelle Charleux, (...)
• 2 Urga (also known under the names Örgöö, Daa Hürèè, Ih Hürèè [Mod. Mo.] and others) was the politica (...)

1The following research1 was triggered by an informative talk which my colleague Krisztina Teleki gave at the Fourth International Conference of Oriental Studies, held at Warsaw University (Poland) in 2014. In her presentation and the subsequent article (Teleki 2015), Teleki gave an overview and preliminary analysis of several Urga² temples’ inventories that are currently preserved in the National Library and the National Archives of Mongolia.

• 3 In the Buryat Buddhist tradition, the entire monastic complex is defined by the word dačang (Mo.; M (...)

3My report, in turn, is devoted to inventories listing the movable and immovable properties of the Buddhist monasteries of Buryatia³. I was fortunate to gain access to documents that are now kept in the State Archives of the Republic of Buryatia and the library of the Centre of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute of Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation).

• 4 The concept of agency as a capacity inherent to non-human/tangible objects is borrowed from Latour (...)
• 5 Kopytoff suggested the idea of attempting cultural biographies of things in connection with the pro (...)

7Following this definition allows us to concentrate not only on the physical characteristics of artefacts – such as their size and weight, material, content (decorative designs, inscriptions, diagrams etc.) or texture – the information about which, if not indicated in a textual source, is unattainable for us, but to focus instead on the “agency”⁴ of material objects under investigation, or, better still, on the network of social agents of which those objects are active participants. This approach may help to establish and describe the relationships between material objects and other agents, or even the dynamics and different phases of this relationships, thus contributing to the composition of the “cultural biography”⁵ of the investigated things.

• 6 Teleki discovered and studied forty eight inventories written in Mongolian and twenty one in Tibeta (...)
• 7 From Chinese dēng cè – “note, protocol, archive, list, register” (Kowalewski 1849, p. 1566).

8Urga monastic inventories described by Teleki are written in two languages – Mongolian and Tibetan – with the former prevailing⁶. Although most of the texts written in Mongolian are determined in the title by the word dans or dangsa (Mo.)⁷, the majority of the sources comprised in Tibetan include the term dkar chag (Tib.) in their title. This fact allowed the researcher to associate the documents she studied with a well-known and highly productive genre of Tibetan Buddhist literature such as dkar chag.

• 8 According to Martin, the three categories of things classified into “the three supports” are consid (...)

10In his concise, but rather informative article on dkar chags, Martin specifically underlines the attribution of dkar chags to one of the “traditional Tibetan literary genre” (Martin 1996, p. 501). Considering the concept of “the three supports” (Тib. rten gsum)⁸ to the description of which dkar chags are usually devoted, Martin gives the following definition of the genre:

• 9 A description of the Maitreya statue of the Aginskii datsan in Buryatia may serve as an example of (...)

12Mongolian Buddhist scholars willingly borrowed the genre of dkar chag from Tibetans and created their own treatises, which boast all the principal characteristics attributed to their Tibetan counterparts⁹.

• 10 The treaty of Kyakhta was signed on the 21^st October 1727. The treaty proclaimed eternal peace betw (...)

17When Russian expansion reached Eastern Siberia, the territory of Transbaikalia was inhabited by various Tungusic, Turkic and Mongolian language peoples including Buryats (Bogdanov 1926, pp. 28-33). Chronologically the process of incorporation of this region into the Russian Empire began with the building of the stockaded town on Yenisei (Ru. Eniseiskii ostrog) in 1618 and ended with the conclusion of the treaty of Kyakhta in 1727 (Bazarov 2011, p. 36)¹⁰. After the establishment of borders between the Russian and Qing Empires, the Russian administration began to pay closer attention to the question of the religion followed by the Buddhist population of Transbaikalia. It is worth noting that, if judged by the Buryat historical chronicles and the Cossacks’ reports from the middle of the 17^th century, the Buddhist clergy acting in the Transbaikalia region prior to 1727 was not centralised or organised into any monastic system (Rumiantsev & Okun’ 1960, p. 193, 357). The monks performed rituals in small felt temples and provided medical services on private requests and invitations from the local population. The region was tightly connected with the Khalkha, which was the centre of religious life and institutionalised monastic organisation in this part of the Mongolian Buddhist world (Tsyrempilov 2013, p. 49).

• 11 Vladislavich-Raguzinskii (1669-1738) originated from a Serbian noble family settled in the Republic (...)
• 12 The full title of the document was “The instruction issued by the ambassadorial office of the count (...)
• 13 The document ordered that foreign Buddhist monks should not be allowed to cross the newly establish (...)

18The first attempt to officially regulate the religious matters of the Buddhist Mongolian-Buryat peoples inhabiting the region was made by the count Savva Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinskii¹¹. The instruction for the border guards¹² issued by him soon after the treaty of Kyakhta was signed was an important document, which determined the policy of the local administration regarding the Buddhist clergy and lay Buddhists of Transbaikalia for the next century (Gerasimova 1957, p. 24). The document not only legitimised the status of the Buddhist community living in this part of the Russian Empire but also laid the foundation for the centralised administration of the Transbaikalia Buddhist clergy (Tsyrempilov 2013, p. 52)¹³.

• 14 Damba Darzha Zaiaev was born in 1702 or 1710 to one of the Tsongol families who originated from Inn (...)

20The first stationary wooden Buddhist temple was built by the Buryats in the 1750s. Ngag dbang phun tshogs, supposedly a Tibetan Buddhist monk who at the time held the position of the head-lama of the Buddhist in Transbaikalia, together with Damba Darzha Zaiaev¹⁴ delivered a petition to the state officials asking for permission to erect a wooden building of a Buddhist temple in Hilgantui. According to different sources, a positive decision was issued by various bureaucratic offices: in 1753 by the Chikoisk administration office of the Selenga district of the Irkutsk province (Ru. Chikoiskoe upravlenie Selenginskogo uezda Irkutskoi gubernii) and in 1758 by the governor of Tobolsk. This first Buryat Buddhist stationary datsan became known as Hilgantuiskii or Tsongol’skii with the Tibetan name of Dga’ ldan ’bras spungs. Zaiaev was appointed its abbot (Tsyrempilov 2013, pp. 66-68).

• 15 The title combines Sanskrit and Tibetan Buddhist terms. Thus, the element bandido is an adaptation (...)

23In 1764, the district administration of Irkutsk appointed Damba Darzha Zaiaev the official leader of the entire Mongolian-Buryat Buddhist clergy living to the south from Lake Baikal. Zaiaev was granted the title of Bandido Hambo Lama¹⁵ giving him the right to initiate the clergy of the lower ranks. From that moment, the further struggle for the leadership between various representatives of the Buryat Buddhists came down to the attempts to gain the title of the Bandido Hambo Lama (Tsyrempilov 2013, p. 82; Razumov & Sosnovskii 1898, p. 131).

• 16 Mihail Mihailovich Speranskii (1772-1839) – a count, an outstanding political figure of the time of (...)

27The Buryat Buddhist monastic community became the focus of attention for the imperial government only after the activities of Speranskii¹⁶ in Siberia and his reforms, which resulted in the composition of a special code of laws for the rule over the non-Russian peoples of Siberia. This legislative act had the title “The statute on administration of people of a different kin” (Ru. Ustav ob upravlenii inorodtsev). It was approved by the emperor Alexander I in June 1822 and subsequently included in “The Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire” (Ru. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi Imperii). The goal of the statute was, first, to regulate the lay administration over and among the non-Russian peoples of Siberia. For this reason, the number of articles devoted to religious matters was very limited. Nevertheless, it became the legislative document legitimated on the highest level which confirmed the right of the non-Christian, non-Russian peoples of Siberia to follow their traditional religion, dealing directly with the non-Christian clergy operating among non-Russians and making them subordinate to the local police (PSZ 1830, p. 410, §289; Tsyrempilov 2013, pp  96-99).

• 17 Aleksandr Stepanovich Lavinskii (1776-1844) held the office of the Governor General of Eastern Sibe (...)

29Thus in 1826 the Governor General of Eastern Siberia Lavinskii¹⁷ initiated the compilation of a code of laws restricting the activity of the Transbaikal Buddhist clergy. This project was submitted for consideration to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who rejected it.

• 18 The Kudunskii statute included two hundred and eighty-nine articles and determined the principles o (...)

30The next project was prepared by Schilling von Cannstatt, who was sent to Eastern Siberia by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs specially to examine the administrative system of the Buddhist institutions, check the data provided by Lavinskii and draw up an appropriate legislative document. The work of Schilling von Cannstatt was distinguished by close cooperation with the representatives of the local public authority and Buddhist administration. According to his request, a gathering of senior monks of the Kudunskii datsan as well as members of local governing bodies composed a document entitled “Religious statute of the Mongolian-Buryat clergy of Transbaikalia” (Ru. Religioznyi ustav mongolo-buriatskogo duhovenstva Zabaikal’ia) later referred to in scientific literature as the “Kudunskii statute” (Ru. Kudunskii ustav)¹⁸. As a result, the project by Schilling von Cannstatt, which borrowed many of its points from the Buryat customary law and internal Buddhist monastic regulations, had been discussed in different governmental departments for seven years and was eventually rejected in 1838 (Galdanova et al. 1983, pp. 27-28).

• 19 Nikolai Nikolaevich Murav’ёv-Amurskii (1809-1881) was appointed to the post of the Governor General (...)
• 20 In 1636 Hong Taiji, a Manchu ruler, the first emperor of the Qing dynasty, established a Mongol bur (...)
• 21 The paragraphs which excessively exposed the influence of the Qing code were excluded from the fina (...)

33Eventually Murav’ёv¹⁹, who was appointed to the position of the Governor General of Eastern Siberia in 1847, came out with his own variant of a legislative act regulating Buddhist affairs in Transbaikalia, which was entitled “The Statute of the Buddhist clergy of Eastern Siberia” (Ru. Polozhenie o lamskom duhovenstve Vostochnoi Sibiri). An interesting peculiarity which distinguishes the draft of this document from all the preceding projects is that many of its articles were modelled after the code of laws governing the Tibetan-Mongolian monasteries in Beijing and issued by the Lifanyuan²⁰ in 1817²¹. In May 1853, the project by Murav’ёv was approved by the emperor Nicolas I, who wrote the following resolution on the document: “Consider to be approved but not to include in the Collection of Laws” (Ru. Schitat’ utverzhdënnym’’, no ne vnosit’ v’’ Svod’’ zakonov’’) (Razumov & Sosnovskii 1898, p. 140; Vashkevich 1885, p. 74).

• 22 According to “The statute on administration of people of a different kin” (Ru. Ustav ob upravlenii (...)

35According to the fifty-first paragraph of the statute, all movable and immovable property of the datsans was to be managed by a warden (Ru. starosta). One warden was to be elected for every datsan for every three-year term by the decision of the members of a datsans’s parish from among these members. The elected warden was to be approved by the Military Governor of Transbaikalia. According to the fifty-second paragraph, the warden had to submit a yearly report of the state of a datsans’s property to the steppe duma²². Moreover, the abbots of the datsans had to report the state of their datsans’ property to the Hambo Lama every January. The Hambo Lama, in his turn, had an obligation to compile a general report regarding the property of all the datsans, to be submitted to the Military Governor of Transbaikalia not later than March every year (ibid., pp. 134-135).

• 23 “The entire body of records of an organization, family, or individual that have been created and ac (...)

38The main repository keeping various documents issued or received by the administration of different Buryat datsans including property inventories is the State Archives of the Republic of Buryatia, Ulan-Ude. Most of the documents pertaining to the life and functioning of the Buryat Buddhist monastic institutions are preserved in the fonds²³ of certain datsans. Overall, the archives dispose the fonds of eighteen datsans, namely of the Aginskii (fonds 518), Aninskii (fonds 519), Atsagatskii (fonds 425), Atsaiskii (fonds 517), Bultumurskii (fonds Р.-1993), Guneiskii (fonds 420), Gusinoozёrskii (fonds 84), Zugalaiskii (fonds 522), Iroiskii (fonds 520), Kudunskii (fonds 470), Tokchinsko-Zutkuleiskii (fonds 443), Tugno-Galtaiskii (fonds 430), Huzhirtaevskii (fonds 471), Tsolginskii (fonds 466), Tsugol’skii (fonds 521), Chesanskii (fonds 459), Egetuiskii (fonds 285), and Iangazhinskii (fonds 454) datsans (Barannikova 1998, pp. 73-84).

• 25 One of the Selenga Buryats’ datsans. It was founded in 1743 on the eastern shore of the Gusinoe lak (...)
• 26 In this source, in the majority of cases, d in the final position is written down with the sign use (...)
• 27 The word mal is inserted between the lines.

47The document dates from the 31^st December 1855 (Mo. 1855 on-u diqabri-yin 31-ü edür). The title of the inventory is “A record revealing in what follows one by one various religious images, books, musical instruments, decorative items kept inside the Atsaiskii datsan25, its subordinate temples and other buildings together with the herds, according to the prior state of the treasury” (Mo. veyidamasti ačayin dačang qabiy-a-du sümed²⁶ bolon ali barilγad ba dotorki aliba burqan nom-ud kögčim-ün ǰingseg čimeg-güd ba egün-ü kereglel-dü uridayin bayiγsan ǰis-a-yin mal²⁷-nud-tai tai tus tusaγar-i egün-eče doroγsi ilerkei).

• 28 The inventory lists the following five types of deity-images: five pieces of “gilded statuettes” (M (...)
• 29 The section “religious texts” (Mo. nom-ud) includes entries such as, for example, “xylographic Praj (...)
• 30 The section “printing blocks of texts” (Mo. nom-ud-un keb-üd) includes six entries: “wooden printin (...)
• 31 Tib. bla bre (Tucci 1980, p. 123).
• 32 The badan is a decoration sewed from long and wide ribbons of five colours: blue, white, red, yello (...)
• 33 Qadaγ (Tib. kha btags) is a ceremonial scarf which is usually produced from silk or cotton cloth an (...)
• 34 Tib. bkra shis. This is a type of short qadaγ which normally has 70 or 50 cm and is decorated with (...)
• 35 This big round umbrella usually has 1,5 m or more in diameter. It is often made from silk (Pozdneev (...)
• 36 White silk scarf (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèdèndamba. 2002, p. 465).
• 37 Tib. dkyil ’khor; Skt. maṇḍala.
• 38 Tib. me long. A metal circle produced from yellow polished copper. It is used during the services t (...)
• 39 Tib. bum pa. A ritual vessel in which consecrated water is kept. It has the form of a vase without (...)

49The inventory describes the items in a general manner, providing no details. Thus, the text gives only a type of deity-image²⁸ without specifying the names of the deities presented in the forms of statuettes or tangkas. Religious texts listed in the inventory were all, most likely, written in Tibetan. The information about the language of the treatises, however, is not given²⁹. Interestingly, the language of the texts the printing blocks of which were kept in the monastery, is indicated by the document³⁰. The monastery interior decorations listed under the title ǰingseng čimeg yandar-nud are represented by categories of items such as “silk baldachins” and “cotton baldachins” (Mo. torγan labari; bös labari³¹), “silk victory banners” and “cotton victory banners” (Mo. toraγan ǰingčian; bös ǰingčian), silk and cotton five-colour ribbons (Mo. toraγan badan; bös badan)³², “vangdan ceremonial scarfs with multicoloured silk cloth” (Mo. vangdan qadaγ coqor kib-tеi)³³, “long silk ceremonial scarfs” (Mo. uratu toraγun qadaγ), dasi³⁴ ceremonial scarfs, “cotton umbrella” (Mo. bös sikür)³⁵, “ceremonial scarfs and white silk scarfs” (Mo. qadaγ yandar³⁶), “silk decorations” (Mo. torγan čimeg-üd), “mandalas” (Mo. mangdal)³⁷, “mirrors” (Mo. toli³⁸, and “ritual vases” (Mo. bumba)³⁹.

• 40 Tib. rdo rje dril bu; Skt. vajra ghanta.
• 41 Tib. da ma ru; Skt. ḍamaru.
• 42 Tib. sil snyan (Tucci 1988, p. 118; Beer 1999, p. 201, 229). A percussion instrument – a pair of co (...)
• 43 Or čang; Tib. zangs. A pair of plates with a hemispheric bulge in the centre. The bulges serve as h (...)
• 44 Tib. rnga. A flat drum, the frame of which is usually made from wood or bark and is dyed in red and (...)
• 45 Or labai; Tib. dung or dung dkar.
• 46 Tib. gling bu. A wind instrument, the sound of which resembles a flute. It consists of three separa (...)
• 47 Tib. mdo dar ma. A percussion instrument which consists of a quadrangular wooden frame with a handl (...)
• 48 The seven bowls in which offerings are served on the Buddhist altar every day. They represent the “ (...)
• 49 The eight offerings which are traditionally placed on the offering table are metal statuettes repre (...)
• 50 The seven treasures are placed next to or behind the eight offerings on the offering table. They in (...)

50According to the inventory, the Atsaiskii datsan possessed and utilised a standard set of ritual items and musical instruments. The corresponding sections of the document list, among others, objects such as “a vajra-bell” (Mo. vačir qongqu)⁴⁰, “a double-sided hand-drum” (Mo. damaru)⁴¹, “small cymbals” (Mo. selnin)⁴², “big cymbals’ (Mo. čing)⁴³, “a drum” (Mo. kenggereγ)⁴⁴, “a seashell trumpet” (Mo. dung büriy-e)⁴⁵, “a flute” (Mo. bisikigür)⁴⁶, duu-a darm-a (Mo.)⁴⁷, “a big offering table” (Mo. yeke-yin takil-un sirege), “branch-bowls” (Mo. üy-e čügüče)⁴⁸, “the eight offerings” (Mo. 8 takil)⁴⁹, “the seven treasures” (Mo. 7 erdeni)⁵⁰, “a small platter for baling offering” (Mo. baling-un bičiqan tabaγ), “a peacock’s tail in two parts” (Mo. 2 keseg toγus-un segül), and “the cart and the figure of a horse used during the ceremony of the circumambulation of Maitreya” (Mo. mayidari ergüküi-yin terge mori).

• 51 In this word and in many other cases in this source, two diacritical dots are put to the left of th (...)
• 52 Most likely the same as the Modern Buryat bagsaamzha – “assumption, rough estimation” (Cheremisov 1 (...)

54The date of the document compilation is not precise – only the year 1861 is mentioned (Mo. 1861 on-a). The title of the document reads “In this approximate report deity-images, religious texts and other objects kept inside the Tsongol’skii datsan called Baldan braibung and its six satellite small temples, non-datsans are gathered in sections and presented together with their monetary values” (Mo. čongγol-un baldan brai büng kemekü dačang ba tegünü nökör ǰirγuγan ayimaγ dačang busu baγ-a sümes teyin dotorki burqan nom terigüten-i ayimaγ ayimaγ-iyar qamtutqan⁵¹ kedüi tügürig čeng-tei-yin baγcaramači⁵²-yin veyidomosti egün-dür-e ilerkeyilebe). The inventory is written in a tabular form. The monetary values of all the articles are presented in two separate rows, with the headings mönggö and tügü. The monetary values are indicated by the Tibetan numerals.

• 53 The status of clan-temples meant that these temples were built and kept at the expense of some clan (...)
• 54 From Tibetan rgyags khang (Budazhapova 2012, p. 86).
• 55 Tib. sMan bla; Skt. Bhaiṣajyaguru.
• 56 Tib. Chos skyong; Skt. Dharmapāla.
• 57 Tib. sPyan ras gzigs.

55The document starts with the list of the main and subordinate buildings of the datsan which includes the following fourteen entries: “the wooden building of the Tsongol’skii datsan with outside and interior painting and metal” (Mo. čongγol dačang-un modon barilγ-a bolon γadar dotor-un sirdlege ba temür) – 9 348 roubles; “the wooden building of its satellite clan-temple⁵³ called γomaling” (Mo. egünü nökör γomaling kemekü ayimaγ-un modon barilγan) – 1 500 roubles; “the wooden building of the nimai clan-temple together with its interior painting” (Mo. nimai-yin ayimaγ-un modon barilγ-a kiged dotor-un sirdelge selte) – 1 080 roubles; “the wooden building of the luslaling clan-temple together with its interior painting and glass windows” (Mo. luslaling ayimaγ-un modon barilγ-a kiged dotor-un sirdelge sil čongqu selte) – 1 580 roubles; “the wooden building of the nitang clan-temple” (Mo. nitang ayimaγ-un modon barilγan) – 1 500 roubles; “the wooden building of the čoyingqor clan-temple” (Mo. čöyingqor ayimaγ-un modon barilγan) – 1 500 roubles; “the wooden building of the rabcii clan-temple” (Mo. rabčii ayimaγ-un modon barilγan) – 1 500 roubles; “the building of the kitchen” (Mo. ǰiγan⁵⁴-u barilγan) – 300 roubles; “the building of the Medicine Buddha⁵⁵ temple which is another one of the outside small temples” (Mo. γadaγur ki üčüken sümed-eče otoči-yin sümen-ü barilγ-a) – 50 roubles; “the wooden building of the temple of the protective deity”⁵⁶ (Mo. sakiγulsun-u süm-e-yin modon barilγan) – 50 roubles; “the building of the Avalokiteśvara⁵⁷ temple” (Mo. ari-a balu-a-yin sümen-ü barilγ-a) – 55 roubles; “the building of the Great Wheel temple together with the deity-images and sacred texts kept inside” (Mo. yeke kürdün-ü süm-e-yin barilγ-a bolon dotor-un nom ba burqan selte) – 274 roubles; and “the Small Wheel temple with the prayer-texts kept inside” (Mo. baγ-a kürdün-ü süm-e dotorki maṇi-tai) – 157 roubles, “the fourteen-segment fence surrounding all these (buildings) together with four doors” (Mo. edeger bügüde-yin γadaγur toγoriγsan 14 üy-e čiusun qarši 4 yeke egüde selte) – 372 roubles.

• 58 Although the term sergü literally means “golden image” (Tib. gser sku), I chose to translate it as (...)
• 59 Tib. gser sku – “a golden Buddha-image” (Kowalewski 1846, p. 1375).
• 60 Most likely an incorrect or variant reading of qatqulγa – “pricking, piercing, sticking” (Kowalewsk (...)
• 61 A circle-mark is put to the left from the γ-sign instead of the double diacritical dot.
• 62 “Cloth-wrapper of a book or deity-image” (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèdèndamba 2001a, p. 232).
• 63 Here a Galik sign ᡪ is used.
• 64 Most likely from the Tibetan thugs dam, referring to some form of the datsan’s main tutelary deity’ (...)
• 65 May refer to the ritual crown called cod pan in Tibetan. This headgear had an oval form and was cov (...)
• 66 A special Galik sign ᠼ is used for č.
• 67 “Fan, special arrow, winded with flax, used during offering rituals” (Kowalewski 1849, p. 1634).
• 68 May be an incorrect reading of sang (Mo.) – “treasury, repository, store” (Kowalewski 1846, p. 1289 (...)
• 69 A variant reading of jangcan – “victory banner” (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèdèndamba 2001b, p. 159). Tib. rg (...)
• 70 Tib. tsha tsha. Religious objects made of clay including flat clay reliefs and miniature statuettes (...)
• 71 Tib. rgyab rten (Budazhapova 2012, p. 87). For the description of the sitting furniture and textile (...)
• 72 “Quadrangular sitting pillow” (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèdèndamba 2001c, p 182).

56The next thirteen entries regard different kinds of objects kept in the main building of the Tsongol’skii datsan. The entries do not list or describe every item belonging to the respective category but just give their general name in the following way: “gilded⁵⁸ deity-images kept in the great datsan” (Mo. yeke dačang-un dotorki sergü⁵⁹ burqad) – 791 roubles; “painted deity-images pinned to the walls” (Mo. qanan-du qatalγa⁶⁰tai ǰirumal burqad) – 1 280 roubles; “painted deity-images with edges” (Mo. ǰiq-a-tai ǰirumal burqad) – 625 roubles 95 kopecks; “the Kanjur and other texts together with cloth-wrapper” (Mo. γ̊angǰur⁶¹ bolon busu nom-ud barindaγ⁶² selte) – 6 006 roubles 40 kopecks; “the images of the main tutelary deities” (Mo. töb tügde⁶³n⁶⁴-üd) – 85 roubles; “offering table and the temple of the gilded deities together with its table” (Mo. takil-un sirege kiged sergü burqad-un süm-e sirege-tei) – 57 roubles; “the crown of the saint” (Mo. boγda-yin titim)⁶⁵ – 4 roubles; “big and small cymbals, trumpets, flutes, bells, hand-drums and other musical instruments” (Mo. čang⁶⁶ selnin büriy-e biskegür qongqu damaru terigüten kögčim-üd) – 289 roubles 30 kopecks; “the eight offerings, lion and offering bowls, ritual vases, mirrors, mandalas, teapots, platters, repository of ritual arrows and other ritual utensils” (Mo. 8 takil kiged arslan ba takil-un čügüče bumba toli mandal ǰabiy-a tabaγ dalalaγ-a⁶⁷-yin sing⁶⁸ terigüten takil-un keregten) – 200 roubles 50 kopecks; “various decorations such as ritual scarfs, silk cloth, five-colour ribbons and victory banners” (Mo. qadaγ kkib badan ǰingčan⁶⁹ terigüten čimeg-üd) – 277 roubles 10 kopecks; “moulds for clay offering figures and printing blocks of the Rab gsal collection and the Vajracchedika Prajñāpāramitāsūtra” (Mo. sača⁷⁰-yin keb kiged rabsal ba dorǰi ǰidba-yin bar) – 374 roubles 35 kopecks; “the cart, horse figure and decorations of Maitreya” (Mo. mayidari-yin terge mori čimeg-üd) – 75 roubles; and “sitting chairs and benches with pillows and mats” (Mo. saγudal-un sirege ǰibdan⁷¹ olboγ talbaγ⁷²-du) – 144 roubles 50 kopecks.

• 73 Kudunskii datsan was one of the oldest datsans of the Hori Buryats. It was founded in 1756 or 1758 (...)
• 74 A variant of the Russian word opis’ meaning “inventory, register”.
• 75 A variant of the Russian word vedomost’ meaning “list, record, register”.

59The title of the inventory reads “The report presenting the name-list of the Hori Kudunskii datsan73 (buildings) as well as deity-images, religious texts and other objects kept in it with their monetary values” (Mo. qori-yin qudun-u dačang ba dotorki burqan nom terigüten-ü obis⁷⁴ neres ba čeng-tei-yi ilerkeyilegsen bedamosta⁷⁵). The date of the compilation is not indicated in the document. At the end of the main table, however, the year 1860 is mentioned. This means we can presume that the document describes the state of affairs as of the end of 1860. The inventory is written in tabular form. The main table consists of four columns, the first of which contains sequence numbers of the entries indicated by the Tibetan numerals, whereas the second provides the names of the items, and the other two columns give the monetary values of the objects, which are also written down in the Tibetan numerals. The items described by the document are divided into eleven thematic sections by subheadings. They are listed one by one, with the sequence number given for every entry. According to this numeration, the inventory lists one hundred and sixty-two items.

• 76 According to Asalhanova, in the Buryat tradition of deity-image production the tangkas were commonl (...)

60The first two entries of the inventory regard the buildings of the datsan – “one big wooden datsan with its outer fencing” (Mo. nige yeke modon dačang γadaγurki küriyetei-e) – 2 600 roubles, and “one small wooden temple” (Mo. nige baγ-a modon süm-e) – 60 roubles. The next eighty-one entries (from the third to the eighty third) describe deity-images and are introduced by two subheadings: the first one – “deity-images” (Mo. burqad anu) is placed before the third entry; the second one – “deity-images on small canvas” (Mo. baγ-a deleγ⁷⁶ burqad anu) comes before the fifty-fourth entry. The majority of the entries give just the name of a deity or a Buddhist saint without specifying the form, material or size of the image. Some deities are said to be “painted on canvas” or “printed on silk” (Mo. deleγ-tü ǰiruγsan; torγon-du darumal). Among the deity-images enumerated under these two subheadings are Akṣobhya (Mo. migdûgba), green and white Tārās (Mo. noγon dar-a eke; čaγan dar-a eke), yellow Jambhala (Mo. sir-a ǰambala), Vajrabhadra (Mo. baǰir badaran-a), Sitātapatrā (Mo. čaγan sikür-tü), Bhaiṣajyaguru (Mo. otosiy), Cakrasaṃvara (Mo. demsuγ), Hayagrīva (Mo. damdin), thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara (Mo. mingγan motor-tai ari-a balu), Amitābha (Mo. abida), yellow and white Mañjuśrī (Mo. čaγan manǰaširi; sir-a manǰaširi), and many others.

• 77 Mo. ǰangči or ǰangča. Mod. Bur. zhansha – “silk wrapper for sacred books” (Cheremisov 1951, p. 247) (...)
• 78 This might be an incorrect or variant reading of dayisu – “tape, ribbon, cord” (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèd (...)

61The third subheading which comes before the eighty-fourth entry is “religious texts” (Mo. nom-ud anu). The inventory includes eight positions under this heading among which are “one hundred and fifty volumes of a hand-written Kanjur with wrapper and binding cords” (Mo. ǰaγun tabin botiy beǰimel γangǰiur ǰingčiy⁷⁷ dayiča⁷⁸-tai) – 2 100 roubles, “sixteen volumes of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in Tibetan with wrapper and binding cords” (Mo. arban ǰiruγuγan botiy töbed yüm ǰingčiy dayiča-tai) – 90 roubles, “two volumes of the Mongolian Daśaśatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra” (Mo. qoyar botiy mongγol arban nayiman miγ-a-tu) – 20 roubles, “one volume of the Tibetan Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra” (Mo. nige botiy töbed naiman miγ-a-tu) – 6 roubles, “two volumes of Mongolian Ma ni bka’ ’bum with a wrapper” (Mo. qoyar botiy mongγol ma-a ni kangbum ǰingčiy-tai) – 20 roubles, and others.

• 79 Here a special Galik sign ᠣᠸᠨ is used for o.
• 80 Tib. lam rim.
• 81 Here a special Galik sign ᠣᠸᠨ is used for o.
• 82 Tib. cho ga.
• 83 Tib. sMan bla’i lho sgo.

62The next subheading “wooden printing blocks of texts” (Mo. nom-un modon keb-üd anu) joins nine items such as “thirty-two blocks of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra together with a text on the stages of the path” (Mo. dorǰi čô⁷⁹daba bodiy mör⁸⁰-tei γučin qoyar modon) – 22 roubles 80 kopecks, “seventy-three wooden blocks of the Bhaiṣajyaguru ritual-text” (Mo. otosiy-yin čô⁸¹ga⁸²-yin keb dalan γurban modon) – 60 roubles 10 kopecks, “thirty-five blocks of the ‘South gate of the Medicine Buddha’ ritual-text” (Mo. otosiy-yin lhoγo⁸³-yin keb γučin tabun modon), and others.

• 84 A wooden beam used in Buddhist monasteries to call the monks for various meetings or services. For (...)
• 85 The text of the inventory gives a Mongolian phonetical version of the word, which reads pa-a ru.

63The next subheading reads “percussion and wind musical instruments” (Mo. deledkü üliyekü daγu-tan anu). The entries under this heading describe a standard set of Buddhist musical instruments. Apart from the instruments found in the two previous inventories, the present document also lists the gaṇḍī (Skt.) beam⁸⁴ (Mo. gangdiy modun) – 20 roubles. Every entry provides not only the names but also the number of musical instruments. The peculiarity is in the usage of the Russian noun para⁸⁵, which means “a pair”. Surprisingly, not only cymbals are counted in pairs but also flutes and trumpets.

• 86 Tib. phye ma phur ma. This decoration has a round form. It is made of eleven oblong multi-coloured (...)
• 87 An obsolete Russian unit of length which equalled 0,71 m (Ozhegov & Shvedova 2006, p. 30).

64The sixth subheading refers to decorations. Apart from the decorations mentioned in the two inventories described before, this document includes items such as šim-a büram-a (Mo.)⁸⁶ valued at 10 roubles for “two pieces and silk decorations called ‘the sun’ and ‘the moon’” (Mo. naran saran kemedeγ qoyar oyumal torγon čimeg) valued at 2 roubles. Describing “silk ribbons” (Mo. torγon kib), the text provides information about their colour and length given in arshin⁸⁷ (Mo. arsim). As for the other decorations, the entries again contain not only their names but also their number.

• 88 One zolotnik equalled 1/96 pound or 4,26 g (Ozhegov & Shvedova 2006, p. 232).

65The inventory distinguishes between offering utensils and offering weapons and enumerates them under two different subheadings – takil-un keregten anu and takil-un ǰebseγ-üd anu. The list of the offering utensils is longer than in the two inventories described above and more detailed. The entries again provide not only the objects’ names but also their number. An interesting nuance of the objects’ presentation is the usage of an obsolete Russian unit of weight – zolotnik⁸⁸ (Mo. ǰoltoniγ) – in the description of “the silver offering bowls” (Mo. čaγan mönggön čügüče). Among the offering weapons listed by the document are, for example, “one blue iron armour” (Mo. nige köke tömör quyaγ) – 2 roubles, “one spear and one sword” (Mo. nige ǰida nige ilde) – 75 kopecks, “one tiger skin and one wolf skin” (Mo. nige baras-un arisu nige činu-yin arisu) – 3 roubles.

• 89 Ru. ambar – “barn”.
• 90 Mod. Bur. pyeèshèn – “stove” (Cheremisov 1951, p. 385).

66At the end of the inventory, the sitting furniture of the datsan is described in two entries under the subheading “chairs and mats” (Mo. sirge debisker-nüd anu). After that, the text lists other buildings of the monastery such as “one wooden kitchen” (Mo. nige modon ǰiγang) – 5 roubles, “one wooden barn” (Mo. nige modon agbar⁸⁹) – 5 roubles, and “two wooden buildings with stoves” (Mo. pegeǰin⁹⁰-tei qoyar modon bayiǰin ger-üd) – 30 roubles.

• 91 Aginskii datsan was founded in 1811. Like the majority of other Buryat Buddhist monasteries, at the (...)
• 92 Here and in the majority of cases in this source the diacritical dots for γ are missing.
• 93 Here a special Galik sign ᠣᠸᠨ is used for o.

69The document is entitled “The exposition of the Aginskii datsan91 Dačin lhôdübling, as well as temples, buildings and kitchen built in its vicinity and various items kept inside them such as ‘the three supports’ and offering utensils” (Mo. aγuyin92 dačin lhô93dübling dačang kiged tegünü dergede bayiγuluγsan süm-e ger ǰiγag ba tegün dotorki γurban sitügen kiged takil-un kereg ten terigüten-ü ilerkei). The inventory dates from the 31^st December 1860 (Mo. 1860 on-u diqabri-yin 31-ü edür-e).

• 94 From Russian kirpich – “brick”.
• 95 Tib. dung phyur.
• 96 Here a special Galik sign ᢏ for the Sanskrit ṇ is used.
• 97 See previous footnote.

71The main heading of the table reads “the names of the datsan and temples, deity-images, religious text, offering implements and other objects” (Mo. dačang süm-e burqan nom takil-un ed terigüten-ü neres inu). The first subheading pertains to the entire document and reads “from the state of affairs actually remaining at the end of 1859” (Mo. 1859 on-u segül-dü niγur deger-e üldeǰü bayiγsan-ača). The next subheading is marked with the numeral “1” and refers to the “section of the datsan and other buildings” (Mo. dačang terigüten barilγ-a-yin ayimaγ). It includes nine entries, among which are “one datsan called Aγuyin dačin lhôdübling, built from stones and bricks” (Mo. aγuyin dačin lhôdübling kemekü čilaγu kerpiiče94-ber bariγsan 1 dačang) – 13 714 roubles 28,5 kopecks; “five wooden temples” (Mo. modon-iyar bariγsan süm-e) of the deities such as Maitreya (Mo. maidari) – 15 roubles, Amitāyus (Mo. ayusi) – 30 roubles, Bhaiṣajyaguru (Mo. otasi) – 15 roubles, Sarvavid-Vairocana (Mo. günrig) – 20 roubles, and of “the one hundred million mantras prayer-wheel” (Mo. dongšur95 maṇ96-i-yin kürdü) – 182 roubles 86 kopecks; “a wooden fence surrounding all the buildings” (Mo. ede bügüdeyin γadaγur modobar bariγsan küriy-e) – 40 roubles; “one wooden building storing eternal mantras” (Mo. müngke maṇ97-i quradaγ nige modon bayising ger) – 100 roubles; and “one wooden kitchen together with a barn” (Mo. modobar kigsen nige ǰiqang ambar-luγ-a selte) – 71 roubles 42 kopecks.

• 98 A special Galik sign \ is used for g in the initial position.
• 99 Tib. kun dga’ ra ba. In Buryatia, this term has been used to name an altar in the form of a wooden (...)
• 100 Tib. brgyad stong pa.

73The second subsection contains entries describing religious texts, such as “one hundred and one volumes of the Tibetan hand-written Kanjur together with a cabinet and a table” (Mo. bičimel töbed g98angǰur 101 boti güngaraba99 ba sirege-luγ-a selte) – 1 442 roubles 86 kopecks, “sixteen volumes of the xylographic Tibetan Prajñāpāramitāsūtra” (Mo. darumal töbed yüm 16 boti) – 137 roubles 15 kopecks, “twelve volumes of the xylographic Mongolian Prajñāpāramitāsūtra” (Mo. darumal mongγol yüm 12 boti) – 102 roubles 86 kopecks, “one volume of the Tibetan Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra written alternately in gold and silver” (Mo. altan möngö-ber alaγlaǰu bičigsen ǰidtongba100 töbed 1 boti) – 114 roubles 30 kopecks, “one volume of the xylographical Tibetan Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra” (Mo. darumal altan gerel 1 boti töbed) – 3 roubles, “one volume of ‘The hundred thousand songs of Mi la ras pa’ in Tibetan” (Mo. darumal töbed boγda milarayiba-yin gürbum 1 boti) – 6 roubles 50 kopecks and others. The texts are characterised as “hand-written” or “printed” (Mo. bičimel; darumal), being composed “in Tibetan” or “in Mongolian” (Mo. töbed; mongγol). The number of volumes comprising a treatise or a collection of texts is indicated for every entry.

• 101 To accept an offering, about a spirit (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèdèndamba 2001b, p. 29).

75The next subheading indicated with the numeral “three” reads “from the offering utensils kept inside the datsan” (Mo. dačan dotorki takil-un kereg-ten-eče). It entitles the section divided into five subsections by the following subheadings: “the section of the decorations” (Mo. čimeg-ün ayimaγ), “the section of music and entertainment” (Mo. kögǰim čenggilgen-ü ayimaγ), “the section of offering bowls and other containers” (Mo. čügüče terigüten saba-yin ayimaγ), “utensils for ablutions and mandala offerings” (Mo. ukiyal ba maṇdal ergükü-yin kereg-ten) and “utensils for the accepting of an offering” (Mo. dalalγ-a abqu101-yin kereg-ten).

• 102 Here a special Galik sign ᢏ for the Sanskrit ṇ is used.

77The third and second to last sections of the inventory include entries describing the objects kept in the subordinate temple under the subheadings “the three supports and offering utensils placed in the house of the eternal mantras” (Mo. müngke ma-a ni-yin bayising-du bayiγuluγsan γurban sitüged bolon takil-un kereg-ten) and “food-related utensils belonging to the house of the eternal mantras” (Mo. müngke maṇ102i-du qariy-a-tai idegen-ü kereg-ten).

• 103 A variant reading of mese – “sword; any cold weapon” (Kowalewski 1849, p. 2006) – here given in a p (...)

78The last section of the text lists equipment used for the guarding of the datsan and is entitled “cold weapon used by the watchmen of the datsan” (Mo. dačang-un qaraγulǰin-du kereglegsen mečüs103).

• 104 Ol’honskii datsan founded in 1823 was one of the Buddhist monasteries of the Western (Irkutsk) Bury (...)

81The inventory has two titles. The first is written in the middle of the recto side of the first folio of the document. It reads “The exposition of the names and monetary values of the Ol’honskii datsan104, deity-images, religious texts and other objects kept inside it, and its outside buildings” (Mo. olqon-u dačang kiged tegün dotorki burqan nom terigüten-ü ba γadaγatu barilγad ner-e üneyin čeng ilerkei). The second title is the first entry of the table, which constitutes the main body of the document. It reads “The exposition of the monetary values and names of the Ol’honskii datsan of the Irkutsk district of the Transbaikal region, deity-images, religious texts, offering utensils and other objects placed inside it, and its outside buildings and other constructions” (Mo. ǰabayiγalski oblasta-yin irču-a-yin ökürüg-ün olqon-u dačang ba tegün dotor-a bayiγuluγsan burqan nom takil-un keregsel bolon γadaγatu barilγad terigüten-ü čeng ner-e üne-yin ilerkei). The inventory dates from the 15^th December 1873 (Mo. 1873 on-u diγabri-yin 15 edür-e bičigdegsen amui).

• 105 Here a special Galik sign ᠹ for ph is used.
• 106 Tib. gan ji ra; Skt. gañja – “treasury, jewel room” (Monier-Williams 1974, p. 342). This is a decor (...)

82The inventory is written in tabular form. Its entries have an uninterrupted sequence of numbers from one to seventy, which are given in a separate row in the Tibetan numerals. The objects listed by the document are not divided into thematic sections. There is only one subheading, which follows the first entry of the table after the title-entry, which reads “the wooden datsan of Ol’hon called Rabdančoyinphiling with a six span-high ganǰir-top” (Mo. olqon-u rabdančoyinph105iling neretü modobar bariγsan dačang 6 sügim ganǰir-a106 selte) – 1 800 roubles. The subheading reads “the supports, offering utensils and other objects placed inside it” (Mo. tegün dotor-a bayiγuluγsan sitügen ba takil-un keregten terigüten).

• 107 Among the deity-images listed by the document are, for example, “a two ell-high gilded Buddha Śākya (...)
• 108 An obsolete Russian unit of length which equalled 4,4 cm (Ozhegov & Shvedova 2006, p. 76).

84The entries from two to nineteen list statuettes of the Buddhist deities, mainly gilded ones107. All the descriptions include information about the size of the items which is indicated in Mongolian units of length such as toqoi, sügim and tüge, and a Russian unit vershok108 (Mo. brišoγ).

• 109 Tib. drag ched. Here d in the final position is written down with the sign used in the Classical Mo (...)

85The entries from twenty to twenty-two list offering tables dedicated to various purposes: “two big painted offering tables with carving” (Mo. 2 yeke seyilbüri-tei takil-un sirdemel siregen) – 30 roubles; “a table with three sections for gilded deity-images” (Mo. sergü burqad-un 3 sentei siregen) – 45 roubles; and “a table for the wrathful deity-images” (Mo. doγčid109-un siregen) – 3 roubles.

• 110 Here a special Galik sign ᠹ is used for p. 

86The entries from twenty-three to forty-one enumerate offering utensils and containers such as “offering bowls” (Mo. čügüče), “silver-plated seven treasures and eight offerings” (Mo. möngölöγsen 7 erdeni 8 takil), “censer” (Mo. boyip110oor), “mirrors” (Mo. toli), “silver-plated ritual vases” (Mo. möngölöγsen bumba) and others as well as a standard set of musical instruments.

• 111 A special Galik sign ᠽ is used here for j.
• 112 A special Galik sign ᡍ is used here for k.

87The entries from forty-two to fifty-four describe “painted deity-images” (Mo. deleg burqan) such as “eight big thangkas of the Buddha” (Mo. burqan baγši-yin 8 yeke deleg burqan) – 130 roubles, “one big thangka of Mañjuśrī” (Mo. manj111usiri 1 yeke deleg) – 15 roubles, “two middle-size thangkas of Avalokiteśvara” (Mo. 2 ariy-a balu-a dumda deleg-üd) – 10 roubles, “nine thangkas of various protector-deities such as Vajrapāṇi and Mahākāla” (Mo. včir vani maqak112 ala terigüten qangγal burqad 9 deleg) – 20 roubles, and others. The size of the images is not described in any units of length but only characterised as “big” (Mo. yeke), “middle-size” (Mo. dumda) or “small” (Mo. baγ-a).

• 113 This might be an incorrect reading of neyite – “together, jointly, in total” (Kowalewski 1846, p. 6 (...)

89The entries from sixty-four to sixty-eight present the descriptions of religious texts such as “the one hundred and eight volumes of the Kanjur texts” (Mo. gangǰur nom-ud 108 boti nom), “all the Prajñāpāramitā texts together with two volumes of Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra – twenty-two volumes” (Mo. yüm niti113 2 ǰidtogba qamtu 22 boti nom-ud), “one volume of the xylographical Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra in Tibetan” (Mo. 1 altan gerel töbed darumar), “the Lhun grub (Tib.) text in Mongolian” (Mo. 1 mongγol lhantab nom), “service prayers, and other short texts” (Mo. qural-un ungsilγ-a-yin ba busu ču baγ-a nom-ud).

• 114 Here a special Galik sign ᢏ for the Sanskrit ṇ is used.

90The last two entries of the main table regard “the prayer-wheel of one hundred million mantras together with its temple” (Mo. doγǰuur ma-a ṇ114i-yin kürdü süm-e-tei qamtu) – 150 roubles, as well as “outside buildings and the surrounding fence” (Mo. γadaγatu barilγad qarsi küriy-e) – 100 roubles.

• 115 Ru. starosta – “warden, elder”.

93A remark at the end of the text says that “the inventory was witnessed by the abbot of the datsan Balsang-un” (Mo. edeger-i degegši ilerkeyilečü gerečilegsen širegetü-yin tusiyal-tu balsang-un). The inventory is signed by the temple warden Ananda Galsang-u (Mo. süme-yin starosta115 ananda γalsang-u).

• 116 Barguzinskii datsan was founded in 1818. Its parish was the entire region inhabited by the Erihit f (...)
• 117 A variant of the Russian word vedomost’ meaning “list, record, register”.
• 118 The diacritical dots for γ in this document are used irregularly.

94The inventory has the following title: “A report. The names and monetary values of various objects kept in the Barguzinskii datsan116 were exposed and written down” (Mo. veyidomosta¹¹⁷| barγ¹¹⁸uǰin-u dačang-un dotorki yaγumas-un ner-e ba čeng ber ni ilerkeyilen bečigdebei). The document dates back to 1873, without further details on month and day provided. The main table which constitutes the inventory has four columns: the first contains the names of the items, the second one “the number of these items kept in the datsan” (Mo. yaγumas-un toγ-a anu), and the third and fourth their monetary values. The numbers in the second, third and fourth columns are written down in the Tibetan numerals. The entries of the list are not numbered. The table has no divisions into thematic sections.

• 119 A variant reading of küǰi – “incense smoking stick or candle” (Kowalewski 1849, p. 2619). Here, the (...)
• 120 The list includes images such as “the big gilded copper image of the Medicine Buddha” (Mo. yeke ser (...)

95The first entry of the inventory describes the main building of the datsan (Mo. barγuǰin-u dačang-un γadaγadu yeke barilγ-a) valued at 300 roubles. The next ten entries enumerate deity-images in the form of statuettes made of various materials such as “gilded copper images” (Mo. serge ǰes-iyer kigsen altalaγsan), “gold-painted clay images” (Mo. sibar-bar kigsen alta türkigsen) or “gilded images made of incense-paste” (Mo. küči¹¹⁹-ber kigsen altalaγsan)¹²⁰.

• 121 A variant of the Russian holst – “canvas”.

96The next eleven entries enumerate numerous painted deity-images produced in different techniques such as “painting on canvas” (Mo. qolsta¹²¹ deger-e ǰiruγsan) and “printing on cotton cloth” (Mo. bös deger-e daruγsan). The size of these images is indicated using Russian units of length such as arshin (Mo. arsim) and vershok (Mo. bersoγ).

• 122 “Table of content, index” (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèdèndamba 2001c, p. 211).

97The document includes only two entries listing religious texts: “a hand-written Kanjur – the treatises of the Great Vehicle all completed with wrappers, indexes and covering wooden plates” (Mo. bečemel γangǰiur yeke kölgen nom-ud bügüde ǰingči tobyoγ¹²² qabtusu-tai tegüs-iyer niyte) – one hundred and four volumes valued at 1 600 roubles, and “the sixteen volumes of the Prajñāpāramitā text, together with separate volumes of the gZungs bsdus collection and the Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra” (Mo. 16 boti yüm kemekü nom tusaγar sungdui altan gerel nom niyte) valued at 96 roubles.

• 123 Or pangsa – “kind of silk taffeta, foulard” (Kowalewski 1846, p. 1268).

98Two long entries are devoted to the description of the datsan’s interior textile decorations such as qadaγ, ǰilsang, labari, kiib, badan, tügdem. The description includes information about the colour of the decorations, the length of some of them as indicated in big spans (Mo. tüge) and arshins (Mo. arsim), and the type of cloth, such as silk (Mo. torγon) and foulard (Mo. pangǰa¹²³).

• 124 A lampad or oil lamp with a little hole in the centre in which a wick made of Stipa sibirica grass (...)
• 125 Here and later in this entry a special Galik sign ᠹ is used for p in the word par-a.
• 126 Might be an incorrect reading of dololγa – “varnish, lacquer” (Kowalewski 1849, p. 1855).

99Another long entry enumerates various ritual utensils and musical instruments, including “seventy-three small copper bowls and two oil lampads” (Mo. baγ-a üy-e-yin 73 ǰes čügüče qoyar nastu¹²⁴), “two pairs of big trumpets” (Mo. qoyar p¹²⁵ar-a üker büriy-e), “two pairs of thigh-bone trumpets” (Mo. qoyar par-a γangling), “two pairs of flutes” (Mo. qoyar par-a beskigür), “two gongs” (Mo. qoyar qarangγ-a), “one seashell trumpet” (Mo. nige dungγar), “three good and two broken ritual vases” (Mo. 3 sayin 2 ebderkei bumba), “two mandalas and one copper mirror” (Mo. qoyar mangdal; nige ǰes toli), “four copper teapots” (Mo. 4 ǰes ǰabiy-a), “one pair of big and two pairs of small cymbals” (Mo. 1 par-a čang; 2 par-a selning), “four bells” (Mo. 4 qongqu), “the eight offerings produced by the forging of a brass bar and the seven treasures” (Mo. γuli-bar keb-tü čokiǰu kigsen 8 takil; 7 erdeni), “one lacquer platter” and “one metal platter” (Mo. nige doolaγan¹²⁶ tabaγ; nige temür tabaγ).

• 127 One of the datsans of the Selenga Buryats. It was founded as a felt temple in 1825 at the source of (...)
• 128 Here a special Galik sign ᠹ is used for p.
• 129 A variant of the Russian word opis’ meaning “inventory, register”.
• 130 A variant of the Russian word vedomost’ meaning “list, record, register”.

104The title of the inventory reads “The register of the deity-images, religious texts and other objects kept in the Iangazhinskii datsan127 and belonging to its treasury and the report on every wooden building of the datsan” (Mo. yangγačin-u dačang-un dotorki burqan nom bolon busu ǰüil-ün ǰisa-yin sang-tu qabiy-a-tai aliba yaγumas-un oop¹²⁸is¹²⁹ ba dačang-un modon barilγad-un tus veyidomosti¹³⁰). The document dates from the 1^st January 1878 (Mo. 1878 on-a gangvari-yin 1-ü edür).

• 131 “The big datsan, painted, with five golden ganǰirs, the wheel of the Teaching and roe deer” (Mo. ye (...)

106The first two entries describe the main building of the datsan¹³¹ and its “four subordinate temples” (Mo. dörben baγ-a sümed). The next four entries enumerate other wooden constructions belonging to the datsan, such as “an outside fence with five gates” (Mo. γadaγur inu bayiγsan 85 üy-e qarsi 5 egüden-tei) – 125 roubles, “a barn housing the equipment used during the gyre of Maitreya ceremony” (Mo. mayidari-yin ǰingčeg noγon morin-u bayidaγ angbar) – 15 roubles, “a yurt in which food is cooked for regular services” (Mo. čaγ čaγ-un qural-tu idegen činači bayidaγ nige ger) – 10 roubles, and “a watchmen’s yurt of the datsan” (Mo. dačang-un dergedeki qaraγul-un nige ger) – 15 roubles.

• 132 Or duγar – “with a white baldachin” (Luvsandèndèv & Tsèdèndamba 2001b, p. 66).
• 133 “Chinese silk cloth, silk brocade decorated with dragon-images, flower-ornaments, etc.” (Kowalewski (...)

109The enumeration of the ritual utensils and textile decorations of the datsan includes “a big brass mandala platter” (Mo. mangdal-un yeke γuulin tabaγ) – 1 rouble 25 kopecks, “one big and two small mandalas” (Mo. nige yeke qoyar baγ-a mangdal-nud), “a shining mirror made of glass” (Mo. šil gegen toli) – 3 roubles, “four joined mirrors” (Mo. qolbotai 4 toli), “two pairs of ritual vases” (Mo. 2 par bumba) – 10 roubles, “wooden figures of the seven treasures and the eight offerings” (Mo. modon-iyar kigsen doloγan erdeni naiman takil) – 7 roubles 50 kopecks, “thirty ritual branch-bowls” (Mo. γučin üy-e čügüče) – 35 roubles, “two teapots” (Mo. qoyar ǰabuy-a) – 3 roubles 50 kopecks, “long silk ceremonial scarf” (Mo. yeke urtu torγon qadaγ) – 6 roubles, “thirty vangdan ceremonial scarves” (Mo. γučin vangdan qadaγ) – 22 roubles 50 kopecks, “a tiger skin” (Mo. nige baras-un arisu) – 15 roubles, “a victory-banner with white baldachin” (Mo. düγar¹³² ǰilcan) – 8 roubles, “five baldachins of which one is silk and four are cotton” (Mo. nige mangnuγ¹³³ 4 bös niyte tabun labri) – 25 roubles, and others.

• 134 Here a special Galik sign ᠺis used for g.
• 135 Here a special Galik sign ᡍ is used for kh.
• 136 Tib. ’Phags pa thar pa chen po phyogs su rgyas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo.

110Religious texts listed by the document include “the Kanjur in one hundred and seven volumes” (Mo. nige ǰaγun dolon boti g¹³⁴angčiur nom) valued at 1 070 roubles, as well as “two tables with carvings painted in gold on which the Kanjur is placed” (Mo. gangčiur nom-ud-un altan-tai seilemel 2 siregen) – 20 roubles; “two volumes of the Prajñāpāramitā text of which one is in Tibetan and the other is in Mongolian” (Mo. 1 töbed 1 mongγol 2 yüm) – 50 roubles; “the collected works of Tsong kha pa in forty-five volumes” (Mo. döčin tabun boti boγda ǰongkh¹³⁵aba-yin sünbüm nom-ud) – 135 roubles; and “the Tanjur in two hundred and twenty-five volumes” (Mo. qoyar ǰaγun qorin tabun boti dingčiur nom-ud) – 675 roubles. According to the inventory, the datsan also possessed “wooden printing blocks of the Sutra of the Great Liberation¹³⁶ in Tibetan” (Mo. töbed tarba čingboo-yin modon keb) and “wooden printing blocks of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitāsūtra” (Mo. dorǰi ǰidba-yin modon keb) which all together counted two hundred and seventy-two blocks (Mo. niyte 272 kesüγ bar-nud) and were valued at 104 roubles 60 kopecks.

• 137 Here and in other cases in this document a special Galik sign ᠹ is used for p in the word par.

111The inventory presents a rather long list of ritual musical instruments which comprise, however, a more or less standard set which includes “two pairs of small cymbals” (Mo. 2 bar čilin) – 14 roubles, “three seashell trumpets” (Mo. γurban dungγar) – 15 roubles, “seventeen bells” (Mo. arban dolon qongqu) – 10 roubles 20 kopecks, “five pairs of flutes” (Mo. 5 p¹³⁷ar beskegür) – 7 roubles, two “gongs” (Mo. qarangγ-a) – 15 roubles, one dudarma (Mo. nige duu darm-a) – 2 roubles, “two pairs of brass trumpets” (Mo. 2 par γaulin büriy-e) – 20 roubles, “a pair of thigh-bone trumpets” (Mo. nige par γanglin) – 3 roubles, “eight double-sided hand-drums” (Mo. naiman damaru) – 80 kopecks, “eight pairs of big cymbals” (Mo. naiman par čang) – 24 roubles, and “ten drums” (Mo. arban kenggerge) – 10 roubles.

• 138 Genin Darma Natsov (1898-1941) was a native Buryat who grew up as a monk in a Buddhist monastery an (...)
• 139 “The elders – arhat-dsciples of the Buddha” (Das 1989, p. 752; Natsov 1998, p. 163).

127According to the information collected by Natsov¹³⁸ in the 1930s, the Atsaiskii datsan had nine subordinate small temples built in the period from 1795 to 1829, namely the Śākyamuni and Ayuši (Mo.; Skt. Amitāyus) temples, the Günrig (Mo.; Tib. Kun rigs; Skt. Sarvavid-Vairocana) and Doγsid (Mo.; Tib. Drag ched) temples, the temples of the Demčog (Mo. ; Tib. bDe mchog; Skt. Cakrasaṃvara) and of the Prayer-wheel (Mo. kürde-yin), the Šaγdar (Tib. Phyag na rdo rje; Skt. Vajrapāṇi) temple, the Medicine Buddha temple and the Nayidan (Tib. gnas brtan)¹³⁹ temple (Natsov 1998, pp. 21-22). Although the inventory of the datsan dated 1855 does not include the names of the small temples, it confirms their presence and number. The section “its subordinate buildings” (Mo. egünü qabiyatu barilγad) of the document starts with the entry “small temples” (Mo. baγ-a sümüd), the number of which is indicated as nine.

• 140 Ru. riza; also called “oklad” – thin metal covering of an icon, leaving open only the face and hand (...)

132The values of the other items, although not identical, are equivalent and reasonable. A comparison with prices of religious items used at the same period by the local Orthodox church or prices which retail merchants set for such items could be useful. Thus, for example, the attachment to the Irkutsk eparchial gazette no. 1 issued on 1 January, 1866 includes an advertisement of Mr. Okulov’s shop in Irkutsk. The gazette says that the shop offers seven vershok-high ikons of better quality in silver rizas¹⁴⁰ and icon-cases for 95 roubles, as well as similar quality four vershok-high icons for 27 roubles. The Gospel in velvet binding with silver corners or in gilded bronze cover cost 70 roubles (IEV 1866, pp. 10-11). Another issue of the same periodical provides a description of the Dormition church (Ru. Uspenskaia tserkov’) in Irkutsk. It lists, among the most remarkable and valuable items preserved in the temple of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Ru. Hram Uspeniia Bozhiei Materi), a gilded 84^th fineness-silver altar crucifix weighing 3 pounds and 18 zolotniks which is valued at 195 roubles, two gilded 84^th fineness-silver crowns used during wedding services incrusted with precious stones weighing 5 pounds and 62 zolotniks which are valued at 120 roubles (IEV 1876, pp. 361-362). As regards kitchen utensils, in a short financial report published in the Irkutsk eparchial gazette in 1868, a superintendent of the Nerchinsk county religious school (Ru. Nerchinskoe duhovnoe uezdnoe uchilishche) noted that 119 roubles and 8 kopeks were spent on tin tableware and a dozen of Melchior spoons (IEV 1869, p. 92).

• 141 In this respect, since 1853, when the Emperor approved the “The Statute of the Buddhist clergy of E (...)

142The historical value of the inventories, in my opinion, should not be questioned, as they represent a unique source of information which reveals to us the details of the material side of Buddhism as it was practiced in the Buryat datsans of the 19^th century. It should be emphasised, of course, that the inventories list only the communal, movable and immovable, property of the datsans which nominally belonged undividedly to the datsan’s clerical community as a whole. At the same time, the documents do not include data concerning the monks’ individual belongings and their private property which Buryat law allowed them to possess (Tsibikov 1970, pp. 69-70, 77, 1992, p. 82)¹⁴¹. Although quantitatively the inventories may be imprecise, they certainly contribute to our knowledge of the size of various Buryat monastic complexes, the cults of specific deities and the extent to which they were practiced in Buryatia, the content of the datsans’ libraries and the development of their own book printing, and the characteristic language of the Buryat Buddhism in both its spiritual and material aspects.