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| Picture of Khiimori, the Wind Horse. Lake Baikal region. Buryats. End of the XIX c. |
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| The White Old Man. The Empire of China, Northern Mongoly, basin of upper Enisey. Tuvinians. XIX c. – beginning of the XX c. |
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| Tsongkhapa. Sculptire. Lake Baikal region. Buryats. XIX c. |
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| White Tara. Sculpture. Astrakhan region. Kalmyks. XIX c. |
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19.05 - 18.06 2009. Buddhism in Russian peoples` traditional culture
Buddhism is one of the most ancient world religions, which appeared in India more than 2,5 million years ago and therefore became a part of cultures of Central, South and East Asia. The most important period of the development of Buddhsm in Russia remotes to the beginning of the XVI century when the Gelug ("good rule"), a Buddist school founded by a philosopher Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) comes from Mongolia to Buryat peoples from the Lake Baikal region. In XVI Oirats (ancestors of Kalmyks) convert to Buddhhism and then move from Dzungaria to the Lower Volga region and by the end of the XVII it is adopted by Tuva people. In 1741 the order of the empress Elisaveta Petrovna accepts the presence of buddhist people on russian area.
In Kalmyks', Buryats' and Tuva people's cultures there are two levels of Buddhism coexisting together: a monastic buddhism based on the religion and philosophical canons and a so-called "popular buddhism", based on simplificated biddhist dogmes mixed with local beliefs and cults. The specificity of the monastic and popular taditions of buddhism in Russia will be illustraded by the exhibition, assembled from the collections of the Russian Museum of Ethnography. The influence of buddism on the people's world-view is translated in different objects reflecting the buddhist cosmology and showing its main figures as Avalokite?vara, White and Green Taras, Amit?bha, Amitayus, Maitreya, Manjusri, Usnisavijaya, Bhaisajyaguru, Tsongkhapa, White Old Man etc.
The exhibition will also show the variety of the activity of monasteries of modern Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia, which has always been not only the centres of religion but the important places of enlighting. They had schools of Buddhist philosophy, Indo-tibetan medicine, Tibetan and Mongolian languages, the book printing, cult architecture sculpture, icon painting were developing. The exhibition includes ritual music instruments and sacral objects of the Tzam mystery - the religious theatrical performance and part of the monks' costumes.
Buddhism influence on the local traditions and archaic beliefs can be shown on an example of tributes from the cult constructions obo (ova) dedicated to the spiritual owners of the land. The exhibition will familiarize visitors with the complex of those ritual things: wooden sculptures of animals and the White Old Man, canvases with the image of Winds Horse (Khiymorin), Buddhist than-ka icons etc. Interaction of Shamanism and Buddhism among Buryats, Tuvinians and some Evenk groups resulted to appearance of some individuals combining functions of shaman and lama in ritual practice. Under the Buddhist influence the new attributes came into life many of them are shown at the exhibition: shaman's whips with Buddhist symbols, beads Three-edged spear purbu, amulets. Peculiarity of regional forms of popular Buddhist tradition can be traced in domestic items, interior, in elements of the clothes.
During its long centuries-old history Buddhism had a great influence on the traditional world-view and culture of Buryats, Kalmykians and Tuvinians affecting formation and development of philosophical ideas, literature language, medicine, architecture, paintings and standards of moral behavior. Fundamental moral and ethic principles of Buddhist spiritual tradition is compassion and love to all living creatures, harmonious interaction of human being and nature. Nowadays the Buddhist culture is one of the main criteria of ethnical self-consciousness of those peoples and is an important part of the revival of national values. The exhibition will take place within the scope of the Decade of Buddhist Culture in St. Petersburg. It is the first time when the unique memorials of objects and photos of The Russian Museum of Ethnography related to Buddhism of peoples if Russia, and Central and Eastern Asia will be shown to visitors at such a scale.
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