Oyirad
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The Oyirad (also spelled Oirat or Oyrat) is another name for the Kalmyk (Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, Russian: Калмыки) people. The name Oyirad may derive from a corruption of the group's original name Dörvn Öörd, meaning "The Allied Four." Perhaps inspired by the designation "Dörvn Öörd" (The Allied Four), other Mongols at times used the term "Döchin Mongols" for themselves ("Döchin" meaning forty), but there was rarely as great a degree of unity among larger numbers of tribes as among the Oyirad.
Terminology
Historically, the term Oirat has been used more commonly by other peoples in China and Mongolia, and the term Kalmyk more commonly by other peoples in Russia and Turkey, to refer to this same group of people. A group of families which immigrated from Kalmykia (Калмыкия) to the United States in the mid-twentieth century refer to themselves as Kalmyk or Kalmyk-American. In the Kalmyk language, 'Kalmyk' is spelled (using Latin characters) Haljmg, and 'Kalmykia' is Haljmg Tañch.Comprised of the Khoshuud, Jüün Ghar (not to be confused with the Jurchens), Torgud or Torghuud (Тургуды), and Dörböd or Dörvuud (Дервюды, also Doervud) tribes, they were dubbed Kalmak or Kalmyk, which means "remnant" or "to remain," by their Western neighbors the Turks after the majority of the group migrated from the central Asian to eastern European steppes in the early 1600s. (Various sources also list a Barghud, a Buzavs (Бузавы), a Kereyid, a Naiman, or an Ölööd tribe as comprising part of the Dörvn Öörd; some tribes may have joined the original four only in later years.) This name may reflect the Kalmyks' remaining Buddhist rather than converting to Islam; the fact that some of original Dörvn Öörd remained in central Asia (though the western and eastern branches remained in contact); or that the western group chose to remain in Europe when much of their number returned east (to the Altai Mountains region in present-day Kyrgyzstan) in the late 1700s. Some sources suggest, however, that the term "Kalmyk" was in use throughout Turkish lands as early as the 1200s.
The Kalmyks or Oyirad are considered a branch of the Western Mongols, though this is somewhat misleading for several reasons: Their geographical and historic background differs from the Mongols of China; their degree of ethnic and genetic kinship with the Eastern Mongols is disputed; and, during the height of the Mongol Empire under Genghis and later Kublai Khan, many individuals and groups allied with the Mongols but not related to them had begun to refer to themselves as Mongol to emphasize their ally status. Nonetheless, the Oyirad do share some history, geography, culture and language with both Western and Eastern Mongols, and were at various times united under the same leader as a larger Mongol nation — whether that ruler was of Oyirat or Mongol descent.
Kalmykia
- Main article: The Republic of Kalmykia
The modern-day Republic of Kalmykia is situated south of the city of Volvograd on the northwestern shores of the Caspian Sea. Other geographic boundaries include the Volga River to the north, the Don River to the west, and the Caucasus Mountains to the south. The capital of Kalmykia is Elista. The Kalmyk people are the only Europeans who have Buddhism as their national religion.
The younger generation of Kalmyks primarily speak Russian and not their own native language. This is a subject of popular concern. As such, some laws have been passed which regarding the usage of Kalmyk on shop signs; for example, on entrance doors, the words 'Entrance' and 'Push-Pull' appear in Kalmyk. In contrast, the Russian Broadcasting Corporation has tended to cut the broadcasting time allocated to Kalmyk language programs on the local television and radio due to the costs of production, favoring programming like MTV instead.
History of the Oyirad
From the 13th until the middle of the 18th century, the Dörvn Öörd or Oyirad at various times dominated Central Asia. The Kalmyk people were often in conflict with other Mongols. Illustrative of this history of confrontation is the Kalmyk epic song, "The Rout of Mongolian Shulum Ubushi Khong Tayiji," about the war between the Oyirad and the first Altan Khan of the Khalkha.Esen Tayisi led the Oyirads from 1439 to 1454, during which time he unified Mongolia under Oyirad rule. "Tayisi" (variant spellings Taisi, Tayishi, Tayiji) is a Kalmyk language word which can be translated as "grand marshall," indicating a military leader of high rank but below the level of a khan. In 1449 Esen Tayisi invaded the Ming Empire and captured the Zhengtong Emperor at Tumu. He was deposed only after attempting to claim the title of Khan which, among the Mongol tribes of that time, only members of Temujin (Genghis Khan)'s family could be elected to.
The Move West
Late in the 16th century, the Kalmyks began to migrate westwards. They reached the Volga delta and, in the 17th century, established the Kalmyk Khanate, becoming subjects of the Russian Tsar.Khoo Örlög Tayisi of the Torghuuds, and Dalai Batur of the Dörvuuds, led their people westward at the beginning of the 17th century. By some accounts this move was precipitated by internal divisions or by the Khoshuud tribe; other historians believe it more likely the migrating clans were seeking pastureland for their herds, scarce in the Central Asian highlands. Part of the Khoshuud and Ölööd tribes would join the migration almost a century later.
The Kalmyk/Oyirad migration had reached as far as the steppes of southeast Europe by 1630. At the time, that area was inhabited by the Nogai Horde. But under pressure from Oyirad warriors, the Nogai fled to the Crimea and the Kuban River. All other nomadic peoples in the European steppes subsequently became vassals of the Kalmyk Khanate.
Dzungaria
The 17th century saw the rise in power of another Oyirad empire in the east, known as the Khanate of Dzungaria, which stretched from the Great Wall of China to the River Don, and from the Himalaya to Siberia. It was last Empire of the Great Nomads of Asia.The Oyirad converted to Tibetan Buddhism around 1615, and it was not long before they became involved in the conflict between the Geluk (or Gelug) and Karma Kagyu schools. At the request of the Geluk school, in 1637 Güüshi Khan of the Khoshuuds defeated Choghtu Khong Tayiji, who supported the Karma Kagyu school, and conquered Amdo (also known as Qinghai). The unification of Tibet followed in 1641, with Güüshi Khan of the Khoshuuds proclaimed Khan of Tibet by the fifth Dalai Lama. The title "Dalai Lama" itself was bestowed upon the third lama of the geluk Tulku lineage by Altan Khan (not to be confused with the Altan Khans of the Khalkha), and means, in Mongolian, "Ocean of Wisdom."
Amdo, meanwhile, became home to the Khoshuuds. In 1717 Ölööds invaded Tibet and killed Lha-bzang Khan (or Khoshut Khan), a great-grandson of Güüshi and the fourth khan of Tibet.
China had been taken over by the Qing (or Manchu) Dynasty in the mid-17th century. The Manchu consolidated their rule over the ensuing decades both though Cultural assimilation of the Han Chinese and by expanding the areas they held militarily to include all the lands formerly claimed by the previous ruling Ming Dynasty. In 1723 Lobzangdanjin, another descendant of Güüshi, defended Ambo against attempts to extend Qing rule into Tibet, but was crushed in the following year. Thus, Qinghai fell under the domination of Qing.