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A Goat AS BUDDHA’S THRONE: THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE IN MONGOLIAN RIDDLES This riddle makes reference to the fact that votive statues were traditionally made of clay and not painted in the back. It also alludes to the fact that what is presented frontally may not be true for the situation of a being or object in the back. This has a parallel in many Mongolian riddles and proverbs about the human mind and thought, which emphasize that they cannot be immediately seen. The next riddle conflates the two seemingly incompatible categories of celestial beings with the inside of a horse’s mouth: Touropuiin Oacray Tomop Ooxb 3aKIax —amraiipyraii Mopb”” Tenger’s little daughters Chewing iron resin — Horse chewing on a bit The term 6ox» actually refers to the resin that flows from trees. (Sometimes it is chewed recreationally by nomads.)?' The daughters of Tengri (Khal., Bur. 6aczao is the plural of 6acean, meaning small girl or daughter”) are the teeth of the horse chewing on the ‘iron resin’, i.e., the bit. It is quite possible that the attribute ‘iron’ (Khal. memep) was added so as to create alliteration with the noun TsHr9p, but we can also recall that bits are usually made of iron, so that the ‘phonetically motivated’ simile might have worked the other way around. Despite all of the humorous, ‘profane’ visual associations evoked by this riddle, the presumed whiteness of the horse’s teeth nonetheless yet evokes the purity of the daughters of Tenger. We can also recall that the very closely related term maneaputin oxun, ‘daughter of Tenger’, is another expression for ‘dakin’’ . The visual multiplicity of the horse’s teeth evoked by the riddle is also somehow reminiscent of the multiplicity of many minor deities swirling around the main deity in much of Mahayana Buddhist visual imagery (for example, in thangkas). REFERENCES TO MODERN LIFE A certain subset of riddles, clearly hailing from early to mid 20" century, draw visual imagery and metaphors from the technological advancements of modern life. In these riddles, the sacral is colluded with images of the everyday. Jlozop, I. — Oxsuiixytar, L.: Monzor apdvin onBcoeo masaap, p. 257. Lubsandorj, consultation 2014. Bonn, JI. et al. (eds.): Moneon xannuü Oaneap3neyü maündap mon, Vols. 1-5. “Co&m6o IlpnuTunHr” Ilpuntuur Xoyc, Yrıaan6aatap 2008 [Detailed Reference Dictionary of the Mongolian Language], Vol. 1, p. 252. 155
