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A Goat AS BUDDHA’S THRONE: THE SACRED AND THE PROFANE IN MONGOLIAN RIDDLES the second describes the sound of a whetstone scraping against steel. If, however, aeup originally featured in this riddle, then it certainly underwent phonetic modification to create more of an assonance with the word yaxuyp (flint). The multi-directional assonance of the word zeyyp could also lead one to think that it is in fact a word created within the very specific phonetic context of this particular riddle. The ratio of phonetic parallelism, mimicking the semantic parallelism of the riddle, is very high (the assonant syllables are highlighted in bold or underlined): AHar Jam sryypaa Gapyaz HP3B Joxzor JIaM Haxynypaa Gapyaz HP3B This riddle is a good example of the degree to which words can become distorted or aesthetically transformed in the Mongolian riddle corpus, a very common phenomenon.*° The next riddle is very typical of an entire class of riddles that employ iconopoeia to depict the humorous attitudes or postures of authority figures such as lamas, abbots, and officialdom (this latter group usually reflects Manchurian bureaucracy). Tonou JIam T'aarapr39 cyyB — Opx Tarax”” Gelong lama Leaning back — Pulling back the drkh At night-time, the epx — the triangular piece of felt that covers the opening at the top of the yurt — is closed. It lies flat across the opening by night, and, by means of ropes or cords, is pulled into a triangular shape by day, allowing light to enter into the ger. There are many riddles which reflect very nicely the epx’s daily transformation. For example: Odep 2ypoaracun, [ene depeeracun: ‘A triangle by day, a square by night,” or Hapand nv eypbanscun, Capand no dopseonacun: “A triangle by the sun, a square by the moon.’” Phonetic distortion or modification is extremely common in Mongolian riddles. See Mikos, R.: Ruined Words... Joop, T. — Onsnüxyrar, Il.: Moneon apovin onvcoeo masaap, p. 193. Cyann-J9paona, I. (gen. ed.): Moneon nyyoanuduün maündap more. Moncynap, Yıraanbaarap 2014 [Explanatory Dictionary of Mongolian Nomads], p. 139. Jlozop, I. — Oxsuiixytar, L.: Moneon apdvin onBcoeo masaap, p. 192. 159
