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ZSUZSA MAJER
important. Connected topics, such as Mongolian mourning traditions, taboos related
to death, traditional Mongolian burial types, and other details of Mongolian traditions
serve as a background and context to the special Buddhist rites. In this preliminary
study it is only possible to give a short and undetailed sketch the schedule, which is
as follows:
Before death:
— tasks and rites performed when death approaches (during dying)
Immediately after death:
— the first rites with the dead body performed right after the death or as soon as pos¬
sible in the home of the deceased
— the opening of the Golden Vessel or the investigation of the death (Al/tan saw néx
or Sinjé néx Altan saw (néx), Tib. gser gyi sgrom bu (‘bye), ‘(Opening) the golden
vessel’) depending on which the measures to be taken, recitations to be performed
and the instructions for the way, mode, time and direction of the funeral are given
— rites and readings performed during the 49 days following death at the home or in
the monastery
— greater ceremonies performed in every 7 days after death
Disposal of the body:
— requesting land (gajar guix) which is when the exact place of installation is chosen;
— taking the chosen funerary place (gajar awax)
— the preparation of the corpse for funeral (for example gar xiirgex, the first touching
of the body)
— the carrying out of the corpse
— the funeral itself (texts of the different burial types)
After the funeral/disposal:
— the feast after the funeral (gar cailax, ‘whiten the hands’)
Remembering the deceased:
— commemoration of the dead, etc.
Details of the practice of performing the individual rituals in the schedule of after-death
rites the specifications or instructions for performing the given rites and details of when
the individual texts are used exactly after death (in the temple, at the home, before and
during/after the funeral) is to be studied.
Further Connected Research Plans - Still Unstudied Issues
and Questions
Further data on certain questions still to be studied can only be gained on the field.
I plan to carry out two shorter fieldworks in Mongolian monasteries studying their
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