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OCR
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 possible 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 370
