Oldal 51 [51]
TEMPLE AND MUSEUM.
AN AMBIVALENT RELATION
Maria-Katharina Lang
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Social Anthropology, Vienna
Some of the most important historic temples or monasteries in Mongolia, such as the
Choijin Lama Temple, the temples of the Bogd Khaan Palace, Gandan, Dsaya Ge¬
geenii Khiiree Monastery and Erdene Dsuu Monastery became or still are museums
or a hybrid form of both — museum and temple. In this contribution, I give a brief
insight to the processes of the transformation that led to this situation and the result¬
ing ambivalences. Hereby the focus lies on how museum workers, monks, visitors
and believers perceive the musealisation of Buddhist sacred sites and furthermore
what it means for the religious and museum practice.’
Transformation, Desacralisation and Profanisation
After the destruction during the purges of the 1930s, especially in the years 1937—
1938 when most temples were closed, abandoned and destroyed,’ the few remaining
sacred buildings were made to profane places, being used differently and for various
purposes: the three remaining round shaped wooden aimag temples of Dashchoi¬
lin Monastery in Ulaanbaatar as circus training tents and warehouses,’ temples
of Shankh Monastery as abbatoirs* and others as state socialist premises such as
warehouses, storages, offices, fire station, military barracks, schools, garages,
factories, and markets.
The Choijin Lama Temple, the temples of the Bogd Khaan Palace, Gandan Mo¬
nastery, Dsaya Gegeenii Khiiree and Erdene Dsuu Monastery are some of the few
Buddhist temples and monasteries in Mongolia which partly survived the political
repressions by being declared as historical and cultural monuments in the 1940s and
then turned to public museums in the 1960s. Some of the people and even communist
leaders were reluctant to have the most eminent monasteries or historic monuments
completely destroyed. But it was mainly due to the engagement of few Mongolian
Field research was conducted by the project team consisting of Maria-Katharina Lang, Tsetsentsolmon
Baatarnaran and Erdenebold Lhagwasiiren within the projects Dispersed and Connected funded by
the Austrian Science Fund (FWF/ PEEK-AR 394; 2017-2020_http://www.dispersedandconnected.
net) and Nomadic Artefacts (WWTF; 2013—2017_ http://www.nomadicartefacts.net).
2 Kaplonski, Christopher: The Lama Question. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu 2014, p. 203.
Teleki, Krisztina: Monasteries and Temples of Bogdiin Khiiree. Institute of History, Mongolian Acad¬
emy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 2012, p. 75; Kaplonski, Ch.: The Lama Question, p. 210.
* Interview with Odkhüü in Kharkhorin, 7 July 2015.
49