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MARIA-KATHARINA LANG also had to move out from the building of the former Sandui Khuwilgaan Temple, which had been used as a museum building since 1980. The temple was re-opened as the Tögs Bayasgalant Buyan Delgerüülekh Monastery. The artefact transfers that took place during the communist purges became visible occasionally. Narangerel, who was raised on the grounds of the Dsaya Gegeenii Khüree Monastery and had worked for the museum for eighteen years, narrates: “Religious items and deities from the monastery buildings are still found. Some were excavated in the yard of Dsayaiin khiiree. At that time, they piled all sütras and deities and fired them to get rid of religion. In 1995, they discovered some items under ashes in the yard. Religious items were hidden in the 1930s. For 50 to 60 years until the 1990s, local people found them and children played with the items. Lamas also hid their items in their yards in the 1930s.’""! In many cases religious artefacts that had turned to ambivalent objects, if not destroyed, had been hidden. Some reappeared after 1990 with changed meaning. Again they could return to their old function as sacred objects and many were brought to the newly opened temples. During the communist system people had been giving their religious family items to the museums or monasteries that had transformed to museums.” Chimeg, an old lady from Kharkhorin, kindly told how her family brought items to Erdene Dsuu Monastery: “When it came that we were not allowed to worship and display the figures open, we brought all of our deities to Dsuu [Erdene Dsuu] loaded on an oxcart. We took them after everything had been demolished and few years before the revival. I still keep some of the deities that my parents kept, kindle offering lamps, and say prayers. [...] When I was a child, my parents took two wooden boxes of sutras, deities, and the coral Manal. I go to Dsuu now and I look for the old deities of our family. I do not see deities with old smoky frames. I often look for them. Maybe they were cleaned or restored.” Currently wooden house altars, probably given to the monastery by individuals or monks are on display in the temple-museums of Erdene Dsuu. Shinebat, in 2016 curator at Erdene Dsuu Museum, pointed at the wooden altar boxes displayed in one of the main temples and explained: “After the destruction, some local people hid items from monasteries, temples, or homes of lamas. When Erdene Dsuu became a museum in 1965 the museum workers collected items. Some local people returned and donated them to the 11 Narangerel, Kharkhorin, 10 July 2015. 12 : Baatarnarany, Ts. — Lang, M.: Artifact Transfers, article in press. 5° Chimeg, Kharkhorin, 6 June 2014. 52
