An Origin of the Ethnic Name Coŋgōl

B. Z. Nanzatov; V. V. Tishin

List of issues > «Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series». 2023. Vol 44

An Origin of the Ethnic Name Coŋgōl

Full text (russian)

Author(s)

B. Z. Nanzatov, V. V. Tishin

Abstract

The article deals with the origin of the tribal name Coŋgōl or Tsongool, in other orthography. It also known as Soŋgōl or Songool in Buryat pronunciation, where the Written Mongolian [č] developed into [s] through the step [ts] in position before a vowel other than [i]. We argue the connection of the word with the ethnic name Čuŋul ~ Čumul, attested in different spelling forms in Chinese, Old Turkic, Khotanese Saka and Persian texts, in connection with the history of Eastern Turkestan and Gan-su Province of China, at least from the of the 7th to the 11th centuries A. D., and also preserved now among the ethnonyms of the Sarïg-Yogur people as Čoŋïl ~ Čuŋïl. In the latter case, the fact of historical continuity cannot raise any doubts. According to the results of this research, it is possible to argue that the community arrived to territory of modern South Buryatia to become subjects of the Russian Tsar at the end of the 17th century had already pronounced the name Tsongool (< WMong. Čongγol) in the variant Tsoŋgol, taking into account the fact that the designation of a vowel in the second syllable as a long one is a later orthographic phenomenon in Buryat. In other words, they were attested the resulted phonetic development [č] > [ts] and consistent vowel labialization in both syllables of the word, regardless of the peculiarity of the Tsongol dialect of Buryat language, where the development of WMong. [u] > [o] is observed. In this manner it can be interpreted the form of the tribal name known among the Barguzin Evenks čåŋgå̄lʹi̯r as reflected the first mentioned process. This point can also be confirmed by the data on onomastics of the persons associated with the Tsongols, attested in the later 17th century, where it can be found the development [č] > [ts] > [s]. It is discussed the problem of correlating two phonetic forms in connection with the chronology of the appearance of Tsongols in the territory of modern Buryatia. Despite the absence of any earlier information about the existence of a group with this name in the region, they are known the legends according to which the territory of origin of the Tsongols is localized in the valley of the Kuda River (in modern Irkutsk region), where a small group with the name Songool (Tsongool) was recorded back in the 19th century. Explaining the chronology of phonetic changes in a historical context requires future research.

About the Authors

Nanzatov Bair Zoriktoevich, Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Department of History, Ethnology and Sociology, Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies SB RAS; 6, Sakhyanova st., Ulan-Ude, 670047, Russian Federation, e-mail: nanzatov@yandex.ru

Tishin Vladimir Vladimirovich, Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies SB RAS; 6, Sakhyanova st., Ulan-Ude, 670047, Russian Federation, e-mail: tihij-511@mail.ru

For citation

Nanzatov B. Z., Tishin V. V. An Origin of the Ethnic Name Coŋgōl. Bulletin of the Irkutsk State University. Geoarchaeology, Ethnology, and Anthropology Series. 2023, Vol. 44, pp. 120–132. https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2023.44.120 (in Russ.)

Keywords

ethnonym, onomastics, Buryats, Mongols, Tsongols, ethnic history.

UDC

94(57)+811.512

DOI

https://doi.org/10.26516/2227-2380.2023.44.120

References

Bailey H. W. Indo-Scythian Studies, being Khotanese Texts. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1985, Vol. VII, xv, 147 p.

Baldaev S. P. Rodoslovnye predaniya i legendy buryat [Genealogical Legends of Buryats]. Ulan-Ude, Buriatskoie knizhnoe izdatelstvo, 1970, Vol. I. Bulagaty i ekhirity [Bulagats and Ekhirits], 364 p. (In Russ.)

Budaev Ts. B. Tsongolskii govor [Tsongol Dialect]. Issledovaniya buryatskikh govorov [Studies of Buryat dialects]. Ulan-Ude, Buriatskoie knizhnoe izdatelstvo, 1965, Vol. 1, pp. 151–186. (In Russ.)

Budaev Ts. B. Leksika buryatskikh dialektov v sravnitelno-istoricheskom osveshchenii [A Lexicon of Buryat Dialects in Comparative-historical Coverage]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1978, 302 p. (In Russ.)

Budaev Ts. B. Buryatskie dialekty (opyt diakhronicheskogo issledovaniya) [Buryat dialects (experience of diachronic research)]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1992, 217 p. (In Russ.)

Buraev I. D. Stanovlenie zvukovogo stroya buryatskogo yazyka [The Formation of the Sound Structure of the Buryat Language]. Novosibirsk, Nauka Publ., 1987, 185 p. (In Russ.)

Clark L. V. A Problem in Buryat Historical Linguistics. Studies on Mongolia: Proceedings of the First North American Conference on Mongolian Studies. Studies on East Asia, Vol. 13. Bellingham, 1979, pp. 14–25.

Demidova N. F., Myasnikov V. S., Tarasova A. I. (comp.). Russko-kitaiskie otnosheniya v 18 veke. Materialy i dokumenty [Russian-Chinese Relations in the 18th century. Materials and Documents]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1990, Vol. 2: 1725–1728, 668 p. (In Russ.)

Georgi I. G. Opisanie vsekh v Rossiiskom gosudarstve obitayushchikh narodov, takzhe ikh zhiteiskikh obryadov, ver, obyknovenii, zhilishch, odezhd i prochikh dostopamyatnostei [Description of All Peoples Living in the Russian State, as Well as Their Everyday Rituals, Beliefs, Customs, Dwellings, Clothes and Other Monuments]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaia Akademiia nauk, 1799, Chast 4 o narodakh mongolskikh, ob armyanakh, gruzinakh, indiitsakh, nemtsakh, polyakakh i o vladychestvuyushchikh rossianakh, s opisaniem vsekh imenovanii kazakov, tak zhe Istoriia o Maloi Rossii i kupno o Kurlandii i Litve [About the MongolianPeoples, about Armenians, Georgians, Indians, Germans, Poles and about the Ruling Russians, with a Description of All the Names of the Cossacks, as well as the History of Little Russia and, in Particular, about Kurland and Lithuania], 385 p. (In Russ.)

Hahn R. F. Yellow Uyghur and Salar. Turkic Languages. London, New York, Routledge, 1998, pp. 397–402.

Hamilton J. Le pays des Tchong-yun, Čungul, ou Cumuḍa au Xè siècle. Journal Asiatique. 1977, Vol. 265, fasc. 3–4, pp. 351–379.

Khabtagaeva B. Mongolic Elements in Barguzin Evenki. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 2010, Vol. 63, N 1, pp. 9–25.

Léi Xuǎn-chūn 雷选春. Xī bù yù gù hàn cí diǎn 西部裕固汉词典 [Western Yugur–Chinese Dictionary]. Chéng-dōu 成都, Sì chuān mín zú chū bǎn shè 四川民族出版社 [Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House], 1992, 377 p. (In Chinese).

Letopisi selenginskikh buryat [Chronicles of Selenga Buryats]. Moscow, Leningard, AS USSR Publ., 1936, Vol. 1: Khronika Ubashi Dambi Dzhaltsan Lombo Tserenova 1868 g. [Chronicle by Ubashi Dambi Jalcan Lombo Cerenov], 55 p. (In Mongol.; In Russ.)

Malov S. [E.] Otchet o puteshestvii k uiguram i salaram [Report on a Trip to the Uighurs and Salars]. Izvestiia Russkogo Komiteta dlya izucheniya Srednei i Vostochnoi Azii v istoricheskom, arkheologicheskom, lingvisticheskom i etnograficheskom otnosheniyakh [Proceedings of the Russian Committee for the Study of Central and East Asia in historical, archaeological, linguistic and ethnographic relations]. St. Petersburg, 1912, Ser. II, Is. 1, pp. 94–99. (In Russ.)

Malov S. E. Yazyk zheltykh uigurov. Slovar i grammatika [Yellow Uygur Language. Dictionary and Grammar]. Alma-Ata, AS KazSSR Publ., 1957, 197 p. (In Russ.)

Malov S. E. Yazyk zheltykh uigurov. Teksty i perevody [Yellow Uygur Language. Texts and Translations]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1967, 220 p. (In Russ.)

Nanzatov B. Z. Mongolskie buryaty: diaspora v situatsiyakh vyzova [Mongolian Buryats: Diaspora in Challenge Situations]. Transgranichnye migratsii v prostranstve mongolskogo mira: istoriya i sovremennost [Cross-border Migrations in the Space of the Mongolian World: History and Modernity]. Ulan-Ude, 2010, pp. 83–110. (In Russ.)

Nanzatov B. Z. Zabaikalskie buryaty v 19 veke: etnicheskii sostav i rasselenie [Transbaikal Buryats in the 19th century: Ethnic Composition and Settlement]. Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2016, 290 p. (In Russ.)

Nanzatov B. Z. Irkutskie buryaty v 19 veke: etnicheskii sostav i rasselenie [Irkutsk Buryats in the 19th century: Ethnic Composition and Settlement]. Ulan-Ude, BSC SB RAS Publ., 2018, 224 p. (In Russ.)

Nanzatov B. Z., Sodnompilova M. M. Selenginskie buryaty v 19 v.: etnicheskii sostav i rasselenie (yugovostochnyi areal) [Selenga Buryats in 19th century: Ethnic Composition and Resettlement (South-Eastern Area)]. Vestnik Buryatskogo nauchnogo tsentra SO RAN [Bulletin of the Buryat Scientific Center of the SB RAS]. 2019, Is. 2 (34), pp. 112–122. (In Russ.)

Natsagdorzh Ts. B. K probleme etnogeneza tsongolov [On the Problem of the Ethnogenesis of the Tsongols]. Acta Mongolica. 2006, Vol. 6 (267), pp. 323–338. (In Russ.)

Natsagdorzh Ts. B. Chakharskie tsongoly [Chakhar Tsongols]. The proceedings of conference “Nomadic Civilization and Buryat-mongols”, organized in the frame of “Altargana” Festival. Ulaanbaatar, Bembi san, 2010, pp. 148–163. (In Russ.)

Natsagdorzh Ts. B. O pobege bargutov v Rossiyu v 1730 g. [On the Escape of the Barguts to Russia in 1730]. Kulturnoe nasledie narodov Tsentralnoi Azii [Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Inner Asia]. Ulan-Ude, 2012, Vol. 3, pp. 206–225. (In Russ.)

Nugteren H., Roos M. Common vocabulary of the Western and Eastern Yugur languages. The ethnonyms. Rocznik Orientalistyczny. 2003, Vol. 56, Z. 1, pp. 133–143.

Pallas P. S. Sammlungen historischer Nachrichten über die Mongolischen Völkerschaften. St. Petersburg: Gedruckt bei der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1776, Th. 1. Sammlungen zur politischen, physikalischen und moralischen Geschichte der mongolischen Völkerschaften, XIV, 232 S. (In German.)

Pelliot P. Neuf notes sur des questions d’Asie central. T’oung Pao (Second Series). 1929, Vol. 26, N 4–5, pp. 201–266. (In French).

Poppe N. N. Nekotorye dannye o barguzinsknkh tungusakh 18–19 st. [Some Data on the Barguzin Tungus 18th–19th centuries]. Zapiski Instituta vostokovedeniya Akademii nauk SSSR [Bulletin of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences]. Leningrad, 1933, [Vol.] II, [Is.] 2, pp. 37–50. (In Russ.)

Poppe N. N. Grammatika buryat-mongolskogo yazyka [A Grammar of Biryat-Mongol Grammar]. Moscow, Leningrad, AS USSR Publ., 1938, 268 p. (In Russ.)

Poppe N. Introduction to Mongolian Comparative Studies. Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne, N 110. Helsinki, Suomalais-ugrilainen seura, 1955, 300 p.

Powers J., Templeman D. Historical Dictionary of Tibet. Lanham, Boulder, New York, London, Rowman & Littlefield, 2020, lxxxvi, 794 p.

Puchkovskii L. S. Mongolskie, buryat-mongolskie i oiratskie rukopisi i ksilografy Instituta vostokovedeniya [Mongolian, Buryat-Mongolian and Oirat manuscripts and xylographs of the Institute of Oriental Studies]. Moscow, Leningrad, AS USSR Publ., 1957, Vol. 1. Istoriya, pravo [History, Law], 280 p. (In Russ.)

Pulleyblank E. G. A Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese, and Early Mandarin. Vancouver, UBC Press, 1991, vii, 488 p.

Rassadin V. I. Ocherki po istoricheskoi fonetike buryatskogo yazyka [Essays on Historical Phonetics of the Buryat Language]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1982, 199 p. (In Russ.)

Rumyantsev G. N. Barguzinskie buryaty [Barguzin Buryats]. Trudy Kyakhtinskogo kraevedcheskogo muzeya imeni akademika. V. A. Obrucheva i Kyakhtinskogo otdeleniya Vsesoyuznogo Geograficheskogo Obschestva [Proceedings of the Kyakhta Museum of Local Lore of Academician V. A. Obruchev and the Kyakhta branch of the Russian Geographical Society]. 1949, Vol. 16, Is. 1, pp. 34–62. (In Russ.)

Rumyantsev G. N. Selenginskie buryaty [Selenga Buryats]. Trudy Buryatskogo kompleksnogo nauchnoissledovatelskogo instituta [Proceedings of the Buryat Complex Research Institute]. 1965, Vol. 16, pp. 87–117. (In Russ.)

Sanzheev G. D. Sravnitelnaya grammatika mongolskikh yazykov [A Comparative Grammar of the Mongolic Languages]. Moscow, AS USSR Publ., 1953, Vol. 1, 240 p. (In Russ.)

Serruys H. The Čaqar Population during the Ch’ing. Journal of Asian History. 1978, Vol. 12, N 1, pp. 58–79.

Shagdarov L. D. Stanovlenie edinykh norm buryatskogo literaturnogo yazyka v sovetskuyu epokhu [Formation of uniform norms of the Buryat literary language in the Soviet era]. Ulan-Ude, Buryatskoe knizhnoe izdatelstvo, 1967, 107 p. (In Russ.)

Shcherbachev A. (comp.). Vysochaishe uchrezhdennaya pod predsedatelstvom stats-sekretarya Kulomzina Komissiya dlya issledovaniya zemlevladeniya i zemlepolzovaniya v Zabaikalskoi oblasti [The Highest Establishment, under the Chairmanship of Secretary of State Kulomzin, the Commission for the Study of Land Ownership and Land Use in the Trans-Baikal Region]. St. Petersburg, 1898, Vol. 5. Istoricheskie svedeniia [Historical information], 325 p. (In Russ.)

Slesarchuk G. I. (Ed.). Materialy po istorii russkomongolskikh otnoshenii: sbornik dokumentov [Materials on the History of Russian-Mongolian Relations: a Collection of Documents]. Moscow, Institut vostokovedeniya RAS Publ., 2000, Vol. 4. 1685–1691, 488p. (In Russ.)

Statistikiin medeelliin negdsen san [Unified database of statistics]. Available at: https://www2.1212.mn/sonirkholtoi/FamilyName (date of access: 14.02.2023) (In Mongol.)

Tenishev E. R. Etnicheskii i rodoplemennoi sostav narodnosti yuigu [Ethnic and Tribal Composition of the Yugu People]. Sovetskaya etnografiya [Soviet Ethnography]. 1962, Is. 1, pp. 59–66. (In Russ.)

Tenishev E. R. Yuigu [Yugu]. Narody Vostochnoi Azii [Peoples of Eastern Asia]. Moscow, Leningrad, 1965, pp. 647–651. (In Russ.)

Tenishev E. R. (Ed.). Sravnitelno-istoricheskaya grammatika tyurkskikh yazykov. Regionalnye rekonstruktsii [Comparative-historical Grammar of Turkic Languages. Regional reconstruction]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 2002, 767 p. (In Russ.)

Tikhvinskii S. L. (Ed.). Russko-kitaiskie otnosheniya v 18 veke. Dokumenty i materialy [Russian-Chinese Relations in the 18th century. Documents and Materials]. Moscow, Pamiatniki istoricheskoi mysli Publ., 2006, Vol. 3: 1727–1729, 544 p. (In Russ.)

Todaeva B. Kh. Yazyk mongolov Vnutrennei Mongolii. Ocherk dialektov [The Language of the Mongols of Inner Mongolia. An Essay on Dialects]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1985, 136 p. (In Russ.)

Tserenkhand Gelegzhamtsyn. Mongolchuud: ugsaa-soiol, zan zanshil [Mongols: Ethnic Culture, Customs]. Ulaanbaatar, Admon, 2005, 234 p. (In Mongol.)

Tsydendambaev Ts. B. Buryatskie istoricheskie khroniki i rodoslovnye. Istoriko-lingvisticheskoe issledovanie [Buryat Historical Chronicles and Genealogies. Historical and Linguistic Research]. Ulan-Ude, Buriatskoe knizhnoe izdatelstvo, 1972, 664 p. (In Russ.)

Vladimirtsov B. Ya. Sravnitelnaya grammatika mongolskogo pismennogo yazyka i khalkhasskogo narechiya. Vvedenie i fonetika [A Comparative Grammar of the Written Mongol Language and the Khalkha Dialect. Introduction and Phonetics]. Leningrad, AS USSR Publ., 1929, XII, 436 p. (In Russ.)