Geser Khan
Mongolian
The best known and loved Mongolian epic is the history of Geser Khan, ruler of the Ten Regions of the World. The Buddhist Church disapproved of it and would have preferred the Mongols to know nothing but edifying stories about Buddhist saints and forget their many epics, especially the saga of Geser Khan. But they did precisely the opposite. More and more new songs appeared, woven around the heroic king, son of the god-king Khormusta, who sent him down to earth to put an end to injustice and evil. Accompanied by his thirty-three heroes, Geser Khan undertook this duty. The more popular the legend became, the more tasks Geser undertook, and perhaps even today more adventures are being added to his campaigns.
One of Geser's tasks, in the Chahar (Inner Mongolian) version of the epic, is to track down the wild and dangerous black-spotted tiger, to free the world of this menace. Geser sets out with his thirty-three knights and his brother, Dshasa Shikir. Geser, who has the power of sorcery, turn himself into a tiger. He appears in this form before his heroes and warns them of the strength and gigantic size of the real tiger and the terrible deeds committed by the monster, which has already eaten many thousands of creatures. When Dshasa catches sight of the tiger in the distance, the men spur on their horses to advance, but the horses refuse to move so much as one step further towards it.
Geser now turns himself into a horse and leads the horses forward. They gallop towards the tiger, which emits ear-splitting roars. It grows dark. Geser can no longer hold the reins in his hand, but his magic powers triumph over the tiger's and it grows light again. At full gallop, Geser rides into the tiger's great maw. After he has delivered a short, fervent prayer to Buddha, the eight dragon-kings appear, riding on golden rams, to help him against the tiger. Geser kills it, but meanwhile the thirty-three heroes, frightened by the tiger, have left Geser in the lurch. Dshasa, reproaching himself for deserting Geser, rides back to find him. At last they meet, overjoyed at the reunion. Geser instructs Dshasa not to destroy the giant tiger's skin, as it can be used to provide armour and tent-coverings for many thousands of warriors. After the warriors have received their shares of the tiger's flesh, they all ride back to Geser's wife, Rogmo goa, who prepares a feast in celebration.
Another passage describes a duel between Buidung, who is a companion of Geser Khan, and an enemy knight who possesses magical powers. They galloped towards each other and struck so that the sparks flew. Buidung cut off the enemy knight's right arm, but he was far from having conquered him. However often he struck his opponent the latter was not in the least affected, but when the magic knight retaliated, Buidung's skin and face, hands and legs, were covered in blood:
Buidung ceased bringing him down,
Shot arrows, sitting on his horse.
Hit by an arrow, the magic knight said:
'More I cannot bear;'
Turned his grey horse three times into powder,
Put it in his pocket for the bolt of fire.
Transformed his own body,
Appeared now as a mottled brown snake, and said:
'I will entwine myself round Buidung's neck!'...
It is becoming generally accepted that the Geser epic has its origins in the border area between Mongolia and Tibet. The theory that it originated in Tibet has become more plausible now that a manuscript have been found translated from Tibetan in the seventeenth century. But many of the adventures of Geser must have been the product of the fertile imagination of the Mongols themselves. His adventures took place in the Mongol steppes and mountains, and themes from other sagas were transferred to him. He became so revered a figure among the Mongols that one legend describes him as 'the same person' as the Emperor of China, and despite protests of the Buddhist lamas he was also regarded as the god of riders, warriors and herds.
Legends Of The World
Edited by
Richard Cavendish
ISBN 1-56619-462-8
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