«IN THE CIRCLE OF KUNDUZ» Page #7

RUST:

(with a smile)

Mongol, you have shocked us! Soviet guy, Komsomol member, master of sports in wrestling! The best graduate of the Ulan-Ude medical school! And on you!

KOSTYAN:

(ironically)

The best dental technician and goldsmith of Transbaikalia in the promised future turned out to be a primitive shaman.

Everyone has spoken out. Mongol shows the place where they need to put the boards and lights a fire. The wind quickly blows up the flames. Mongol takes out handmade tonog — items of shamanic utensils from the bag and puts on a boo khoyag — a shamanic dress made from a brand-new raincoat tent.

Friends silently exchange glances and continue to observe. Boo khoyag has a cutout for the head and is tied with ribbons at the back. Multicolored long ribbons with honho and bells at the ends stretch down from the front from the chest.

The world tree is depicted in white on the back, with the yellow sun, moon and stars above it. The bottom of the baohong is hung with either fox or hare skins and trimmed with a red tablecloth fringe along the edge. Dozens of small bells are suspended from the wrists and elbows, as well as across the chest and back in a row. On the back below the shoulders, Mongol attached goose feathers, associatively resembling wings. Wings give a shaman, wearing a Boo khoyag, a bird-like appearance. Bells rattle and create noise when moving. On the Mongol's head is a metal crown made of a rim and two curved cross-sections, on top of which are attached the horns of a gazelle.

Friends:
SIDOR, RUST, STRELA, KOSTYAN, KOSTER look at each other.

SIDOR:

(shouting through laughter)

Dear mother! Perish, evil spirit!

STRELA:

(smiling)

But what about the ABC of all materialism, and then Marxism?! Mongol, are you a Komsomol member at all?!

SIDOR:

(singing)

He is an enemy of communism, he is, in general, an ascetic! Like everyone else abroad, he goes to pray, and his party card is stored somewhere.

Friends laughed, remained silent.

RUST:

(seriously)

Mongol! Did the foreman provide you with items for shamanic utensils? He?!

SIDOR:

(with confidence)

And who else?! Where would our friend bug all this?! Yes, for 30 grams of red gold, the foreman himself would easily have dressed in a boo khoyag and putting a mayhabsh with branched horns on his head, he would have danced around the campfire, zealously beating a tambourine!

The friends sat around the fire. Mongol took out of his pocket a harp, an oriental plucked musical instrument the size of a little longer than a matchbox, put it to his teeth and, rolling his eyes, with a light touch of the tip of his middle finger — back and forth, starts a fight on the thin metal tongue of the instrument, making a magical sound.

In the process, Mongol manipulates the lips, tongue and larynx, changing the tone of the bourdon sound and causing articulatory sounds such as: hey-ya, oh-ya, ai-ya, ai-ya. By stretching and interrupting the breath, he lengthens and shortens the sound. Pressing during the fight with the fingertips on the diaphragm causes it to echo.

Mongol took a tambourine (Uzbek doira) in his hands and, before starting the ritual, undertook to enlighten the ignorant in shamanic knowledge.

MONGOL:

(with a serious look)

In order to expel hostile spirits and heal myself, first of all, I must infuse them into myself.

This is called ongod orood — immersion in a state of frenzy. Therefore, I ask you not to be timid in advance.

SIDOR:

(sarcastically)

Uh, no! It's not for me! What if you die? You won't care about anything anymore. And we have one road — to disbat!

MONGOL:

(keeping serious)

Before I go out on a yabdal journey and start moving around the campfire, hitting the orb with a mallet in the hese, I will cover my face with a bandage. This is necessary so that the evil spirits don't suddenly recognize me and take me with them. At this time, it is necessary that you stretch out your arms to the fire and, in the rhythm of the battle, waddling from side to side, exclaim: "wa, wa, wa!

When I stop the movement, I will stand in one place, I will raise the hese over my head and bring the fight to a fraction,

(he showed how it would be)

at this moment you shout and stamp your feet

(he showed how it should look)

Friends look at each other, laugh.

MONGOL:

But before the hese — magic horse is in my reins, and I start hitting him, I have to summon his spirit to descend to me and become my ongon ally. In the meantime!

(here Mongol handed tо Koster a hese and an orb with a fur tip and a curved handle)

it will be good if you, Koster, knock on it ahead of time. This is not my whim

(putting on airs)

such is the necessity!

Friends chuckled, looking at Koster. Koster was slightly embarrassed, but he fulfilled the request. Mongol stood in front of the blazing fire, turned his gaze to the sky, stood waiting for the spirit of the tambourine for a few seconds. Kostyan and the Strela throw firewood into the fire.

RUST:

Mongol, I'll stay that way! But I will not participate in your tailagan!

MONGOL:

(silently nodding)

Good!

Mongol covers his face with a protective bandage and goes on a "journey". Mongol, rolling from one foot to the other and shaking his head, slowly moves around the fire, striking a tambourine and leading a throat singing.

SIDOR:

(with chuckles)

That's it! The parikrama has begun! He starts a sad song, sings something about his Homeland.

The rhythm of Mongol's battle in hese, identifying the clop of the hooves of the magic horse, gradually increases, combined with the cries of "wa, wa, wa" and the rattling of bells on the boo hoiag, creating a general background noise and allowing Mongol consciousness to unite with the spirits. At the climax, the spirit of the tambourine completely took possession of the Mongol's consciousness, controlling the speed of his movements and the rhythm of his strokes, smoothly plunging him into a state of ongod orood — deep trance.

Having increased the fight to a fraction and loudly shouting inarticulate, Mongol falls near the fire and begins to convulse. This throws friends into confusion. Friends become numb. Rust holds Koster back by the sleeve, who jumped up from his place, wanting to bring Mongol to his senses.

RUST:

(looking at the Mongol)

Let's wait!

Seconds later, Mongol abruptly freezes.

KOSTYAN:

(with relief)

Flew away!

STRELA:

(exhaling)

Yes, indeed!

SIDOR:

(summarizing)

That's all!

(and sang)

"I saw the illuminating light for a moment, I fell, my heart was no longer beating."

Friends look at the sprawled motionless body of Mongol, without looking away. Rust and Strela are rampaging. Kostyan, Koster and Sidor amuse themselves in a friendly way.

The wind in the desert suddenly subsides. The embers of the fire, covered with gray ash, have already burned down. Mongol is beginning to show signs of life.

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