Description
|
Consecrating an animal (Seter) means sacrificing cattle to a deity. Under the influence of shamanism, when Mongols worshiped the sky, fire, stars, and mountains, they offered the spirits of their animals and believed that the spirits of those animals went to the deities and were reborn. Later, with the spread of Buddhism, the practice of spiritism was replaced by the worship of life. Such sacrificial animals are called consecrated animals. The sacrificial rites are called Consecrating Animals. Those cattle are also called virgin cattle. Consecrating animals are sacrificed to the idol and nature for the purpose of wealth, happiness, health, and prosperity of the family. Mongolians do not choose an animal to consecrate based on its sex, but they have mostly preferred the male of their herds. When the cattle are consecrated, it’s usually done in the name of the local ovoo (stone cairn), mountain, river, star, sky, and gods. Consecrating named differently: the white old man’s Seter, Shaman’s Seter for a black horse, Fire Seter, etc. Consecrated horses are ridden by a man of the family
the saddle and bridle are never replaced. The owner of the house prays, “If my horse is consecrated, it will protect my horses and my life.” A khadag (piece of silk) is tied to the animal’s neck, and milk is applied to the mane and croup. If the family does not have a brown horse, they use a brown sheep. A khadag is tied to a sheep’s horn or neck
the sheep’s wool is never removed after that, and the milk is not used outside of the family. As sheep are short-living animals, Seter is often done on horses. When the consecrated animal gets old, consecration is moved to another animal. The heritage element “Practice of consecrating an animal” is registered in the “Traditional festivals, rituals, customs, games, and chants” domain of the National Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mongolia.
|