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The White Old Man: Géluk-Mongolian Canopus Allegory and the Existence of God research-article

Brian Baumann

Central Asiatic Journal, Jahrgang 62 (2019), Ausgabe 1, Seite 35 - 68

This article has the legendary Mongolian Gelug White Old Man at its centre, a phenomenon which also existed in all Asian regions which Tibetan Buddhism had penetrated, including Amdo and Kham in Tibet and the Ölöt, Buryat and Khalkha of Inner Mongolia, where the tradition of the White Old Man had become very common. Having been branded a vestige of the feudal past in the twentieth century, the tradition could only be taken up again in public from the late 1980s. Its dance routines were derived from Gelugpa ritual, combining solemn rite with joyful entertainment. Donning large masks and brilliant costumes, the White Old Man holds guard over the retribution being meted out over a sinful world, chasing all wrong and evil out of the minds of the common people. This article stipulates that the White Old Man represents an allegory of Canopus, the Antarctic star (known as Shouxing 夀星 – Star of Longevity – in Chinese). Fables related to Canopus can be encountered in divergent civilisations across Eurasia. The various roles played by the White Old Man in the premodern period were characterised by their abstraction. Following the era of socialist reformation and scientific mass education, however, the White Old Man has become a personalised as a "shaman", differing starkly from all ancient perceptions.

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