Монголын нууц товчоон дахь шувуу, түүнтэй холбоотой зарим нэр нэршилийн тухайд
A review of bird names and terms of the Secret History o f the Mongols
Abstract
Mongolians have been a long tradition for symbolizing the strong birds like hawks, falcons and eagles, using and training them to hunt and these birds were often exchanged as ceremonial gifts among tribes and countries since ancient times. In this article, we studied both the bird names and phrases related to them in details and analyzed their English translations and suggested our variations. We compared the works of Prof. Ch.Choima’s translation (2006) and English translations of F.W.Cleaves (1982), I.Rachewiltz (2004), W.K.Sun (1957), U.Onon (2001), P.Kahn (1984) and N.Dorjgotov, Z.Erendo (2006).
Most names of birds and terms, which mentioned in the SUM have not shown the particular species. It is troublesome to define them on the ornithological basis as for an absence of data and references, which are sufficiently accurate. Some bird names cannot be translated into English, consequently, thus it is more appropriate to use their transcriptions like “turumtai”, “qayiruqana” and “qarambai”. Translators and authors have been using different names for the same bird in their works, which sprawled a number of disputes among unsophisticated readers.
It is clear that Mongolians had used birds of prey like hawks and falcons, and trained them for hunting of birds and mammals. But there is the uncertainty of species names and ornithological terms. It shows that specific further studies in this field are needed.
Moreover, the significance of such studies on birds, which belongs to the particular species regarding the occurrence, recent and historical distribution, behaviour and morphological features in the SHM, cannot be underestimated within any perspectives.
