Buryat Mythology

Giant Raven

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Tradition / Region: Buryat Mythology, Mongolian Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative names: Giant Black Ravens
Category: Bird

The Myth

In the Epic of Geser, the Giant Ravens dwell in a dark valley within the kingdom of the mangadhai, the land of evil spirits. The valley is filled with enormous black ravens that lie sleeping until travelers approach, whereupon they rise into the air, circling overhead with harsh caws and croaks. The surrounding cliffs are so steep that even an eagle cannot fly over them, leaving no escape.

As Tumen Jargalan, the wife of Abai Geser, attempts to cross the valley, the ravens gather around her and she finds herself trapped. At that moment, a mysterious naked little red boy appears, riding a white raven while leading a black raven. After hearing where she is going, he tells her she has arrived at the proper time, seats her upon the raven he leads, and flies her safely across the valley of the giant ravens.

Sources

Jamba, T. (Trans.). (n.d.). The Battle with Abarga Sesen Mangadhai (The Seventh Branch). BuryatMongol.com. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://web.archive.org/web/20070613200651/http://www.buryatmongol.com/halaa7.html

Giant Magpie

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Tradition / Region: Buryat Mythology, Mongolian Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternative names: Giant Magpies
Category: Bird

The Myth

In the Epic of Geser, the Giant Magpies inhabit a terrible valley within the land of the mangadhai, the realm of evil spirits. Each magpie is described as having a body as large as a cow, and they lie sleeping across the valley, blocking all passage. Anyone attempting to cross risks being devoured, while the surrounding cliffs are so high that even an eagle cannot fly over them.

After abandoning her husband, the hero Abai Geser, Tumen Jargalan enters the valley and finds herself trapped among the monstrous birds. As the giant magpies stir and threaten to eat her, a mysterious naked little red boy appears, riding a spotted magpie and leading another. Hearing her purpose, he declares that she has arrived at the proper time, places her upon the magpie he leads, and safely carries her over the valley of the enormous birds.

Sources

Jamba, T. (Trans.). (n.d.). The Battle with Abarga Sesen Mangadhai (The Seventh Branch). BuryatMongol.com. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://web.archive.org/web/20070613200651/http://www.buryatmongol.com/halaa7.html

Bukha-Noyon

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Tradition / Region: Buryat mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow

The Myth

In the oldest stories of the Buryat people, Bukha-Noyon was the first bull-father, the ancestor from whom the people themselves were born. He was the son of the great sky deity, and from the heavens he descended to the earth. He did not belong to one form alone. At times he appeared as a man, and at other times as a mighty bull, and through this shifting shape he moved freely between the upper sky, the middle world of humans, and the depths below.

On one of his journeys, Bukha-Noyon came to the land of Taizha-khan, where rich herds grazed. There he took the form of a powerful, mottled bull and challenged the bulls of that country. None could withstand him. When the daughter of Taizha-khan saw this overwhelming bull, she conceived, and in time gave birth to children who would become the ancestors of human lineages. Thus the people were said to descend from Bukha-Noyon, born of the union between heaven, earth, and the bull.

In other tellings, Bukha-Noyon wandered the steppe and mountains until he finally shed his human form and became wholly a bull. He climbed into the highlands and disappeared from the world of people. There, his body turned to stone. In the Sayan Mountains, it is said that his vast shape can still be seen in the land itself, like a great bull lying upon the slopes, watching over the earth.

From Bukha-Noyon came strength, fertility, and continuity. Where he was honored, cattle flourished and the people endured. He was remembered as both ancestor and guardian—the bull who gave life to the people, and whose spirit still lives in stone, mountain, and herd.

Sources

Toronova, E. M. (2015). Transformation of the mythological image of Bukha-noyon in the works of the Buryat artists. Vestnik Vostochno-Sibirskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta Tekhnologiy i Upravleniya, (4 (55)). Retrieved from https://sciup.org/transformacija-mifologicheskogo-obraza-buha-nojona-v-proizvedenijah-burjatskih-142148225-en

Abarga Zagakhan

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Tradition / Region: Mongolian Mythology, Buryat Mythology, Russian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Fish

The Myth

In the deepest waters of the world lives Abarga Zagakhan, the first of all fish and their eternal king. Vast beyond measure, it is said to dwell at the bottom of Lake Baikal, where no light reaches and no human can follow.

Abarga Zagakhan is shaped like a colossal burbot, yet its size surpasses all creatures of water. Thirteen great fins spread from its body, and its mouth is so immense that it can swallow not only people, but entire herds of animals in a single gulp. Even the fearsome Mangatkhai monsters, terrors in their own right, were devoured by Abarga Zagakhan when they strayed too close to its domain.

From this ancient fish all other fish are said to descend. It rules them silently from the depths, unseen but ever-present, a living force beneath the waters. When currents shift or the lake grows restless, some say it is Abarga Zagakhan turning in its sleep.

Thus the people speak of it with awe and fear, as the ancestor, devourer, and sovereign of all that swims.

Sources

Bestiary.us contributors. (n.d.). Abarga-Zagakhan. In Bestiary.us, from https://www.bestiary.us/abarga-zagakhan/