A Study On The Religious Phenomena In The Hasar Sacrifice Culture

Hasar, the brother of Genghis Khan, is one of the heroes who founded the great Mongolia. His descendents and their people have been holding different forms of memorial ceremonies for him so far since the Yuan Dynasty. The Hasar sacrifice is a kind of Mongolian traditional sacrifice culture, and has varied a lot in terms of region or size with the changing times. Today, the Hasar sacrifice mainly includes Hasar spirit tablet sacrifice in Darhan Mumingan Joint Banner in Baotou (originally in Ulaan Chab League), Hasar Alag Suld sacrifice in Otog Front Banner in Ordos (originally Yeke Juu League), and Hasar Obo sacrifice in Arhorchin Banner in Chifeng (originally Joo Oda League). Among these sacrifices, the Hasar spirit tablet sacrifice has become a standardized Mongolian traditional sacrifice over the past 700 years. So the traditional Hasar sacrifice mainly refers to Hasar spirit tablet sacrifice in Darhan Mumingan Joint Banner. From the perspective of cultural anthropology, the Hasar sacrifice is a kind of ancestor worship culture. It is a kind of sacrificial ceremony established by the Mongolian tribes under the leadership of his descendants in accordance with the outlook on life of Shamanism and the Mongolian tradition of ancestor worship in reverence and memory of him after the death of Hasar noyon. Since the end of the 16th century, Buddhism disseminated widely in Mongolian areas, and made a great impact on the Mongolian Shamanism. They interpenetrated each other and also made a great impact on the Mongolian ancestral sacrificial ceremonies. This paper consists of four parts:First, makes an overview for the basic customs of the three forms of the Hasar sacrifice, clarifies the connotation extension and the significance of the sacrifice culture.Second, on the basis of the discussion of the origins of the Hasar sacrifice culture, investigates the impacts made by Shamanism on the Hasar sacrifice culture and the phenomena of Shamanism in the Hasar sacrifice culture. Third, through a brief description of the dissemination of Buddhism in Mongolian areas at the end of the 16th century, investigates the interpenetration between Shamanism and Buddhism and the impacts made by Buddhism on the Hasar sacrifice culture.Conclusion, using related theories of religious studies, makes a brief interpretation and analysis on the cultural phenomena of the Hasar sacrifice.