Questions have been arriving to our site, addressed to authors of articles. We are publishing professor Nikolai Abayev's answer to a reader's question generated after reading the article "The Year of the Tuvan Dragon is Here!" from 23 February 2012.

Question: We heard that the Supreme Shaman K. T. Topchun-ool ("Adyg-Eeren" association) recently found a Dragon statue near Por-Bazhyn, and that this Dragon also shows up on Tuvan Dragon tamgas? 

(tamga = tribe or clan brand, mark)

Answer:  In 2007, Tuvan newspaper "Efir" (No.17, pg. 3) really published a drawing of a Dragon statue, found near Por-Bazhyn (see Table No.1, No.3). Kazakh scholar S. Karzhaubai wrote a whole book, where he collected and analysed dragon tamgas, which are carved on steles all over the territory of Greater Uriangkhai of the Uighur and Turkic periods (see; Karzhaubai S.  United khanate of the Turks. Astana 2002). Comparative analysis of Tuvan dragon tamgas (table No.2) showed, that they are identical with well known dragon tamgas of the whole Eurasia. For example, tamga "Ondar alaga". Which was brought to me by one of students of Tuvan State University, clearly has dragon characteristics and bears witness to the fact that its bearer belongs to the Ondar-Uighur tribe.

N. Abayev