Story 47. Alan Gowa’s paternal and maternal genealogy

 

Story 47. Alan Gowa’s paternal and maternal genealogy

In <집사Tarikh-e Monghul, 集史 History of Mongolia>, the ancestor tribe of Chinggis Khan, the “Khoras tribe”, or “Kori-Tumad tribe” in <The Secret History of the Mongols>, is the “Kori-Buryat tribe” among the “three Buryat tribes” in Buryat tradition. Therefore, let’s find out who Alan Gowa’s mother “Bargojin Gowa” and maternal grandfather “Bargodai Mergen, the lord of Bargojin Tokum in the land of Kol (Goryeo)” are as mentioned in verse 8 of <The Secret History of the Mongols>.

In conclusion, Alan Gowa’s mother “Bargojin Gowa (Balhae Geolga)”, maternal grandfather “Bargodai Mergen (Balhae Malgal)”, her father “Kori-Rardai Mergen (Goryeo Malgal)”, and paternal grandfather “Barga Baatar (Balhae Makhadol)” are all descendants of Geumhaeng. The kinship between them is that Alan Gowa's father and mother are 8th cousins, and his grandfather and maternal father are 6th cousins.

<Alan Gowa's paternal and maternal genealogy>

[Yabal]→[Ilha]→[Daegan 大澗]→[Khan's son]

→[Geumhaeng]

↙         ↓             ↘

[Agorae]            [Hambo]              [Bohwali]

[Konggrat]      [Oro, Hulai]  4th cousin   [Kongliut]

[Khaljidai Khan]  [Balhae (Bargo Bator)] 6th  [Barga Baatar]

↙     ↘                 8th      ↓

[Suga]   [Bargojin Gowa] ↔  [Korilardai Mergen]

↓

[Alan Gowa]

As seen in the above diagram, Alan Gowa's maternal grandfather "Bargodai Mergen" is called "Bargo Bator" in Buryat tradition, which is the name of Alan Gowa's paternal grandfather, his 6th cousin, and his in-law. The name “Barga Baatar” is very similar to that of the Buryat scholars who do not understand their genealogy well, so they sometimes confuse the two as the same person. However, it is true that the two people used the same place name as a “family name,” but they are clearly different people.

Let’s now examine how the above genealogical conclusion was reached. First, according to the record in section 8 of <the Secret History of the Mongols> regarding the identity of Alan Gowa’s mother and maternal grandfather, he is “Bargodai Mergen, the master of Bargojin Tokum [Byulhaejin DaeGun] Kol [a distant land/Goryeo land].” His daughter, “Bargojin Gowa” and “Kori-Tumadbu Noyan (Nanggun) Korirardai Mergen” got married, and “Alan Gowa (阿蘭乞哥 Aran Geulga)” was born in the region of “Arik Us (阿利水)” in the land of Kori-Tumad (Goryeo-Duman/Jumong). What is noteworthy in this <Secret History of the Mongols> is that the name of Alan Gowa’s father, “Kori-Tumadbu Noyan (Nanggun) Korirardai Mergen”, is written down, and the names of her mother, “Bargojin Gowa”, and Alan Gowa’s maternal grandfather, “Bargudai Mergen” are also written down.

However, in contrast, the name of the father of “Kori-Rardai Mergen”, the paternal grandfather of Mak-Sang Alan Gowa, “Barga Baataisang Noyon”, or “Barga Baatar” for short, is not recorded in verses 8 and 9 of <the Secret History of the Mongols>. Of course, <집사Tarikh-e Monghul, 集史 History of Mongolia>wrote that he was “Misar Uluq”. However, we know that the name of the father of “Kori-Rardai Mergen”, who is not recorded in <the Secret History of the Mongols>, is “Barga Baataisang Noyon (Balhae Makhadol Daesang Rang)”, the progenitor of the three Buryat tribes including the Kori-Buryat tribe.

                Jin Empire and the Founder/ Chamhan History Newspaper/Google Map

Tracing this person in our history, we find that he was the owner of a name that can be expressed in Malgal as “Balhae Makhadol.” According to historical records such as <the Goryeosa, Goryeo History>, he lived from 918, when Wang Geon left Goryeo, to 926, when Balhae fell. As seen in the chart above, this “Balhae Makhadol” was one of the three sons of Geumhaeng, the “golden jar,” and was the grandson of Bohwal-ri in the genealogy of Bohwal-ri, the younger brother of the second brother, Hambo, who entered Wanyanbu = Ban’an-gun.

If we look at this “Balhae Makhadol” in the genealogy of Hambo, the second older brother of Bohwal-ri in <Geumsa, Jin Dynasty History>, he is a contemporary and same-line figure as Hambo’s grandson “Barga (Barga, different from Balhae, ‘Bargo Bator’ in Buryat folklore) in the genealogy of Hambo (函普) → Korai (烏魯, Oro) → Barga (跋海, Balhae), and is the 6th cousin of “Barga (跋海, Balhae)” himself.

Based on this information, we will look into who Alan Gowa’s mother “Bargojin Gowa” and maternal grandfather “Bargo Bator”, also known as “Bargodai Mergen”, were. To do this, we need to figure out his identity using the information in Section 8 of the <Secret History of the Mongols> as a clue. According to the <Secret History of the Mongols>, Alan Gowa’s mother “Bargojin Gowa” was the “daughter of Bargodai Mergen”, the owner of “Kol-Bargojin Tokum”. Here, Alan Gowa’s maternal grandfather, “Bargo-dai-mergen”, is the Mongolian name for Malgal, which is “Barga-si-Malgal (靺鞨, 荸菫 발근)”. If we remove the ethnic suffix “-si-Malgal” and the title from this name, only “Barga (Barga)” remains, which is the same name as “Balhae (跋海)” in the <Geumsa, Jin Dynasty History>, or “Barga (渤海)”. There is a passage in the <Secret History of the Mongols> that tells us that the “Balhae (跋海)” in the <Geumsa,Jin Dynasty History> is Alan Gowa’s maternal grandfather, “Bargodai Mergen”. The <Secret History of the Mongols> states that “Bargodai Mergen”, Alan Gowa’s maternal grandfather, was “the owner (master) of Bargojin Tokum in the land of Kol”. This title in Malgal, “Bargujin Tokum of the Kol Land”, is generally interpreted by scholars of the Secret History of Mongolia as “Bargujin Tokum of the Faraway Land.” However, this actually means that Bargodai Mergen was “the king (lord) of the great county (大郡) of Balhaejin (渤海津=跋海津) in Goryeo (高麗=渤海).” In other words, he was “the king (郡王) of the great county (大郡) of Balhaejin (跋海津=渤海津=別海津) in Balhae=Goryeo (渤海=高麗).”

If so, Alan Gowa’s maternal grandfather, “Bargodai Mergen,” was a Balhae person who lived in the Byeolhaejin (別海津) county (郡) of Balhae. This “Byeolhaejin (別海津)” is precisely “Arkana Kun”, a place name near Ganggyebu (江界府) in the “Yalnok(Amnog) River (鴨綠江) County (郡)”. In the end, his name “Bargodai-Mergen” is “Balhae-ssi-Malgal”, and his Mongolian title “Master of Bargojin Tokum in the land of Kol (高麗)” means “King of Balhae Daegun (大郡) in the land of Goryeo (渤海)” in Malgal. In other words, Bargodai-Mergen tells us through his name that he is a “Balhae (渤海=跋海) person”, and through his title, he tells us the land where he lived and ruled, the name of the administrative district, and the position he held there.

Now, if we look at a passage from <the Secret History of the Mongols>, which states that Alan Gowa was born in “Arikus, the land of Kori-Tumad” to “Kori-Tumad’s Noyan (Nanggun) Korirardai Mergen” and his mother “Bargojin Gowa”, and translate it into the older language of Malgal, this is “Ari-su (阿利-水), the land of the Goryeo (Goryeo = Balhae)-Duman (豆滿, Jumong)-clan.” Ari-su (阿利-水) is the Hon-gang (渾江,Hon river), a tributary of the Amnok River, and it also refers to the Amnok River (鴨綠江), which means “duck-water (鴨).”

In summary, the surname part of the family name “Bargudai Mergen”, the father of “Bargojin Gowa”, the mother of Alan Gowa, is “Barga-ti (Ssi,old sound of the family name)”, and in Malgal, it is the name “Balhae (跋海)-ssi (Dai/T.Ssi)”, or “Balhae (渤海)-ssi (氏)”. Also, the last part of the name “Bargodai Mergen”, “Mergen”, is the same as the last part of the name “Mergen” of his son-in-law “Korirardai Mergen”, which is “Mergen=Nanggun (郎君)=Noyon=部長 (chieftain)”.

“Bargodai Mergen” is the story of the “Barga (跋海)-dai”, or the “chieftain” of the “Balhae-ssi” clan branch.

The historical figure who is identified as such is the grandson of Hambo, the founder of Geum(Jin Dynasty) in <Geumsa,Jin Dynasty History>, “Barga=Balhae (跋海)”. This is because his name is the same as Balhae (跋海) in <Geumsa, Jin Dynasty History>, and secondly, his name “Bargodai-” means “Balhae-ssi (渤海氏)-”. “Barga=Balhae (跋海)” in <Geumsa,Jin Dynasty History> is a descendant of Yabal, the founder of the second royal family of Balhae, so he is clearly a “Balhae (渤海)-ssi (氏)” like him. Also, Balhae (跋海) is likely to have lived in that position, as interpreted by the title “Bargodai” of “Lord of Kol Bargojin Tokum” as “King of the Great County of Balhae (跋海津=渤海津=Byeolhaejin (別海津)) of Goryeo (高麗=渤海).” This is because Balhae (跋海) is the grandson of Hambo, and he is the eldest son and chieftain of his father “Korrae (烏魯오로, 胡來, 호래)” whose name means “Goryeo (高麗)” and sounds like “Korrae (跋海).”

Also, his name “Bargodai Mergen”, if reconstructed in Malgal style, is the same title as “King of Barga=Balhae (跋海)-ssi.” This name is <Geumsa, Jin Dynasty History,> style. If written as a title, it is ‘Barga (跋海)-Malgal/Mergen (荸菫, Balgeun)’. The Malgal name for this name is ‘Balhae (跋海)-Malgal (靺鞨). The name of “Bargodai Mergen” is also called “Bargu Bator” according to other Buryat traditions, which is the name ‘Balhae (跋海) Makhadol (莫賀咄)’. This form of the name is the same name with “Barga Baatar”, who is Bargo Bator’s brother-in-law and 6th cousin, with only a dialectal difference. Because of this, Buryat people mistakenly believe that these two different people are the same person, and some scholars have made the huge mistake of mistakenly believing that Bargojin Gowa and Kori Mergen were sister and brother but married each other.

In conclusion, the father of “Bargojin Gowa”, the mother of Alan Gowa mentioned in the <Secret History of the Mongols> “King of Kol-Bargojin Tokum” “Bargodai Mergen” is a figure who is expressed as “King of Goryeo (高麗=渤海)-Balhaejin (跋海津=渤海津)=Byeolhaejin (別海津) Daegun (大郡)” and “Balhae (跋海)-ssi-Malgal (荸菫발근)” in the Malgal language and the Jin Dynasty language from 918~990.

The name of this “Balhae (跋海)-ssi-Malgal (Malgal=荸菫,발근)”=”Bargodai Mergen”,the name written simply is “Balhae (跋海),” the grandson of Hambo in the <Geumsa, Jin Dynasty History>. The daughter of this Balhae (跋海) is “Bargojin Gowa” mentioned in the <Secret History of the Mongols>. In that case, Alan Gowa's mother's name, called "Bargojin Gowa" in Mongolian, is 'Balhaejin (跋海津=Balhaejin=Byeolhaejin(別海津) Keoga (乞哥=大哥=大氏)' in Malgal. Ultimately, Alan Gowa's maternal grandfather "Bargudai Mergen" and his daughter Bargojin Gowa" mentioned in Section 8 of <the Secret History of the Mongols> are the family of the Balhae royal family, the Dae clan. Their genealogy is Hambo (函普), the founder of the Jin Dynasty → Oro (烏魯, Hu Lai) = Korai → Balhae (Balhae跋海) = Barga → Bargojin Gowa → Alan Gowa. Looking at this from the genealogy of Yabal, the founder of the second royal family of Balhae, they are the family of Hambo, the founder of the Jin Dynasty, the 5th generation descendant of Yabal.