WHITE OLD MAN - One of the most popular Mongolian pre-Buddhist shamanic deities, the master of the land, rivers and mountains, birds and animals and the patron of fertility and longevity. Mongolians' respect for him was so persistent, that upon the introduction of Buddhism in Mongolia, the White Old Man was almost immediately included in the Buddhist pantheon, becoming a legendary holy hermit. People say the Buddha himself came to listen to his sermons. The White Old Man used to be the leading character of the Tsam - a shamanic mystery play, which originated in Tibet before the arrival of Buddhism. In the Buddhist tsam, however, White Old Man has been allocated more of a comic role.