Kutuchta

Kutuchta the chief priest of the Kalmuck Tartars and Western Mongols. Formerly he was subject to the Dalai-Lama (q.v.) of Thibet, but in course of time he made a schism among the Lamaists, and established himself on an equal footing with the Dalai-Lama himself. He is regarded as a very sacred personage, and there is more or less of mystery always connected with his person in the minds of the common people.