Mongolia Culture Blog

A Child Jockey’s Rise on the Steppes of Mongolia

2008-07-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

A Child Jockey’s Rise on the Steppes of Mongolia

By EDWARD WONG

Published by The New York Times July 11, 2008

Children as young as five ride in horse races in Mongolia. Jockeys at a race in Khui Doloon Khudag, Mongolia.

Photo by Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

KHUI DOLOON KHUDAG, Mongolia — The boy rode the stallion in a trot around the camp, cooling it down after a long gallop across the steppe. He was humming his favorite Mongolian hip-hop songs, by groups like Tartar, Flash and Guy 666.
Nearby, in the family’s round felt tent, the boy’s father ran a wire from a satellite dish to a big-screen television. His mother paced around in high-heeled boots.

“When I’m in the city, I miss my horses,” the boy, Munkherdene, 13, said. “When I’m in the countryside, I miss my friends and games. I really miss my PlayStation.”

Such is the life of a city slicker turned child jockey in the wilds of Mongolia.

Munkherdene and his family, who like most people here go by their given names, are among a growing number of Mongolians from the traffic-choked capital, Ulan Bator, trying to get back to their nomadic roots. The boy’s father is a successful businessman, importing electronics, bicycles and mining equipment from Japan. But like many affluent Mongolians these days, he also breeds racehorses.

“This summer, I was going to send him to Singapore to improve his English,” the father, Enkhbayar, 49, said of his son. “But he decided to stay with me to help with the horses.”

Horse racing is becoming an industry across the same Central Asian steppes where Genghis Khan and his warrior hordes once galloped. The biggest race of the year takes place this weekend 30 miles west of the capital.

It is part of the annual Naadam Festival, a gathering that matters more to Mongolians than the Olympics. Children as young as 5 ride in races that can be dangerous, with hundreds of horses thundering across the open plain at once, running at speeds approaching 50 miles per hour. All told, more than 1,800 horses will race over the weekend.

As the competition intensifies, businessmen are importing larger horses from foreign lands to breed with the small Mongolian horses, the prize money is getting heftier and owners are transporting horses to competitions in trucks and trailers rather than riding them.

Other traditions are changing, too. Horse racing is among what Mongolians call the “three manly sports”(alongside wrestling and archery), but female jockeys have started to appear.

At its heart, though, horse racing is still as rustic an experience here as drinking fermented mare’s milk, and as deeply embedded in the culture.

Munkherdene and Enkhbayar spend their summers traveling across the country from race to race, sleeping in the family’s richly appointed traditional tent, or ger, one that cost thousands of dollars and elicits approving looks from passers-by.

“The best thing is the air, and horse riding, and when it rains,” Munkherdene said one evening, as a double rainbow arced across the plains following a twilight thunderstorm.

The family drove out to the electric-green grasslands of the raceground on Tuesday from their apartment in Ulan Bator. For this occasion they set up two gers, one for sleeping and another for cooking. Their eight racehorses were tethered to posts, brought here by a half-dozen men hired as trainers.

The family owns more than 100 horses, which they keep in Tov, a rural province that surrounds Ulan Bator. The horses graze on property where Enkhbayar’s grandparents once lived. His father, who worked in the capital for a state-run publishing house, took him there during the summers, teaching him to ride and care for the animals.

Now he is doing the same for his son.

“Horse owners usually don’t let their sons or daughters race their horses,” Enkhbayar said. “But I let my son start racing three years ago. It’s important to have him inherit the knowledge of horses from me. He’ll continue to train horses.”

When a cold wind blows across these plains, as it does even in the summer, Enkhbayar puts on a thick brown robe called a del. A broad man with a dark, creased face and a wispy goatee, he could play the lead role in a biopic of Genghis Khan.
“Now, there are lots of differences between city and country people,” he said. “For example, my son’s classmates want to ride horses in the countryside, but they’ve never tried before. They’re like foreigners because they don’t understand animals.”

Enkhbayar, a father of four, watched as Munkherdene jumped off the stallion and hitched it to a post. He seems like any 13-year-old boy from any world capital. Last month, he stayed up late to watch matches of the Euro 2008 soccer tournament. He wears a red Manchester United shirt. His favorite PlayStation games are NBA Street and FIFA Street.

Munkherdene turned away in disgust one night when a man slaughtered a goat and a sheep outside the family’s kitchen ger. Every teenage boy in the countryside learns how to do this.

“I’ve never done it,” he said. “Sometimes I even want to beat the man doing it.”

His family is one of dozens that set up gers at midweek here, on the raceground called Khui Doloon Khudag, which means Navel of the Seven Wells.

Some of the families are nomads arriving from hundreds of miles away with simple plastic tents and one or two racehorses. Others bring dozens of horses and erect elaborate gers larger than a typical Manhattan studio apartment. (They take several hours to set up.) By Thursday, the place had become the Mongolian equivalent of a state fairground. There were restaurant gers and souvenir gers and trading gers.

Until the 20th century, horses were in the blood of all Mongolians. Their language has more than 70 words to describe the animals’ coloring. When a great horse dies, its skull is placed atop a cairn on a mountain, and Mongolians make offerings at those sites. Mongolian horses are short and stubby, but that is exactly what helped Genghis Khan conquer half the known world. His warriors could leap on and off their horses in the middle of battle. They also learned to whirl around and shoot arrows while riding away from their enemies.

“My friends always ask me so many questions about horses,” Munkherdene said. “I was 8 or 9 when I first rode a horse. I was very eager to ride a horse, and if someone didn’t let me ride, I’d cry. My father had fast horses, racing horses, and I’d gallop on them. My father would get very angry.”

A racehorse costs anywhere from $300 to more than $80,000, Enkhbayar said. One of his favorite horses is Jiinst, the stallion that Munkherdene was riding. Jiinst’s father was a prize-winning stallion, and Enkhbayar bought Jiinst for breeding purposes when the horse was just 2 years old.

Some businessmen buy larger horses from abroad — Russia, the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, China — for breeding purposes. “We have a belief that stallions and mares, if they’re from far away, they’ll produce fast horses,” he said. “So it doesn’t matter if horses are from foreign countries. But the problem with foreign horses is taking care of them in the winter.”

Prize money can be big by Mongolian standards. The top prize at Naadam is 1,000,000 togrog, or $870. Prizes at smaller, more select competitions can be even larger — a sport utility vehicle, for instance.

Enkhbayar said his horses had won more than 10 medals. Half are pinned to a swatch of red cloth he keeps in the ger. None of the 10 were won by his son, however.

On Tuesday night, while munching on sheep organs, Enkhbayar was weighing whether to let his son race this weekend. Had Munkherdene grown too heavy? Would he slow the horse down?

The next morning brought more concerns. A heavy rainstorm had swept across the plain. Enkhbayar and his horsemen threw plastic tarpaulins over the eight racehorses.

“If it rains a lot, I worry,” he said. “The horses could catch cold. Their noses might run.”

The normal training routine is to gallop the horses once a day to make them break a sweat. Heavy rains can prevent that, and it had rained seven of the last nine days. By midafternoon, blue sky began peeking through the clouds. And Enkhbayar had decided that Munkherdene would ride in what was likely to be his last chance to race in Naadam.

“If I place in the top five, I’ll be so happy,” Munkherdene said. “Maybe I’ll cry.”

Enkhbayar had other hopes. Next year, he said, his 4-year-old son would start learning to ride.

Siberian, Native American Languages Linked -- A First

2008-05-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

Siberian, Native American Languages Linked -- A First

From National Geographic News http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080326-language-link.html

John Roach
for National Geographic News

March 26, 2008

Since at least 1923 researchers have suggested a connection exists between Asian and North American languages—but this is the first time a link has been demonstrated with established standards, said Vajda, who has studied the relationship for more than 15 years.
Previous researchers had provided lists of similar-sounding and look-alike words, but their methods were unscientific. Such similarities, Vajda noted, are likely to be dismissed as coincidence even if they represent genuine evidence.
So Vajda developed another method. "I'm providing a whole system of [similar] vocabulary and also of grammatical parallels—the way that verb prefixes are structured," he said.

Dying Tongue

His research links the Old World language family of Yeniseic in central Siberia with the Na-Dene family of languages in North America.
The Yeniseic family includes the extinct languages Yugh, Kott, Assan, Arin, and Pumpokol. Ket is the only Yeniseic language spoken today. Less than 200 speakers remain and most are over 50, according to Vajda.
"Within a couple of generations, Ket will probably become extinct," he said.

The Na-Dene family includes languages spoken by the broad group of Athabaskan tribes in the U.S. and Canada as well as the Tlingit and Eyak people. The last Eyak speaker died in January. Vajda presented the findings in February at a meeting of linguists at the Alaska Native Language Center in Fairbanks. Vajda established the Yeniseic-Na-Dene link by looking for languages with a verb-prefix system similar to those in Yeniseic languages. Such prefixes are unlike any other language in North Asia. "Only Na-Dene languages have a system of verb prefixes that very closely resemble the Yeniseic," he said.

From there, Vajda found several dozen cognates—or words in different languages that sound alike and have the same meaning.
The results dovetail with earlier work by Merritt Ruhlen, an anthropologist at Stanford University in California who Vajda said discovered the first genuine Na-Dene-Yeniseic cognates. Vajda also showed how these cognates have sound correspondences. "I systematically connect these structures in Yeniseic with the structures in modern Na-Dene," Vajda said. "My comparisons aren't just lists of some look-alike words … I show there is a system behind it."

Marina Irikova, who lives in Kellog village in Siberia, is one of only 200 people who still speak Ket, part of an Old World language family called Yeniseic.

Johanna Nichols is a linguist at the University of California in Berkeley who attended the Alaska meeting where Vajda presented his research.
With the exception of the Eskimo-Aleut family that straddles the Bering Strait and Aleutian Islands, this is "the first successful demonstration of any connection between a New World language and an Old World language," Nichols said.

Mother Tongue

Vajda said his research puts linguistics on the same stage as archaeology, anthropology, and genetics when it comes to studying the history of humans in North Asia and North America. However, the research has not revealed which language came first. Neither modern Ket nor Na-Dene languages in North America represent the mother tongue.

For example, some words in the Na-Dene family likely represent sounds of the mother tongue more closely than their Yeniseic cognates. Other words in Yeniseic, however, are probably more archaic. Based on archaeological evidence of human migrations across the Bering land bridge, the language link may extend back at least 10,000 years.

If true, according to Vajda, this would be the oldest known demonstrated language link.
But more research is needed to determine when the languages originated and how they became a part of various cultures before such a claim will be accepted, according to UC Berkeley linguist Nichols.
"I don't think there is any reason to assume the connection is [10,000 years] old … this must surely be one late episode in a much longer and more complicated history of settlement," she said.

" MY BEAUTIFUL JINJIIMAA " - Mongolian Film

2008-03-16T00:19:00.001-07:00

" MY BEAUTIFUL JINJIIMAA " Directed by Ochir Mashbat.

"My Beautiful Jinjimaa" is a moving, emotional Mongolian film about the deep love and great sacrifices of a handicapped man for the love of a woman and her child. "My Beautiful Jinjimaa" takes us into the life of a Mongol family struggling with the harsh emotional realities of personal tragedy while trying to preserve their fragile existence in the extreme cold of Mongolia's bitter winter.

This well directed film by Ochir Mashbat, epitomizes the new Mongolian cinema which address the social divisions between modern urban Mongolians and the traditional values of Mongol nomadic culture. The main actors Natsagdorj Battsetseg, Purevdorj Tserendagva, and Dorjgotov Gantsetseg draw out strong emotion with their compassionate expressions of enduring love.

Now available at Amazon: "My Beautiful Jinjimaa"

Khadak DVD Released on March 4th, 2008

2008-03-06T18:37:00.000-08:00

'Khadak'

Scene from Khadak

Scene from Khadak

The 'Khadak' DVD was officially released on March 4th, 2008.

'Khadak' has already won important honors internationally including Batzul Khayankhyarvaa and Tsetsegee Byamba who has just won Best Actor and Best Actress in Singapore at the First Asian Films Festival on December 4th. Tsetsegee was in attendance and received the Swarovski statues on stage at the Raffles Hotel.

'Khadak' Website: http://www.khadak.com

Mongolian Art Lecture at Rubin Museum of Art - March 6th, 2008

2008-02-28T10:23:00.001-08:00

"Ger" by Tsegmed, 2002

The Rubin Museum of Art will present a lecture titled, "Nomadic art of the Mongols" by Orna Uranchimeg-Tsultem on Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 1:00pm. Orna Uranchimeg-Tsultem's specialty is the art of Mongolia and Tibet.

She studied the modern art of Mongolia prior to her present PhD studies at UC Berkeley. As an assistant professor at the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture, she has curated Mongolian exhibitions internationally and published on Mongolian modern art. Since 2002, she has been the curator of the largest existing collection of Mongolian modern art, at the Khan Bank in Mongolia. She is currently a PhD candidate in History of Art at UC Berkeley.

This event is free with admission to RMA, and free for RMA Members.

Location: Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th Street
New York, NY 10011

Event Date/Time: Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 1:00pm to 2:00pm.

Contact - 212.620.5000

Mongol Cultural Impact on Hollywood and Entertainment Media

2008-02-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

Mongol Cultural Impact on Modern Art and Culture

2008-02-22T11:37:00.001-08:00

The impact of Mongol culture and history on modern popular culture can be seen in several instances in contemporary art, Hollywood films, literature, news media, video games and other arenas of popular culture.

From the borrowing of traditional Mongolian costumes, facial makeup and hairstyles by George Lucas and costume designer Trisha Biggar for the Star Wars films to book jacket covers by designer Tibor Kalman, Mongolian culture and history occupies a distinct place in modern cultural history.

Book cover, title "(Un) FASHION"

by Tibor Kalman and Maira Kalman.

Published by Harry Abrams
ISBN: 0-8109-9229-9

This book titled, " (un) FASHION " by Tibor Kalman and Maira Kalman is a global photographic survey of native fashion-sense and presents indigenous peoples from almost every corner of the planet dressed in traditional costumes in their cultural context.

Tibor Kalman was considered a design genius in his time, whose fascination with the creative ways people around the world choose to adorn themselves is vividly on display in this book, and on the book cover, which shows a Mongol couple dressed in traditional Mongol del looking quite stylish in the Gobi desert.

Artwork titled: "Cry Dragon/Cry Wolf: The Ark of Genghis Khan"

Artist: Cai Guo-Qaing

Shown in 1996 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

Materials: 108 sheepskin bags, wooden branches, paddles, rope, 9 Toyota engines, cover page and excerpts from periodicals.

Dimensions: 350 x 1986 x 261 cm

( This artwork was comprised of ) “a gigantic boat made of logs and inflated sheepskins ineffectually powered by a brace of Toyota engines. Cross-wiring temporal references to conjure all manner of Asian invasions - from the Mongols, who used similar sheepskin devices to ford rivers, to Japanese cars - this dragon's immobility belied its roar, though its grandiose scale amounted to a sort of theatrical efficacy. Unfortunately, the circus-like ambiance of the exhibition as a whole emphasized that grandiosity rather than the work's humor or bizarre material presence.”

Quote from Barry Schwabsky on Highbeam Encyclopedia, 1997.

The Tofa People

2008-01-28T22:58:00.001-08:00

Tofalaria - The Land of the Tofa People

The Tofa are an ancient minority people living across from the northern-most parts of Mongolia between Tuva and Buryatia. Numbering only a few hundred now, the Tofa as a people might become obsolete within the next decade according to some scholars. Their language in now spoken only by a few dozen elderly Tofa and will most likely die out with them. The ancient Tofa traditions of herding reindeer and hunting for food and hides is part of a way of life that has reached the end of its road in a final meeting with modernity.

Tofa Hunter, photo by Vladimir Sorin
Photo courtesy: Cultural Survival Quarterly

' Kiran Over Mongolia ' - New York City Screening December 22nd, 2007

2007-12-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

'Kiran Over Mongolia' Screening December 22nd, 2007

Scandinavia House will present a screening of 'Kiran Over Mongolia' on December 22nd 2007 at 5:30 pm.

Director Joseph Spaid will introduce his film which has been garnered much praise in its showings around the world.

There will also be a live bird of prey demonstration along with a Kazakh folk instrument performance.

'Kiran Over Mongolia' website: www.kiranovermongolia.com/

The event location is Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue at 37th Street.

Mongolian Film 'Khadak' Opening in New York City, October 12th, 2007

2007-09-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Khadak

An important upcoming Mongolian cultural event this fall is the opening of the award winning Mongolian film KHADAK in New York City on Oct. 12th, Chicago on Oct. 19th, Seattle on Nov. 2, and San Francisco on Nov. 9th, with more dates to follow. See below for synopsis and info, more available at www.khadak.com

Set in the frozen steppes of Mongolia, KHADAK is a magical-realist fable, which tells the epic story of Bagi (Batzul Khayankhyarvaa,) a young nomad shepherd who confronts his destiny to become a shaman. After a plague strikes their herd, Bagi and his family are relocated to a mining town. There, he saves the life of Zolzaya (Tsetsegee Byamba,) a beautiful performer/coal thief. When Bagi discovers that the plague was a government lie fabricated to eradicate nomadic life, he and Zolzaya incite a revolution. Bagi's shaman powers help rally his people, but will they ever be able to return to their former lives?

Documentarian Peter Brosens is known for his internationally acclaimed Mongolia trilogy (CITY OF THE STEPPES, STATE OF DOGS, and POETS OF MONGOLIA), which screened at over 100 festivals including Venice and Toronto. Also trained in documentary filmmaking, Jessica Woodworth’s first film, URGA SONG, was shot in Mongolia. It was followed by Morocco-shot THE VIRGIN DIARIES, which was nominated for the FIPRESCI Award by the International Documentary Film Association. KHADAK is their first feature film.

“Brosens and Woodworth have a directorial touch to match the ravishing landscapes and flinty people. It's part political thriller, part social document.”
Time Magazine

The Historical Role of Women in Mongolian Society and Culture

2007-09-15T14:55:00.001-07:00

Cover Photo from 1980' Pamphlet titled, "Women of The Socialist Mongolia"

The role of Mongolian women in Mongolian society and culture has been prominent in large part due to the need for sharing the Mongolian nomadic life style's strenuous herding and household workloads in an extreme climate. Mongolian women have been known historically for their physical strength, bravery, and devotion to family.

From the earliest Mongolian history available to us we can see the deep bond between Mongolian women and their children. In the most important Mongolian historical account available to us, 'The Secret History of the Mongols' written in the thirteenth century, we can read of numerous episodes in the life of Chigghis Khan and his family where the actions of his mother and wife were pivotal to his life and those of his descendants.

Chinggis Khan's deep love and respect for his wife Borte is depicted through the telling of several historical passages in 'The Secret History of the Mongols'. We see the powerful influence of Khubilai Khan's mother in his development and eventual rise to power and rule over all China.

During the period when Mongolia was under Soviet influence, Mongolian women had good access to education and training in many fields including areas which were the traditional sphere's of male dominance. Mongolian women today are prominent in many fields including,science, government, education, international relations, and business.

Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia

2007-09-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Closer View of Ulaan Baatar

Distant View of Ulaan Baatar

Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia's capital city has existed in name since 1639. Originally Ulaan Baatar meaning 'Red Hero' was located at the monastry of Da Khuree about 421km from modern-day Ulaan Baatar. This nomadic national capital has been moved from several locations more than a dozen times. Today more than a million people live in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia's largest city.

Mongolian Traditional Cultural Themes in Mongolia Today

2007-09-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

Billboard for Mongolian Historical Opera in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia

Mongolian traditional culture has evolved and adapted to modern audiences in Mongolia by appealing to Mongolian people's interest in historical dramas which have the universal themes of love stories, heroes, heroines, and windswept landscapes.

The success of these historical period dramas on Mongolian television, on stage, in film and even opera conveys the lasting power of ancient traditional symbols and historical characters. Mongolian culture has thus far managed to combine some of the old cultural themes for modern Mongolians, thus preserving what is classical form and presenting it through very modern production media and methods.

Time will tell if these ancient themes will be able to attract the young Mongolian audiences which comprise the majority of Mongolia's population.

Sun and Clouds, Hovsgol Aimag

2007-09-02T01:47:00.001-07:00

Sun and Clouds, Hovsgol Aimag

Rain Clouds in Hovsgol Aimag

2007-09-02T01:43:00.000-07:00

Rain Clouds in Hovsgol Aimag

Mongolian Horses

2007-09-02T01:29:00.001-07:00

Mongolian Horses in Hovsgol Aimag

" Mongolia: Dance, Music and Ballad " at Asia Society, New York City

2007-07-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

" Mongolia: Dance, Music and Ballad " at Asia Society, New York City

Tuesday, July 24, 2007, 10AM to 3PM
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue (at East 70 Street), NYC

Explore Mongolian culture and epics, experience traditional Mongolian music and dance with artists and scholars from Inner Mongolia. The rhythms and notes dance across lutes, flutes, fiddles and the two-string horse-head violin (morin khuur)—considered Mongolia’s national instrument. Dancers offer the indigenous bielgee while singers share epic songs (tuul’), long chants (urtyn duu) and overtone singing (khoomii). Featuring Morris Rossabi, Alain Desjacques, Josephine Markovits and the musicians and dancers from Inner Mongolia. Presented in conjunction with Lincoln Center Festival 2007 www.LincolnCenter.org.

Mongolian Wrestling

2007-06-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Wrestler At Naadam, Hovsgol Aimag, July 1996
by Robert McCracken Peck

Mongolian Wrestlers at the Festival of Mongolia in Central Park,
New York City, 2000

Mongolian wrestlers and archers are generally regarded by Mongolians as holding a very important cultural status in traditional Mongolian society. The wrestlers especially are thought of as embodying ancient values of nobility, strength and chivalrous sportsmanship. The rituals of Mongolian wrestling competition are believed to have been passed down in a form virtually unchanged for hundreds of years.

Mongolian wrestling is one of the three main sports of the Mongolian 'Naadam' celebration, the other two are archery and horse racing. Naadam comes from the word "Naadakh' which means to have fun. The Naadam events take place outdoors over three days between July 11th thru 13th every year. Naadam is the grand annual celebration of Mongolian traditional sports and culture during which most offices are closed since the nation as a whole is on holiday. Usually 512 wrestlers enter the Naadam competition and final eliminations are decided after nine rounds. The wrestlers with the most victories and highest title decides who his opponents will be after the third round of eliminations.

The traditional Mongolian wrestling costume consists of a red waistcoat open in the front called a 'Zodog', blue wrestling trunks called 'Shuudag' and high boots called 'Gutuls'. One of the most unique aspects of Mongolian wrestling is there are no separate weight classes and there are no time limits for the wrestling bouts. During the wrestling match if either wrestler's knee or elbow touches the ground then he loses the match.

Each wrestler has a "Zazul" who is both his coach and herald. At the beginning of the third, fifth and seventh rounds he sings the praises of his wrestler's heroic deeds. During lulls in the match the Zazul slaps the wrestler on the back and exhorts them to struggle on. Before and after the match, each wrestler does the traditional "Eagle Dance" (Devekh) which symbolizes power, bravery, grace and invincibility and is based on the flight of the mythical Garuda bird. These ancient Mongolian wrestling rituals are very important vestigial elements of Mongolian culture. The pre-wrestling rituals combine mystical and heroic imagery as well as mythical symbolism and meaning which are primary parts of Mongolia's rich history and culture.

The wrestlers slap their thighs to show they are ready to begin the match. Mongolian wrestlers have a vast range of techniques called 'Mekhs' which they utilize based on their assesment of each opponents strengths or weaknesses. A highly skilled Mongolian wrestler can know hundreds of Mekhs. If a wrestler loses the match, he then symbolically passes under the arm of the winner as a sign of respect.

The power and ability of Mongolian wrestlers is world renowned and currently making its powerful impact felt on the world of Japanese Sumo. A handful of Mongolian wrestlers have mastered Japanese Sumo techniques and now dominate the hierarchy of Japanese Sumo. The Mongolian Sumo wrestlers have had great success in Japanese Sumo by adapting traditional Mongolian wrestling methods, training and inherent strengths for the suddenly changed world of Japanese Sumo.

The Mongolian wrestling ranking hierarchy starts with the title of Falcon (Nachin), then Elephant (Zaan), then Lion (Arslan), and then the highest rank which is Titan (Avarga).

Mongolian Wrestling Terminology

Bukh - the word for Mongolian wrestling or wrestler.

Mekh - A technique or ruse to catch opponents off guard.

Tahina Uguh - To go under the winner's arm after a loss.

Mongolia most famous painting 'One Day in Mongolia' by B. Sharav

2007-06-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

'One Day in Mongolia' by B. Sharav

The most famous Mongolian painting is 'One Day in Mongolia' by the great painter, B. Sharav who lived from 1869 to 1939. This masterpiece of Mongolian art depicts a grand overview of the timeless traditions of the day-to-day life of Mongolian people.

Close scrutiny of sections of this grand painting illuminates many different aspects of Mongolian nomadic life including the various stages of felt making, erecting a Ger, and religous rituals. This painting by B. Sharav shows Mongolian pastoral nomadic life as a robust colorful existance with great liveliness shown through its many fine details.

Mongolia Culture Website

2007-03-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

Mongolian Culture Website: www.Mongolianculture.com

Source: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/subjects/arts/eastasia/websites-mongolia.php

Mongolian Culture
http://www.mongolianculture.com/

From the Leeds University Library Webpage

Mongolian Culture, an online resource from the New York based Indo-Mongolian Society, aims to introduce its users to contemporary Mongolian culture, recommend wider online and print resources, and to provide information on the society's activities. The main page contains several photographic images of Mongolian life and culture, along with links to a map of Mongolia, and texts on Mongolian law, culture, art and history. From this page, users can also navigate to lists of online and print resources on Mongolia. Print resources are classified by essential and recommended reading, and there is also an online excerpt from a translation of The Secret History of the Mongols. Users will also find a long list of online resources on Mongolian history, including images, articles and reading lists. Other collections of alternative gateways cover: news; culture; and art.
The website also features its own textual introduction to Mongolian culture, and provides more extended information on a number of topics, including: films about Mongolia; Mongolian dance; the horse in Mongolian culture; and Mongolian storytelling. The website reproduces five papers given by speakers at the Indo-Mongolia Society. In addition, users will find summaries and textual information on the Indo-Mongolia Society's recent and future activities.

Mongolian History

2007-03-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

Ilkhanid Mongol Court Scene
Mongolia History

Mongolia History Blog

We have added a Mongolian history blog to our main webpage: www.Mongolianculture.com
The Mongolia History blog titled 'Mongolia History' is found here at: http://mongoliahistory.blogspot.com/

Scholarly articles on Mongolian history along with historical images will be presented to provide a range of knowledge about Mongolia, Mongol people and related topics.

Asashoryu Victory March 16th, 2007 in Osaka

2007-03-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

Asashoryu Victory March 16th, 2007 in Osaka
href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_XJDL7Jxu7hk/Rf4nTRVXRDI/AAAAAAAAAGk/0hYaisfbC7A/s1600-h/asashoryuMarch16.jpg">
Sumo's grand champion Asashoryu manhandles fellow Mongolian Kyokutenho and sends him backward into the dirt during their bout in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament at Osaka, western Japan, on Friday. Asashoryu, who's seeking his 21st career victory, now stands at 4-2 after Friday's final bout. Kyokutenho dropped to 1-5. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
(March 16, 2007)
Source: http://www.Seattlepi.com

Mongolian Greatest Rock Band plays Brooklyn, New York

2007-03-11T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Legendary Mongolian Rock Band 'Hurd'

Mongolia's greatest rock band 'Hurd' played Brooklyn, New York on March 9th, 2007 to a large audience of Mongolian rock fans. Hurd presented a strong show of Mongolian favorites that appealed to all the generations of Mongolians present for this special event including some Mongolian teeny boppers. The jovial Mongolian crowd sang along and danced till the very last song and left hoping for Hurd's return to New York once again.

Mongolian Tsagaan Tsar Celebration in New York City

2007-03-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mongolian Ger at Tsagaan Tsar in New York City

A Mongolian Tsagaan Tsar celebration was held at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City on February 3rd and 4th, 2007. The RMA events for Tsagaan Tsar including presentations of Mongolian throat singing, Tsam masked dancing, and workshops on Mongolian jewelry making and mask making. A showing of the Mongolian film 'The Weeping Camel' was included as part of two-day celebration of Mongolian culture.

Cave of the Yellow Dog

2007-01-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

Cave of the Yellow Dog

Cast: Urjindorj Batchuluun, Batbayar Batchuluun, Nansal Batchuluun

New film by Mongolian director Byambasuren Davaa titled "Cave of the Yellow Dog" tells the story of a young Mongolian girl's adoption of a wild dog. This film is a combination of documentary style and scripted feature film making with an intense appreciation of the Mongolian pastoral nomad way of life. The threat of predatory wolves, at-risk sheep and a Mongolian child's emotional attachment to her favourite animal combine to create a strong tale of life on the edge in the Mongolian countryside.