Home » Sunday » Now and Then
Mongols both brave and passionate
Print Edition
Galloping on horseback, herding flocks of sheep and roving around in search of lush grass was a common lifestyle of Mongol people who live in the north of China, and it is still practiced by some who lead a nomadic life.
With a population of around 5.8 million (2006 census), the Mongol people live mostly in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with the rest residing mostly in Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Hebei, Henan, Sichuan, Yunnan and Beijing.
“Mongol” was initially the name of a tribe that roamed along the Erguna River, and it became the name of a new ethnic group when Genghis Khan united all the related tribes in the early 13th century. The Mongols, whose soldiers fought in wartime and raised livestock in peacetime, unified China under the Yuan Dynasty from 1271 to 1368. They also ranged across Asia, conquered many places, and even conquered part of Eastern Europe.
The Mongol people grow up on horseback, and every Mongol man loves to prove his worth by showing good horsemanship, archery and wrestling (throwing enemy soldiers down in close combat). These three games are called “men’s three skills” which should be practiced by Mongol males since childhood.
The Moguls still hold an annual game fair called the Nadam Fair, where these skills are practiced as contests during July and August. People wear their holiday best, and participate in various sports games including the “men’s three skills.”
The Mongols are brave and strong, but also refined, romantic and passionate, as can be heard in their music.
The Mongol long-tune folk songs, in which the Mongols depict the splendid landscape of their homeland and confide their emotions, often waft across the expansive grassland.
Morin khuur, a traditional Mongolian stringed instrument, is the most important musical instrument used by Mongol people.
The instrument is composed of a trapezoidal wood-framed sound box with two strings attached to it. It is usually held almost upright with the sound box in the musician’s lap. The strings are traditionally made of the hairs of a horse’s tail. And a horse’s head is often carved at the top of the instrument as a symbol of the Mongols nomadic life. That contributes to its Chinese name, matou qin, which literally means horse-head fiddle.
Morin khuur produces a sound that’s expansive and unrestrained, which is often compared to a wild horse neighing or a breeze in the grassland.
The most recognized Mongolian dances include the Saber dance, Ordos dance, Andai, Buryat Wedding, Horse Breaker and Little Black Horse, Wine Cup and Chopsticks. It is said that their brisk steps display the candor, warmth and stoutness of the Mongolian people.
Felt yurts are the traditional housing of Mongolian herdsmen. The large, tent-like yurts have an opening in the top of the umbrella-shaped roof. They provide ideal ventilation and protection against wind and cold on the grassland.
Yet with more and more herdsmen ending their nomadic life in the mid-20th century, the Mongols started to build yurt-like house of mud and wood, and some have changed to one-story houses like those in other parts of the country.
The Mongols living in pastoral areas usually wear fur coats lined with satin in winter and loose, long-sleeved cotton robes in summer, while knee-high felt boots are typical footwear. Red, yellow and dark blue are the three colors most frequently seen in Mongolian traditional dress.
Both Mongolian men and women traditionally wear cone-shaped hats in winter, while they also like to wear silk or cloth turbans. Girls wear their hair parted in the middle, decorated with two large beads and agate, coral and green jade ornaments.
Beef, mutton and dairy products are the staple foods for nomadic people like the Mongols. Roast whole lamb, mutton eaten with the hands, fermented milk curd and milk tea are all popular cuisines. They also love koumiss, a weakly alcoholic liquid made from fermented mare’s milk.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
