The Mongolian Culture

The Mongolian Culture

Until about 20 years ago, most scholars of Mongol-era China emphasized the destructive influence of Mongol rule.

One major scholar of Chinese history even wrote: "The Mongols brought violence and destruction to all aspects of China's civilization. [They were] insensitive to Chinese cultural values, distrustful of Chinese influences, and inept heads of Chinese government." This assessment fits in with the traditional evaluation of the Mongols as barbarians interested primarily in maiming, plundering, destroying, and killing.

Mongolian's traditional foods and drinks

An old Mongolian saying advices: “Keep breakfast for yourself, share lunch with your friend and give dinner to your enemy”. 

The biggest and most important meals for Mongolians are breakfast and lunch, which usually consist of boiled mutton with lots of fat and flour and maybe some dairy products or rice.

Kazakhs in western Mongolia add variety to their diets with horsemeat. 

Mongolians are big tea drinkers and the classic drink is süütei tsai (tea with milk). Men who refuse to drink arkhi (vodka) are usually considered wimps. Herders make their own unique home brewed airag, which is fermented mare's milk with an alcoholic content of about 3%. Many Mongolians distil it further to produce shimiin arkhi, where the alcohol content is boosted to around 12%.

The most surprising cooking method is only used on special occasions. In this case, the meat (often together with vegetables) gets cooked with the help of stones, which have been preheated in a fire. This either happens with chunks of mutton in a sealed milk can ("Khorkhog"), or within the abdominal cavity of a deboned goat or marmot ("Boodog").

The most common rural dish is cooked mutton, often without any other ingredients. In the city, every other local displays a sign saying "buuz". Those are dumplings filled with meat, which are cooked in steam.

Khuushuur is a kind of meat pastry or dumpling popular in Mongolia, similar to Russian and other cuisines

Naadam Festival

The biggest festival of the Mongolian year is the Naadam Festival celebrated in Mongolia nationwide on July 11-13. Naadam is properly know as “Eryn gurvan naadam”, after the three manly games of wrestling, horse racing, and archery making up the core activities of the National Festival.

Mongolians love to dress in their best traditional costumes and riding on their most beautiful horses during Naadam.

Wrestling

National wrestling is the pride of Naadam. Mongolians prefer it to all other sports. There are 9 wrestling rounds. Higher-ranking wrestlers enjoy the right to choose their opponents during the final rounds. Singing preludes the wrestling tournament.  Winners of the first 5 rounds are awarded the title of Nachin (the Falcon), of 7 rounds the title of Zaan (the Elephant) and of all 9 rounds the title of Arslan (the Lion).  The highest title Avarga (the Giant) is awarded to a wrestler who wins Naadam wrestling for 2 or more consecutive times.  

Wrestling

Archery

Archery is the second most important event in Naadam. It is a very old sport and is 

distinguished from other countries by the fact that the archers must aim at a multitude 

of surs or small felt balls of the size of a fist tied up with leather straps that form a target wall. The one who hits the most is the winner. Women and children as well as men take part in this competition.

Archery

Horse Races

Naadam horse races are a long-standing tradition mentioned in the Secret History of the Mongols, a 13th century literary classic, and in the writings of the famous Marko Polo. Time has not changed the rules and conditions of the horse races. The horses race across the wide smooth steppe. The races are classified by the horse age. 1 year old horses are called Daaga, 2 years old - Shudlen, 3 years old - Khyazaalan, 4 years old - Soyolon, 5 years old and above - Ikh nas or adult horses. The distance increases with the age of the horse.  For Ikh nas, the distance is one urtuu or 30 kilometers. 5-10 years old boys and girls, sometimes as young as 3 years old, ride the horses. Tribute is paid to the horse’s performance rather than to horse riders. 

Horse Races

Mongol Rituals 

Though Chinese culture was valued and supported in many ways, as discussed above, this support was not at the expense of the Mongols' own native culture. That is, the Mongols did not abandon their own heritage, even as they adopted many of the values and political structures of the people they conquered and governed.

In fact, the Mongol rulers took many steps to preserve the rituals, ceremonies, and the "flavor" of traditional Mongol life. For example, the ritual scattering of mare's milk was still performed every year; and before battle, libations of koumiss (alcoholic drink made of mare's milk) were still poured and the assistance of Tenggeri (the Sky God) still invoked. In fact, traditional Mongol shamanism was well supported, and shamans had positions at Khubilai Khan's court in China.

Mongolian God

In addition, many Mongols continued to wear their native costumes of fur and leather, extravagant feasts in the Mongol tradition were held on Khubilai Khan's birthday and the birthdays of other great Mongol leaders, and the sport of hunting, a quintessential Mongol activity originally designed as training for warfare, flourished. And when a Mongol princess entered her eighth or ninth month of pregnancy, she continued the custom of moving to a special ger (the traditional Mongol home) to give birth.

Kublai Khan (1215-1294) was a Mongolian leader who made an impact on China, not only through conquest, but also by ruling successfully. Many of the rulers before him were brutally land-hungry and apathetic to the conquered people; however, Kublai challenged the stereotypes of Mongolian rulers by investing in his newly acquired people and providing the foundations of a grand empire. Unfortunately, after turning from his nomadic heritage and adopting Chinese manners, his Mongolian government failed to remain in control and was eventually overthrown by the Chinese.

Golden Eagle Festival

This annual festival, which celebrates the Golden Eagle as well as the hunters' traditional culture, is arranged by the local Kazakh community and members of the Berkut Association, a community-based conservation organization.

Historically, nomadic Kazakhs have depended on the Golden Eagles for hunting, and the Berkut Association was founded by Nomadic Expeditions CEO Jalsa Urubshurow to preserve this proud tradition and protect the berkut.

Experience the thrill of riding alongside Kazakh nomads as they hunt with trained Golden Eagles. Specially timed for the winter hunting season, this journey leads to Mongolia’s far western province, Bayan-Ulgii, where Kazakh hunters track small rabbits and foxes in the snow with the help of their magnificent eagles. Following the hunt on horseback through the mountains of Western Mongolia, witness firsthand a unique tradition that has survived for centuries in this remote corner of Asia. Spend the night in a finely decorated Kazakh ger, visit a local mosque, and enjoy the hospitality of the Kazakh families who call this extraordinary corner of the world their home.

Golden Eagle Festival