Mongolia country info

Mongolia's population number is just over three million, scattered over the country's 1,5 million square kilometres. Half the population is aged under 30. The country's population density is one of the lowest in the world at 1,7 persons per square kilometre. Over 1 million of these people live in the modern capital city of Ulaanbaatar.Other major cities are Erdenet (120,000), Darkhan(63,000) and Choibalsan ( 45,000) in eastern Dornod province. Mongolia also has scores of provincial and district townships, called Aimag/Province/ and Sum/district/ centres respectively. Only 40% of Mongolians live as nomad, in solitary family groups moving seasonally with their herds and flocks.   The most of population is Khalkha Mongols/ which means "Shield"/ and occupy few percents for ethnic groups Kazakhs, Durvuds, Bayads, Buryats, Darigangas, Zakhchins, Uriankhais, Darkhads, Oolds, Khotons, Khotgoids, Myangads, Torguuds and Uzemchins. Not necessarily ethnic, the Khalkha-originated under the protection of the Great Khans in the Mongolian heartland. Subgroups or clans of Khalkha speak the same language but other ethnic groups speak with a different vocabulary and accent. With the growth of media and centralised government in moden times, Khalkha Mongolian became the national language and forged a sense of national unity.

Although Tibetan Buddhism is Mongolia's dominant religion, this was a relatively late cultural development. From its legendary past, Mongolians always had a very deep religious and spiritual sense. Their predecessors worshipped the spirits of nature and practised an ancestor cult that gave early rise to Shamanism, or the ability of healing and communicating with the spirits of the dead. Shamanism does not have any religious texts or buildings, or as divine being. It does ,however,ideally suit the nomadic way of life, living in conformity with nature and environment. The blue sky, worshipped by Shamanism, was seen as the divine source of Chinggis Khaan's rule. This was the principal reason for its becoming the official state religion in the early Mongol Empire. Much later on,many of these original belief were incorporated into what's called the "Outer Faith" of Mongolian Buddhism to draw public support. In fact, for those familiar with buddhism, the Mongolian and Tibetan varients have quite a confusing addition of local traditions,customs and rituals. 

The lifestyle and daily regime of Mongolia's nomads have adapted to all of these conditions. Care of the herds and flocks,housework and other activities proceed fitfully,Mongolians in action are highly agile and skilled. Putting up a ger can take a mere half hour, and a vast camp can be set up or disappear withour a trace overnight. Traditionally, the dependancy of nomadic society on nature extended to its protection as well. Litter,dirt or blood must never pollute the water in rivers and lakes and ground shoud not be kicked-an alleged reason why the toes of Mongolian boots curl up. Nomadic households used to live zero waste lifestyle. The circular ger long ago proved the most suitable and practical kind of shelter for a nomadic way of life, developing from Palaeolithic times and used by various ethnic groups long before the Mongolians. The wooden lattice or walls is easy to fold and move and a number of them can enlarge the ger to dozens of square metres. For centuries,too nomadic households covered their gers with felt produced by rolling sheep's wool. In summer the bottom margins of the felt and canvas over the ger are lifted to provide ventilation,in winter more layers of felt are placed on and the ger can also be protected from the cold and winds by being based in a natural or manmade hole. Ropes slung over the ger are weighed down with heavy rocks as further protection from the winds finally, the ger's base can be further layered up with dried cow or camel dung/Argal/ that provide extraordinary insulation, at the same time, argal serves as an excellent non-scented and highly calorific fuel,especially valuable in areas with no forested vegetation.Cattle have to graze quickly in the short summer period, the human body quickly cleans out cholesterol accumulated from the meat and fat of the winter diet, though the summer's dairy products mean that through autumn in bulks up again with a protective,energy rich layer of fat for the coming winter.

(pg111,Nomad Empire Of Eternal Blue Sky,Carl Robinson)

Ger

Weltweit bekannte Wohnstätte der Mongolen seit der Antike. Einheimischer Name: Ger. Die Jurten sind schnell auf-und abgebaut und können leicht auf Pferden, Yaks oder Kamelen transportiert werden. Die Gertür ist immer nach Süden hin ausgerichtet. Gere gibt es in allen Größen: von 3 m Durchmesser bis über 30 m Durchmesser. Früher wurden die Prachtjurten auf großen Transportwagen von Ochsen über das Land gezogen. Gegenüber der Eingangstür der Ger ist der Ehrenplatz (im Norden). Rechts von der Eingangstür (im Osten) ist die Frauenseite und der Standort des Hausgeräts. Links von der Eingangstür (im Westen) ist die Männerseite, dort lagert auch das Sattelzeug und die Waffen. Die gemütlich eingerichteten Ger sind wohnlich und behaglich.
Wichtig: Beim Eintreten in die Ger keinesfalls die Türschwelle mit dem Fuß berühren - das bedeutet Unglück!

Deel / traditionelle Kleidung

So heißt die traditionelle Kleidung der Mongolen beiderlei Geschlechts. Der Deel ist den harten Lebensbedingungen angepaßt und bietet Schutz gegen bittere Kälte und Wind. Es ist ein mantelartiges Gewand, reicht bis zu den Waden und hat lange Ärmel. Um die Hüfte wird eine Schärpe, die Bus, gebunden. Im Sommer trägt man einen dünnen Deel, im Winter einen mit Schaffell gefütterten groben Deel.

Tsam  / Maskentanz
"Tsam" ist ein alter religiöser Maskentanz und gleichzeitig ein farbenprächtiges, religiöses Ritual, in dem sich die buddhistische Lehre in verschiedenen Gestalten, die Gottheiten und Tiere verkörpern, widerspiegelt. "Tsam" bildet einen selbständigen Bestandteil der alten indischen Philosophie der zehn Weisheiten. Obgleich das "Tsam" in Indien geschaffen und in Tibet populär geworden war, fand es seinen Höhepunkt in der Mongolei. Es ist geplant, in einigen Klöstern der Mongolei wieder "Tsam-Tänze" einzuführen.