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Mongolia (Jammie, F 12:30)
Environment
Climate, Weather, and Geography:
The climate in Mongolia is pretty much sunny and humid throughout the entire year. The temperature ranges from -20° Fahrenheit in January to 64° Fahrenheit in July (People's 3). Mongolia doesn't get a lot of rain/precipitation, but the summer is the wettest time; 75% of the precipitation that Mongolia receives throughout the year occurs during the summer months. 5% of precipitation occurs during the winter, which is usually the worst time for the Mongolian people due to the ever-occurring threat of natural disasters (People's 3). To the right is a map with the precipitation for each section of Mongolia. The sections towards the north have more precipitation because of the snow received from the Siberian climate in the north during the winter, as well as a lot of rain in the summer.Mongolia is broken up into six different sections, each with its own geography and climate. The northwest section of the country has the highest altitude and the worst winter season, due to the Siberian climate to the north. The northern part of the country has plenty of snow-capped mountains, rain in the summer, forests with plenty of spruce trees, and pastures for sheep, horses, and camels. The Lower Gobi is called “Hau-Hai or “dry sea by the Chinese, because it is a desert-like area. Middle Mongolia, or Gobi, and Southern Mongolia are also dry and desert-like. Between the Great Wall of China and the Gobi is what is called “the land of high grass.” This part of Mongolia has the benefit of being close to the Pacific Ocean, so there is plenty of grass for animals. The Ordos are separated from the rest of Mongolia by the Yellow River. This is the second driest part of Mongolia, but when it does rain, many plants and shrubs are able to grow here (Larson 289-294).
Other Geographical Information: Mountains include the Russian Altai on the northwest, the Sayans on the northeast, the Ektag-Altai on the southwest, and the Kenti on the southwest, to name a few. The mountain ranges in the northern part of the country have forests. Forests make up almost 10% of the country’s terrain; the trees include Siberian larch, cedar, and pine (Mongolia 1). Some of the rivers in Mongolia include the Jabkan, Yenisei, Selenga, Orkhon, Tola, and Kerulen. All of those run north, except the Kerulen which runs east. There are also several lakes in Mongolia, including the Ubsa, the Kobdo, and the Kara-usu.
Animals, Plants, and Minerals/Resources: Camels are one of the most common animals seen, due to the large amount of the country that is dry and desert-like. In the pastures, it is still common to see camels, but one may also see sheep and horses (Mongolia 3). Besides the forests, one may also see many flowers, including pink eglantine, yellow buttercups, blue morning glories, lavender spikes of foxglove, and five-petaled white stars. Flax is also common, which is a plant that has oil in its seeds. Salt is very common in Mongolia. It is usually found in water located 20-30 feet under the surface in the desert parts of the country. Wells have been made to bring the water up to the surface, but the water is usually too salty, making it undrinkable by the Mongolian people.Language
The Mongolian language is part of the Ural-Altaic dialect, but other languages also included in that group are Kazakh, Turkish, Korean, and Finnish. Mongolia adapted many customs such as language techniques and social methods from Turkey, who once upon a time ruled Mongolia (Phillips, 1969:24). With the oldest recordings of Mongolian language dating back to 1225, studying Modern Mongolia shows many changes over the past thousand years. (Mongolian-Language, 2010) Throughout the history of the Mongolian language, it has been broken up into three major periods. Those periods are known as Old Mongolian (ancient times to 12th Century), Middle Mongolian (12th Century to 16th Century), and Modern Mongolian (17th Century to Present). (Mongolia, 1998) -Old MongolianThe first period of Mongolian language is estimated to begin about 2,000 years ago. Instead of using vowels to differ word meanings, Mongolians used consonants. The positioning of the letter within the word at the middle or end can give it a different form or meaning. N, B, G, T, L, R, S, D, I, V, N are specialized letters that go on the endings of words to give each a particular meaning. (Ganbold, 2000) At this time, Mongolian script was also known to be etched into stone tablets called Tonyukuk, written in a top to bottom fashion (Mongolian Language, 1998-2010).The root word in the Mongolian language is the foundation of a sentence. It is expressed with suffixes and/or grammatical elements following it. The definition and the placement of the word simply depends on the choice of suffix or ending of the word. The Mongolian vowels are divided into three groups: “masculine (a, o, u), feminine (e, ö, ü) and neuter (i), but...the masculine and feminine vowels cannot be mixed in usage, although the i may be used with either” (Jagchid 1979:201-202). When writing, masculine and feminine vowels may not be mixed; however, the neuter vowel may be used with both. (Jagchid, 1979)-Middle MongolianThe second period of the Mongolian language extended from the 12th Century to the 16 Century (Mongolia, 1998). During this time, expansion of the Mongolian empire caused Middle Mongolian language to grow rapidly and diversify throughout region. Most of these divided languages were categorized into “southern, eastern, and western dialects”. Therefore, the not so popular new languages were classified as “outlying Mongolian languages”. The Mongolian language of this time frame helped form and characterize the modern time languages of places such as “Moghol of ... Afghanistan and Mongour or Tu of southern Mongolia”. (Mongolian-Language, 2010) During the 12th - 16th Centuries, many important documents such as “Arab Mongolian Dictionary, Persian- Mongolian Dictionary” were created (Mongolia, 1998).-Modern MongolianThe language era from the 17th Century to Present day is known as Modern Mongolian. However, it was not until around the 19th Century that written forms of the language were laid out and processed into a written format. As people began writing, they found it easier to write in small, vertical, left to right columns rather than write in long, up and down columns. While the outer lying regions of the Old Mongolian empire formed their own languages, the soon died out. In order for these smaller groups to communicate, the surrounded themselves more around the Modern Mongolian language after the recession of the empire in the middle era. (Mongolian-Language, 2010) Throughout the history of the Mongolian language, many changes of words and meanings have been made, however all three periods are still remain similar and are understandable to everyone (Mongolian-Language, 2010). Many attempts to adopt a single script language include “Square...script in 1269, the Todu Script in 1648, and the Soyombo script in 1686 and the Cyrillic script in 1941” (Mongolian Language, 1998-2010). However, these attempts and the attempt to bring back the oldest Mongolian script have all had been rejected. (Mongolian Language, 1998-2010)-Mongolian Word ExamplesSome examples from of the Modern Mongolian language: Tiim (“Yes”); Ugui (“No”); Bayarlaa (“Thanks”); Sain baina uu? (“How are you?”); Za (“Okay”). (Tsend, 2010)
Media/Technology In 1450, Mongolia had very little in terms of media. Johannes Gutenberg in Germany would invent the printing press next year, so it would be many years before a printing press would finally reach Mongolia. Instead, what the Mongols had in terms of media were handwritten letters. The mode of transmission was by messengers on horseback. The problem with this was that mail delivery could not be guaranteed. Sometimes, highway robbers would stop a horseback messenger and take all of their belongings; therefore, the mail would never reach the intended recipient. In addition, mountainside roads did not have guardrails because there was no OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) to mandate them. Therefore, if a horseback messenger attempted to traverse the path in rainy and/or windy weather, the elements could cause them both to fall off, so no one would ever see their mail again.
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Now when it came to technology, the Mongols were quite savvy in creating various sorts of weapons. Since most of their military conquests were on horseback, the Mongols only needed to make one-edged swords. (Two-edged swords were not useful for back-and-forth swinging if they were racing by the enemy on a horse at 20+ miles per hour.) Bows, of course, were very prominent in their arsenals. Even though muskets were around at that time, “early guns were much too clumsy and inaccurate to use with cavalry” (Pacey 1990: 50). Some of the weapons were used in “a plundering expedition against the towns of Sairam, Turkestan, and Tashkent on the northern borders” (Grousset 1970: 492) and was able to get more weapons and other riches in this way.
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Since most Mongols were nomads, they lived in “yurts” or “gers,” which were their own kinds of tents made of sheepskin. Yurts were residential; gers were for meeting halls, blacksmiths, and other commercial, industrial, and military utilities. They could all be folded up by their horde of fellow travelers & soldiers; some of them were so large (and typically reserved for the leader of those hordes) that their packing and unpacking had to take all night.
In order to smelt the iron ore into weapons, the Mongols would mine them at any mountain they came across, then melt or soften them in one of their portable blacksmiths then shape them into swords. If a mountain was owned by a tribe, they would either trade or find another free mountain to mine from, depending on their fortunes at that time.
Since most of the terrain they had to travel on was desert, carts and wagons were nearly useless. The wheels would sink in the sand too easily and become stuck. Therefore, all of their possessions had to be carried on the backs of their horses and camels. For this to be practical, they had to have numerous beasts of burden. If they had a greater number of beasts than handlers to deal with them, the handlers would tie them together in a line with ropes. At one point, their empire reached coastlines, and so they built a navy. Even though they amassed a remarkable fleet, a typhoon decimated much of it when they attempted to invade Japan. Sometime thereafter, “the Chinese Navy during the Ming Period, was created from the remnants of the Mongol Navy.” (Hsu 1997: 720)
When it came to sanitation, the Mongols cleaned themselves by rubbing wet sand on their bodies. As sand was a natural exfoliant, it would shed the dirty skin off them. In addition, lakes, rivers, or any suitable bodies of water would help them clean themselves off even more. Soaping agents were hard to come by and considered a precious trade commodity. When it came to relieving themselves, the situation there was quite primitive; they would have to find a private area behind bushes or trees, and use foliage to finish thereafter.
Overall, the Mongols were resilient, and thanks to their highly nomadic nature and the technologies they were able to use to accommodate their lifestyle, they were able to expand their territory to rival that of modern-day Russia and avoid significant decimation by always being on the move. This would explain how Mongolia survives to this day.
Education/Child-rearing
Family Structure
In Mongolia the families tend to be larger for many reasons. Mongolia is mostly a herding/hunting enviorment and a larger family means that you have more help and involvement when you have bigger numbers. Marco Polo suggested that Mongolia could have been a polygamist society, which would result in a higher population. A larger population was wanted because it ment that there was a more acailable cavalry (within the male population). The child rearing process is relaxed and all family members participate in the child rearing process (supervision and moral imprints). All family members regardless of ages particitated in herding and safegaurding any of the herd animals
Education
In more rual areas that are more industrialization have higher training for the jobs that are available and needed. Under socialism, a high value was placed on elementary education and literacy. While education was limited to monks in Buddhist monasteries before the 20th century, under socialism the adult literacy rate rose to over 90 percent. Most of the education seemed to come from the society, and it was more of an education that promoted survival. For instance, most Mongols learned to ride horse early in their life, this allowed easy mobility in hunting, herding, and any movement that the society took part in. Along with easier mobility, Mongols viewed any male adult who could ride a valuable asset to the military. Because military was such a large part of society, many young boys childhood would consist of preparing for male adulthood in which they would most likely become part of the military. Because all boys are potential soldiers they become learned in swordsmanship, archery, and spear throwing. This allowed for the whole male population to be highly trained in mlitary service.
Gender
![[Untitled]](http://image.wetpaint.com/image/1/MEGepsmjAYd2xaIfOF73SQ60711/GW493H328 "[Untitled]")
There were very distinct gender roles in Mongolia. Even before birth, gender roles played a part of a young boy's life. Preceding the birth of a male child, the family would hang up arrows around the house in order to signify bravery for the boy/future warrior to be born (Jagchid Pg. 74).
Subsistence
When it comes to subsistence in Mongolia, agriculture and herding make a great impact on society. Hunting, being a source of occupation, advancement in military techniques, and entertainment, plays a major role in the country as well. The people of Mongolia are experts in shorting bows and arrows. They know how to ride well also. These all shape the behaviors of the Mongols, impact their daily dress, and shape their diet. A typical day for the Mongols starts off quite early. Before dawn, the people wake up to check the animals and complete morning tasks. The women begin cooking breakfast early as well so the day’s work schedule can be completed. Shortly after eating, the men head of to tend the herds. If they are not taking care of the animals, they sometimes repair equipment. The men’s other main roles in society includes military work, hunting, caravan trading, and slaughtering of animals. Meanwhile, the women do household chores, such as cleaning, sewing, milking the animals, and making milk products. The women are also in charge of taking care of children and the elderly, herding animals around the yurt, and doing the small animal work. The men’s work is considered more leisurely than the women’s. After completing the morning tasks, lunch is served, everyone rests, and then returns to work. The animals are taken water, milked and settled for the night before the family enjoys their dinner and relax.The culture’s diet relies mostly on Mongolia’s agriculture and livestock. Mongols typically drink tea at both breakfast and lunch, using salt instead of sugar. Wild berries, onions, and garlic are also common at meals. Fruit trees are easily found, as well as mushrooms spotted on the plateaus. Crops are significant in Mongolian society. Ninety percent of the cultivated land is grain. Oats, barley, and corn also impact their diets as well.However, the country’s main focus is on both milk and meat products. Sheep, goats, horses, cattle, camels, and yak are significant livestock. Sheep makes up more than half, providing wool, meat, milk, and skin. Horses are the most important animal to the Mongols, and level of prestige is determined by the color of horse a person owns. They also supply meat, mare’s milk, transportation, and hauling. Camel’s do much of the same as horses, but they also supply wool and are best with hauling heavy loads. Sometimes the winter and summer weather become so severe in Mongolia that it has actually killed of the livestock, hurting the society greatly.This nomadic lifestyle in Mongolia started by Genghis Kahn is becoming less widespread. Though many people are beginning to live in urban centers, semi nomadic life is still present it the countryside. Yet, settled agriculture is growing more popular within Mongolia.
Exchange
Successful trading and commerce exchange was brought about by war originally. Mongolian expansion was a wave of violence and destruction, but eventually caused large amounts of trade and development. Staple foods of the Mongolians were meat and milk, but they supplemented their diets with vegetables and grain through trade with occasional farming populations. The Mongolians relied heavily on their horses for their lifestyle, and were necessary to move their goods around. Stealing horses became an offense that would result in the criminals death if they were caught. Secure Trade Routes
Chinggis Khan and the leaders after him made sure to secure trade routes for merchants. They provided rest stations and fortified outposts to defend against bandits along the ancient silk roads. The secure trade routes facilitated the growth of larger cities and wealthy merchants, and allowed for the spread of foods such as sorghum, sugar, citrus fruits, and grapes. Mongolians would also trade hides and dairy products for jewelry, weapons, and cloth. The Mongolians had always had receptive and favorable attitudes towards merchants and trades from western territories. They saw it as a necessity due to their nomadic lifestyle. For instance, Mongolian leaders introduced and gradually increased the amount of paper money in circulation in the controlled territories in china. They also backed the value of this paper money with precious metals. The Mongolians eventually attempted to introduce paper money to Persia, but ultimately it became a failed project. Mongolians also built roads to facilitate trade and commerce, although the roads were originally to maintain control of territories. Mongolians also built postal offices along these roads for mail and communication, but stocked them with horses, food, and lodging for travelers and merchants.
Merchant Status
Merchants were highly valued by Mongolian leaders and often did not have to pay taxes. Mongols also established merchant associations called Ortoghs in order to increase and protect long distance trade ventures.
Dangers
Despite the attempts to protect merchants and increase trade between Mongolia and the rest of the world there were still many dangers. For instance, even with fortifications bandits were always a danger, and many travelers would report seeing skeletons of both animal and humans on their routes. This made trading very risky because one failed caravan and their lives could be utterly in ruin.
Family Life
In Mongolia, they are a monogamy society. Therefore their families consist of a husband, a wife, and children. They valued immediate family and it was not uncommon for a couple to have seven, eight, or nine children (Family, Family Life J1). The Mongols believe that marriage is more important than death or birth. In Mongolia arranged marriages were very common, and they married very young. The girls were around the age of thirteen or fourteen, and for the boys it was a few years later. However, Parents frowned upon dating. But premarital sex was common among Mongolians and birth control was discouraged at the time. Also in Mongolia, divorce was very rare (Mongols J1).
Mongolian weddings was an agreement between two families, with transfers of bridewealth (also known as brideprice) in livestock from the groom’s family, and a dowry of jewelry, clothing, and domestic furnishing from the bride’s family. The wedding ceremony usually lasted two or three days.
Mongols were nomads and usually traveled in small groups of two or three families, because of this they had to have a house that was mobile. They call their house a yurt, but it is also known as “a vaulted tent” or “felt tent.” The frame of the yurt is a supporting ring, formed by wooden poles. The wooden poles are fastened with leather straps to form a fence-like structure. Every yurt has an opening on the top, which provides both lights and air flow, and a wooden door facing the south or southeast (Mongolian J1).
In the twentieth century, arranged marriages became less common in Mongolia. Most people began arranging their own marriages with their spouse. Relationships were typically between classmates or coworkers. This lead to the majority of marriages to be within the same social class. Just like it was centuries ago, divorce was still uncommon. However, it was a possibility. The rates were very, very low. Also, in urban weddings in Mongolia, coworkers typically played a great role by giving gifts and attending the ceremony.
Society
Family Life
Once a couple is married, they move into their own tent. The son would gain his share of his families herd for his new family. Usually the youngest son would recieve the headship of the parental's head and tent after the older sons were wed. Adult sons and brothers would have close association with the same herd camp after they were wed but were able to join a new herd camp whenever they chose to do so.
Social Status
The different social classes: nobility, herders, artisans, and slaves. Different headdresses, clothing, horse blankets and saddles, jewelry are visible indications of social status. Under socialism, the economic and social equality increased. It was only under economic expansion and rapid indusrialization that increased social mobility. Before industrialization, the social status was decided based on patrilineal lineages. Afterwards, those who held political officies held more of an elite status than those based of lineage. Administration and professional elite would pass on their status from generation to generation. Only children of herders became herders themselves. Mongols are known for their hospitality and don't take an offense if outsiders don't know their customs but are greatful for the one's that want to learn the custom and be apart of it.
Politics
The political structure of the mongols was that of warring tribes and clans until 1206 when Genghis Khan United all the tribes under one flag. Each tribe was mainly made up of a large family, with one male who was in charge named Khan. The political structure of these tribes basically reflected the gender roles of the culture. The numerous amount of tribes meant that there were alot of Khans who ultimately made the decisions for the entire tribe. There was no set of written laws or codes regarding Mongolia as a whole. In 1206 Temuchin, a local Khan, was chosen to be the uniter of the Mongol people during a Khuiltay, or a meeting among Mongol leaders.With this new power Temuchin took the name Genghis Khan or Universal King. Also, with this new power and title his goal was to unite all the tribes in Mongolia under one flag.He also improved the political state of Mongolia by creating law and order, and councils that had the final say on matters of the state. These institutions were created to preserve his Mongol nation.Gengis also created the Yasa which was the law of the land for civilian and soldier alike. The Yasa had such rules as adulterer is to be put to death without any regard as to whether he is married or not. A lot of the punishments resulteed in death, however many of the rules are the same rules we have today as a soceity whether they be unspoken laws or not. The Yassa gave the Mongol empire a set of guidelines to follow because it was so diverse. The Yassa was passed down Great Khan to Great Khan, however in the 1400 a civil war broke out between all the tribes due to lack of leadership, this civil war lasted for 50 plus years. After the civil war the Manchu Dynasty of Qing invaded Mongolia and conquered it, this regime of opression and violence lasted till 1911.
Religion
At the beginning around 1368, Mongolia’s main religion was Shamanism (“Mongolia”). Within this religion they believed in the Blue Mighty Eternal Heaven. This is the bases of Shamanism worship which is extremely complex and involves many different rituals and beliefs, most having to deal with hardship and luck. Once the new leader Altan Khan came into power during the 16th century he began to convert Mongolia from Shamanism into Buddhism (“Mongolia”). Monasteries were beginning to be built throughout Mongolia. Buddhism is a form of religion that believes in a cycle of rebirth and nirvana. In one life you may be an insect and in another you may be an animal. They worship a man named Buddha, he is said to be the enlightened one. Those who are enlightened ones are called Buddhas. They basically help others reach nirvana by delaying their own entry to the state of nirvana (“Mongolia”). They perform rituals such as getting rid of demons and bad spirits. Most of them are wealthy. They also can perform exorcisms. Reincarnation is a big belief within Buddhism. This, I believe is basically going from one life to another, collecting as much wisdom as you can from great leaders to finally reach nirvana. Meditation is strong part of the Buddhist practices, that was from Buddhas own teachings (“Buddhist”). Buddhist also has sacred sounds called Mantras which are believed to be supernatural powers of some sort. Mantra means “that which protects the mind” (Buddhist”). It is also used in meditation sometimes. They also have sacred hand gestures called Mudras which are used to represent ideas in rituals and meditation. Within the Buddhist religion they have those who devote their lives to religion which are called monks. Monks, who are a major part, are people who completely commit themselves to the religion they work within the monasteries and also in medicine that’s known as healers and diviners (“Mongolia”). “Two monasteries there contained approximately 13,000 and 7,00 monks, and the prerevolutionary Mongal name of the settlement known to outsiders as Urga, Yihe Huree, which means big monastery” (“Mongolia”). Mongolian culture was strongly connected with its religion. Monks also became involved in the political system to where religion and state intertwined together. It is said that, “the reincarnation of living Buddhas to be discovered conveniently in the families of powerful Mongol nobles” (“Mongolia”). The Buddhism religion and the state work together still today to bring support to one another. When the Chinese rule was over in 1911 the church was the only known form of government there was at the time (“Mongolia”). So a good portion of Mongolia’s population was somehow involved in some type of religious doing. Mongolia’s culture was and still is strongly based on its Buddhist religion to the point where it’s not only a religion; it’s a part of their political system as well. Here freedom of religion is rarely practiced most study and live their lives according to Buddhism. .
Ritual
Sitting by Bowshot
One important Mongolian ritual is called "Sitting by Bowshot." This means they used arrows for topographical and architectural siting or to show possession of something or someone or to make promises. During the Ming period the Mongols went on many envoys to the Chinese in the south. The messengers carried arrows as proof of authenticity of their mission. In some cases, when making an agreement with somebody, a Mongol chieftain would leave an arrow in the hands of the other party as a sign of the given promise. Other times the arrow would be broken in two as a symbolic action of the solemn oath or promise. If an arrow was stuck into the ground it also had the same meaning. Arrows were also used to show possession. Mongols would hang an arrow on an object or stick an arrow into an object to show ownership and possession.
Arrows were very symbolic in the early Mongol culture because they lived an autonomous life-style. Their life-style included fishing, hunting, stockbreeding, and military skill in combat horsemanship and archery. They used arrows daily and without them it would be very hard for the Mongols to survive. This is why arrows were used to make promises and mark territory and belongings. Everybody could recognize how important they were to their society and their survival (Chan).Geomancy
Mongols who were under Chinese influence practiced geomancy. Geomancy is where the people use the land to pick places to live and for burial grounds. For example, they took into consideration the forms and colors of mountains and fields, the direction of rivers, and roads. They believed local currents influenced the atmosphere of a certain spot so when seeking out a place to live or a place to put a grave they believed the spot must harmonize with these currents to avoid injuring the people living there or buried there. If a temple, grave, or house was located in a favorable spot they believed it increased the wealth, health, and happiness of the residents. Mongols were nomads. They frequently had to seek out new places to live. That is how this ritual came about because they wanted to live on desirable land that would bring them good fortune. Mongols also take great pride in their ancestors so it was important for them to find a good place to bury their loved ones.
Art The earliest forms of Mongolian art known today are from the prehistoric period. These carvings, also known as petroglyphes, were found, carved into the canyon walls at the foot of the peaks in the Altai Mountain Range. This range is located in western Mongolia. The drawings there are painted and carved into the walls and rocks. They depict chariots, animals, and scenes of hunting and ritual scenes. These ritual scenes have given researchers insight into the ancient shamanistic practices of the ancient people. The size of these paintings can vary greatly, from a small sheep about 2 centimeters wide, to a full size horse. The Mongolians used the varying colors of the rock layers to make their drawings stand out. Most of the scenes are of animals and hunting but there are some that show the early farming and agricultural practices of the Mongolian people. These reveal the relatively high level of sophistication that the Mongols had acquired at this time. As this agricultural boom spread along the equator trade was also established between many settlements. Along these trade routes monasteries were established to worship Buddha and also to help house the merchants traveling along the dangerous paths. In order to make the stays for the merchants more interesting, the Monks put on shows and fairs in which many pieces of art such as masks and jewelry were sold. A few of the monasteries also had skilled silversmiths among their members who would craft beautiful pieces to be sold at these fairs.
Mongolians as a whole are a fairly artistic race. They tend to decorate every surface in their home, ger, and the trappings of their animals. Many of their folk sayings reflect this, demanding knowledge and manual dexterity from the men and women. Decorations generally fall into one of five categories: geometric, zoomorphic, botanical, water, flames, and clouds, and auspicious symbols. Auspicious symbols display the seven jewels of the monarch and the triple gem. The seven jewels of the monarch represent the different abilities that a monarch must possess in order to stay in power. They are the Precious Queen, the Precious General, the Precious Horse, the Precious Jewel, the Precious Minister, the Precious Elephant, and the Precious Wheel. The triple gem represents the three pillars of Buddhism, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The Dharma is Buddha’s teachings while the Sangha represent his monks. 
Mongolian paintings usually compose of very fluid line work, contrasting colors, and intricate designs, usually in gold. Many paintings include the five principle animals (camel, horse, yak, sheep, and goat). These animals were essential to the Mongols way of life and so were included in most of their paintings. Some paintings also include pieces of embroidery thread or pieces of silk instead of paint. Silk was used in paintings to create pieces of clothing, belts, hats, and purses. Some Mongolian pieces are called “silk paintings” because of the masterful blend of silk and appliqués in the painting. The Mongols also used great care in adding lots of jewelry and decoration to the paintings in order to make them more attractive. Music
Music in Mongolia hasn't changed much since the 13th century. It's a style of music that involves their lifestyle and rituals as a people. There are some forms of music that have adapted to a "western" stylized sound, but mostly has stayed true to itself for many many years. There are a few key instruments and singing methods used in Mongolia to capture their sound as a people. The main instruments used in Mongolia are stringed instruments. 
![[Untitled]](http://image.wetpaint.com/image/1/j8t8neUF2wY1m78Ir7L_2g14258/GW358H156 "[Untitled]")
The Khuuchir is a string instrument that may look like the previous two, but is quite different. It has a resonator at the bottom which allows it to have a much different sound. It is also tuned differently. These are made in different sizes, generally small to medium sized. It is a very old instrument, also named "the Mongol instrument" by the Chinese.
The yatga is an entirely different type of string instrument. It's known as a half tube zither and is plucked, not played with a bow. It was a right to be able to play this instrument many years ago, used mainly in monasteries and courts. Shepherds were not allowed to play the instrument.Other instruments used centuries ago, and still today, are harps, wind instruments, drums, and cymbals. But the voice may be their most impressive instrument of all. Forms of singing include Urtyin duu, known as "long songs", and Khöömij, known as throat singing. Long songs are an art-form of singing in which the singer breaths in a way that allows him or her to continue the melody without stopping. These songs are often sung alone while out in the open fields, riding along, and have been known to judge distances. Such as "the trip took five long songs." They can also be heard during celebrations and are often accompanied with the morin khurr.
Khöömij singing is known as overtone singing, in which the singer sings two different tones at the same time. One pitch is usually a low drone and is paired with a higher octave of that tone. This type of performance can be seen at celebrations or with a group of musicians.Often all instruments and vocal styles discussed come together in groups that resemble what we know as orchestras. This has been going on for many years and is still being performed this way today. It's a simple kind of music, but takes a lot of heart and talent to make it sound right.
Core Values
For a little background explaining why some of the values that the Mongolians value, The Civil War of Mongolia took place between the years of 1400 and 1454 (The Mongols, website). Because of the war that lasted so long, a strict sense of honor, loyalty, and respecting the qualities of others, even the opponents, became apparent (The Mongols, website). The military men also held a high status because they were brave and courageous during combat and fighting in the war (Jagchid 1979:383-384). War also made the Mongolians want to eliminate cruelty as a sense of respect (The Mongols, website).
During the late 1300s, Mongolia disintegrated and broke into eastern and western parts (The Mongols, website). Because of this, they valued important documents, such as the “legal code of Khan Altan”, “The Mongol-Oirad Law”, and “The Religious Code” (History of Mongolia, website).
As a component of the documents, literary writings were another value of the Mongolian people. The literary wasn’t written until more recent times, but orally the traditions could be kept (Petrev 1970:126). The history and traditions were passed down to the children as a sense of heritage to keep the stories passing through the years (Mongolian Americans, website). The educational purposes, like explaining the revolutionary past and writing about the life they were living at the time of writing made the generations to come be able to understand the past events (Petrev 1970:126). They told the local folk tales and traditional religious stories, such as “The Secret History of the Mongols”, “Dianger”, “Minii Nutag (My Native Land)”, and “Bi Mongol Khung (I Am Mongolian)” (Mongolian Americans, website). They conformed their permissions to write about Heros and heroines because they were not permitted to write freely (Petrev 1970:126). Through the religious stories, it gave the connection to Buddhism, their religion, which they also highly valued (Jagchid 1979:387).
Hunting was also a value, as the food and furs were valuable (Petrev 1970:135). Wolf hunting was viewed as a matter or honor because it was very dangerous, but the point was to destroy as many as possible since they killed other animals (Petrev 1970:135).
Finally, they extrememly valued art, in the sense of music, drama, and dance. Through song and dance, they expressed their varied lives and told stories (Mongolian Americans, website). Folk dancing was performed mostly for holiday celebrations, like the Bielgee (Dance of the Body) (Petrev 1970:129). Because the dance permitted little space, it meant that only the head and hands would move and usually would be performed by slim, graceful girls (Petrev 1970:129). Art gave them the connection to nature, through humanity (Mongolian Americans, website), and through religious ways, as church wall paintings, temple banners, and pieces of iconography (rituals) were painted (Bawden 1968:22). Sculptures around were also performed in stone, which wasn’t easily done (Bawden 1968: 385). Also, astrology was valued as they used the lunar calendar and had certain meanings for each position of the moon in the sky (Mongolian Americans, website).
Mongolians valued many things, ranging from courageousness, discipline, obedience in their own laws, war, literary writings, religious beliefs, hunting, and many aspects of art.
As a component of the documents, literary writings were another value of the Mongolian people. The literary wasn’t written until more recent times, but orally the traditions could be kept (Petrev 1970:126). The history and traditions were passed down to the children as a sense of heritage to keep the stories passing through the years (Mongolian Americans, website). The educational purposes, like explaining the revolutionary past and writing about the life they were living at the time of writing made the generations to come be able to understand the past events (Petrev 1970:126). They told the local folk tales and traditional religious stories, such as “The Secret History of the Mongols”, “Dianger”, “Minii Nutag (My Native Land)”, and “Bi Mongol Khung (I Am Mongolian)” (Mongolian Americans, website). They conformed their permissions to write about Heros and heroines because they were not permitted to write freely (Petrev 1970:126). Through the religious stories, it gave the connection to Buddhism, their religion, which they also highly valued (Jagchid 1979:387).
Hunting was also a value, as the food and furs were valuable (Petrev 1970:135). Wolf hunting was viewed as a matter or honor because it was very dangerous, but the point was to destroy as many as possible since they killed other animals (Petrev 1970:135).
Finally, they extrememly valued art, in the sense of music, drama, and dance. Through song and dance, they expressed their varied lives and told stories (Mongolian Americans, website). Folk dancing was performed mostly for holiday celebrations, like the Bielgee (Dance of the Body) (Petrev 1970:129). Because the dance permitted little space, it meant that only the head and hands would move and usually would be performed by slim, graceful girls (Petrev 1970:129). Art gave them the connection to nature, through humanity (Mongolian Americans, website), and through religious ways, as church wall paintings, temple banners, and pieces of iconography (rituals) were painted (Bawden 1968:22). Sculptures around were also performed in stone, which wasn’t easily done (Bawden 1968: 385). Also, astrology was valued as they used the lunar calendar and had certain meanings for each position of the moon in the sky (Mongolian Americans, website).
Mongolians valued many things, ranging from courageousness, discipline, obedience in their own laws, war, literary writings, religious beliefs, hunting, and many aspects of art.
History
While this section is primarily a history of Mongolia after 1450, knowledge of Mongolian history prior to the date is needed. In the late 12th century, a great chieftain known as Genghis Khan was successful in uniting the numerous tribes that made up Mongolia into one empire. Genghis and his lineage waged many campaigns that soon controlled the largest contiguous land empire in history, stretching from Eastern Europe to parts of Southern Asia. His grandson, Kublai Khan, ruled over China in what was known as the Yuan Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty overthrew this dynasty, however, in 1368. The Chinese pursued them into Mongolia and sacked the capital city, Karakorum, as well as many other pivotal cities. This threw Mongolia into another period of anarchy, where the modern history begins.During the 14th and 15th centuries many different groups fought for power in Mongolia, including the descendants of the great Khans as well as another group known as the Oirats. These two groups, along with numerous Chinese incursions, created a divided nation until an Oirat named Esen was able to reunite the tribes and led them against the Chinese. He was successful in capturing the Chinese emperor in 1449, which in effect crushed the Ming northern defense. This victory was short-lived, however, as Esen died in 1481, throwing the empire into further disarray. In 1479 an infant, named Batumongke, took the title of Dayan, meaning universal or whole. As the boy grew, he and his ally Mandukai took control of the empire and fought against the Ming dynasty. He divided parts of Mongolia into what were called tümens, which acted as military units as well as administrative bodies amongst the tribes, which all were under the control of the Dayan. Due to smallpox epidemics and a restriction on trade by the Chinese, the Mongolians were forced to raid parts of northern China. These divisions amongst Mongolian groups produced a number of different languages and dialects that are still distinct today. During this period, Mongolian rulers began meeting with the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist leaders, sparking an introduction of Buddhism in the country. This led to many subsequent Khan’s taking up Buddhism in a country that had primarily prayed to spirits and shamans. While Buddhism became the prominent religion, shamanism is still widely practiced in the country today. The last Mongolian Khan’s reign ended in the early 17th century as the Manchu of China forced many Mongolia tribes under their reign. The Qing continued the conquest started by the Manchu and held control of most of Mongolia until 1911. The Chinese did not want Mongolian’s to regain power, so over the course of the 19th century they began dividing the country up into feudal societies run by local lords. This, along with mistreatment by Mongolian nobility, led to high taxes and rampant poverty. It was also around this time that a monetary system began to take place of the trade economy.After the collapse of the Qing dynasty, a Mongolian ruler known as Bogd Khaan declared independence in 1911. However, the newly created Republic of China claimed Mongolia as part of their territory. This sparked a war that was eventually resolved with the help of Russian Soviets fighting on the side of Mongolia. Wanting more support to their east, Bolshevik Russia decided to support a communist form of government for the Mongolian people. This eventually led to the Mongolian’s taking many parts of their country back from the Chinese and a second independence declared on July 11, 1921. After the death of their king and spiritual leader Bogd Khan, a Mongolian People’s Republic was formed in 1924. During this period many rural Mongolian farmers were forced to send all of their livestock to large community farms, forcing them to find other jobs, which led to large-scale urbanization of Mongolia. Also during this time religion was abolished, resulting in the destruction of Buddhist monasteries and the genocide of their monks. During this period, about 750 monasteries were functioning and nearly one third of the male population was monks. These purges left nearly 30,000 people dead and severely affected the social structure in the country. After siding with the Soviets in numerous issues, the Mongolian’s were eventually given independence, yet still sided closely with the Soviet Union in many issues and remained communist themselves. Many Soviet troops remained stationed within the country throughout the events of the Cold War. At the end up the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Mongolia also slowly shifted towards a Democratic government structure, leading to a new constitution in 1992 and became simply known as “Mongolia”. The transition was difficult, leading to high inflation rates and food shortages throughout much of the early 1990’s. Mongolia is now a parliamentary republic, with officials elected by the people, and guarantees full freedom of expression, religion, as well as other liberties not allowed during communist rule. This also led to a reintroduction of Buddhism, with over half of the population now practicing members. Mongolia currently maintains a friendly relationship with it neighbors, and is currently enjoying an economic increase from post-war times.
References
Environment:Larson, Frans August. Larson, Duke of Mongolia. Little, Brown, and Company: Boston, 1930. Pages 288-296. Print. KSU Library Call Number: DS793 .M7 L27 1930. Sanders, A.J.K. The People’s Republic of Mongolia. Oxford University Press: London, 1968. Pages 3-4. Print. KSU Library Call Number: DS 798 .S33 1968. Sanders, Alan J. K. Mongolia: Politics, Economics and Society. Frances Pinter Publishers: London 1987. Pages 1-4. Print. KSU Library Call Number: DS 798 .S328 1987.
Gender Roles:David Morgan, The Mongols, Malden, MA : Blackwell, c1990.
Jagchid, Sechin. Mongolia's Culture and Society. Boulder, Colorado. Westview Press, January 1980. Pg. 73-76, 78.
Moses, Larry W., and Stephen A. Halkovic, Jr. Introduction toMongolian History and Culture. (Indiana UniversityUralic and Altaic Series, 149.) Bloomington: ResearchInstitute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana University, 1985
“The Role of Women in the Altaic World" - Edited by Veronica VeitPublished by Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007
http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html
Media/Tech:
1. Pacey, Arnold. Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand-Year History. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1990.2. Hsu, Cho-yun. “Some Misconceptions About Chinese History.” Asia In Western And World History: A Guide for Teaching. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1997.3. Grousset, René. “The Last Mongols,” “The Last Jagatites.” The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1970.
Language:-Ganbold, David. "Mongolian Language and Writing. Mongolia." Legend Tour. 2000. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://www.legendtour.ru/eng/mongolia/informations/ language_and_writing.shtml>.-Jagchid, Sechin, and Paul Hyer. Mongolia's Culture and Society. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1979. Print.-"Mongolia Population | People | Mongolian Language." Mongolia Travel, Mongolia Travel Agency, Hotels, Travel to Mongolia. 1998. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. <http://www.discovermongolia.mn/country/Population_Language.html>.-Mongolian - Language Information & Resources." 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http:// www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Mongolian/>.-"Mongolian Language and Literature." Official Tourism Website of Mongolia. 1998-2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http:// www.mongoliatourism.gov.mn/ index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=247:mongolian- language- and-literature&catid=70:culture&Itemid=76>.-Phillips, E. D. The Mongols. New York: F. A. Praeger, 1969. 24. Print. Call #: DS 19 P4-Tsend, Baatar. "Mongolian Americans - History, The First Mongolians in the United States, Significant Immigration Waves, Settlement Patterns." Countries and Their Cultures. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. <http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Mongolian-Americans.html>.
Exchange"Mongols. A History of the Mongols (Monguls)." World History International: World History Essays From Prehistory To The Present. Web. 30 Sept. 2010.
"Mongolia." U.S. Department of State. Web. 30 Sept. 2010.
"The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History." Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 30 Sept. 2010.Peter Hopkirk, `Foreign Devils on the Silk Road', Oxford U.P., 1980.
SubsistenceJagchid, Sechin, and Paul Hyer. Mongolia's Culture and Society. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1979. Print."Mongolia." U.S. Department of State. 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 01 Oct. 2010. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2779.htm>.Petrov, Victor P. Mongolia: A Profile. New York: Praeger, 1970. Print.
Family Life:
“Family Structure.” Mongolia. June 1989. 12 October 2010. <http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-8933.html>
“Family Life of Mongolia.” Wikia Education. 28 March 2008. 12 October 2010. <http://internationalbusiness.wikia.com/wiki/Family_life_of_Mongolia>
“Mongols- Kinship, Marriage, and Family.” Countries and Their Cultures. 2010. 20 Oct. 2010. <http://www.everyculture.com/Russia-Eurasia-China/Mongols-Kinship-Marriage-and-Family.html>
“The Mongolian Nationality.” China Virtual Tours. 1996-2010. 20 Oct. 2010. http://www.chinavista.com/experience/inner/mongolian.html
"Mongolia - Kinship, Family, and Marriage." Country Studies. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://countrystudies.us/mongolia/43.htm>.
Society: "Mongolia: A Country Study" Robert L. Worden and Andrea Matles Savada. 1989. 21 Oct. 2010. http://countrystudies.us/mongolia
"A Brief Mongolian History". 2007. 21 Oct. 2010. www.mongolian-ways.com/culture.htm
""Mongolia- A Country Study". June 1989. 21 Oct. 2010. www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-8933.html
Politics:"History of Mongolia" 2005. 28 oct. 2010 http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_history.htm
"The Yasa of Chingis Khan. A code of honor, dignity and excellence" February 27, 2003 by Per Inge Oestmeon. 28th Oct. 2010 www.coldsiberia.org/webdoc9 "Mongolia: A Country Study" Robert L. Worden and Andrea Matles Savada. 1989. 28 Oct. 2010. http://countrystudies.us/mongolia
Rituals:Chan, Hok-lam. China and the Mongols: History and Legend under the Yüan and Ming. Aldershot, Hampshire, Great Britain: Ashgate, 1999. Print.
"Mongolian Celebrations." Mongoluls.net. One Steppe Web Consulting, 2007. Web. 11 Nov 2010. <http://www.mongoluls.net/mongolian-religion/celeb.shtml>.
Hedin, Sven Anders. Across the Gobi Desert. New York: Greenwood, 1968. Print.
Core Values:
Bawdin, C. R. “The Modern History of Mongolia.” Cox & Wyman Ltd. London. 1968. Print. KSU Library Call Number DS798 B53."History of Mongolia: Chronology and Details" March 2010. 28 Oct 2010. < http://www.e-mongol.com/mongolia_history.htm > Jagchid, Sechin & Hyer, Paul. "Mongolia's Culture and Society." Westview Press. Boulder, CO. 1979. Print. KSU Library Call Number DS793.M7 J32 "Mongolian Americans" 2010. 28 Oct 2010. < http://www.everycultrue.com/multi/Le-Pa/Mongolian-Americans.html > Petrov, Victor P. “Mongolia.” Praeger Publishers, Inc. London. 1970. Print. KSU Library Call Number DS798 P39."The Mongols" 27 Aug 1998. 28 Oct 2010. < http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/westtech/xmongol.htm#Genghis_Khans_Value_Statement >
Art:
"History of Mongolian Traditional Art and Artwork"
http://www.face-music.ch/bi_bid/historyofart_en.html
"Visual Arts of Mongolia"
http://www.discovermongolia.mn/country/art.html
Arts Council of Mongolia
http://artscouncil.mn/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=archive&Itemid=165&lang=en
Religion:
"Religion in Mongolia." Agnosticism / Atheism - Skepticism & Atheism for Atheists & Agnostics. June 1989. Web. 09 Dec. 2010. http://atheism.about.com/library/world/KZ/bl_MongolilaBuddhism.htm.
“Buddhist Rituals and Practices- Religion Facts.” Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion -Just the Facts on the World’s Religions. 2004. Web. 10 Dec. 2010 http://religiousfacts.com/buddhism/practices.htm
Music:"Face Music - Traditional Instruments - Mongolia" P & C December 1999 . http://www.face-music.ch/instrum/mongolia_instrum.html"Traditional Mongolian Music" 18 Mar 2001 . http://www.greenkiwi.co.nz/footprints/mongolia/mong_music.htmPegg, Caroline "Mongolian Music, Dane, and Oral Narrative". University of Washington Press. United States 2001. PG 67-70History:Atwood, Christopher Pratt. Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2004. Print.
Bruun, Ole, and Li Narangoa. Mongols from Country to City: Floating Boundaries, Pastoralism and City Life in the Mongol Lands. Copenhagen: NIAS, 2006. Print.
Rossabi, Morris. Modern Mongolia: from Khans to Commissars to Capitalists. Berkeley: University of California, 2005. Print.
Education and Child Rearing:
"The Monlos" David Morgan. T.J. International Ltd. Padstow, Cornwall 1986.1990
http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html#ixzz106O3djVG
"Birth, infancy and childhood among the Ordos Mongols" [microform] / Joseph Kler. 1928.
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| ShultzKSU | Media/Tech Brainstorm Outline for future essay/presentation | 0 | Sep 22 2010, 2:17 PM EDT by ShultzKSU | ||
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I. Technology
A. Transport a. Carts(?) b. Horses c. Camels B. Housing a. Yurts C. Sanitation a. How did they shower? b. How did they relieve themselves? c. Water safety i. How did it get filtered? ii. What all did they drink and how’d they make the drinks? D. War a. Biological/germ warfare b. Navy c. Bows/Arrows d. Swords II. Media A. Speeches B. Messengers C. Letters |
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