Local traditions and culture in Mongolia

4 more images

In Mongolia more than 90% of the population is Buddhist, Originally comes from Tibet in sixteenth Century. All around Mongolia used to have more than seven hundred temples and buddhist complexs But unfortunately almost all of them were distroyed during the Communist Purge in 1937 and many monks were killed as well. Just few temples were kept as original shape in reason to serve as musuems instead of practising buddhism. Gandan Monastery is the biggest active monastery in Mongolia many local people are coming from every corner of mongolia to pray and practise buddhism in Gandan Monastery. There are several big festivals during the Lunar New Year in Winter.
Another Big complex of temples are Erdene Zuu Monastery which locates in Khar Khorin well known as Ancient Mongolian Capital Town.

2 more images

I grew up with a fireplace in my home but my boyfriend didn't but he mastered the fire building in our Ger. It gets really cold during the night in the Ger so it's important to keep the fire going which we did NOT master during out stay. One night we froze to death and the other night we were sweating our asses off.

They say don't stroke the dogs in Mongolia, as they are responsible for guarding the house/ger and family and aren't used to being pets. No-one seems to mind, however, and the dogs absolutely love it and will beg for more! Possibly best to keep it to a minimum unless you want a crowd of affection hungry mutts following you around!

If someone pours a drink for you, don't reach for it before they hand it to you, wait for them to offer it. Never take it with your left hand, only the right, and it's even better if you support your right arm with your left hand on the elbow.

If you're drinking while travelling (believe me this is quite likely), the first shot of vodka should be thrown to the winds (in 3 or 4 bursts) for good luck - it's quite acceptable to chuck it out the window, though if you have time at the start of the journey, get out of the vehicle and do it properly. If you pass any ovoos, you'll probably do the same again.

The earliest religion of the Mongols was shamanism, and it's still practiced today.

An ovoo is a pile of stones and animal bones and skulls. It's seen everywhere in Mongolia - especially in the National parks, but also in Ulaanbaatar. The ovoo is a part of the shaman religion.

We arrived at the Hustai National Park Ger camp at about lunchtime after driving from Gorkhi-Terelj National Park and through the middle of a busy UB. Just as we approached the national park's main gate, a nomadic family were trying to enter their small truck, complete with packed ger on the back, through the gates but the poles of the ger were sticking out of the sides of the truck making it very difficult to squeeze through the gate. It was good to see a nomadic family on the move and it was the only one I saw during my stay in Mongolia.

There are normally six categories of horse racing depending on the age of horses: for example, a two-year-old horse, called a shudlen, will race for 15km, while six and
seven-year-old azrag and ikh nas horses race for up to 30km. There are no tracks or courses; it is just open countryside. Jockeys - boys and girls aged between 5 and 13 years old - prepare for months for special races, particularly at Naadam. Horses are fed a special diet for weeks beforehand. The competition is not without its dangers: in 1999 a young rider was tragically killed during one of the horse races. Before a race, the audience, all decked out in traditional finery, often sings traditional songs. The young riders sing a traditional anthem called a gingo before the race, and scream 'goog' at the horses during the race. The winner is declared tumnii ekh, or 'leader of ten thousand' which the last horse is given the title 'Complete happiness'. The last two year old horse is given the title 'Rich stomach' and praised together with the winning horse.

4 more images

Archers use a bent composite bow made of layered horn, bark and wood. Usually, arrows are made from willows and the feathers are from vultures and other birds of prey. Traditionally dressed male archers stand 75m from the target, while women archers stand 60m from it. The target is a line of up to 360-round gray, red and/or yellow leather rings (known as sur) on the ground. Usually there are only about 20 or 30 rings. After each shot, special judges who stand near the target (but miraculously never get injured) emit a short cry called a uukhai and raise their hands in the air to indicate the quality of the shot. The winner who hits the targets the most times is declared the best archer or mergen.