Information on Mongolia for Students

Information on Mongolia for Students (PDF Format)

Traditions and Customs of Mongolia

The traditions and customs of Mongols have a wide range of common traditional practices and religious rituals.

When a visitor spots or comes to a ger, he says "Nokhoi khorioroi" which means literally "catch the dog" that hints he or she is coming. A hostess or a child usually comes out and invites him into a ger. The visitor should not carry a whip, hobble or weapon when he comes in and he hangs down his knife from the belt. By cleaning his throat, the visitor gives a signal of his approaching a few steps away and he does not knock on the door. He crosses the threshold with the right foot. A guest greets inside, not outside. In Mongolia , the younger usually greets first with the old and senior and asks “Ta sain bainа uu’” which means, "How are you’" or "How do you do’" Mongols living in the countryside are not used to shaking hands with visitors, instead they greet by stretching their arms if they see each other for the first time that year.

Ceremonies of the New Year festival-"Tsagaan Sar"

For Mongolians, the first holiday to celebrate the new year is Tsagaan Sar. The new year festival according to the lunar calendar is called Tsagaan Sar, meaning "White Moon". This is a big family celebration lasting three days with various ceremonies. Tsagaan Sar customs are centuries old and it is the most widely celebrated holiday. Tsagaan Sar is celebrated on the first day of a spring month when winter ends and spring comes. Tsagaan Sar falls in January or February on the Gregorian calendar depending on the phases of the moon, unless the leap year has been calculated differently. Celebration on the lunar new year’s eve is called “bituun” and this evening every family prepares a big meal and lot of fresh food to have a feast. A big wrestling match is broadcast live throughout the country this evening. People ride their best horses during this holiday, prepare their new clothes in advance, and wear the most elegant ones. Their homes are cleaned up thoroughly on the eve. In the morning of a new year, a housewife offers the first cup of tea to gods in all directions. After the sun rises people start to greet with each other. When greeting them stretch their arms and the young support the elbow of the old. The senior or elder people wish a long and happy life to the young. While exchanging snuff bottles in greeting, people usually talk about how they passed the winter. During the days of the Lunar Calendar Year Holiday, there are various ceremonies: visits to relatives, exchanges of gifts and lots of eating. A guest is welcomed warmly and served with tea and food. In addition to the offerings of food, hosts give a present to visitors and sweets to children. Every year the President gives a speech on the television and offers greetings on Tsagaan Sar. Mongolians signify the first day of a new year very much; therefore, people exercise religious practices called “khiimorio sergeekh” to be inspired and lucky. In Tsagaan Sar, people perform an “Ovoo” ceremony to worship their god and nature.

Naadam

Naadam is the one of the public holidays and ceremonies of Mongolia . Mongols call their National Holiday Naadam or the Three Manly Games. The Three Manly Games are wrestling, archery and horse racing which are the sports of wisdom, courage and strength. There are also other games and performances during these days. Naadam is celebrated on the 11th and 12th of July throughout the country to mark the anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution in 1921. Every year 512 wrestlers compete in the national Naadam and the winner is a wrestler who won the nine rounds.

By the rules of Mongolian wrestling, a wrestler who lost in one round should be dismissed. It is a great honor to wrestle in the national Naadam, so Mongolian wrestlers train hard for it as well as preparing their dresses (called zodog and shuudag). The winner who won in a wrestling is called turuu bukh and uzuur bukh is for the one who won the second place. Nachin or falcon title is given to a wrestler who won in five rounds, Zaan to a winner of seven rounds. Arslan or lion title is bestowed to the winner of the first place in a national wrestling match and a person who has been an Arslan twice is honored with the title of Avarga /Champion/. Another main game is horseracing in which horses of six different ages beginning from six to 8 years old participate in somon, aimag and national horse races. In addition, there is the special horse race of fast amblers. Six horse races are held separately according to the age of the horse. The racehorses are daaga, a two-year-old colt, shudlen, three-year-old horse, and soyolon, a five-year-old horse. The eldest is a six-year-old stallion, called azarga and in stallion races there is no age limit, that is, horses of six years old or more are allowed to take part. Racetracks are varied by ages: 10 km for two-year-old colts, 28 km for stallions and so on. In some races, there are over 700 horses. Children, between 6 and 12 ride racehorses, but mostly they are between 6 and 8 years old. The five horses, which come first in a race, are called "airagdakh". The title Tumnii ekh is given to a horse, which won the first place in a horse race of Naadam. The title of the honored trainer is bestowed to an experienced trainer who distinguishes the special breed for racing and trains a racehorse. Archery is one of the games in Naadam in which many of the best archers from all the corners of the country compete. The winner is given the title Erkhii mergen kharvaach that means the excellent marksman of the country. Nowadays women and children are also engaged in archery.