Sunday, December 18, 2016

Mongolian Ethnic Attire




Mongolian Ethnic Attire

Pragmatic and frequent travelers, Mongolians have adapted their attire to the harsh weather of the high plateau. As nomadic horse riders, Mongolians wear clothing that reflects their love of the grasslands, while also protecting them from the elements. Snug hats and sleeveless padded jackets, called khaantaz, are essential. Pants are tucked into sturdy leather boots with upturned toes to retain warmth.
Both genders wear wide, calf-length gowns with buttons down their right sides, called del. These robes feature long, wide sleeves and high collars, providing perfect protection in cold weather. A matching belt around the waist serves for both form and function—the wearer looks stylish while gaining valuable back support during long horse rides. Inlaid decorations are commonly found in the hems, sleeve openings, and collars.
When it comes to color choices, Mongolian men prefer blue and brown, while women typically choose a wider palette of red, pink, green, and sky blue. Perhaps reflective of an outgoing temperament, Mongolian women choose colors that are often bright and bold.
Unique headpieces are another source of joy in a Mongolian woman’s wardrobe. These headpieces vary by the lady’s age, region, and social status. Many Mongolian hats sport custom decorations made from red coral, agate, or turquoise. Though obtaining the stones is a lengthy, expensive process, Mongolian women enjoy collecting them one by one, their headpieces becoming ever more ornate, living masterpieces.

Traditional clothing of Mongolia. By Sarah Corbett

Mongolian Traditional Clothing

The ‘deel’ is an item of Mongolian traditional clothing. A unisex item, which is still worn outside the major towns and cities.
The ‘deel’ is not unique to Mongolia, and may also be seen worn by nomadic tribes of Central Asia.
The garment is generally calf length and is fastened by clasps at the shoulder and along the opposing seam from armpit to hemline. A ‘deel’ can be made from cotton, wool, silk or brocade. Designs may vary among ethnic groups , cultures and Eras to some degree, especially the designs of the trimmings of the upper opening edges.
The ‘deel’ made for daily wear are constructed from wool or cotton, whereas ‘deel’ made for weddings and celebrations will be of sumptuous silks.
The ‘deel’ is generally worn with a tightly bound sash, although sometimes a leather belt could be substituted.
In addition to the ‘deel’ men and women wear loose fitting trousers, and the women often also choose to wear underskirts. The skirts are plain at the front and back, with pleated panels at the sides.
Mongolian boots are called ‘Gutul’ and are the ideal footwear for the environment and also for horse riding. Made from leather usually cowhide, and occasionally goat or deerskin.
The spacious outer boots are lined with a thick felt inner sock, the upper part of which is richly adorned with fine embroidery. In the winter a third outer layer of fur called ‘degeti’ may be added for warmth.

In addition to these garments an important aspect of Mongolian adornment is the hat, of which there are over 400 recorded styles. Perhaps the most impressive arrangement of headgear is that of the married Khulkha women. The style is reminiscent of a cows horns ( For Mongolians the cow represents Nomadic freedom)
The basis of this magnificent ensemble is a filigree silver cap, which is adorned with coral and turquoise gems and pins. From this cap emerge two plaits which are teased and back combed into glorious forms, which are often protected within embroidered covers, with ornate silver jewelled bands. These amazing forms are supported with Bamboo and silver sticks.. For special events and when travelling a small conical velvet hat topped with a large piece of coral is added to the ensemble.


Mongolian opulence is certainly a thing to behold and the joy derived from the act of adornment is clearly apparent within this largely nomadic culture.
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National Flower of Mongolia selected

Scabiosa Butterfly Blue was named as the National Flower of Mongolia by the Government decision made during its regular session on October 25, 2014. According to the decree, the flower symbolizes a harmonic lifestyle with the nature.
In order to choose the National Flower, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held public two-month survey among 1000 respondents including botanic researchers, experts, students (National University of Mongolia and the Mongolian State University of Agriculture), tour operators and tourists. Butterfly-blue Scabiosa has been voted as the top flower along with the other nominees such as Adonis Mongolica, Chelidonium majus, Saussurea involucrata, Rhodiola quadrifida, Paeonia lactiflora, Stipa gobica, Potanimia Mongolica, and Caryoteris Mongolica.
Butterfly-blue Scabiosa is very widespread flower and found throughout Mongolia in summertime.
The flower also has a strong resemblance with silver decoration plates found on traditional Mongolia horse saddles (see picture at the bottom).
The Ministry hopes that the National Flower can be used to assist the expansion of tourism industry as well as flora business.
Previously, in 2012 the Government of Mongolia announced the hawk as the National Bird, and the Burkhan Khaldun Mountain as the National Mountain of Mongolia in 2013.

Culture of Mongolia

Among the topics that are mentioned from the oldest works of Mongolian literature to modern soft pop songs are love for parents and homesickness, a longing for the place where one grew up. Horses have always played an important role in daily life as well as in the arts. Mongols have a lot of epic heroes from the ancient time. Hospitality is so important in the steppes that it is traditionally taken for granted. The Mongolian word for hero, baatar, appears frequently in personal names, and even in the name of Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian: Улаанбаатар, Ulan Bator). The word was introduced in the Middle Ages to many non-Mongolic languages by conquering Mongol-speaking nomads, and now exists in different forms such as the Bulgarian language, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Persian, North Indian and Georgian. Traditional words such as temul signified a way to describe creativity and passion; temul was used in several Mongol words and had the meaning to: "rush headlong, to be inspired or to have a sense of creative thought, and even to take a flight of fancy. It can be seen from Mongolian perspective as “the look in the eye of a horse that is racing where it wants to go, no matter what the rider wants."

Yurts (ger)

The ger (yurt
) is part of the Mongolian national identity. The Secret History of the Mongols mentions Genghis Khan as the leader of all people who live in felt tents, called gers, and even today a large share of Mongolia's population lives in ger, even in Ulaanbaatar. Ger also means home, and other words are derived from its word stem. For example, gerlekh means to marry.

Religion

 

Since ancient times Tengrism was the dominant belief system of the Mongols and still retains significant importance in their mythology. During the era of the Great Khans, Mongolia practiced freedom of worship and is still a defining element of the Mongol character. In the 17th century, Tibetan Buddhism became the dominant religion in Mongolia. Traditional Shamanism was, except in some remote regions, suppressed and marginalized. On the other hand, a number of shamanic practices, like ovoo worshiping, were incorporated into Buddhist liturgy.
Tibetan Buddhism is a ritualistic religion with a large number of deities. This inspired the creation of religious objects including images in painting and sculptures.
After the Stalinist purges in the 1930s, both Buddhism and Shamanism were virtually outlawed in the Mongolian People's Republic. In Inner Mongolia, traditional religion was heavily affected by the Cultural Revolution.[1] Since the 1990s, a number of Christian sects are trying to gain a foothold in Mongolia. About 4% of the Mongolian population is Muslim.

Festivities

The most important public festivals are the Naadam (English: game). The biggest one is held each year on July 11–13 in Ulaanbaatar, but there are also smaller ones on aimag and sum levels. A Naadam involves horse racing, wrestling, and archery competitions.
For families, the most important festival is Tsagaan Sar (English: white month), which is roughly equivalent to the Chinese New Year and usually falls into January or February. Family members and friends visit each other, exchange presents - very popular presents for all opportunities are the khadag - and eat huge quantities of buuz.
Under the Soviet influence, New Year became a big event, and it is one of the biggest celebrations, comparable to Christmas in the West.

Music

Main articles: Music of Mongolia and List of Mongolian musical instruments
Mongolia has a very old musical tradition. Key traditional elements are throat-singing, the Morin Khuur (horse head fiddle) and other string instruments, and several types of songs. Mongolian melodies are typically characterized by pentatonic harmonies and long end notes.
In the 20th century, western style classical music has been introduced, and mixed with traditional elements by some composers. Later on the full palette of Pop and Rock music has also been adopted by younger musicians.
The Mongolian Waltz is a dance unique to Mongolia. Typically, one mounted horseman and one mounted horsewoman circle each other in time to a traditional song, which speeds up as it progresses. The three step gait of the horses, as they circle, gives the dance its name.[8]


Clothing 


Mongolian dress has changed little since the days of the empire, because it is supremely well-adapted to the conditions of life on the steppe and the daily activities of pastoral nomads. However, there have been some changes in styles which distinguish modern Mongolian dress from historic costume. The deel, or kaftan, is the Mongolian traditional garment worn on workdays and special days. It is a long, loose gown cut in one piece with the sleeves; it has a high collar and widely overlaps at the front. The deel is girdled with a sash. Mongolian deels always close on the wearer's right and traditionally have five fastenings. Modern deels often have decoratively cut overflaps, small round necklines, and sometimes contain a Mandarin collar.
Depictions of Mongols during the time of the empire, however, show deels with more open necklines, no collars, and very simply cut overflaps, similar to the deels still worn by lamas in modern Mongolia. In addition to the deel, men and women might wear loose trousers beneath, and men may have worn skirts during the later Buddhist period, and women might wear underskirts, but in fact it appears on some Mongol paintings women wore wide trousers gathered at ankle, similar to shelwar or Turkish trousers. Skirts of the same style are still worn in part of Mongolia and China today; they have plain front and back panels with closely pleated side panels. Paintings of Mongols from Persian and Chinese sources depict men, and often women, wearing their hair in braids. The hair would be divided into two pigtails, each of which would be divided into three braids. The ends of the braids would then be looped up and bound to the top of the braid behind the ears. Men shaved the tops and sides of their heads, usually leaving only a short "forelock" in front and the long hair behind. The famous bogtag headdress worn by women seems to have been restricted to married women of very high rank.[12]
Each ethnic group living in Mongolia has its own deel design distinguished by cut, color, and trimming. Before the revolution, all social strata in Mongolia had their own manner of dressing. Livestock breeders, for example, wore plain deels, which served them both summer and winter. The priests wore yellow deels with a cape or khimj thrown over it. Secular feudal lords put on smart hats and silk waistcoats.

Mongol (Mongolian) Nationality

With a population of 5,813,947, Mongol ethnic minority is distributed primarily in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region along with others in provinces like Qinghai, Gansu, Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, etc. This ethnic minority is brave and unconstrained with a profound history. Though they called themselves 'Mongol', meaning everlasting fire, other people refer to them as 'an ethnic minority on the horseback'.


History:
They originated from a tribe in Northern China in the seventh century of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). In the 12th century, a legendary leader, Temujin, unified the Mongolian tribes. Afterwards, Emperor Shizu Kublai established the Yuan Dynasty

 Language and Literature:
Their language belongs to the Mongolian group of the Altaic phylum and has three main dialects. The written form is derived from that of the 13th century and experienced many changes. The Mongolians have made brilliant achievements in their literature; the 'Mongolian Secret History' has been listed among the world's famous works by UNESCO.
(1271 - 1368) when the Chinese territory reached its summit and the cultural communication had improved a great deal. In the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), they separated into two branches.
 They take milk and meat as their daily staple food and drink. They enjoy drinking the milk of sheep, horses, deer and camels. Kumiss, fermented out of horse milk, is a kind of distinctive wine with the function of driving out coldness and as well as strengthening the stomach. Tender, boiled mutton, 'Shouzhua Rou' in Chinese, is representative, too, of their traditional food. These people were so skilled in their cooking that they were able to cut the meat into pieces without chopsticks.

  They are unconstrained and warm-hearted people as they treat others warmly and politely. They greet everyone they meet during their travels even they do not know each other. To present hada which represents holy and auspice, and to hang it onto the guest's neck means that they consider their guests are very distinguished. The guests should bend forward as a way to express their gratitude.

When visitors go to a Mongolian's home, they will be treated very well by being given wine. But they must fully respect their hosts' customs such as: they will not step on the threshold, sit beside the niche of Buddha, and touch children's heads, etc. They admire fire and water so guests should not dry their feet or boots on the stove, nor should they wash or bathe in the river, as it is holy and clean in their eyes. In the Mongolian culture, colors are significant. At a Mongolian funeral, red and white should be avoided, whereas during their festivals, black and yellow should not be used.

 More Ethnic Groups in Inner Mongolia:

MUSEUM OF MONGOLIAN COSTUMES






SIGHTS OF INTEREST IN ULAANBAATAR

MUSEUM OF MONGOLIAN COSTUMES


 
The main garment is the del, a long, one-piece gown made from wool or silk. Most Mongolians have several different dels, appropriate for different seasons, as well as a more decorative del for special occasions. Winter dels are often lined with sheep skin. The del has a high collar, is often brightly colored, is worn with a multipurpose sash, and is worn by men and women year-round. Ethnic groups are differentiated by the color, decoration, and shape of their del.

The khantaaz is a shorter traditional jacket, often made of silk, which is also buttoned to the side, and usually worn over the del.

The gutul is a high boot made from thick leather and sometimes decorated ornately. They are easy to put on - both the left and right boot are the same shape. There exist many explanations for the curled, upturned toe, but the most likely one is religious - the upturned end touches less earth and therefore theoretically kills fewer bugs, in accordance with Buddhist teachings about the non-taking of life.


The aim of the museum is twofold: to publicize traditional costumes to tourist and foreigners and to educate young Mongolian about traditional clothes in the hope that more young people will wear the garments.
 
The museum was officially opened on July 23 2005 by the City Mayor's Office, the World Mongolian Association of Costumes and Academy of the National Costumes Study.
 
The costumes in the museum were created by designers at the Mongol Costumes Company and around 60 of the company's 400 designs are on display. The collections include the traditional costumes of the Mongolian ethnic groups such as uzemchin, zakhchin, torguud and khoton and kazakh.
 
The exhibits include two garments that won prizes from the international arts festival of the Mongol races held i Ulan-Ude, Russia in March 2005. These are an uzemchin women's head decoration than won the grand prize and collection named Queens of Chinggis' that won first prize.

Clothes for a Rough

Mongols: Clothes for a Rough, Active Life in the Cold

 

The Central Asian climate and weather conditions determined Mongol dress, both traditionally and today. Men, women and children essentially wore the same type of clothing, differentiated by color, color combination, size and decoration to specify age, gender, married state and social status. Everyone wore the deel, a robe-like wrap that resembled a long overcoat that closed diagonally from the side to the front. The deel was worn with a meters-long sash wound around the waist. The basic deel was worn by all the tribes, but with many small differences in shape or color. To see these differences, check out this Web site on traditional Mongolian clothes.
Both sexes had winter and summer clothes. Winter demanded warm, snug garments to help keep in body heat. Summer clothes were made of lighter fabrics. Everything the Mongols wore were made for a rough, active life and allowed the wearer to move freely. Men, women and children wore trousers under the deel.
Mongols wore boots and hats outside and inside the gers. Hats were practical, to keep the head warm but were also highly decorated and colorful. Mongol boots called gutuls were made with horseback riding in mind.

The Deel

The deel is ancient but still worn today as it is an extremely practical, tough garment for a horseback nation. Men’s deels could be long or short, but usually went down to the thighs. Women’s deels were always long. Summer deels were made of cotton or silk while winter deels were made of felted wool, leather, suede lined with fur or sheepskin, with the warm wooly part turned inwards . The meters-long sash tied at the waist served as a girdle to protect against the rough shaking during speedy horse rides. Essential tools such as eating gear, tobacco and pipe, knives, cups and firestones were hung off the sash.

Hats

Mongols loved their headgear and had over 100 different types of hats. Each tribe had a distinctive type of headgear. One common hat was the loovuz, made of felted wool which served for daily wear. It had flaps that could be tied up or lowered to cover the ears. Winter time brought warm hats made of fur such as sable or silver fox. During festivals, Mongol men and women wore their fanciest hats and headgear, colorful and gaudy with decorations including fancy fabrics and jewels.

Footgear

Mongols all wore boots as the most practical foot gear. Boots were made of tough leather and were often worn with warm felt socks. Boots had turned up toes to allow the foot to easily slip out of stirrups should a rider fall, but also added a pocket of warmer air in the boot. The tough hide bootleg protected legs when riding or walking through tough grass. In winter, fur covers called degtii were pulled over boots. Boot heels could be high or low, depending on the boots’ purpose.