The Mongols Austin Trohoski
Name The word Mongol comes from tribe called Mengwushiwei. It was changed during the Yuan Dynasty.
Population The Mongols take up to 90% of the Mongolia population. The major Mongol tribe takes up to 78% of the population which is about 1.5 million.
Life By tradition Mongols are nomads. They live off of the land and their animals. Now most live in urban and suburban communities.
Religion Shamanism has survived the communist suppression, but Islam has become the most popular religion.
History Genghis Khan united the tribes in the area and made the Mongols. After his death his land was split up and became small nations until Mongolia became a whole country.
Under Communist Rule Under Communist rule Mongols had to work on the farm instead of being nomads. They were also given free land so they would not be nomads.
Revival Since the 90 s many traditions started to be reintroduced. These traditions include tribal surnames, and the traditional Mongolian alphabet has been taught in schools.
Sports Mongolian sports are wrestling, archery and horse racing. Horseback riding is considered a valued skill.
Language Mongols speak Khalkhas, the written form is similar to Arabic but Cyrillic was adopted but the old script has reappered.
Home The plateau is their traditional home. Genghis Khan moved the people down off the plateau.
Work The largest job supply comes from farming and mines. The world s largest mine, called the Oyu Tolgoi, is in Mongolia.
Urbanization Since urbanization people have shown western culture staples such as rock music and blue jeans.
In the Big Cities The big cities in Mongolia are Ulaanbaatar, Choibalsan, Uliassutai, and Tsetserlik. Ulaanbaatar is the largest city and the capital. It has everything from a university to an airport.
Housing Many Mongols live in traditional buildings called ger or yurt. They are perfect for moving around and seminomadic life.
Spring Festival Everyone makes new clothes and store a lot of mutton, wine and diary. The day before the Festival the family will sit cross legged and eat dinner at midnight. In the mourning the dress up and dance and sing all day.
After death The Mongols practice cremation, burial and in wilderness funeral. Most nomads prefer the later. The corpse is set in an open cart and is pulled though rough terrain until it falls off. The soul rises from the dead when it is eaten.
Hospitality Mongol tribes care for strangers who walk in. They are given an escort toward their destination for a great distance. When the escort leaves he will tell him what way to go.
Family life The Mongol family consists of a husband, a wife and the young children. When the children are married the move out but don t go far.
Clothes Their clothes change with the season. In winter, they wear wool coats and in summer they wear loose robes and pendants that hang from their waist.
Food Mongols eat beef, mutton, diary and grain and vegetables. Breakfast is usually stir-fried millet tea and milk. Lunch and dinner is beef, mutton, and noodle soup.
Education There are dozens of universities and colleges, 80 technical schools, 5,000 middle schools, and 30,000 elementary schools.
Heritage Folk songs are important to Mongols. Seminomadic areas prefer fast paced songs and other areas prefer slower paced songs.
Valuables Snuff-bottles are treasured, they are made from gold or silver with reliefs of horses, dragons or rare birds. Pipe bowls are also treasured and are made of five metals and have small figures.
Recreation TV and movies as started to become a past time of city living Mongols. Some pastoral living Mongols have started to watch movies.
Problems They have not modernized their way of making a living. They could use science to increase the number of livestock that are born, or have livestock with more meat.
Myths The major myth the Mongols believe is the origin of their people. A tribe called the Mongu were attacked and two men and two women were the only survivors. They ran away and found refuge on a forest mountain.
Literature Mongols enjoy good literature. They like poems and novels. Some popular books are heroic epics called Life of Jiangger and Historical Romance.
Marriage Customs say that the man must be rejected many times by the father of the woman before he can come in. Then the same thing for the woman.
Transportation In towns cars and motorcycles in recent times. Horse and carriage have always been, but outside the cities the roads are rough.
Special Customs When men come back from cutting wood some will go and meet them halfway. They walk home expressing loving care.
Nadam Rally Nadam means recreation and play. It is the Happy Festival. Nomads and herders hold it annually in summer or fall.
The Feast of Genghis Khan Everything done is to commemorate Genghis Khan. It is on April 23 of the lunar calendar, May 17 to June 16. They exchange goods, theatrical performances, and play sports.
Aobao Celebrated in June or July an altar or shrine is made from bricks or stones. Tree branches are then thrown into the altar. Then sacrificial offerings are given to the altar.
Empire The Mongol Empire was when the Mongols were at their highest point. The empire was much larger than Mongolia today. They Empire was split up when Genghis Khan s Grandchildren took control.