Mongolian Rituals to Worship the God of Fire

Worshiping fire is an ancient tradition of the Mongolian people. In the view of Mongolians, fire is sacred. A family's fire sacrifice has the meaning of succeeding the heir, and holding a wedding event and a new year, all of them have to sacrifice fire. There are a series of rituals and taboos around the fire pit and hearth.

Unlike the Han Chinese, who offer sacrifices to the God of the Stove, the Mongolians offer sacrifices to the God of Fire with a sheep's breast fork, milk food, wine and other offerings. Usually, the breast fork is filled with red dates, butter, rock sugar, cheese, cypress leaves, hata, etc., and is boiled after being wrapped nine times with white woolen thread. At night, when the lamp is lit, the stove is filled with tarragon root and cedar chips, surrounded by dry cow dung, and the stove fire is lit. During the "Fire Offering", the man in charge of the family puts the boiled sheep's breast into the fire with both hands, and the whole family prays to the God of Fire in front of the flames. After that, they cook porridge with rice in the soup of boiled meat and put cheese, sugar and butter in it to enjoy the "mouthful" of the "fire sacrifice". The fire support, called Tuliga in Mongolian, is a kind of fire frame with three hoops around the waist and four support points on it. The fire brace is placed on the fire pit and dry wood is put inside. Some people do not use the fire brace, so they build a quadrilateral firewood rack in the fire bowl. Strips of blue, white, yellow, red and green colorful cloth are hung on the four eyebrows of the fire support or firewood, representing the blue sky, white clouds, yellow teachings, red fire and green life respectively.

The grandest fire festival is in the month of Lunar, Lunar 23, which, according to legend, is the day of the birth of the god of fire, Miren Zamulha. The ceremony is very solemn, often starting a day or two before with the cleaning of courtyards and houses and the preparation of offerings.

In the evening, when the curtain of night has just fallen, the head of the family lights a handful of incense, walks around the house for a week, comes to the front of the equipped fire support, raises the incense three times around the left and right sides of the fire support, and inserts the incense into the fire pot, and the ritual begins.

Fire support before, spread a mat of white felt, set a wooden table, white felt with fried rice sprinkled with a pattern, the Mongolian language called Hasta Manga, translation that is the jade seal. A bowl in the center of the table is filled with fried rice, tea, dates, butter, lamb breast, etc., and burning incense is inserted on it. There is also a plate on the table, holding four ribs of sheep, neck bone, enema, breast, sheep tail ...... The order of loading the plate is to use the neck bone, the bottom of the ribs, the enema in the center, and then on the breast, and then on the top of the big fat sheep tail, the plate of offerings in the ceremony that night with. The offerings in the bowl are reserved for the twenty-fourth day, before the first day of the New Year, and are thrown into the fire twice a day, morning and evening, and the fire in the fire support is kept going for at least three days. Some keep the fire for three months, even until the next year. Mongolians call the youngest son to keep the fire plate, that is, with the meaning of the succession of incense. The main participants in the ceremony are the head of the family and the boys. Neighbors, relatives and friends can also participate in the ceremony, and girls and foreigners are shunned. Offerings are not given to married girls to eat.

The fire festival begins with the participants each carrying a small wooden plate or bowl containing food and sitting on the ground ready to invoke good fortune.

Offerings are in Tibetan or Mongolian, some esoteric, some popular, all in beautiful rhyme, such as one of the following:

"Flint is the mother, sickle iron is the father,

Elm life, the benevolent fire god.

Present a cup full of wine and a rich offering.

Pray for the prosperity of the people, pray for the prosperity of the five animals ......

Fukai! Fuk Lai! Fuk Lai! Fuk Lai!"

After the fire, the family eats "Amus", a rice porridge with butter and dates.