Ethnic customs in the west

The Mongols call themselves "Mongol". The name "Mongolia" was first recorded in the Old Book of Tang and the State Records of Khitan, which means "eternal fire". Alias: "Horseback People". The Mongols originated in the Ergun River Valley, and were known as the "Mongols" and the "Mungu".

The Mongols are now mainly found in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, with the rest distributed in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and other provinces and regions. Population of 4,806,849,000 (1990 fourth population census), of which 13,000 in Yunnan, living in Tonghai County, Xinmeng Township, divided into Zhongcun, the village, the next village, Baige, Jiaochewan and Taojiazui five natural villages, is the early years of the Yuan Dynasty with the Kublai war left behind in the Mongolian descendants in Yunnan. Tonghai Mongolia from the motherland northwest prairie to the Yunnan plateau of the Tonghai Qilu lake, the foot of the phoenix mountain, has a history of more than 740 years. 700 years, and the people of all ethnic groups and live in harmony, friendly exchanges, with the spirit of self-reliance and self-reliance and national cohesion, overcoming all kinds of difficulties and obstacles to the Qilu lake, the foothills of the phoenix mountain construction into the town of fish and rice.

Livestock husbandry is the Mongolian people long-term survival and development of the main economy. In addition, also engaged in processing industry, agriculture and industry. Now farming is the mainstay. The Mongolian people are good at singing and dancing, and the folk songs are divided into two kinds of long and short tunes. The main musical instrument is the horse-head fiddle. They love wrestling. Mongolian yurts and lorries are the companions of their nomadic life.

Language and writing: The Mongols have their own language and writing. Mongolian language belongs to the Mongolian language family of the Altaic language family, there are three dialects of Inner Mongolia, Weilat, Balkhu Buryat. Now the common script is the early thirteenth century with the migratory bird alphabet creation, the early 14th century, by Mongolian scholars, but Ji - Goodsell reform of the original text, to become so far the generalization of the Mongolian language. The Mongols in Yunnan speak Yi] and Chinese, and their Mongolian language is largely compatible with that of the north.

The press, publishing, broadcasting, theater, and film industries have also developed considerably in the Mongolian language and script. The Secret History of Mongolia and other canonical books have been recognized by UNESCO as the world famous cultural heritage; the famous heroic epic poem "Jangal" is one of the three major heroic epics in China; and "Drinking Goodness is about to be" has been listed as one of the important medical inventions that have made remarkable contributions to the world's civilization.

Main distribution areas: Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Qinghai, Hebei, Henan and other places.

History

The Mongols have a long history, and the name Mongol was first used in the Tang Dynasty, when it was the name of only one of the many tribes of Mongolia. The birthplace of this tribe was along the eastern bank of the Ergun River, and then gradually moved westward. The tribes competed for population, livestock and wealth, resulting in endless tribal wars. in the early 13th century, Chinggis Khan united the tribes of Mongolia and established a unified Mongolian aristocracy. in 1219, the western expedition, the territory expanded to Central Asia and South Russia. in 1271, the Mongol state was renamed Yuan. in 1279, the Southern Song Dynasty was destroyed, unifying all of China. the Yuan Dynasty fell in 1368. Since the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian people have made significant contributions to all aspects of China's politics, military, economy, science and technology, astronomy and calendar, culture and art, and medicine.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) was established on May 1, 1947, under the leadership of the Chinese ****productivity party, which became the earliest autonomous region established in China. Later, nine autonomous regions and counties were established successively:

Beijing Mongol Autonomous County, Gansu Province (July 29, 1950)

Bayin'guoleng Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang (June 23, 1954)

Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang (July 13, 1954)

Hebukseil Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang (September 10, 1954)

Hebukseil Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang (September 10, 1954)

The first autonomous region to be established in China was the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. September 10)

Henan Mongol Autonomous County, Qinghai (October 16, 1954)

Former Golos Mongol Autonomous County, Jilin (September 1, 1956)

Dulbert Mongol Autonomous County, Heilongjiang (December 5, 1956)

Karachen Left Wing Mongol Autonomous County, Liaoning (April 1, 1958)

Fuxin Mongol Autonomous County, Liaoning (April 7, 1958)

Taboos

Mongolians should not ride a horse or drive a car close to a yurt, so as not to startle the herd; if there is a fire in front of the door or a red strip of cloth, it means that there is a sick person or a woman in labor in the house, and it is forbidden for outsiders to enter the house; guests should not sit on the west kang because west is the place for offering to the Buddha; it is forbidden to eat the meat of animals that have died, donkey meat, dog meat, or the meat of the dead animal, and it is forbidden to eat the meat of the dead animal. meat and donkey meat, dog meat, white horse meat; avoid red and white for funerals and black and yellow for joyous occasions; avoid baking feet, shoes, socks and pants etc. on the fire pit; prohibit smoking, spitting and touching the dharma vessels, classics, Buddha statues as well as loud noise when visiting the temple's scripture halls and the halls of worship, as well as hunting in the vicinity of the temple.

Customs

Meet and greet each other, even strangers should be greeted; peers, acquaintances meet, generally ask: "Sai Bainu" (hello), if you meet elders or meet for the first time, you should ask: "He Sai Bainu" ( (hello). While it is a traditional Mongolian virtue to treat travelers (whether you know them or not), you must respect your host when you visit a Mongolian home. When you enter a yurt, you should sit on the carpet with your legs crossed around the stove, but the west side of the stove is the host's place, so you can't just sit there when the host doesn't sit there. Master on the milk tea, guests usually want to drink, do not drink rude; master please eat dairy products, guests do not refuse, otherwise it will hurt the master's heart. If it is inconvenient to eat more, eat a little is okay.

The Hada is also a noble ritual of the Mongolian people. When offering a Hada, the offerer bows and holds it in both hands, and the recipient should bow and take it with both hands or bow and let the offerer hang the Hada around his neck and express his gratitude.

Mongolians pay great attention to etiquette and rules of hospitality. For example, when eating mutton on the hand, the pipa bone of the sheep with meat with four long ribs is usually given to the guests. If you are using beef to treat guests, you will be given a piece of spine with meat, half a rib and a piece of fat intestine. The grandest hospitality is the whole goat feast. The whole goat feast includes recommended bone, limbs, ribs, thoracic vertebrae, sheep's head, and in some areas, sheep's heart, sheep's liver, rectum and sheep's belly. Method is the whole sheep parts poured into the cauldron, the water temperature rises, and then add a certain amount of cooked yoghurt cooked over moderate heat to boil, and often turn. Intestine, belly, heart, liver and prairie good sheep's head cooked in a separate pot. Separate seasoning. Banquet will be boiled parts into a large plate, tail outward, sheep head to be carved to symbolize the auspiciousness of the "ten" on the table. When eating, the host will ask the guests to cut the bones of the goat, or the elders will cut the knife first, and then everyone will eat with them. Before a girl gets married, her mother's family cooks the breast of a sheep for her to eat as a farewell. Roasted whole sheep used to be used for ceremonies or sacrifices to the Ovoo, but now it has become a special dish for grand festivals or welcoming distinguished guests.

Religion

The Mongols believed in Shamanism in the early days, and Lamaism became common after the Yuan Dynasty.

Costumes

Jewelry, robes, belts and boots are the four main parts of Mongolian costumes, and women's head decorations are mostly made of agate, pearls, gold and silver. Men wear long robes and sashes, women have lace patterns embroidered on their sleeves and high collars on their tops, which are still similar to the Mongols. Women like to wear three pieces of clothes of different lengths, the first one is close to the body, sleeve length to the wrist, the second tunic, sleeve length to the elbow, the third one is collarless lapel kangshi, nailed with straight rows of flash buttons, especially eye-catching. The Mongolian people have a culture of unity and mutual help. There are festivals such as Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Torch Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mongols are good at singing and dancing, and their folk songs are divided into two types: long and short tunes. Their favorite dance is called "Jumping Music", in which people form a circle and dance while high-fiving and singing. In recent years, more and more relatives with Inner Mongolia, began to organize "Naadamu" event, attracting guests from all directions to participate.

Festivals

Traditional festivals include the White Festival, the Ovoo Festival, Naadam, and the Brave Man's Game on the Grassland: the Mane Fighting Festival.

The biggest Mongolian festival of the year is the Chinese New Year Festival, also known as the White Moon Festival, which is said to be related to the whiteness of the milk, and to be a blessing of good fortune. The timing of the festival roughly coincides with the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, every family eats hand-meat, and also makes dumplings and pancakes, and on the morning of the first day of the new year, the younger generation should toast to their elders.

In addition to the New Year's festival in Xilin Gol League folk, but also in the summer of each year, "horse milk festival". Before the festival, every family should slaughter sheep to make hand-me-down mutton or whole sheep feast, but also squeeze horse milk wine. On the day of the festival, every herdsman's family should take out the best dried milk, cheese, milk tofu and other dairy products on the plate to entertain guests. Horse milk wine is considered a holy drink and is offered to honored guests.

Nadam Assembly: held in the summer and fall every year when pastoral leisure. "Naadamu" in the Mongolian language in the meaning of entertainment or games. The content of wrestling, horse racing, archery, dance, and material exchange. In addition, after the liberation, many new contents were added, such as track and field, ball games, cultural performances, photo exhibitions, film screenings, exchange of production experience, etc., and it became a favorite event of the Mongolian people.

The Luban Festival, a traditional festival of the Mongolian people around the western city of Tonghai County, Yunnan Province, is held on the second day of the fourth lunar month every year for one day. The Mongolian people living here learned construction techniques from other brotherly peoples. The houses they built are not only chic and beautiful, but also durable, and are quite praised by the people of various ethnic groups in the neighborhood. In order to commemorate and celebrate the achievements in civil engineering construction, they set the second day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar as the Luban Festival. Festival day, go out to build the mud, wood, stonemasons, regardless of the distance to come back home to celebrate the festival. All villages to kill pigs and sheep, stage singing. People also put sandalwood carving Lu Ban statue picking up, beating gongs and drums, traveling straight to the villages, and then, everyone gathered on the field, singing and dancing. Their favorite dance is called "jumping music". When jumping, the first by the male youth as a pioneer, they embrace the dragon head ukulele, playing and jumping, behind the crowd of people divided into two rows, sometimes in a circle and sometimes interspersed with each other, the formation of the changing, and singing and dancing, the scene is very active.

After the festival, the villages were busy collecting wheat and rapeseed, and plowing and transplanting rice seedlings. After these agricultural work, the craftsmen went out in groups to contract construction.

Food

Mongolians have a lot of characteristic food, such as roasted sheep, oven roasted whole sheep with skin, hand-held mutton, big fried sheep, roasted leg of lamb, milk tofu, Mongolian buns, Mongolian pie and so on. Folk also: thin cream, the Mongolian people often prepare dairy products; milk skin; depilated whole sheep feast, is a traditional Mongolian feast dishes, rituals are also commonly used; cooked roasted sheep, Inner Mongolia Ordos region flavorful dishes; cabbage lamb rolls; new Su cake, traditional Mongolian folk cakes; dry rice, Mongolian snacks.

Mongolian herders regard sheep as the guarantee of life and the source of wealth. They eat three meals a day, and each meal is inseparable from milk and meat. Milk as raw materials made of food, the Mongolian language, called "Chagan Ide", meaning holy, pure food, that is, "white food"; meat as raw materials made of food, the Mongolian language, called "Ulaan Ide", meaning "Ulaan Ide", meaning "white food". The food made from meat is called "Ulaan Ide" in Mongolian, which means "red food".

Mongolians consume goat's milk, horse's milk, deer's milk and camel's milk in addition to the most common cow's milk. A small part of it is used as fresh milk drink, and most of it is processed into milk products, such as: dried yogurt, milk tofu, milk skin, cream, diluted cream, cream residue, buttermilk, powdered milk and so on, which can be consumed in the main meal and is a suitable snack for young and old alike. Dairy products have always been regarded as the finest treasures, and if there are guests, the first thing to be offered, if the children come, but also the milk skin or cream will be smeared on their heads as a sign of good wishes.

Mongolian meat is mainly cow and sheep meat, followed by goat meat, camel meat and a small amount of horse meat, in the hunting season also hunted yellow sheep meat. The common traditional way of eating mutton is whole sheep feast, tender skin whole sheep feast, depilated whole sheep feast, roasted sheep, roasted sheep heart, fried tripe, sheep brain braised vegetables and so on more than 70 kinds of. The most characteristic is the Mongolian roasted whole sheep (peeled and roasted), oven roasted whole sheep with skin or called Alashan roasted whole sheep, the most common is hand-held mutton. Mongolian people eat lamb pay attention to cooking, cooked that is eaten, to maintain the tenderness of the lamb, especially when doing the handlebar mutton, avoid cooking too old. But the eastern part of Inner Mongolia, Mongolia and Han mixed areas of the Mongolian people also like to eat boiled with spices, and the meat cooked into a crispy handlebar mutton. Some areas of the Mongolian people also like to sheep waist nest of meat cut into large pieces, hanging batter deep-fried into deep-fried pieces of meat, folk known as "big fried sheep". Beef is mostly eaten in winter. There are made into a whole beef feast, more stewed, braised, made soup. Also eat camel meat and horse meat, deep-fried hump pieces dipped in sugar, as a delicacy, experienced cooks are also good at cattle hoof tendons, deer tendons, cattle prod and oxtail cooked into a variety of therapeutic dishes. In order to facilitate the preservation, but also often made of beef and mutton jerky and bacon.

In the daily diet and red food, white food occupies the same important position is Mongolia's unique food - fried rice. Mongolians in the western part of the country also have the custom of using fried rice to make "bung". When using fried rice to make "crash", they add sheep's fat, red dates, red and white sugar and mix them well, and then pinch them into small pieces to make tea as rice. Without steaming and stir-frying the rice is used to cook with meat into porridge, rice flour can be pancakes; flour made of various foods in the daily diet of the Mongolian people is also increasing, the most common is the noodles and pancakes, and good at using the flour stuffing made of Mongolian buns, Mongolian pies and Mongolian pastries, such as the new Mongolian Su cake. The Mongolians in Alxa and Ordos in the west also have the habit of making deep-fried noodle cake like "Zhangru" with flour. The eastern part of the Zherimu League is rich in buckwheat, buckwheat flour pancake is a local more characteristic food.

Mongolians can not leave the tea every day, in addition to drinking black tea, almost all have the habit of drinking milk tea, the first thing in the morning is to cook milk tea, milk tea is best to use a new hit of clean water, boiling, rushed into the net pot or pot with tea, slow cooking 2-3 minutes, and then fresh milk and salt into the, boiling can be. Mongolian milk tea sometimes add butter, or milk skin, or fried rice, etc., its flavor aromatic, salty and delicious, is a variety of nutrients containing tonic beverages. Some people even believe that three days without food can be, but a day without drinking milk tea can not. The Mongolian people also like to use the fruits, leaves and flowers of many wild plants to cook milk tea, which has different flavors, and some of them can prevent and cure diseases.

Most Mongolians are able to drink alcohol, and most of the alcohol they drink is white wine and beer, and some areas also drink milk wine and horse milk wine. Mongolian brewing milk wine, that is, the first fresh milk into the barrel, and then add a small amount of acidophilic milk juice (more acidic than the general yogurt) as a lead, daily stirring, 3-4 days until all the milk becomes sour, you can enter the pot to heat, the pot on the cover of a bottomless wooden barrel, the large mouth down the inside of the barrel hung on the side of a number of small cans, and then in the bottomless wooden barrel sitting on an iron pot full of cold water, the yogurt by the evaporation of the heated When the cold iron pot condensed into liquid, dripping into the small cans, that is, the first pot of milk wine, such as the degree is not thick, you can also steam two pots. Whenever a festival or guests and friends get together, they have the habit of drinking it. Horse milk wine is fresh horse milk made by fermentation, without distillation.

Marriage customs

Mongolians generally begin to talk about marriage in August of the Golden Autumn. The parents of the young man entrusted the trusted relatives to choose a good day to bring their son to the girl's home to talk about marriage. If the girl and her parents like the boy, they accept the offer of khata and a plate of cakes and food, and the marriage is finalized. Winter is a good day to hold a wedding, after both sides selected the day, the groom's family in the evening to the girl's home to pick up the marriage, so the wedding has begun, a strong ethnic style, interesting and various wedding programs are staged continuously, until the east of the day; to pick up the marriage of the procession to cross the horse, with the procession of the bridegroom's family together to the home of the bridegroom. Not far from the bridegroom's home to send the procession to stop, to welcome the procession to the home together with the bridegroom's parents and relatives to come to meet for the second time. After the mother-in-law lifts the head of the daughter-in-law, the bride and groom make a kowtow and toast to their parents, the celebrant, and their relatives. The crowd will also be excited to sing a song of toast, dance, joy in the grassland ripples.

Habitat

"Yurt" is the Manchu name for Mongolian herders housing. "Package", Manchu is "home", "house" means. In ancient times, the yurt was called "dome", "felt tent" or "felt room" and so on.

Yurts are round, large and small, large, can accommodate more than 20 people to rest; small, can also accommodate more than 10 people. Yurt set up is very simple, generally in the water and grass suitable place, according to the size of the package first painted a circle, and then along the painted circle will be "Hana" (with 2.5 meters long willow cross knotted and become) set up, and then set up the top of the "Uni" (length of about) 3.2 meters long wicker stick), the "Hana" and "Uni" according to the round articulation in the kidnapping together, and then put on the felt, with the wool rope tied, it is completed. A herdsman even in the grasslands settled down.

After the yurt is set up, people decorate the package. The thick carpeted floor, furnished with furniture, hung around the frame and poster flowers. Now some furniture and electrical appliances also into the yurt, life is very comfortable and happy.

The biggest advantage of the yurt is that it is easy to disassemble. It is easy to move. When the yurt is set up, it will become a round enclosure if you open it, and when it is dismantled, it will be reduced in size if you fold it and close it back, and it can be used as a board for oxen and horse-drawn carts. A yurt only needs two camels or a two-wheeled oxcart to be transported, and can be built in two or three hours.

The yurt looks small in appearance, but the area used inside the yurt is very large. And indoor air circulation, good lighting conditions, warm in winter and cool in summer, not afraid of the wind and rain, very suitable for frequent transhumance herders to live and use.

Balikun's Mongolians have long been intermingled with the Han Chinese, so their costumes are closer to the Han Chinese, only a few elderly people wearing traditional Mongolian clothing, blue head scarf, wearing blue lapel robes, waist ribbon, leather boots. But in major festivals, Mongolian men and women have to wear traditional national dress, lace Mongolian robe, with colorful silk belt, foot Mongolian leather boots, valiant, handsome and powerful.

In the past, the Mongolian people to nomadic herding, so live all yurts. Now in addition to nomadic herding, a considerable number of Mongolians engaged in agricultural production or agriculture and animal husbandry, they have settled in villages and towns.

The traditional diet of Barkol Mongolians is mainly pasta, milk, meat and some wild leeks, green onions and mushrooms in summer. After a long time because of the Han Chinese, engaged in half-farming and half-pastoral life, and now generally eat vegetables. The Mongolian people are warm and generous, and treat their guests with sincerity. When entertaining guests, they must drink and sing "toasting songs" to create a warm atmosphere, thus expressing their welcome, blessings and respect for the guests. Mongolians especially advocate respect for elders, love and care for the younger generation, if the family came to the older elders, must welcome the horse to take over the tethered, the elders want to go, but also to take the horse to help its saddle.

The main Mongolian festivals are the Spring Festival and the Ovoo Festival, in addition to which there is also the Festival of Lights (Zulu Festival), the Maier Festival and so on. Mongolian people to send winter to welcome the first day of spring, that is, the Spring Festival is called: "Chaganza day". Mongolian people have their own unique way of celebrating the Spring Festival. The 13th day of the 5th lunar month is the Ovoo Festival, which is the most common kind of sacrificial activity of the Mongolian people. Ovoo is a common mountain pile for human sacrifice on the steppe, the top of which should be inserted willow branches as bushes and poles as pillars. "Bastion into a mountain", "regarded as a god", it is the god of the mountain, the god of the earth and nomadic people to protect the embodiment of God, is a typical shamanism primitive worship. Sacrifice Ao Bao this day, people gathered in joy in front of the Ao Bao sacrifice, first by the lama incense chanting, people are offering offerings, from left to right around the Ao Bao palm up, while walking around the side of the kowtow need to circle three times, pray for God's blessings. After sacrificing Ovoo, but also horse racing, wrestling, archery and song and dance and other recreational activities. Therefore, the sacrifice of Ovoo is not only a religious activity, but also a chance for young Mongolian men and women to show their talents, skills and emotional exchanges.

Horse racing, wrestling and archery are known as the "three arts of the good man" and are the specialty of the grassland horseback people. Mongolian men and women, learn to ride a horse since childhood, to the age of ten on the horse like flying, and can be in the horse running down to pick up the handkerchiefs, whips and other things placed on the ground. Wrestling is also Mongolia's favorite athletic activities, wrestling scene dragon and tiger leap, heart-stopping. Archery is the strong point of the Mongols, and it is also a skillful and self-sustaining sport that has been passed down to the present day.