Culture

Ethnic groups in Mongolia

Most people probably think of Mongolia as being inhabited by a single ethnic group in view of the small population size of 2.5 million people with 1.6 people per square kilometer - the Mongols - this is wrong. The rich cultural and social fabric of Mongolia is made up of 20 different ethnic groups one of which is a non-Mongol group - the Kazakhs (Muslim).
 

Traditional Attire

Mongols do like to wear nice, richly decorated clothes which compensate the simple, ascetic nomadic lifestyle. A harsh climate and uneasy life demand attention to smallest details of clothes.
The nomads' wardrobe is compact but has many variations able to serve for different purposes.
 

Traditional dwelling ger

Mongolian Ger A ger or “house, home” is referred as the WhitePearl of the Steppe. It is not only practical in dailyuse but holds many meanings for Mongolians.The ger perfected tomeet the demands of a nomad’s life, is a circularfelt covered dwelling with lattice walls that canbe erected and dismantled within an hour.
 

Mongolian Language and Literature

Mongolian language belongs to the Altaic group of languages with connections to Turkish and Korean. Today more than 10 million people who live in Mongolia, Kazakh, Buryat, Inner Mongolia in China and others speak Mongolian language. There are many dialects in Mongolia but the Khalkha is the official one.
 

Traditional Music and Dance/Cinema

Music

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.

 

Religions in Mongolia

Shamanism The native religion of Mongolia is, like the language, related to the Turkish tradition and would also have similarities with the Tibetan Bön. In general this religion is referred to as shamanism (Heissig 1980).
Rather often shamanism refers to a specific form of this religious phenomena present in Siberia, and although there is a relation
 

Handmade & Crafts

Mongolian nomads' homes, clothes, weapons and living conditions are impossible to imagine without crafts and embroidery. Unique arts have developed from common things used in everyday life of nomads over thousands of years. The beginning of decorative arts was cave painting.
 

Mongolian Calligraphy

The word “Calligraphy” was originated from the ancient Greece . Consequently all the cultured nations of the world have their own calligraphic traditions. The Mongols (Mongolians) are one of the authors of those traditions. The arrangement of different scripts and letters worked out and used by the Mongol race has a history of almost 2000 years.
 

Cuisine in Mongolia

The Mongolian cuisine is primarily based on meat and dairy products, with some regional variations. The most common meat is mutton, supplemented in the desert south by camel meat, in the northern mountains by beef (including yak). Dairy products are made from mare's milk (Airag), from cattle, yaks, and camels (e.g. clotted cream).
 

Fine Arts

Fine arts Before the 20th century, most works of the fine arts in Mongolia had a religious function, and therefore Mongolian fine arts were heavily influenced by religious texts. Thangkas were usually painted or made in applique technique. Bronze sculptures usually showed Buddhist deities. A number of great works are attributed to the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, Zanabazar.
 
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