A nomadic lifestyle inspires the imagination with horses, tents, and sturdy people living on vast open lands. For thousands of years the Mongolian traditions have been based on this nomadic lifestyle. The Mongols are a group of people from the Northern part of China. After many centuries of nomadic life, the Mongols established their own country called Mongolia which is bordered by China and Russia. The Mongolian culture has been and still is influenced by the cultures of the Tibetan, Chinese and Russian people.
Thirty percent of the Mongolian people still live a nomadic life, so they do not build a permanent home, but a house tent called a yurt. Their love of horses is woven into their many festivals and cultural activities. One of their traditional musical instruments is a Morin Khuur, an instrument shaped like a violin which has a string tip shaped like a horse. Their traditional dance is ‘The Mongolian Waltz’, dance which is performed by men and women while riding a horse and accompanied by traditional music.
Here are a few of the festivals celebrated in Mongolia:
- Naadam Festival, a national holiday, is usually held in July. The games are held outdoors in a huge pasture or field in every town and village and then the winners go on to compete at the national games in the capital city of Ulan Bator. At this festival the Mongolian men compete in wrestling, horse racing, and archery competition. Mongolian people love their horses and have competed in horse racing contests for many centuries. In earlier times, the skills learned here were also used to train soldiers for battle. Most of the participants of this festival are men, but women can also participating in the archery competition or horse racing. Also, children as young as five and six years old compete in horse races.
- Tsagaan Sar or White Moon Festival is a celebration to commemorate the Lunar New Year. This festival is usually held in January or February each year. To celebrate this festival, the people of Mongolia will gather with their families and burn incense and candles as a thanksgiving to the Buddha. The Mongolian people visit their friends and relatives for three days after the new year celebration. They enjoy the traditional food of Booz (dumplings filled with meat) and drink Airag, the fermented mare’s milk, during the celebration time. Other typical Mongolian foods eaten are Khorkhog (meat soup), Boortsog (special sweet Biscuit Mongolia) and Khuushuur (meat bread).
- Ice Festival is held for two days in February at Lake Khovsgol, known as the Blue Pearl of Mongolia. The Tsaatan, the nomadic reindeer herders, join the local residents and visitors to celebrate the winter season. The festival is usually filled with a variety of events such as ice skating and racing competitions, sumo matches on the lake (ice sumo), tug-of-war, and horse-drawn sleigh races. To celebrate this festival, Mongolians also build replicas of their traditional home and animal sculptures from ice.
- Thousand Camel Festival is another Mongolian annual winter celebration taking place in the Gobi Desert. This celebration is usually held sometime between January and March when it is extremely cold in the desert. There is a colorful opening parade in which camel herders encourage visitors to join in the festivities by riding a camel in the parade. Camel herders gather to compete in camel races, camel polo and other traditional competitions. Medals are presented to the winners.
- Eagle Festival is a festival which shows how the nomadic Mongolian people of Bayab Olgii, the westernmost province, have lived for centuries. This festival is held the first weekend of October. The festivities beginning with an opening ceremony and parade. In the center of town are cultural exhibits, handcrafts and demonstrations. The competitors, dressed in eagle hunting regalia, participate in hunting games with their eagles and vie for various awards. Other contests include horse racing, archery competitions and Buzkashi, a goatskin tug of war on horseback.
When celebrating the many festivals, Mongolian people will wear richly decorated traditional Mongolian dress called a Deel, made of satin and shaped like a coat with a high collar. Each ethnic group living in Mongolia has its own unique design of coat, color, and trimmings. A deel is usually worn with a scarf that used as a belt. This dress has typical Chinese motifs, mostly of dragons and lotus flowers.
Whether you are going to see the Mongolian horse races in the summer or camel races in the winter, it is important to have travel and medical insurance for peace of mind. You can check out our travel and medical insurance plans at https://www.overseastripinsurance.com/. Contact one of our insurance specialists at 1-866-636-9100 for insurance options for all your traveling needs while on vacation overseas. Have a great day at the races!