The customs and habits of the Mongolian people were formed under certain natural geographical, economic and social conditions. The Mongolian people are a nation with a long history and rich in legend. For thousands of years, the Mongolian people have lived a nomadic life of "migrating in pursuit of water and grass". Most of the world's grasslands have left traces of Mongolian herdsmen, so they are also known as the "proud sons of the grasslands."
The fresh air, bright sunshine, and crystal dew gave them pure hearts; the vast wilderness, violent snowstorms, and severe weather gave them rough and tough characters. The land where the Mongolian people have lived for generations is permeated with the sweat of the father and the milk of the mother. It treasures the hard-working and simple soul of the Mongolian people and records the simple life of a horseback nation.
From the beginning of the 13th century, the Mongolian people began to create Mongolian characters based on the characters of the Uighurs, Tubo and other ethnic groups. Since then, various forms of historical and literary works have been published, some of which have been passed down to this day. Among them, the most famous historical works are "The Secret History of Mongolia", "The Golden History of Mongolia" and "The Origin of Mongolia", which are known as the three major historical masterpieces of the Mongolian people. The morinouqin is the most distinctive traditional musical instrument of the Mongolian people. Traditional ethnic dances include Andai dance, cup and bowl dance, chopstick dance, etc.
The yurt is the traditional housing of the Mongolian people. The traditional means of transportation of the Mongolian people mainly include draft animals and vehicles. The draft animals are mainly horses and camels, and the vehicles are Lele carts. The Mongolian diet consists of grain, milk, and meat.
The largest traditional festive mass gathering of the Mongolian people is the Naadam Assembly. On the grassland in August, the autumn breeze is refreshing, the cattle and sheep are fat, and the herdsmen are celebrating that the harvest season has arrived. At this time, they began to brew kumiss, slaughter cattle and sheep, sew new clothes, prepare various delicious foods, and hold "Nadam" of different scales. "Nadam" means entertainment and entertainment in Mongolian and originated in the early 13th century. Mongolian traditional festivals include Mare Milk Festival and White Festival (also known as White Moon).
In terms of traditional Mongolian clothing, some Mongolian people in China still retain the characteristics of traditional culture. During traditional festivals, Mongolian people still like to wear national clothing and participate in sports such as horse riding, archery, and wrestling. Competitive games include playing Mongolian chess, playing the Morin Khuur, dancing traditional folk dances, entertaining guests with milk tea, milk dregs, fried rice, hand-held mutton, etc. Even in modern urban life, Mongolians pay great attention to integrating modernization with national characteristics. For example, the new Mongolian robes popular among girls in northern cities not only retain the simplicity of traditional Mongolian robes, but are also filled with modern and gorgeous atmosphere. The yurt-shaped decorations and large-scale painted galloping horses and galloping horse sculptures on the urban public buildings in northern Xinjiang clearly express the style of grassland culture.
In the minds of ordinary people, Mongolian clothing seems to be very simple, consisting of nothing more than a robe and a pair of boots. In fact, Mongolian costumes are very complex and colorful. Not only do the shapes vary from place to place, but there are also differences in age, marriage status, and dress and regular clothes.
Although my country's Mongolian population is distributed throughout the country, the vast majority have lived in the northern region of our country since ancient times. The Yinshan Mountains and the Xing'anling Mountains in the territory traverse the east and west, and the terrain is connected to the Asian continent. The climate is often dominated by the continent, with windy weather, cold and warm seasons, long cold seasons, short warm seasons, little precipitation, and most rainfall is concentrated in the seventh century. , August and September; the snowfall period is long, from mid-October to May of the following year, you can still see snow falling, and there are heavy snowfalls with a depth of more than one foot once or twice a year. The Mongolian people are mainly engaged in animal husbandry production or animal husbandry, and they also engage in planting. Most of the scattered Mongolian people are mainly engaged in planting, and they also engage in part of the animal husbandry production. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening up, more and more people have been engaged in industrial production and other economic activities, and the economy has developed from simple animal husbandry and planting to industry, commerce and modern animal husbandry and planting.
Because the Mongolian people live in different regions, have different historical development situations, and have different economic lives, the customs and habits of the Mongolian people in different places are not exactly the same in different historical periods. Such as Gorkha Mongolia, Ulyankha Mongolia, Erut Mongolia, Buryat Mongolia, etc., their customs and habits are not exactly the same. Another example is that the customs and habits of Mongolians engaged in animal husbandry and other production are also different. It is the custom of Mongolians who are engaged in the same production activity and has been passed down through history. It also varies from region to region. As the saying goes, "Winds are different across mountains" and customs are different across rivers. Therefore, when we enter a country, we must ask about the customs and respect the local customs.
The current Mongolian customs were formed under the above conditions. They are customs passed down through language and actions. However, they also absorbed the customs of other ethnic groups and then became the customs of this nation. Get used to it, that’s a good thing! Because the cultural migration, development and inheritance of various ethnic groups are common phenomena, and the Mongolian nation is a promising nation that is good at absorbing and digesting foreign culture.
Religious belief: Shamanism is generally believed. After the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian ruling class began to believe in Lamaism (mainly believing in the Nyingma sect, the Yellow Sect).
Dietary characteristics: Like to drink milk tea made from brick tea. I also like to drink kumiss. In pastoral areas, cattle, sheep and dairy products are the main food, while in agricultural areas, grain is the main food, supplemented by vegetables and dairy products. When it comes to serving tea, when visiting a herdsman's home or at a tourist spot, the host or the waitress will first serve a bowl of milk tea to the guests. Guests should stand up slightly and use both hands or right hands to pick up the dishes. Never use your left hand to pick up the dishes, otherwise they will be considered as not understanding etiquette. When the host or waitress is pouring tea, if the guest does not want tea, please gently touch the spoon or spout with the edge of the bowl, and the host will immediately understand the guest's intention. Offering tea to guests is a noble traditional Mongolian etiquette. In the history of Mongolia, tea was always used as a social treat, whether in a wealthy family or a poor family, in the upper class or among the common people, in social interactions or at home, on journeys, or on all other occasions. When guests come to your home, tea is an essential treat. Therefore, when herdsmen entertain guests, as usual, they first offer a bowl of milk tea to the distinguished guest, and then the host brings fried rice and large bowls of butter (called Jiaohe in Mongolian), milk tofu, naipizi and other dairy products; and toasts On the other hand, serving wine and toasting guests is the traditional way of Mongolian hospitality. They believe that fine wine is the essence of food and the crystallization of grains. They offer the most precious food to express the respect and love of the grassland shepherds to their guests. Usually the host pours the wine into a silver bowl, gold cup or horn cup, puts it on a long hada, and sings a touching Mongolian traditional toast song. If the guest refuses to drink, he will be considered to be disrespectful to the host. Look down on him and don't want to treat him sincerely. Guests should immediately catch the wine, dip their ring fingers in the wine and tap it in the direction of heaven, earth and the stove to show their respect to the gods of heaven, earth and fire. Don't force yourself if you don't know how to drink, but you can touch your lips as a sign of acceptance of the host's pure friendship. Then the housewives in ethnic costumes served fragrant milk wine to entertain the guests, which is also a traditional Mongolian etiquette. The host will use poetic language to persuade you to drink: "Guests from afar, please drink a glass of prairie wine. This is the essence of our nation's traditional food and the deep affection of our prairie people."
In terms of music and dance: the Mongolian nation has always been known for being good at singing and dancing. Whenever there is a banquet or holiday celebration, singing often comes one after another. Sing ancient folk songs, stories from folklore, the richness and beauty of the grassland and the longing for a better life in the future. The ending of Mongolian songs is long and high-pitched, the tone is often passionate, and the rhyme of the song is at the beginning of the sentence but not at the end. Generally, the harmonious instruments used for banquets, festivals, and weddings are two-piece huqin, four-piece huqin, Xiao, etc.
Marriage customs: Monogamous families, people with the same surname do not marry. When getting married, the man must give a generous gift. There is a custom of transferring houses. The property is inherited by the youngest son.
Funeral customs: There are three types of burial: burial, cremation, and wild burial. Ordinary people are buried in the ground, monks are cremated, and residents in pastoral areas are buried in the wild.
Etiquette taboos: The Mongolian people always greet visitors, whether they are acquaintances or strangers, warmly when they meet: "He is Saiyin Bainu." (Well done), and then the host puts his right hand on his chest. , bowed slightly and invited the guests into the yurt. The whole family, old and young, sat around the guests and talked enthusiastically, just like at home. The Mongolian people have the custom of offering hada to show their respect. When passing the yurt, ride lightly and slowly, and put the riding whip outside the door before entering. To enter the yurt, you should enter from the left side of the door. After entering the yurt, sit down on the right side. When leaving, you have to wait until the owner has returned to the yurt before you can get on your horse and leave. When the host brings out milk tea and food, he should receive them with both hands. If someone in the family is sick, the owner will tie a rope to the left side of the yurt to refuse visitors.