What is the custom of Ovoo meeting

When guests come to Hulunbeier for tourism and vacation, they often ask me, "There is a traditional grassland song called Ao Ou Xuan Hui, why is it called that?" I tend to drive while letting the guests look at the vast grassland stretching to the sky and ask them, "If we agree on a place to meet, can you tell me a place where we can meet?" They would look around at the boundless grassland and say in confusion, "I really can't tell you a definite place, the grassland doesn't have an edge!"

In the past, there was only one place for men and women on the grassland to meet or date - Ovoo!

"Ao Bao", is the phonetic translation of the Mongolian language, the meaning of which is "mound, stone pile or heap of the shape of the ground rises". Ao Bao meeting has the following reasons:

1. flat and vast grasslands, only the Ao Bao is the ground can be identified, can be designated as a target, the two agreed to have a clear location;

2. many years ago, and even a few decades ago, the grassland is sparsely populated, no villages, people live scattered, their own cattle and sheep and livestock, and fewer people come to and go, only the spring and fall of each year! Gathering. Gathering of people on the grasslands to pay homage to the gods or trade, young men and women, but also old men and women, often take advantage of the Ovoo gathering time to freely find the lover of their hearts, matchmaking. If both sides are willing to socialize, or combined, agreed to meet next time the location can only be "Ovoo".

3. If the two sides meet again and love, it will be next to the Ovoo, make a wish, make a vow, and pray to the gods to bless them with happiness and peace, and more children and more happiness.

People living on the prairie retained the custom of Ovoo meeting for generations until the arrival of modern society with developed communication and transportation. Now people interact, contact increased, the grassland herders have motorcycles, some people have off-road vehicles, want to meet very easy, gradually Ovoo meet the custom of history, retained in people's memories, has become an intangible cultural heritage.