In the grassland that is hazed by the mist, as if veiled with the silver gauze, hills are surrounded by lavender mountains.
The rising sun awakens the forest and valley when the golden line of dawn breaks over the horizon, and green grass revives to breathe the fresh air.
Days on the grassland, the four seasons of the world are continually changing, invincible, indifferent, and indefinite.
White
The ancient Mongolian people roved about seeking water and grass, thus designated years with cycles of the growth of grass and trees. The first month of the new year is referred to as “White Month” in Mongolia, while the Spring Festival as Chagan Sara, meaning the white New Year because dairy products in this month are the purest and whitest. It also shows that Mongolian people cherish a feeling of great reverence for white.
Green
Green is the color of the grassland, and it also symbolizes the water of the river, meaning energy, vitality, prosperity and reproduction. It is closely related to people, life and the vast agricultural and pastoral areas. Young women especially prefer green clothes that are in harmony with the earth.
Blue
Blue (huhe in Mongolian) is the national color that best represents Mongolia. When establishing their own country, the ancestors of Mongol nationality once named their country “Blue Mongolia,” their capital “Blue City,” their palace of the emperor “Blue Palace” and their annals of history “Blue annals,” and even used blue fabrics as their flag. They regarded blue as a symbol of eternality, faithfulness, and loyalty, which originated from their worship of the vast and blue sky that had divine power and cared for all things on the grassland, pure, fresh, eternal and beautiful. Therefore, Mongol nationality shows great admiration for the blue of the sky.
Red
Mongolian people have long been fond of red (ulan in Mongolian), which is related to their historical tradition of worshipping the sun and fire. They believe that the sun and fire shine on the world with warmth, light, and happiness, so red becomes the symbol of joy and victory. Mongols also use red in a lot of ways. For examples, young girls like to wear red headscarves and red robes, trunks are painted red and decorated with colored designs, and felt door curtains, saddles, and accessories such as toories and hatbands are mostly ornamented with red cloth.
Humanistic Spirit
Home
In ancient legends, the Ever-generating God bestowed on the Mongolian “three treasures”: yurts, grasslands and countless cattle and sheep. With gifts from the God, Mongolian people have the sky for curtains and the earth for a mat; everywhere is a good place for them to settle down.
Yurt from the Turkic languages or Ger in Mongolian refers to home. It is the best style of home for nomads who regularly move to and from the same areas.
Chasing is the nature of the Mongolian people. It also represents their idea of following rules of the nature, seeking for the grassland with abundant water and grass, and moving to and living in different places in different seasons.
Music
For Mongolian people, music is their figures while horses are their wings. Mongolian people, men and women, old and young, all love music. When worshipping the gods, going out to battle, missing the hometown and families, holding weddings and banquets, and doing livestock farming, they sing and play music. It is the reason why they are honored as the “nation of music.”
With distinct national characters, Mongolian music features beautiful melodies and long-lasting sentiments.
Khoomei, kögemei in Mongolian, is an ancient and mysterious singing skill of Mongolian people. The performer produces a fundamental low pitch with vocal cords and simultaneously one or more high pitches over that with the cavity. With breath regulation, vocal resonance occurs, resulting in multiple parts. Kögemei is a rare art of throat singing in the world.
The morin quur, also known as the horsehead fiddle, is the most representative instrument of Mongolian music. This instrument consists of a trapeziform wooden-framed sound box to which two strings are attached. Even though it is similar to Erhu in shape, its tone is lower and richer, making it a good choice for the Long Tune, a historical form of Mongolian folk music. The romance of the vast grassland, horror of the howling gale, sadness of sorrowful accidents, magnificence of ten thousand horses’ galloping, and happiness of pastoral songs are well presented with morin quur, which is regarded as the treasure of Mongolian music.
Dance
The Mongolian expresses their love for the hunting and nomadic life with dance. Through their rhythmic and graceful movements such as shoulder-shake and kneading of the wrists, female performers show their outburst of enthusiasm; the bold and free movements of male performers, on the other hand, reflects their masculinity, doughty, brave, vigorous and powerful.
Known as the top traditional Mongolian folk dance, Andai Dance, has a history of thousands of years. In ancient sacrificial offering ceremonies, witch sorceress of Shamanism in white robes danced with silk scarves in their hands. Such dance was then developed into a therapy for health and then the most popular dance at critical religious ceremonies and Nadam Fairs nowadays. Having the sky for curtains and the earth for a mat, Mongolian people have long been living a herding and hunting life, thus developing their unique national pride and self-confidence. They dance the praises for nature, making it an extraordinary sight of the grassland.
Food
Throughout history, food preserves the memory of a nation. Despite its very simple preparation methods, Mongolian food still reflects the sincerity, boldness, and robustness of Mongolian people. In daily life, it is common to take millet stir-fried in butter and milk tea as breakfast; for lunch, Mongolian people have milk tea and dairy products or meat, and always bring a pouch of millet stir-fried in butter when going out for livestock farming; in the evening, they always have hand-served mutton, noodles, and dumplings. The diet is simple yet satisfying.
Even though living a simple life, Mongolian people welcome and treat guests with kind hospitality. They generally present distinguished guests with hada (Hadag in Mongolian) to show their highest appreciation and respect. Milk tea is first served, and guests should bend their body slightly forward and accept it with both hands or right hand to show respect. The Wurme and cheese are then served for guests to enjoy. During banquets at which numerous songs are sung, the host always treats guests with the mellow kumiss in a lively and jubilant atmosphere. In the Mongolian drinking culture, gold and silver cups should be filled with wine. To fill a cup of wine to its brim shows not only the hospitality but also a good wish. The host toasts the heaven, the earth and the guest to wish luck and fortune to stay forever. The guest should dip his/her ring finger into the glass and flick it three times and then hold the glass with both hands and drink it.
Every food on the grassland is a gift from nature, and how it is prepared and cooked is closely related to the living culture of Mongolian people. In the dim light of dawn, smoke from the kitchen chimney wreathes over the white yurts, and people begin their happy day with a cup of warm milk tea.