The Drink
Airag Fest in Mongolia is a vibrant and culturally rich festival dedicated to celebrating airag, a traditional Mongolian drink made from fermented mare's milk. This festival highlights Mongolia's nomadic heritage and provides a unique insight into the country's customs and traditions.
People and Animals
The Airag Feast is a significant event in Mongolian culture, where families and communities gather to celebrate the summer by sharing food and coming together. A lively scene of people and animals gathered around large vats can be seen in a beautiful painting,
The Events
The events happeninig during the festival include: airag making contests, horse races, and traditional Mongolian sports like archery and wrestling. The festival also features traditional Mongolian music, throat singing, and dance performances.
Nomadic Practices
Attendees can observe and participate in traditional nomadic practices such as yurt (ger) building, milking mares, and preparing traditional Mongolian cuisine.
The Timing
The festival usually takes place in late summer, around August. It is held in various regions of Mongolia, with one of the most prominent locations being in Bulgan Province, specifically in the Orkhon Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mongolia's central and eastern regions, including the provinces of Central, Khentii, Dornod, and Sukhbaatar, are scattered with man-stone statues dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Currently, 138 stone statues have been officially recorded.
The stone statues of the Mongol Empire stand out from other stone statues of the same era due to their unique portrayal and design style. They feature male and female figures, many of whom are seated in 'Iser' chairs and holding a wine cup in their right hand.
Stone statues could be either fully carved or partially carved. Scholars frequently reference stone portraits when interpreting ancient legends, narratives, and royal depictions.
The Iser chair, a symbolic seat of the nomads, has been portrayed on numerous intricately designed stone statues, and physical examples have been found within burial sites dating back to the Mongol era.
More than 40 km southeast from the center of Darganga Soum, Sukhbaatar province, on the western downhill of the mountain called known as Lamt, on the southwest side of the Lamt military basis, there are three human stones with elaborate depictions.
The Lamt stone statues are a testament to the artistry and craftsmanship of ancient cultures. These statues are remarkable for their accurate depictions of the faces of both Khaans and nobles, which have been preserved in pristine condition within the stone.
This level of preservation is of immeasurable value to historians and archeologists, who can glean important insights into the physical appearances of these historical figures.
Three well-made and designed stone statues can be seen on the southeast downhill of Shiveet Valley, more than 40 kilometres south of the center of Ongon Soum in Sukhbaatar province.
The stone statues situated in Shiveet are embellished with meticulously crafted and aesthetically appealing accessories, such as hats, ponytails, robes, belts, and chairs. These decorative items are exquisitely designed and serve to enhance the visual appeal of the statues.
The beads depicted on the stones of places like Tavan Tolgoi and Shiweet are historical facts that shed light on religious issues.
Four stone statues of sacrificial structures with good imagery and design are located in Khaalgat, more than 50 km east of the center of Erdenetsagaan soum in Sukhbaatar Province's Senj Mandal Valley.
Discover the captivating and invaluable Man Stone, an exceptional monument that embodies the traditions, beliefs, culture, and way of life of our ancient nomadic ancestors.
Aerial Perspective
The painting aims to portray the soldiers fighting in an orderly manner from high ground and includes various events from an aerial perspective.
Painting Techniques
Traditional Mongol painting techniques are utilized, including the representation of the horizon jutting above the mountains, the blue sky, clouds, and trees against a pale yellow backdrop.
A Woman Sprinkling Milk
On the lower right side of the painting, we can see a woman standing with a dog outside her house, sprinkling milk as a symbol of blessing a victory and her son farewell, who has joined the People's Regular Army.
General D. Sukhbaatar
This part of the painting shows General D. Sukhbaatar, leader of the People's Regular Army, in the center. He is mounted on a horse, carrying guns and swords, and is seen battling from the southwestern front with a sword in hand.
The Red Flag of the People's Regular Army
The red flag of the People's Regular Army waves proudly behind General Sukhbaatar. Warriors on horseback charge forward, their weapons raised in a show of force. The scene is filled with a sense of national pride and determination.
The Battle
This painting, inspired by historical sources, depicts the decisive victory of the People's Regular Army and the significance of this event.
Duutin Khad, also known as Duut Rock, is a beautiful natural rock formation with a black exterior and a white and gray interior. This rock is located in Delgerkhaan Soum, Central Province, and is famous for the poem inscribed on it by Tsogtu Taiji.
The inscription on the rock is so clear and vivid that it appears as if it is written in white chalk on a board. The inscription on the rock tells the story of Taiji's heart-wrenching experience.
On the twenty-first day of the first autumn in the year of the White Rooster 1621, Taiji rode his armored sled up Khangai Khan's northern mountain. When he looked towards the east, he was overcome with emotion and cried for his aunt who had been married off to a distant clan.
Taiji had already felt politically isolated, and Khaluut's departure made him feel even more alone. The seven stanzas of the "Duut Khad" inscription are a tribute to Khaluut's memory.
Taiji's poetic musings are philosophical and poignant. By expressing his deep sense of loss, Taiji has created a work of art that resonates with anyone who has experienced the pain of separation from a loved one.
The golden summary of the principles of statecraft founded by ancient Khaans. It is a precious resource encompassing the history, legends, myths, and genres of ancient Mongolian literature from prehistoric periods to the 17th century.
Written by Giiushi Luvsandanzan, a 17th-century Mongolian polymath and translator, and his disciples, this treatise is typically called 'Lu Altan Tobchi'.
It's generally considered an original copy of the Secret History of the Mongols written in vertical Mongol script, and the work is unique in that it contains 233 out of the 282 paragraphs in the Secret History of the Mongols.
Not only verbatim but with additional detail in certain parts. It has significant historical information and facts about the history of the Mongolian state from Chinggis Khaan to Ligden Khaan (13th to 17th centuries).
Onkhodyn Jamiyan, the first director of the Institute of Sutra and Scripts, found out and brought the original pen copy that was kept by Taiji Damdin of Yonshoobu clan in Bayantiimen khoshuu of Khan Khentii Uulyn aimag in 1926.
Tanjur is an extensive collection of over 3427 works and treatises on ten major and minor Buddhist sciences composed by ancient Indian and Tibetan scholars and Panditas. Mongolians started translating the Tanjur when Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia.
In the first half of 18th century, Changkya Rolpe Dorje, Shiregetii Khutugtu Luvsandambiinyam and 200 other translators worked on the translation of the Tanjur from Tibetan into Mongolian and printed 226 volumes in woodblock in Beijing between 1742 and 1749.
A complete Tanjur that was worshipped at the Shash-nyg Badruulagch Temple in Tsakharyn Siireg khoshuu of Khoshoi Qinwang Nayant, Jasagh of Sain Noyon Khan aimag of Khalkha Mongolia was brought and exalted at the Institute in 1925 by Giing Onkhodyn Jamiyan.
The director of the Institute of Sutra and Scripts after agreeing with Qinwang Nayant to safe-keep the sutra at the library of the Institute in 1924.
Later, in 1954, N.Dendev, aged 64 at that time, finished carving the incomplete 64 letters and his signature as instructed by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. He started making the stele when he was 37, and it took him 27 years to finish engraving the stele inscription.
Kanjur (Kangyur), meaning ‘Translated words [of the Buddha]’ is the entire collection of texts regarded as ‘Buddha words’ compiled and translated into Tibetan.
The complete collection of Kanjur in Nine Jewels was crafted by writing the treatise in ink made of pigments of nine jewels on composite varnished paper dyed in black.
The Kanjur in Nine Jewels was worshipped at the Dashchoimpel Temple of Ikh Khiiree and handed over to the Mongolian Academy of Sciences library in 1937-1938.
Praise to the White Tara and Green Tara (Savieress) Goddesses. This praise was written on a small piece of paper by Geshe S. Shagj (1886-1938) in the early 20th century.
It was kept by Ts.Damdinsuren, a prominent Mongolian scholar for many years, was given a gift to the Central Library to establish the exhibition hall of rare and ancient books and sutras on October 24, 1980.
Written in Tibetan in a total of 79 lines in black and red ink in great density on a small piece of paper, it contains 62 stanzas in Tibetan or 250 lines of eulogy, 5718 letters, and 2510 dot marks.
Wood printing blocks of the Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary titled a lexicon resource for the wise. Wood printing blocks of a Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary of Buddhist terminologies were composed under the supervision of Changkya Rolpe Dorje.
It's titled initially dag yig mkhas pa i 'byung gnas in Tibetan and 'Mergedgarqu-yin orun' in Mongolian, i.e., The Land of Emerging of Erudites.
In 1924, when the People's Republic of Mongolia declared its independence and sovereignty in Asia, and the first printing house of Mongolia started issuing the first modern publications.
The wood printing blocks of the Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary titled 'A Lexicon Resource for the Wise’ was crafted at the Agha Monastic school of Buryatia in 1924 at the initiative of the Institute of Sutra and Scripts of Mongolian Academy of Sciences.
These wood printing blocks, therefore, became a testimony of the historical tradition of bookmaking not only among the Mongols but also in Asia.
It is a national documentary heritage of Mongolia, bearing institutional memory of the process of social and cultural development and reform in Mongolia.
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