To translate and to answer the questions.
Англи хэлний 4-р анги Хэлмэрчлэхүйн нийт 64 цагийн хичээл
1.
Specific features of
Mongolian customs
Mongolian customs
are unique traditions formed
during the development of central Asian nomadic civilization, which has
been passed on from
generation to generation of Mongols
over the
centuries .
Mongolian customs
and traditions encompassed
all aspects of life ; the
intellect, psychology, morality ,
ethics, science, education, religious life and family relationships of the
Mongols.
Mongolia customs and traditions have their own peculiarities and specific features ,
the likes of which are
distinguished from other
nations and have been
recorded by both Mongolian and
foreign scholars in their
research. Since the beginning of time, the Mongols
considered the upbringing
and education of their children in a civilized manner to be an obligation before the state and the people. This is why the
linguistic association of the Mongolia
word educate , bring up is related to
the idea of humuun ‘’ human or ‘’ humuuniig hun
bolgoh ‘’ to bring up , make up a
man Along with a healthy and normal physical upbringing , much
attention was paid to the intellectual , moral
and ethical development of a child , even when unborn . Mongolian
traditions strictly forbid frightening a pregnant woman , making her unhappy or
employing her to do difficult jobs .Furthermore , it was forbidden to cross a
pregnant woman when walking , to say bad words in her presence , to swear or
even speak in a loud voice . such traditions came from the deep respect and
care given to an unborn child , who ,
it was considered , might become a genius, an esteemed and distinguished statesman . or just a dear and faithful
person for his parents , relatives and community .
The Mongol saying ‘’Holiig in doroond ,
garyg ganzagand ‘’ translates literally as’’ make the child ‘s legs reach the
stirrups and hands reach the saddle thongs ‘’. This means that the child must
grow up physically able to help his parents and relatives with their daily
activities. Once the children could understand and accept their surroundings
,they were told tales and legends , rodles
and proverbs , and were taught to respect parents , siblings , old people and
strangers . At the same time parents carefully observed how their child
accepted everything that was taught , monitored their behavior , speech and
criticized their wrong doings . In order to cultivate a child’s knowledge and
skills, the children were taught to tend and graze young animals , to water horses
. to collect dry cattle dung , and to milk cows from a young age . The
livestock breeders taught everything from their own experiences .
As
the right nutrition was important for healthy growth , along with sufficient
milk and milk products, children were taught about the danger of over-eating or
being hungry and of choking , in addition to good manners.
Particular attention was paid to children’s
toys and games in order to make children smart , clever , intelligent , honest
and trustworthy ; games and toys created and invented by the Mongols prove this
. For example , playing horse racing with shagai /lamd,s ankle bone / ,
guessing the sum of anklebones in one’s
hand , setting the so-called ‘’
alag melkhii ‘’ /multicoloured frog /,
bone shooting , and shagai shuurekh-game played with anklebones .
By entertaining their children with puzzle
games and toys made of
wood or metal, the Mongols used to
teach them Mongolian traditions
and customs which served
to broaden their minds.
As the
Mongols say, permanent
scolding or rebuking of a child , or
intimidation and threatening
make a child perverse and stubborn
, therefore a caring and
loving education was considered
particularly important. However ,
they said , excessive love and care made
a child capricious and spoilt. Accordingly. Mongols have many proverbs such as
‘’Erkhiig surakhaar berkhiig sur’’ /To
be experienced instead of being spoiled/.
One of the established norms of behavior
of the Mongols was the tradition
of greeting and saluting each other with respect and honor. Elders ,
distinguished and honored
persons are greeted
first and the young
ones respond to them
in well-wishing and respectable manner .
Hand shaking , while greeting each other
was not desirable , as the touching of
hand of an honored
and respected person was
considered impolite and
a violation of tradition . The ancestors did not
consider the touching
and grasping of hands
a sing of affection and friendship
but rather shameful behavior
and an attempt to make
others dirty and
impure. The most venerable greeting
would involve a person tightly
buttoning his clothes ,
tightening his belt ,
putting his hat on , extending his right hand while bowing three
times and touching his forehead
with his fingers . This was considered
the most popular
and traditional style of
greeting , and
was conducted during ceremonies held
in officials’ palaces or at their homes . When meeting respected
guests on the open steppe , one should put his clothes in order , place
the palm of his right hand to his heart
and bow therefore displaying deep respect
Ordinary folk upon
greeting each other , spoke words of well wishes regarding his or her occupation the following
words were pronounced;’’ Sureg
amgalan suu shim Arvin boltugai ‘’/Let the herd be peaceful and milk be
in abundance/.Upon meeting a person travelling to a far-away place the
following was said ;’’ Altan shar zam tan
‘ulziitei boltugai ‘’ /Let your journey
be lucky and successful ‘’/.The greeting bestowed upon a person sewing was ‘’Uil uran uter
turgen butekh boltugai’’/Wish your needlecraft be elegant
and completed quickly/.From ancient times, the Mongols deeply revered combining
words of well-wishing with the words of greetings . The traditional ceremony of
greeting during the Tsagaan Sar is performed once a year . The ceremony of
greeting with a ‘’ hadag ‘’ /blue silk scarf / is a tradition inherited from ancient
times . It is strictly to and is considered the highest and most revered form of greeting. Lf this were not followed it would
be considered disrespectful and be condemned . Upon greeting , young people
stretch both hands towards the elders with palms up , the elders do the same
with palms faced down but the young people hold the elbows of the old people as
if to support them . Greeting elders in
this way could be performed with or
without a hadag . If the greeting is performed with a hadag , the open side of
a triple folded hadag should face the elder
or the receiver . If the person wants to kiss his forehead or cheek .
This is not actually a kiss , as the elder only smells the young person . Kissing with
lips is not desirable .
A Mongolian taboo is considered like an
unwritten law . The rules dictate the respect of people’s relationships ,
respect of nature and environment , of the skies ,outer space ,of sun and moon
and planets,of norms of bevior of traditions and education in human relationships.
This oral folk law has been strictly observed by the Mongols for centuries and
has become a homemade discipline for the educating and upbringing of children.
For example;
-It is forbidden to look suspiciously
at ones mother ,father, grandparents , and familiar or unfamiliar elderly
people . The offending person would be treated as a man disregarding the lam
and considered worse than an animal;
-It is forbidden to throw waste into
rivers , lakes and spas , the offender would be punished for spoiling the
water-the source of all life ;
- Mongols do not beat horses, dogs and
animals ; it is equal to beating a close friend;
-It is strictly forbidden to throw
burning ash from the stove as the burning ambers might cause a fire and
endanger the life of people and animals and damage the nature;
-It is forbidden to leave holes for
rope and tether fastening unfilled with soil or stones. The soil injured by a
stake must be re-covered . Open holes may also injure the legs of animals .
-It would be considered shameful to
urinate towards the setting or rising sun .This way one respects the holiness
of the suns , the rays of which shine and illuminate the whole world .
- Not feeding a guest is considered as
a sign of ignorance and unfriendliness. This person would be called greedy and
stingy, who ignores the Mongolian tradition of hospitality .
- It is forbidden to be unfair or
inhuman , to be arrogant and rude, which insults the reputation of the elders,
of ancestors and of one’s personal reputation. The Mongols highly revere their
reputation, which is evident from the proverbs ‘’Muu amid yavsnaas ner turtei
sain ukh ‘’ /Better to die with a good reputation than be alive with a bad one/
, ‘’Ner khugarsnaas yas khugar n’ deer’’ .Better the bone be broken than one’s reputation / .
The Mongolian taboos, rules of restrictions and unwritten
law; are traditions inherited not only from our ancestors, but also from the
teachings of Chinggis Khaan , contained in the Code of Lam of Great Mongolian
called ‘’Lkh Zasag ‘’ , home to customs and traditions of the Mongolian tribes
and nationalities. The teachings of Chinggis Khaan ,designed to inspire and
preserve good management of family and society , deal repeatedly with
traditions any Mongols should adhere to during his lifetime .For example ,
every human being should first of all ,’’ correct one-self , then bring in
order his own house and at the end , his state’’. The sense in this teaching is
that every person should grow up in a decent / educated , just and fair,
smart and energetic, etc/, and bringing up his children should be able to own
affairs , and in educating and bringing up his children should be able succeed
in state affairs.
Some of the astrological taboos
still linger in modern society. For instance , the day and hour to embark on a trip, purchasing goods,
starting a new business, even cutting hair are often subject to an astrologer’s
calculations.
words/
