Ger
The most important material object in Mongolian nomadic culture is undoubtedly the ger, or Mongol yurt. Although since the mid-20th century Mongolia has become increasingly urbanised, more than half of Mongolians still live in gers, either as nomads in the countryside or as permanent residents of towns and cities.[1]
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Structure of the ger
The basic framework of the ger is made up of several collapsible lattice wall sections, usually four or five in number (xana); a low wooden door (xaalga); one or several central supporting posts (bagana), typically one on either side of the hearth; a wheel-shaped roof frame (toono); and a series of poles radiating as spokes from the latter, supporting the roof (un' ). This structure is covered with a felt shell (bürees), consisting of separate segments to cover the walls (tuurga) and the roof (deever).
In assembling the standard ger, first the wall sections are unfolded and tied together in a circle; the door is then attached to the wall frames with two or three rope belts running around the outside of the walls. Next the roof frame is attached to the two supporting posts and raised in the centre of the ger, and the poles are set between the roof frame and the walls. Several large pieces of felt are tied together around the outside of the structure to provide insulation, and finally the ger is covered with a white cotton shell. The modern ger has the advantage of being quite warm in winter, due to the excellent insulating properties of its felt covering, in addition to being extremely portable: depending on the number of people involved, it can be disassembled or set up in as little as thirty minutes.
There are two main types of frame for the smoke hole (toono) in the ger - the ring-framed and the "xorol"-framed variety. Further differentiations are made according to the methods of construction, with the existence of curved, composite and spoked rings. The ring frame of the xatguur toono is made with three curved, reinforced wooden spokes parallel to the frame, and three curved spokes strengthened across the other three. The curved, wide-framed matmal toono is made from the wood of thin birch trees and consequently is heavier than the other varieties, but is easy to decorate with ornamental patterns. Nowadays the curved toono is the most common type.
Furniture and layout
The ger is always set up and furnished according to strict customs. The door of the ger must face the south or south-east, towards the sun. The stove, used for heating and cooking, is placed directly in the centre of the residence, with its opening facing east; a fuel-basket and fire tongs are kept to the south of the stove. All tools associated with men's activities - including the sack for containing airag (fermented mare's milk), saddles, branding irons, and hunting rifle - are kept on the west side of the home, while the tools used for women's work - kitchen pots and utensils, water barrels, and tea flasks - are kept on the east side of the door. The family's beds are located on either side of the home, north of the storage areas. The family's most valuable objects are kept at the rear of the ger, an area known as the xoimor, which is associated with respect. Every family has one or more wooden chests at the back of the home. Clothing, money, and other valuable items arc put inside the chests, while religious icons, books, displays of family photographs, and other objects of religious or personal value are displayed on top of these.
History of the ger
The Mongolian ger has evolved substantially over the centuries, following its emergence around two thousand years ago. Whereas caves and rock shelters such as the "erüke" were used until approximately the Neolithic, the ger eventually developed as a form of dwelling more suited to the nomadic way of life, drawing its origins in primitive huts (ovooxoi) or wigwams (urc) similar to those still in use by some peoples in northern Mongolia and Siberia today - the primordial features of which remain visible in the smoke hole (toono), poles (un') and lattice walls (xana) of the modern ger. The discovery of felt allowed early Mongols to insulate their homes more easily and effectively, laying the foundations for the first true gers. Images of mobile ger-carts have been found in more than fifty rock-paintings of the Bronze Age.
Bronze Age petroglyphs representing gers have been found in Siberia and in Mongolia, including images in Cagaan Gol sum of Gov'-Altai aimag, Gurvansaixan sum of Ömnögov' aimag, Tevsh Mountain of Bogd sum of Övörxangai aimag, and Chuluut sum of Arxangai aimag.
The first mention of a ger in documentary sources dates from the Xünnü period. The ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian (145-86 BCE) wrote in his Historical Records that "the Xünnü live in a dome-shaped dwelling known as a hunlu". The Sianbe, Uhani, Mörön, Toba, and Joujan tribes, who succeeded the Xünnü, also lived in similar shelters.
Previously the ger had two distinct types of frame. The high-framed variety originated from "the ger with neck" (xüzüüt toono) that was in use prior to the 13th century, and which is represented in some petroglyphs. Examples of such gers can be seen in the memorial complex to Chingis Xaan in Ordos aimag of Inner Mongolia. The Hazara of Central Asia and Afghanistan (whose ancestors were related to the Mongols) continue to live in gers with high-necked smoke hole frames.
The sarxinag toono is unusual in that it consists of two segments, and is attached to the poles of the ger which are strung between the "fingers" by way of a woollen rope. The centre of this toono is identical to the xorol frame, but it also has small finger-shaped spokes with holes on both sides for the poles.
William de Roubrouc, a French traveller who visited Mongolia in 1253, offered the following description of Mongolian yurts: They put their houses on wheels, and woven switches serve as the walls of the house. The walls are joined at the top thus forming the neck of the house. They are covered with white felt and the felt is often saturated with lime or bone powder to make it glitter brighter. Sometimes around the neck a black felt decorated with beautiful drawings on different themes is put. At the entrance of the house a felt covered with clothes of many bright colours is hung up, and vines, trees, birds, and animals are made of coloured felt.[2]
The largest gers of the 13th century were often carried on chariots; Roubrouc counted 22 bulls pulling one such ger-cart. The largest gers in history were the xaans' palaces (orda ger), used for receiving foreign representatives, for important council meetings, and so on. Such gers were typically decorated with the skins of valuable animals (tigers, lions, etc.), with posts and parts of the frame ornamented in gold. A replica of Abtai Sain Xan's ger, which had fifteen wall sections and 150 roof poles, has been set up in Ulaanbaatar along the bank of the Selbe River.
Since the middle ages the ger has become lighter and more portable, with the most noticeable structural change being in the form of the roof, which previously had a high and pointed neck quite unlike the dome-shaped roof of the modern ger. A number of important technological changes were introduced in the 20lh century, including the replacement of the tulga (fire-trivet) with an enclosed stove, permitting smoke to be evacuated more readily from the home; the replacement of the felt flap at the entrance to the home with a solid wooden door; the use of beds in the place of animal skins and felt padding; and the introduction of a cotton shell for the exterior of the ger, improving the outer appearance of the home.
Notes
- ↑ According to the 2000 Mongolian census, 50.9% of all Mongolian families and 21.8% of Ulaanbaatar residents lived in gers. National Office of Statistics. Хүн ам, орон сууцны 2000 оны тооллого. Статистикийн эмхтгэл: Орон сууц. Ulaanbaatar: 2001.
- ↑ William de Roubrouc. Travel to Eastern Countries.
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