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Mongolia
Culture & History
Personality, Culture, & Identity
Mongolia today seems to be a forgotten country with
one of the most significant and historically important pasts of all the world. Despite
the fact that Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan hailed from this out-of-the-way country,
the people are modest and humble, using that past more as a basis for their modern
day culture than as an excuse to act superior.
Since the days that Genghis Khan ruled over the world's largest empire, the
Mongols have been the victims of their, now more powerful
and influential neighbors. This recent past and the introduction of Buddhism have
made the people humble, while still remembering their history under Genghis and
Kublai Khan. Even today, Mongolian culture is rooted in the days of these great
rulers. Like then, the people today remain united as they are resilient, proving
their adaptability through their ability to live off the land as they care for animals
and move with the seasons as nomads. This lifestyle however is slowly dying as the
cities are growing, leaving their gers behind, but taking their culture
and mentality with them into the future.
The Mongols have a proud past, which both their neighbors
discourage. The people view themselves as "Mongols," but their strong
neighbors in Russia and China
were the victims of Genghis Khan's conquests so have tried to suppress Mongol
history. Despite these efforts, the people are aware of this past and that's
the root of their identity: the life of strong, powerful, proud, people who used
the land and animals for survival as the seasons changed. To be Mongol is essentially
defined by the ethnicity, but another part of that identity is their ability to
adapt and used the resources they have at hand. For this reason, much business is
conducted in Russian as the usefulness of this language overcomes the pride of the
Mongol language, which is not the primarily defining factor in their identity.
History
Mongolian history begins with the nomadic people on
the plains. Their first step towards unity was in about 300 BC when the Huns united
to create a loosely organized government. However after this unity, little changed
as the people continued their lives as nomads on the plains. Even at times when
political rule fell apart, life didn't change much for the people as they moved
with their animals during the seasons.
The 700s brought the next wave of change as the Uyghurs (an ethnic
Turkish group) entered the scene and ruled over the Huns or
Mongols, but never formed a strong government, although they did introduce
communication and educational changes.
Again, life carried on until the 1100s when these people, now a mix of a number
of ethnicities, united under a Mongol named Temujin
(Genghis Khan). By the early 1200s he had united all the tribes and began overrunning
neighboring peoples. Under his rule education expanded further and the Mongol culture
was quickly changing as these tribes that once were separate were now communicating
and working together.
During and after Genghis Khan's rule the Mongols
became successful warriors as they overran dozens of people, including the powerful
Chinese. Eventually, their empire became too vast to control
and it fell into a number of kingdoms. The strongest of these was based in modern
day Beijing and for some time was ruled over by
Kublai Khan, who started China's short-lived Yuan Dynasty. The most significant
impact this time period had on modern day Mongolia was that many of the Mongols
converted to Buddhism with the encouragement from the Tibetans.
By about 1400 nearly all the kingdoms had fallen and the Mongols were retreating
with the advance of the powerful Central Asian leader,
Timur. This fall from power continued into the 1500s and 1600s. The
Chinese regularly raided the cities and as each empire collapsed the
Mongols left behind were isolated among the natives, only modern day
Mongolia remaining primarily Mongol. It was during this time however, that Tibetan
and Mongol relations blossomed and it was actually the Mongols who bestowed the
title "Dalai Lama" on the Tibetan leader and current lama reincarnation.
The 1700s saw much of the same the 1600s saw, as the people essentially were under
Chinese Qing rule confined to the fields as serfs. This
did not change until the Qing was on the verge of collapse in the late 1800s and
early 1900s. With their collapse in 1911, the Mongols
quickly declared independence and turned to neighboring Russia for support. Due
to revolution in Russia and in China, but with no military,
Mongolia was at the mercy of their neighbors and after some setbacks gained full
independence in 1921, which placed Mongolia in civil war.
The Mongolian civil war was short lived as the Soviets
supported the communist movement in the country and this support led to a decisive
victory. The new government imitated the Soviet government and began collectivizing
and suppressing religious and political rights.
After World War II (WWII), in which Mongolia sided with
the Soviets and Allied forced, they found a communist government in
China and hence good relations on both sides. This ended with the Sino-Soviet
split in the 1960s, which essentially forced Mongolia to pick a side and they chose
the Soviet Union.
Under communist rule, the Mongols received improved
infrastructure, communication, education, and healthcare, however their economy
struggled. As much of the communist world fell in the late 1980s and early 1990s
the Mongols protested their government and many people began a hunger strike. The
government submitted after just three days and Mongolia has since been democratic.
Since the early 1990s Mongolia has been fairly stable
politically, but still marred regular by economic problems, however none of which
have been insurmountable.
Dress & Behavior
While the Mongols in large cities are fairly accepting
of all dress, including showing legs or arms, in the countryside the people are
more conservative and will oddly stare at you, and not just because you're foreign.
Most Mongolians will frown upon dress that is too revealing or too tight so, even
in cities, dress on the conservative side when in doubt.
Some of the population, particularly in the western part of the country, is Muslim.
If in a Muslim area, there are a number of religious laws which should be obeyed.
Women should cover their hair at all times in public and both women and men are
expected to cover their legs and shoulders; showing your knees and/or shoulders
can be very offensive. Adult women may also receive some odd looks if traveling
in Muslim areas alone.
Islamic law also forbids pork products and alcohol and these must be avoided if
with the Muslim population. Again, in the cities and in much of the country, where
the people are primarily Buddhist, there is no offence in eating pork or drinking
alcohol although some religious holidays restrict consuming these items. To learn
more about dining etiquette in Mongolia, visit the Mongolian Food page.
This page was last updated: November, 2011