Much of East Asian art history is undeniably linked to Buddhism, and Mongolia is no exception. The gilt-bronze sculptures of Gombodorjiin Ishdorj (1635–1723), better known as Undur Gegeen Zanabazar, a 17th-century Mongolian Head of State and Faith, are an integral part of Buddhist art history. His sculptures express the human and divine qualities of the […]
“Cal’s journey begins with listening to ‘Sugaan Essena’, an original song from Mongolian band The HU. That’s not Mongolian you’re hearing though, it’s a language created by the band exclusively for the Star Wars. It’s Cal’s favorite song for ship scrapping or galactic gladiator fights, but why does he love it so much? A special […]
Eagle hunting is a traditional form of falconry, widespread throughout the Eurasian steppe among nomadic peoples. It represents the most dramatic and primary relations between man and beast, which is kept well through generation to generation in the remote mountains of western Mongolia. International audience interested in falconry among Kazakhs in Mongolian Bayan Ulgii aimag […]
The Khuumii, Mongolian throat (overtone) singing, is an extraordinary vocal technique, which a single performer simultaneously produces up to three separate vocal lines that can be clearly distinguished by audience. Although there are various types of khoomii, most of them involve a sound of a fundamental drone, and produce a flute-like melody by reinforcing a […]
Just a few months ago, no one in the world would know about the Mongolian rock band The Hu. Their popularity was not widespread in Mongolia until recently. The Hu was grouped in 2016 under the instruction of songwriter and producer B. Dashdondog, aka Dashka. The sensation has gone viral after The Hu posted the […]
Mongolian New Year or Tsagaan Sar is one of the most celebrated holiday among Mongolians. Tsagaan Sar means “White Moon” in Mongolian language and refers to the first day of the year, according to the Mongolian traditional lunisolar calendar when the new moon rises. Even the date changes every year, the Mongolian system of combining […]
In 1994, the world-famous music band “Enigma” from Germany released the single “Age of Loneliness” as one of the four singles in its second album “The Cross of Changes”. This single was peculiar in a way of containing the unusual female voice singing an extraordinary song in a strange non-western language. Listeners had no idea […]
Perhaps the most exotic bowed string instrument in the world is the Mongolian Morin khuur with the headpiece made in a shape of a horse’s head and an unusually deep and rich sound that can even imitate a horse neighing. The exact timing of the emergence of Morin khuur is still unclear, but there are […]
In the Middle Ages during long winter evenings Western Mongolians gathered at the storyteller and listened to his fascinating epic song about the exploits of Jangar, loyal and brave ruler of the fairy Bumba kingdom. From the storyteller-jangarchi’s mouth, people learned that Jangar was orphaned at the age of two when a cruel devil Guljin […]
It is believed that Alexei Yegorov, a famous Russian artist, whose contemporaries are called the Russian Raphael, was born in 1776 near the Volga river bank, located in the former Kalmyk Khanate. The Kalmyk Khanate was an Oirat or western Mongols khanate, established the Eurasian steppe in 1630. It extended over modern Kalmykia and surrounding […]