Culture

The culture of Mongolia can be described as homogeneous. The official language, Khalkha Mongol, is spoken by 90% of the population. Mongolia has its own ethnic group, which comprises 95% of the country's population.

Clothing

Mongolian dress has changed little since the days of the empire, because it is supremely well-adapted to the conditions of life on the steppe and the daily activities of pastoral nomads. However, there have been some changes in styles which distinguish modern Mongolian dress from historic costume. The del, or kaftan, is the Monglian traditional garment worn on both workdays and special days. It is a long, loose gown cut in one piece with the sleeves; it has a high collar and widely overlaps at the front. The del is girdled with a sash. Mongolian dels always close on the wearer's right, and traditionally have five fastenings. Modern dels often have decoratively cut overflaps, small round necklines, and sometimes contain a Mandarin collar.

Depictions of Mongols during the time of the empire, however, show dels with more open necklines, no collars, and very simply cut overflaps, similar to the dels still worn by lamas in modern Mongolia. In addition to the del, both men and women might wear loose trousers beneath, and women might also wear underskirts. Skirts of the same style are still worn in part of Mongolia and China today; they have plain front and back panels with closely pleated side panels.

Each ethnic group living in Mongolia has its own del distinguished by cut, colour and trimming. Before the revolution, all social strata in Mongolia had their own manner of dressing. Livestock-breeders, for example, wore plain dels, which served them both summer and winter. The priests wore yellow dels with a cape or khimj thrown over it. Secular feudal lords put on smart hats and silk waistcoats.

Paintings of Mongols from Persian and Chinese sources depict men, and often women, wearing their hair in braids. The hair would be divided into two pigtails, each of which would be divided into three braids. The ends of the braids would then be looped up and bound to the top of the braid behind the ears. Men also shaved the tops and sides of their heads, usually leaving only a short 'forelock' in front and the long hair behind. The famous boqtaq headdress worn by women seems to have been restricted to married women of very high rank.

Music

Mongolia has a very old musical tradition. Key traditional elements are throat-singing (khoomii), the Morin Khuur (horse head fiddle) and other string instruments, and several types of songs. Mongolian melodies are typically characterised by pentatonic harmonies and long end notes.

In the 20th century, western style classical music has been introduced, and mixed with traditional elements by some composers. In recent times, the full palette of Pop and Rock music has also been adopted by younger musicians.

National Flag

The ornate symbol in the leftmost bar of the national flag is a Buddhist icon called a soyombo. It represents the sun, moon, stars and heavens per standard cosmologic symbology abstracted from that seen in traditional Tibetan thangka paintings.

Religion

Aside from brief periods of Islam and Christianity, various forms of shamanism have been widely practiced throughout the history of what is now modern day Mongolia, as such beliefs were common among nomadic people in Asian history. Such beliefs gradually gave way to Tibetan Buddhism, but shamanism has left a mark on Mongolian religious culture. Indeed, some shamanistic practices and traditions are still practiced in rural areas.

Throughout much of the twentieth century, the communist government ensured that the religious practices of the Mongolian people were largely repressed. Horloogiyn Choybalsan complied with the orders of Joseph Stalin, destroying almost all of Mongolia's over 700 Buddhist monasteries and killing thousands of monks. The fall of communism in 1991 restored the legality of public religious practice, and Tibetan Buddhism, which had been the predominant religion in the region before the rise of Communism, again rose to become the most widely practiced religion in Mongolia. The end of religious repression in the 1990s also allowed for other religions, such as Islam and Christianity, to spread in the country.

Sports and Recreation

Mongolia's Naadam festival takes place over three days in the summer and includes horse racing, archery and Mongolian wrestling. These three sports, traditionally recognised as the three primary masculine activities, are the most widely watched and practiced sports throughout the country.

Horse Riding

Horse riding is especially central to Mongolian culture. The long-distance races that are showcased during Naadam festivals are one aspect of this, as is the popularity of trick riding. One example of trick riding is the story that the Mongolian military hero Damdin Sühbaatar scattered coins on the ground and then picked them up while riding a horse at full gallop.

Wrestling

Wrestling is the most popular of all Mongol sports. It is the highlight of the Three Manly Games of Naadam. Historians claim that Mongol-style wrestling originated some seven thousand years ago. Hundreds of wrestlers from different cities and aimags around the country take part in the national wrestling competition.

The traditional wrestling costume includes an open-fronted jacket, tied around the waist with a string. This is said to have come into use after the champion of a wrestling competition many years ago was discovered to be a woman. The jacket was introduced to ensure that only men could compete.

There are no weight categories or age limits. Each wrestler has his own attendant herald. The aim of the sport is to knock one's opponent off balance and throw him down, making him touch the ground with his elbow and knee.

The winners are honoured with ancient titles:

the winner of the fifth round gets the honorary title of nachin (falcon),
the winner of the seventh and eighth rounds gets the honorary title of zaan (elephant)
the winner of the tenth and eleventh rounds gets the honorary title of arslan (lion)
the wrestler who becomes the absolute champion is awarded the title of avarga (Titan)

Every subsequent victory at the national Naadam-festival will add an epithet to the avarga title, such as 'Invincible Titan to be remembered by all'.

Beginning in 2003, the Mongolian parliament adopted a new law on Naadam, making amendments to some of the wrestling titles. The titles of iarudi and Hartsaga (Hawk) were added to the existing above-mentioned rules.

Football

Football is also played in Mongolia. The Mongolia national football team begun playing again in the 1990s; it has yet to qualify for a major tournament. The Mongolia Premier League is the top domestic competition.