The grassland is beautiful in spring, with green grass, flowers and water plants. Crowds of cattle, horses and sheep run and walk freely on the endless grassland, enjoying the delicious food given by nature all the time. No matter where you go to the ends of the earth, the grassland will always be a place where Mongolian people are attached to each other for life ...
First, the home of grassland people-Mongolian yurts
Pictures related to grassland are always accompanied by blue sky, white clouds, green grass and cute Mongolian yurts. The yurt is a unique building on the prairie and a "mobile house" for nomadic people. Until today, the northern Mongolian, Ewenki, Kazakh, Tajik and other ethnic groups still live in buildings like yurts. In Mongolian, yurts are called "Mongolian Legge Day". Why do we call it yurt now? It turns out that around the Southern Song Dynasty, the ancestral jurchen of Manchu had frequent contact with Mongolians, and the Manchu called "home" "Bo", so Manchu people called Mongolian houses "Mongolian Bo", and "Bo" was homophonic with "Bao". When expressed in Chinese characters, they wrote "Mongolian yurts".
Here comes a more detailed question: What was the predecessor of Mongolian yurts? What are the parts? Why is it round?
In the early days, the nomadic people who lived by hunting lived in shacks, which were pointed at the top and rounded at the bottom. Dozens of tree trunks were used as supports, and the captured skins or birch bark were covered on the supports to shelter from the wind and rain. This was the predecessor of Mongolian yurts. Later, the life style of the nomadic people changed from hunting to animal husbandry. They needed to choose a place where there were abundant aquatic plants, and they needed to move every once in a while. Therefore, they needed a house that was easy to disassemble and facilitate migration, and yurts with round vaults came into being.
The yurt is mainly composed of Wu Nai, Hana, Tao Ao, skylight, door and felt, which are fixed by bristle rope or leather rope. The main component at the top of the yurt is called Wu Nai, which plays the role of a house basket. People cut dozens of wooden rafters flat, punch holes at the upper and lower ends, and string them together with fur ropes to form Wu Nai. The top of Wu Nai is connected with Tao Ao, a flat circular skylight made of wood, which has the functions of ventilation, lighting and smoke removal. Wu Nai and Tao Ao were covered with blankets. When the weather is fine, Mongolians will lift the corner of Tao Ao to the center. When it rains or at night, a long piece of wood will be used to stir up the felt to cover Tao Ao. The skeleton of the yurt's round body is called Hana. Hana is a net-shaped wall made of willow trees, which can be quickly removed during migration, which is very convenient.
why are yurts designed in a barrel shape instead of a square or rectangle? Because the circular object has stronger wind resistance, it can withstand the wind from all directions on the grassland. Because the circle has no edges and corners, it can disperse the direct pressure of strong wind on the building, so that the wind can pass smoothly, thus avoiding the strong wind blowing towards a place in the building. Secondly, under the condition of limited materials, the circular yurt area is the largest. Mongolians certainly want to live in the biggest house with the most economical materials.
Second, the grassland smells on the tip of your tongue
Horse racing banquet
When you hear this name, you may be a little confused: Did the "Horse Racing Banquet" eat horses? Horses are inseparable good partners of Mongolians. They love horses so much that how can they be willing to eat them?
Horse-cheating banquet was an ancient feast enjoyed by Mongolians in Yuan Dynasty, when only royalty could eat it. For the meaning of horse racing banquet, historians who study yuan dynasty history have put forward different views. Some think it is Persian, which means "clothes", because everyone, including the emperor, should change into clothes with the same color when eating horse racing banquet, and change a set every day; Some people think that it is Mongolian, which means the whole animal with hair removed; Emperor Qianlong once thought that cheating on horses meant racing.
what delicious food are there at the horse racing banquet? The first is "Eight Treasures in the North", including eight kinds of delicious food, such as tí hú, Cuo, wild camel's hoof, deer's lips, camel's milk, roasted swan, purple jade paste and black jade paste. When making cheese, the upper layer first condenses into crisp, and the crisp is oily, which tastes sweet; Cuckoo refers to the young of the ostrich (jūn); Wild camel's hoof is camel's hoof; Deer lips refer to the lips of moose; Camel milk is camel milk, and mi refers to porridge; Roasted swan is roasted swan meat; Purple jade pulp refers to wine; Xuanyu pulp is a wine made from mare's milk grapes.
roast whole sheep
maybe you haven't eaten roast whole sheep yet, but you must have heard of its name, right? In Mongolian, horse-racing banquet refers to the whole animal that has lost its hair, so roast whole sheep also has a place in the food list. Roast whole sheep is a traditional Mongolian food, which has been favored by people all over the country since ancient times. To roast whole sheep, it is necessary to slaughter the whole sheep first, brush the hair with hot water, remove the internal organs, and then skewer the whole sheep on the iron frame for roasting. The sheep is coated with cumin, pepper, pepper and other spices. When the iron frame rotates, all parts of the sheep can be roasted evenly. The roasted mutton is golden in color, crispy in skin and tender in meat, even if it is just looking at it, it will make your mouth water.
Third, Mongolian's own Spring Festival
Mongolians have their own Spring Festival, which is called Baijie, also known as Bai Yue, and the Mongolian pronunciation is Chagan Sari. White Festival is the biggest festival of Mongolian people in a year. On this day, people hold sacrificial activities, taste delicious mutton and white milk, and pray for good luck in the new year.
Why is the Mongolian Spring Festival called "Bai Yue"? It turns out that before the 13th century, Mongolians had been living a nomadic life. Grass grows very luxuriantly in autumn, cattle, sheep and horses have more food, strong physique and high survival rate, so the harvest season of nomadic people is in autumn. There is an old Mongolian example, that is, in the month with the richest prey and the best fur of wild animals every year, a celebration is held to distribute the prey to the hunters. During the nomadic life, the Mongolian New Year was in September, which was the most abundant season for free food, so it was called "Bai Yue", and the name has been used ever since, and the date was changed from September to the first month. Kyle Poirot, an Italian traveler, once recorded the prosperity of the Mongolian Spring Festival in his book:
His New Year really began in February of the solar calendar, when Khan and all his officials resumed a festival ... that is, Khan and all his subjects were dressed in white robes according to the customs of the day, so that all men, women and children were dressed in white, and it seemed that they were dressed in white, so they were dressed on New Year's Day, so that this new year would be blessed all year round. ..... subjects give each other white things, hug and kiss each other, and celebrate great events, so as to make the whole year happy.
—— Travel Notes of Marco Polo
Mongolians regard pure white as an auspicious color, so when they welcome guests from afar, they will present pure white Hada to each other to express their pure and sincere feelings for the guests. After talking about the origin of Bai Yue, let's learn how the Mongolians spend the Spring Festival.
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, every household will hold a fire festival, which is a prelude to the Spring Festival. First of all, they should hang a clean wind horse flag on the platform just south of the house; Then the family brought out delicious food such as sheep sternum, cream porridge, snacks and red dates and put them on the table; Then remove the ashes from the fire support and light a new fire. The elders in the family respectfully dedicated the sternum of sheep to the flame, and others scattered the rest of the food to the flame respectively, and stood and kowtowed in the order of age.
In Mongolian, New Year's Eve is called "special closing temperature", which means "closing day". Like the Han nationality, Mongolians also pay attention to having a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve. After eating mutton, roast whole lamb, steamed stuffed bun and jiaozi, the family will sing and dance, raise a glass and chat, and enjoy this reunion.
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Mongolians will sacrifice to heaven, which is a tradition passed down from generation to generation. When offering sacrifices to heaven, the whole family circled around the yurt counterclockwise, bowed while walking, and sprinkled milk bumps and koumiss wine on the yurt, praying for good weather in the coming year. After that, the younger generation holds Hada to pay a New Year call to the elders, and the elders will say some auspicious and blessing words to them. After the family pays New Year's greetings, they will visit their neighbors' houses to pay New Year's greetings.
On the third day of New Year's Eve, the old people of every family will gather on the grassland to hold a recreational activity for the elderly and accept the hospitality and blessings of the younger generation.
is the Mongolian "Bai Yue" very distinctive? Do all kinds of delicious food make your mouth water? If there is an opportunity, visit the Mongolian people's home during the Spring Festival!
Fourth, the body language of horses
Mongolians are called "the people on horseback", and they have deep feelings with horses. How do Mongolian friends communicate with horses? In fact, the horse's body language represents what it wants to say.
a horse's ears can talk. If the horse's ears are straight forward, it means that it is curious or alert to what is in front of it, as if to say, "Look, who is this man?" I have never seen it. " If the horse's ears turn back a little, it shows that it is listening and seems to say, "What are you talking about? I also want to hear it. " If the horse's ears are close to his head, you should be careful. Because it means that it is very angry, maybe your little gesture will irritate it. It seems to say, "Hey, stay away from me, I'm bored!" "
a horse's eyes can also talk. If the horse's eyes are bright and oval, it means that it is worried; If its eyes are fierce and cold, it is telling you: "don't bother me!" " Or "my body hurts, let me have a good rest!" " If the horse's eyes are half open, it means that it is haunted by sleepy people and wants to take a nap; If the horse's eyes look soft and friendly, it means that it is happy, relaxed and willing to associate with you.
a horse's tail can also talk. Flies often surround the horse's tail. If the horse drives away the flies in a rhythmic and relaxed way, it means that it is in a leisurely and happy mood at this time. When a horse runs unscrupulously on the grassland, it may throw its tail high, even higher than its back, which shows that it feels very happy and enjoyable. But if there are no flies, the horse still shakes its tail, which shows that it is upset, so you should be careful. If it lashes its tail and makes a whip-like noise, it is warning you that "idle people should not disturb".