Big Blog no. 2

 Music of Mongolia 

    Hello, I hope everyone is doing great so far! Can you believe we are almost done with this semester? ... I know it's crazy. Unfortunately, this is our last big blog number two :( So, today I will be educating you about the traditional music of Mongolia. I hope you enjoy it. And have a great weekend!

    Before we start I want to talk about how music has played a big part in Mongolian culture. Many of the ways Mongolia contributed to the world's musical culture are the long songs, overtone singing, and morin Khurr, and the horse-headed fiddle. The music of Mongolia is rich with many related to the various ethnic groups of the country. 

Traditional Music 

Throat Singing 

    There are many types of Mongolian throat singing also called (hoomii). Throat-singing originated in the indigenous Turko-Mongol tribes of the Altai and Sayan mountains of soughter Siberia and western Mongolia. It is also called overtone singing, this consists of a range of sing styles in where a single vocalist sounds more than one pitch. It is a style of singing or chanting, that is one of the world's oldest forms of music. 

    The method that is used to sing Hommis is called 'chor' in Mongolian. In English it is called 'chorus', in French it is 'chord", and  in German it is 'chor', all of this is referred to the something: mulit-part singing. In Mongolina 'chor' is one person sing multip parts and with three different gneres - overtone, quaver, and complex. The Hommii is more outstanding vocal impression.

Hoomii basic structure consists of a continues bass and a musical treble. The singers need to use the vocal cords, nasal and oral cavities, and even the throzx to vibrate the air flow between the three, rather than sing with larynex. There as also been a singers that can even creat consonances without using the vocal cords. 

    For the past 100 year, the Hoomii lost its inner Mongolian Plateau. Today, the number of Hoomii singer has increased over the years throughout the nation. However, ancestry and tradition believes that "chor can only be sung were it is quiet, where you can hear nature, and the birds and the leaves are are dancing. Once the soul is there, you can begin the chor."

    Below you will find an amazing Youtube channel that throat singing. Feel free to watch it and enjoy it!

Mongolian Muiscal Instrument

Morin Khour: The Horsehead Fiddle 

    There is plenty of instruments that I found compelling, but the one instrument that I found intriguing is the Mongolian Horse-head fiddle. This instrument is one of the most popular instruments in Mongolia. It is a two-string lute, with a scroll at the top carved as a head of a horse, played with a bow made out of horsehair. Morin Khour is used as a solo instrument, or as a singer himself. In the old days, they were used by bards who read aloud poems and stories. Traditionally, Monrin Kour is made of shell, wood, and metal, and is decorated with green hems. But now and days it is made of hand-carved wood but it still uses traditional horsehair. 

    One of the things that made this string instrument different is how it's played. The bow is not placed between the inner and other strings like the erhu but is kept on the outside of the strings for playing. It sounds timbre and gentle with a deep and low sound that is melodious and mellow. It is said, "In describing the beauty of the grassland, a melody performed by Morin Khour is much more vivid than the color of the painters or the language of the poets". 

    Legends say that the first Morin Khour after his horse passed away, was created by the hero of his beloved horse. The head was shaped into the body, the bone of the thigh was formed from the fingerboard, and the hair was formed from its tail, and the mane was formed into the bow and the strings. This idea is how it got its name. The legends claim that while he played his instrument and snag for his loss, the hero spent his life thinking about his horse. There have been many versions of this story, but one of the myths that stood out to me says the horse was created as a winged animal. He'll use his horse to visit his lover, that had a lake spirit with a beautiful green dress. It is believed that the horse died after the hero's wife discover the wings of the horse hidden behind the animal leg and clipped them, causing the horse to go straight into the earth during mid-flight.

    In the video below you will find the ancient Horse Head Fiddle from Mongolia. Feel free to listen and enjoy! 

Mongolian Dance

    Like many different cultures, traditional Mongolian dances are dived into categories of commoners, rituals, ethnicities, and noble respectively. Mongolian dance is like a ritual that mimics the action of mythical creatures, and legendary heroes. Moving on today I will be talking about the Mongol Bigeigee.

The Mongol Biyelgee (Folk Dance)

    The Mongolian Traditiona Fold Danced is carried out by many different ethnic groups in Khovd and Uvs provinces of Mongolia. The Mongol Biyelgee dance in embody and orginated from the nomadic way of life. This dance is typically danced in a confined space inside the ger (dwelling; traditional round tent covered with animal skin) and it is performed while half sitting or cross-legged. Many hands, shoulder, and leg movest express the lifestyle of Mongols. Biyelgee dancers wear clothing and accessories that have color combinations, many patterns, embroidery, knitting, quitting and letter, and gold and silver jewelry specify in their ethnic group or community. These dances play a great role in family and community events like fests, celebrations, weddings, and labor-related practices. These dances express ethnic identities and promoting family unity and mutual understanding from different Mongolian ethnic groups 

    Generally, Mongol Biyelgee is passed on to the younger generation through family, clan, or neighborhoods. Mostly know and days of Biyelgee dances are elderly, and unfortunately, these numbers are decreasing. Mongol Biyelgee is also going down because of the remainder of people that represent this type of form of Biyelgees from different ethnic groups. 

    Below you will see different dancers from different ethnic and in the following, there is a video. Feel free to watch the video. Enjoy!

  

Sources:

“Music of Mongolia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Mongolia. 

“Throat-Singing.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/art/throat-singing. 

Hoomii, innermongolia.chinadaily.com.cn/2017-06/23/c_82522.htm. 

Hays, Jeffrey. “TRADITIONAL MONGOLIAN MUSIC.” Facts and Details, factsanddetails.com/china/cat5/sub88/entry-4593.html. 

“Mongolian Music and Dance.” Mongolia Tours, www.toursmongolia.com/about-mongolia/mongolian-culture-and-heritage/mongolia-music-and-dance.