We sat in a ger with the fire blazing and drinking soup, while outside it snowed. Banaya is pregnant and told us about the traditions surrounding childbirth in Mongolia. It is custom that doctors must not tell a woman the sex of her child before birth, in case she should 'wish it away'. When a child is born guests visiting the new mother must bring a gift. It is bad luck for the woman if a guest does not bring one, as it is believed that it may turn her milk bad if she feels the guest does not wish her well. Women do not eat white rice for a month after the child is born, but eat mutton, which is believed to be the most wholesome food.
Her eldest son is named Temujin, the 'birth' name of Ghingis Kahn, the founder of the Mongolian empire which was once the second largest empire ever known. Naming your child Ghingis is rather like wearing a Che Guevara tee shirt in the UK- Mongolians seem desperate to cling to his legacy of greatness, which is plastered onto everything from toothpaste packets to hotel billboards. According to folklore Temüjin was born with a blood clot in his fist which was an indication that he was destined to become a great leader.
As I entered the gate of the main Budhist temple complex in Ulaan Baatar the attendant informed me I was lucky, today was ' auspicious day'. This was something to do with the moon calendar, he said. As I entered, strange hoots and clashes could be heard all over the complex. Inside, the temple bustled with monks, who were sat in rows chanting, playing instruments, drinking bowls of salty milk tea, reading the paper, reclining and chatting. Locals and the occasional out of place tourist processed around the edges of the building to pray. In glass cases in the walls were several mountainous and intricately iced cakes that had obviously been there for a long time. They were decorated in gold and strewn with sweets as offerings to the Gods. I couldn't see anyone conducting, but the chanting rose occasionally to peaks of quite overwhelming intensity with symbols clashing, trumpets, drums and flutes united. There were two trumpets about four metres in length, supported by special stands which spanned the length of the room.
A silk applique of a 'wrathful' Budhist deity. Made by groups of anonomous women these pieces are so intricate and reveal tangibly the labour involved in their creation. Unlike the paintings, which are almost all by named individual men, it is telling and poignant to think of the women that created these works together but remain unrecognised and mysterious.
There is a set of strict rules regarding the creation of each image. Deities can be depicted as either wrathful or peaceful and if wrathful must have blue and yellow eyes, a wide mouth baring sharp teeth, flying black or yellow hair, a hanging belly and flexed muscles. They wear a crown of human skeletons and a cape of human and tiger skins. Most have many faces, arms and legs- indicating an ability to stand on both earth and sky. Traditional drama tells the stories of these characters, and intricate masks and costumes were made for the performances.
No comments:
Post a Comment