Mongolia culture
Sukhbataar Square in front of Parliament in Ulaanbataar
A huge statue of Chinggis Khan fills the front portico of the Parliament Building
Sukhbataar is a hero of the 1921 liberation from China.
Eclectic elements around main square.
Like other poor cities around the world, Ulaanbataar has little budget for weed control or park maintenance.
New and shiny with old and seedy.
Modern construction will soon eclipse decaying temple.
Members of the opera company perform a tsam-mask ceremony.
Opera costume and mask
Opera imp
The horse-head fiddle is central to Mongolian music both on the rural steppe and in urban ensembles.
Ganden monastery in Ulaanbataar.
Rural edlerly in traditional garb visiting the temple and monastery.
Chanting monks
Reading old script from modern device.
Tapestry in monastery.
Statue of Megjid Janraisig
Mask
Buddist prayer drums. One seeks a blessing as one spins a drum clockwise.
Tourism helps fund the monastery.
Shamanism is still practiced in Mongolia. Here a shaman prepares for a trance.
Robing the shaman
The shaman beats the drum held to her head. Attendants will protect her if she starts lurching.
Into the trance.
Trance
Winding down.
Ready to consult.
Chris Rainier has a moment with the shaman.
Discussing possibilities for a California chapter?
[More than one woman here in contact with spirits?]
Deer Stones
Petroglyphs of flying deer (reindeer?) on deer stone near Murun.
Petroglyphs atop Altai Mountains in South Gobi.
Regional boarding school in village of Bulgan in South Gobi.
Classroom.
Principal shows off volleyball trophies.
School register pages from Soviet era.
Playground. School is out for the summer.
![[More than one woman here in contact with spirits?]](images/culture-030.jpg)
