Wednesday, July 10th, 2019 - Mongolian Traditional Costume Festival Creates Ethnic Envy in This Blogger!

'Ethnicity refers to a sense of belonging to a particular (assumed) ancestry and origin (Liebkind, 2006). An ethnic group is thought to exist whenever the belief in common descent is used to bind people together to some degree.'

A mounted archer.

I had to pinch myself to determine if I had landed among a tribe of American Indians, was in the midst of Lord of the Rings, or was channeling back to the days of Robin Hood! In fact, I was standing in Sükhbaatar Square, in Ulaanbaatar, watching the Deeltei Mongol Festival, otherwise known as the Mongolian Traditional Costume Festival, a parade of many ethnic Mongolians in their various costumes.

Torguud from Inner Mongolia - now part of China.

This one left me thinking I was in a Star Wars movie. I saw an enormous variety of fabrics, colors, hairstyles, hats, jewelry - all worn with great pleasure and pride. Some of the costumes would have been ceremonial clothes and some official clothes. It is possible the woman above represents the dress of an aristocratic woman. 

When you look at it from behind, you can see that the hair in the headdress is part of the hat - not the wearer's real hair.

Headdresses with long dangling earrings were a common theme. I have attempted to google to identify the ethnic groups represented, but it seems complicated - overlapping styles, so they will remain nameless.

There were many groups. My research tells me there are about 20 ethnic groups in Mongolia. Just in case you want to see where they come from, this link will take you to a map. http://www.chriskaplonski.com/mongolia/ethnicmap.html

Some of the groups were fairly conventional, in terms of what we'd seen to date.

Others were very elaborate!

In addition to beautiful women, there were very manly men. I could imagine them riding across the steppes with Genghis Kahn.

One of the most intriguing, and slightly scary groups were the Shamans. The drums had an Irish look, the feathers seemed similar to American Indians, and there was a sense that these people had been around a long time, had a deep history. Their costumes were ones that I wouldn't want to run into on a dark night.

Perhaps the demonstrators in Hong Kong could take on this shaman look to avoid facial recognition technology.  I also met some middle school students who would have liked this to be in mode. But it is not my intention to mock this expression, even though I felt awkward around it. It seems that shamanism is less an ethnic group, but a religious practice that was threatened during the years of USSR influence, much like Buddhism. Since the fall of the soviets in the 1990's, it seems that shamans have helped people to connect with their ethnic roots http://news.mit.edu/2013/the-surprising-story-of-mongolian-shamanism-1216

There is a great variety of textures and colors here.

I loved the humor and sturdiness of this woman's face and feathers.

For me, the mounted participants were very exciting to watch. This man and his falcon, looked very noble.

As is the case with many parades I've seen, there were older people who were highly decorated. During the communist era, when people were all paid the same regardless of accomplishments, awarding medals was a way to be distinguished from one's neighbor. This woman clearly had been seen by her community as contributing in ways that were appreciated.

As one group followed after another, in some cases each surpassing the other in color and brilliance, I found myself wishing that I had a heritage that would allow me to dress up and show my pride in this way. As an Australian, the only ethnic expression that came to mind was to wear a bush hat with corks hanging off the brim. That didn't appeal to me greatly. Perhaps my Irish and Scottish heritage could permit me to wear a kilt with authenticity. But I can only imagine how it would feel to be a child in a parade like this surrounded by such vivid colors and such distinct styles, that the sense of belonging in one's own group would become very clear - even if one started out relucatntly.

Talking heads?

We like to dress up for costume parties, so I imagine it is fun for these participants to do this, too. Perhaps they eye each other and steal ideas, or wish they had thought of that style? I could see putting a little 'Go-Pro' camera in these topknots!

After the parade, there was a lot of posing. I thought some of these costumes had a 21st century Disney influence. The kids were very comfortable posing and having their photos taken.

Many of the adults, too, were happy to pose and take photos of each other. These two men had just finished modeling in a contemporary fashion show.

Many were happy to have their photos taken with tourists. I particularly liked this the weathered face of this gnarly man who posed with Nadine.

I enjoyed the meeting of old and new - people admiring their photos while wearing traditional costumes. 

I took so many photos as this event, that it is hard for me to know how to share them and when to stop. It  was a profoundly beautiful event and joyous gathering.

State Guards enter the Government Palace to Retrieve the White Banners

Sükhbaatar Square, is home to the Government Palace of Mongolia, which is the seat of government and houses eighteen 'banners' or 'tugs'. These are made of horse or yak tail hairs and date back to the days of Genghis Kahn. Nine of the banners are white and are displayed in peace time. The other nine are black and are only displayed in times of war. They are routinely stored away in the depths of the Government Palace and are regarded as being the repository of Genghis Khan's soul.

While the costume parade is associated with Naadam, placing the nine white banners in Sükhbaatar Square is the official opening of the event. On this evening, the banners were brought out, paraded and then returned overnight. The next morning the ceremony would be repeated, but the white banners would be taken to the National Sports Stadium to start the day's events. 

I thought the guards and their horses looked very fine. We would not see this the following morning, as we were planning to get to the stadium in plenty of time for the opening ceremony. Stay tuned.