Traditional ways for the water protection

By Erdenetuya Urtnast
The Mongols compare the water with the wish-granting jewel and count it as one of the three pure things: A growing juniper is a pure thing, burning incense is a pure thing and flowing water is a pure thing. They look up to the water and strive for maintaining its’ purity. Prohibition observances, religious rituals, laws and life conventions have played considerable roles for environmental protection.

Our ancestors have paid special attention to protect rivers, lakes and springs and basins. Because a water source provides soil humidity and fertility of the surrounding area and it gives chance to survive for animals and plants. The Mongols venerate holy waters and springs. Most of them are capable to cure and heal diseases, weariness and pains. Springs and mineral waters are found in beautiful places. Surrounding areas of springs and mineral waters can be considered places of ecological positive factors or sacred spaces.

They always take care on maintaining water purity, avoid dropping blood and milk to it and prohibit to urinating and pouring dirty water next to water sources. Besides those catching fish and minnows, killing insects and cutting trees and plants around water sources had been discouraged. These kinds of prohibitions were interpreted in connection with guardian spirits of the water. For instance, if anyone polluted the water and touched surrounding area then he or she would be harmed by the spirits of the water. The spirits of the water become angry and bring misfortunes, if rivers, lakes and springs are polluted, and this included bathing, washing and urinating in a water source, or throwing trash into the water. According to shamans’ view, guardian spirits (lords) of the water reside in springs and river beginnings. Therefore, the Mongols have offered sacrifices to the lords of the water, to make them happy.

It was prohibited to set fire next to rivers, lakes and springs, because of mutual contradiction of the fire and the water. After penetrating Buddhism in Mongolia, Buddhist prayer texts for water veneration ceremonies had been written and the lamas started to conduct the ceremony, but inner content of the ritual was not changed.
To worship springs and mineral water, a stone cairn decorated with willow and ribbons was erected near to the beginning of the water source. Mostly lamas, shamans, local intellectuals and some herders performed water worship ritual and they burned juniper and wormwood, prayed, offered dairy products and meat, sprinkled milk and vodka to stone cairn.

Since the four seasons of the year take turn in Mongolia, the growing season is over 4 months long, annual precipitation ranges from just 100 mm in the most arid regions to 500 mm in limited northern areas, and in much of the region is less than 350 mm. Predominant parts of the territory are steppe and desert areas lacking of ground and surface waters. So Mongolians have not only tried to protect water sources such as rivers, springs and lakes but also paid attention to dig wells and keep them clean.
Aside from protecting the environment and receiving natural bounty in proper ways, the Mongols had perceptively noticed laws of nature and lived in harmony with nature.

Human activities and actions impact on nature and environment, but to a greater extent humans and human culture and society exist under the influence of surrounding environment and it is inevitable to follow the law of nature. That is why, in certain days and months of the year they refrained from doing contrary actions against a rhythm and a frequency of natural phenomena. For example before the summer solstice it was not allowed to bath in a river and a lake. Because it was considered that if anyone disregarded this he or she become crippled or deformed.

Natural formation and its’ beauty would get lost and consequently human life and animal growth would be influenced negatively because of careless and harmful actions towards water sources. Therefore, in order to conserve the water, elderly people narrate various oral talks and stories about certain river, lake and spring and unlucky occurrences happened to someone by touching or polluting the water.

Brief overview about urbanization in Mongolia

By Erdenetuya Urtnast
For centuries or until the early 20th century the Mongols had farmed mobile animal husbandry and used livestock products rather than natural sources, such as using of cow dung as fuel. The territory has sparsely been populated because of low carrying capacity of Inner Asian ecosystem.
Thus it can be said that the urbanization process in Mongolia started only after 1921’s people’s revolution and in actual fact, around 50s and 60s of 20th century it began to take shape as a city because of collectivism, industrialization and “great socialist upbuilding” (socialismiin aguu ikh buteen bosgolt).

At the same time, thanks to cultural campaign (soyolyn dovtolgoo) or cultural raid the nomads started to become citizens of “modern city” by their behavior, hygiene and living style.
It doesn’t mean that I want neglect its’ previous history. The city was founded in 1639 somewhere around Shireet tsagaan nuur of Uvurkhangai aimag far away from its current location as a Buddhist monastic centre and, in 1778 the city settled for good at its current location or along the basin of the Tuul and the Selbe rivers, second of which has already evaporated.
Why collectivism and industrialization must be mentioned in connection with the urbanization? Because giving their livestock to negdels (collective farms) many herders migrated to Ulaanbaatar and became workers of new established industries. A main advantage of the period might be taking care of newcomers’ hygiene and civilized behavior.

Around 1970-1980s new micro districts of apartment buildings were built and since then many of ger settlement families moved into the new apartments. During the period the capital city was a medium sized, considerably clean, tidy and typical Russian style city, even there had been ger settlement areas in outskirt of the city. In the socialist period “to be a citizen of the capital was considered as matter of reputation” and Ulaanbaatar citizenship was restricted for rural residents.
Even though, after 1990’s rural-urban migration abruptly increased because of the variety of factors: social, economical, political, cultural and so on.

Ps: Photos were inserted from www.google.com

Environmental perception of the Mongols

By Erdenetuya Urtnast
Depending on natural condition and resources a certain way of subsistence takes shape and people bring into existence specific cultural and economical patterns. In this sense, in high forest and forest areas people have run hunting, whereas in steppe areas Mongolians have run mobile animal husbandry.

According to Mongolians’ understanding the “nature” is very inclusive concept which covers meaning “mighty force”, “the mother giving birth to all of animate beings”, “fertility, nourishment” and et cetera. The perception that human being relatively and entirely tied together surrounding environment is found in Mongolians’ worldview, religion and ecological consciousness. “According to the original ideas of Mongols, nature is an all-encompassing system which ideally remains in balance, a state of normality regulated by tngri” [1] . Also they they have personified nature and treated as if there is a communication between humans and nature as inter-human communication.

Since animal husbandry is dependent on nature and environment, Mongolians realize that nature and environment are the most vital origin and source of their life. They had not only received natural “generousity” and “bounty” by direct ways but also received via their livestock productivity, therefore they had comprehended very well about that if the vital source of life damaged then their life and fate would dramatically terminate. They had known very well about that if water resource polluted and dried up, then plants and vegetation, soil and pasture would be dessiccated, livestock would be lost, wild beasts and antelopes would shy away and consequently habitat would get lost. Because for them livestock products and natural sources are used for all of necessaries of life, such as food, clothing, lodging and transfortation.

For this reason on the one hand, in order to exist themselves, on the other hand they deeply realize that they are not able to recognize all secrets of the world and they never overcome mighty force of nature, Mongolians made up cultural pattern that adapted to ecological special feature of residing locality and created very sophisticated customs, laws, prohibitions, qtiquettes and religious rituals which are aimed to preserve natural and ecological pristine condition. Such pattern of culture is called as traditional culture. Mongolians never blamed to use natural sources for the sake of subsistence and survival, but had refrained to treat towards nature for gaining profits, breaking the law of nature and avoided to behave in careless and obdurate manners.

[1]Caroline Humphrey and David Sneath (edited). Culture and Environment in Inner Asia: Society and Culture. Volume.2. Cambridge: The White Horse Press, 1996, p.6

A problem of the capital “city”: Contamination of Land

By Erdenetuya Urtnast
Main causes of contamination of land in Ulaanbaatar are population growth caused by rural-urban migration, the expansion of ger-settlements, improper behavior and habit of people (for example, blowing the nose, spitting out saliva, dumping rubbish, excreting in public places and streets), the increasing use of plastics and chemicals.
There most of rural-urban migrants settle besides native settlers. Total squares of ger-settlements are 3 times larger than other areas. There is no green area in ger-districts and land devastation is higher than other areas. Due to simple or outside latrines, cesspits and rubbish dumps the chemical pollution of the ground is 2.5-8 times higher than other areas and bacterial contamination is 10 times higher than flat areas. It was estimated that there are more than 150 thousand latrines and the same number of sewage water pits in Ulaanbaatar.

A survey report conducted among low income and poor families of ger areas of Songinokhairkhan and Khan-Uul districts of Ulaanbaatar says: “Environmental hygiene is worse. Due to insufficient service to remove refuse, carelessness and laziness of the residents nearest ravines, holes and streets have heavily been dumped and polluted by refuse. Some of inhabitants pour sewage water, excrete and dump cinder around or outside of their wooden fence (khashaa).
Many households haven’t got sewage water pits in their khashaas. Sanitation and cleaning of latrines and sewage water holes are a headache for ger area residents. Some households try to sanitize by chlorine. During winter time they remove frozen excrements by shovel and litter into ravines”. A geoecological survey result conducted by Prof. Ch.Gonchigsumlaa in 2003-2006 shows that in ger areas of Sharkhad, Denjiin 1000, Khailaast and around electric power plants the contamination of land was 10-16 times higher than other areas of the city. Also in outskirts of city dump places and cemeteries have been expanding their squares with the population growth. These places severely threaten not only to ecosystem but also national security. For many of settlers it is very common to live in the neighborhood of cemeteries and dump points.