Mongol mythology

Key takeaways

Mongol mythology belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mongol mythology to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mongol mythology from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Mongol mythology is the traditional religion of the Mongols.

Creation There are many Mongol creation myths. In one, the creation of the world is attributed to a Buddhist deity Lama. At the start of time, there was only water, and from the heavens, Lama came down to it holding an iron rod with which he began to stir. As he began to stir the water, the stirring brought about a wind and fire which caused a thickening at the centre of the waters to form the earth. Another narrative also attributes the creation of heaven and earth to a lama who is called Udan. Udan began by separating earth from heaven, and then dividing heaven and earth both into nine stories, and creating nine rivers. After the creation of the earth itself, the first male and female couple were created out of clay. They would become the progenitors of all humanity. In another example the world began as an agitating gas which grew increasingly warm and damp, precipitating a heavy rain that created the oceans. Dust and sand emerged to the surface and became earth. Yet another account tells of the Buddha Sakyamuni searching the surface of the sea for a means to create the earth and spotted a golden frog. From its east side, Buddha pierced the frog through, causing it to spin and face north. From its mouth burst fire, and its rump streamed water. Buddha tossed golden sand on his back which became land. And this was the origin of the five earthly elements, wood and metal from the arrow, and fire, water and sand. These myths date from the 17th century when Yellow Shamanism (Tibetan Buddhism using shamanistic forms) was established in Mongolia. Black Shamanism and White Shamanism from pre-Buddhist times survive only in far-northern Mongolia (around Lake Khuvsgul) and the region around Lake Baikal where Lamaist persecution had not been effective.

Deities

Bai-Ulgan and Esege Malan are creator deities. Ot is the goddess of marriage. Tung-ak is the patron god of tribal chiefs and the ruler of the lesser spirits of Mongol mythology Erlik Khan is the King of the Underworld. Daichi Tengri is the red god of war to whom enemy soldiers were sometimes sacrificed during battle campaigns. Zaarin Tengri is a spirit who gives Khorchi (in the Secret History of the Mongols) a vision of a cow mooing "Heaven and earth have agreed to make Temujin (later Genghis Khan) the lord of the nation". The sky god Tengri is attested from the Xiongnu of the 2nd century BC. The Xiongnu may have been Mongolic, because Tengri is common to several Central Asian peoples, including the Mongols Jamsaran is the Mongolian war god, now worshipped in Tibet as Begtse. The wolf, falcon, deer and horse were important symbolic animals.

Texts and myths

The Uliger are traditional epic tales and the Epic of King Gesar is shared with much of Central Asia and Tibet. The Epic of King Gesar (Ges'r, Kesar) is a Mongol religious epic about Geser (also known as Buche Beligte), a prophet of Tengriism.

See also Alpamysh Epic of Manas Manchurian mythology Mongolian cosmogony Scythian mythology Shamanism in Siberia The Secret History of the Mongols Tibetan mythology Tungusic mythology Turco-Mongol tradition Turkic mythology

Notes

References Walter Heissig, The Religions of Mongolia, Kegan Paul (2000). Myths Connected With Mongol Religion, A Journey in Southern Siberia, by Jeremiah Curtin. Gerald Hausman, Loretta Hausman, The Mythology of Horses: Horse Legend and Lore Throughout the Ages (2003), 37–46. Yves Bonnefoy, Wendy Doniger, Asian Mythologies, University Of Chicago Press (1993), 315–339. 满都呼, 中国阿尔泰语系诸民族神话故事(folklores of Chinese Altaic races).民族出版社, 1997. ISBN 7-105-02698-7. 贺灵, 新疆宗教古籍资料辑注(materials of old texts of Xinjiang religions).Xinjiang People's Press, May 2006. ISBN 7-228-10346-7. Nassen-Bayer; Stuart, Kevin (October 1992). "Mongol creation stories: man, Mongol tribes, the natural world and Mongol deities". 2. 51. Asian Folklore Studies: 323–334. Retrieved 2010-05-06. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Sproul, Barbara C. (1979). Primal Myths. HarperOne HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 978-0-06-067501-1. S. G. Klyashtornyj, 'Political Background of the Old Turkic Religion' in: Oelschlägel, Nentwig, Taube (eds.), "Roter Altai, gib dein Echo!" (FS Taube), Leipzig, 2005, ISBN 978-3-86583-062-3, 260–265.

External links Alpamysh Shamanism in Mongolia and Tibet The Altaic Epic Tengri on Mars

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mongol mythology

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mongol mythology claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mongol mythology before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mongol mythology ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mongol mythology

In research: Mongol mythology appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mongol mythology in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mongol mythology is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Asian mythology, Creation myths, Mongol mythology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mongol mythology outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Mongol mythology in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mongol mythology means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mongol mythology out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mongol mythology in simple terms?

The Mongol mythology is the traditional religion of the Mongols. Creation There are many Mongol creation myths.

Why does Mongol mythology matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mongol mythology?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mongol mythology.