Mongolian Shamanism

Here's a photo of me at an incredible shamanic ritual site at the foot of the Bogd Khan sacred mountain outside Ulaan Baatar. This is the religion of Chinggis Khan, though he didn't let it rule him, as he executed the chief shaman who was trying to create discord amongst his sons and generals. Proper order, state and religion should always be kept separate - there's nothing worse than a power-mad cleric, see the Spanish Inquisition etc. I found a definitive book on the subject Mongolian Shamanism by Prof Purev Otgony, translated by Prof Purvee Gurbadaryn, both Mongolians with traditional backgrounds (as opposed to Western New Age pseudo-knowledge which is best avoided). Meanwhile, hoping to upload a photo of me on a camel over on my regular blog but need to sort out the technology.

A Beautiful Little Story

A friend sent this from Mongolia. Well worth watching. (Not long back. More to post later when the rest of me arrives.)

Event in the Blue Sky

Big day today. We are all heading off for ASRAL's major fund-raising event at the Blue Sky Hotel, the poshest hotel in town, i.e. in Mongolia. All sorts of people have been invited - diplomats, business types, NGOs (non-governmental organisations), artists, politicians and so forth. Now that the Irish economy has collapsed (Ireland has been Asral's chief funder) and the global downturn has affected international generosity it's time to turn to the post-communist era newly-rich classes of Mongolians to help support their fellow countrymen and women who have not prospered in the boom or bust climate.We'll be entertained by Mongolia's finest rock band "Khurd" (means 'speed' in Mongolian), the lead guitarist of whom is a student of Rinpoche's. Two people have come over from Ireland to help promote and organise the event, we've also had two of our major sponsors arrive from England with their son, and we are all dressing in our best. I'm putting on a frock as they say in Ireland and I've spit-polished my lama's shoes in proper naval order (you use water in the lid of the polish tin, a rag, and the polish, no other equipment, but one hour on each shoe, tiny circles. Meditative, actually.) Here's a pic of the Blue Sky Hotel overlooking Sukhbaatar Square. Gorgeous building. Owned by a former president. Most of the property in UB, including giant shopping malls, are owned by politicians or former politicians. Go figure.

Seamus Heaney's Passing

Word came tonight from Ireland that Seamus Heaney died today - our great poet, son of a farmer, sweet Northern Irishman. We lit candles, drank bowls of airag and read his poems aloud in Outer Mongolia - Shane, Eimear and me. I think he might have liked that. Here's my favourite called "Scaffolding": Masons, when they start upon a building,/ Are careful to test out the scaffolding./ Make sure that planks won't slip at busy points,/ Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints./ And yet all this comes down when the job's done/ Showing off walls of sure and solid stone./ So if, my dear, there sometimes seem to be/ Old bridges breaking between you and me/ Never fear. We may let the scaffold fall/ Confident that we have built our wall.

Horse Cafe

Slowly but surely getting some photos up. Here's a cute shot from the big horse race day. We sat down in one of the many canopied food stalls to enjoy khusheer (deep fried mutton pancakes)with suutei tsai (milky tea) when a posse of riders drew up to order the same for their lunch and we were surrounded. In a sudden head-staggering loss of brains I went to offer this horse some left-over meat. Doh. Like that herbivore would bite. (Photo credit: Stephanie Ng, but it was my idea)

A Great Book About Mongolia

Just finished reading this in bits and pieces at night before konking out after many a busy day. (Being Rinpoche's attendant is not unlike being part of a travelling road show. Sometimes I am carting about a huge amount of things and I call myself his temee or camel, lol.) Kohn writes of Mongolia, Mongolians and ex-pats in Mongolia with great warmth and humour. He also gives you a galloping whirlwind tour of Mongolian history, geography and politics which is a terrific introduction to the country. Bit outdated, mind you, as he's writing about the early 2000s and the fact is everything changes radically here in the space of a year, i.e. government, economy, landscape (UB is a boom town with buildings going up everywhere in the blink of an eye while the countryside may or may not be affected by extreme weather conditions). Well worth a read whether you are coming here or not. Sometimes laughed out loud he's so funny. Love the joke about Brezhnev, Mao and Tsedenbel. Will tell next time. His website is www.michaelkohn.us.

Mongolian Panorama

The heart of Mongolia is a vast breathtaking freedom of sky and plain. I spent the day with thousands of riders and their horses racing into the Guinness Book of Records as the largest horse race ever held. Last count I heard was 4,900. I have pics of the race but haven't figured out yet how to access my own camera. Here's a photo from Stephanie, the young volunteer English teacher from Singapore, who was born in Canada (but left when she was one year old, though she sounds Canadian to me nonetheless!), i.e. she's teaching English to Mongolian children, young adults and monks for ASRAL. After the horse race our driver Naranbold took us to his family ger up in the hills. (click on the pic and you'll get a better view) And if you want to see me in Mongolian dress switch over to my regular blog. There you will see from where the Star Wars costume designer swiped Queen Amidala's head-gear! (Photo credit: Stephanie Ng)