YURT OF MONGOL

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

DONE BY

YAZHINI

118011001688

3rd YEAR A-SEC

YURT
A yurt (ger in Mongolian) is a large circular tent made of wool felt
stretched over a wooden frame used by nomadic peoples of the Asian
steppe since before written records began. Yurts are especially
associated with Mongol herders and hunters and were famously used
by such figures as Genghis Khan. Made in various sizes and even
sometimes permanently erected on top of carts for ease of mobility,
yurts have become one of the identifying features of the nomads who
still today carve out a living in the often harsh climate of the remotest
parts of Eurasia.
NAME
The yurt tent has been used by nomadic pastoralist peoples of
northern East Asia since before written records began. They
provided a semi-temporary home which was both practical and
light enough to be transported when tribes moved on with their
herds to find new pastures. The name yurt is the more familiar
name in the West and derives from the Russian yurta. However,
the Russian term itself derives from the Turkic word jurt which
means 'people' or the territory on which they roam. In
Mongolian, the name of the tent is ger, meaning 'home.'
TRADITIONAL YURTS
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT
• Gers have been in use at least since the 13th century, and there are indications that the design is
much older.

• The prefabricated felt tent meets the requirements of Mongolian nomadism which heavily influences
the culture of Mongolia.

• According to Mongolian artist and art critic N. Chultem, gers and tents were the basis for the
development of traditional Mongolian architecture.

• The design of the Mongolian ger developed from its ancient simple forms to actively integrate with
Buddhist culture.

• The crown—toono adopted the shape of Dharmachakra.

• The earlier style of toono is called in Mongolia "sarkhinag toono"， while the toono representing
Buddhist Dharmachakra is called "khorlo" toono.

• Also the shapes, colors and ornaments of the wooden elements—toono, pillars and poles of the
Mongolian yurt are in accord with the artistic style found in Buddhist monasteries of Mongolia.

• Such yurts are called “Uyangiin ger" -- literally meaning "yurt of lyrics" or "yurt of melodies".
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT
• In the 16th and 17th centuries, monasteries of lamas were built throughout the country.
• Many of them started as ger-shaped temples.
• When they needed to be enlarged to accommodate the growing number of worshippers, the Mongolian
architects used structures with 6 and 12 angles with pyramidal roofs to approximate to the round shape of a
yurt.
• Slowly, the typical trellis walls, roof poles and felt layers of ger were replaced by stone, brick, beams and
planks, and became permanent.
• In the 21st century, approximately 35% of the population live in yurts, many of them in the suburbs of cities.
• The Mongolian word "ger" has additional connotations of "home". The stylistically elevated register for ger is
örgöö, most commonly translated as "residence" or "palace".
• A high percentage of the Mongolian population retains a nomadic lifestyle and gers can be seen throughout
the country, whether on the steppes, the Gobi Desert, or the mountainous regions in Central and Western
Mongolia.
• Gers are still the most common type of habitation in Mongolia nowadays. Even in the capital city of
Ulaanbaatar (sometimes known as Ulan Bator) there are more than half the population living in gers.
IMPACT OF CLIMATE
• In the landlocked steppe of Central Asia, the Mongols since ancient times have lived in tribal groups,
enduring an extreme climate and landscape, with rugged mountains, Gobi desert in the south, cold and
mountainous regions in the north and west and dry steppe lands and harsh winters in the north.
• Mongolia has an extreme continental climate with long, cold winters and short summers, during which most
of its annual precipitation falls.
• Sunshine is intense and clouds cover the sky practically only in summer.
• 280 days of full sun per year gave Mongolia its nickname of the Country of Blue Skies. Most of the country is
hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, with January averages dropping as low as −30 °C (−22
°F).And it is usually at the centre of a region of high atmospheric pressure.
• Economic activity in Mongolia has traditionally been based on herding and agriculture, although development
of Mining has emerged as a driver of industrial production.
• In 2002, about 30% of all households in Mongolia lived from breeding life stock.
• Most herders in Mongolia follow a pattern of nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralism.
IMPACT OF CLIMATE
• Frequent spring fires following dry winters as in 1996 had a devastating effect on significant surfaces.
• The very rigorous and snow abundant winters in 1999 and 2000 caused massive losses not only among
domestic livestock but among wild species as well, especially gazelles and antelopes.
• The last two summer’s drought was alarming by its effect on the water level of rivers and wells.
• Desertification is taking place in the south of the country threatening to turn the steppes into deserts.
• The natural erosion of these windy grounds is accentuated by increased pressure on pastures after livestock
privatization.
• Combined with the high atmospheric pressures, Ulaanbaatar faces with significant air pollution, especially in
the winter season, due to emissions of rapidly increasing automobile traffic, smoke from power stations and
ger areas heated with fuel and coal.
• Despite these threats to its virginity, Mongolia offers an example of inhabited natural environments, exploited
but still little impacted by the presence of man, that have become rare elsewhere in the world.
DESIGN AND MATERIALS
• During the Mongol empire and before, the skin of the yurt tent
traditionally consisted of layers of felt which were made from beaten
sheep's wool.
• The sheep herded by the Mongols did not produce wool suitable for
weaving and this same felt was used for many other purposes such as
clothing and blankets.
• The felt was then made waterproof by adding sheep's milk or fat.
• This process also made the material a better insulator and protected the
wool from the elements. Nowadays, alternative materials may be used.
 DESIGN AND MATERIALS
• The felt or substitute material is spread over a wooden lattice framework topped by a wooden ring.

• The outer walls were sometimes decorated with embroidered geometric designs or representations of
local flora and fauna.

• The very centre of the rooftop was left open as a means for light to enter and smoke from the hearth
within the yurt to escape - a sensible design given that the fuel burned was often dried dung bricks.

• The flattish top of the yurt also proved a handy place to cure and preserve the nomad's cheese in the
wind and sun.

• The door and door frame of the tent - usually arranged to face the south - is typically made of wood
and there may also be a wooden base.

• The size of the yurt varies, and those used in the medieval period and earlier were likely much larger
than those still in use today, which are typically inhabited by a single small family.
THE EVOLUTION OF YURTS
• The yurt was obviously essential to a family's well-being, although there was a curious
tradition amongst the Mongols that the youngest son inherited his father's yurt and
personal possessions.
• Even a basic yurt was a valuable commodity, but by the time the Mongols had established
their empire, some of these tents became very splendid objects indeed.
• Typically white on the outside thanks to a chalk, clay, or powdered bone covering, they
were lavishly decorated inside with gold brocade, jewels, and pearls, while the flooring
consisted of fine carpets.
• In the mid-13th century CE, the Mongol governor at Samarkand, Mas'ud Beg, had a tent
woven entirely from silk and gold while the governor of Khorasan's tent was reportedly held
together using 1,000 gold nails.
THE EVOLUTION OF YURTS
• Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, famously lived in a yurt throughout his reign and shunned
the idea of living in a palace - a favouring of simplicity that his successors abandoned as they preferred to live
in more permanent structures.
• The Khan had another set of tents in Beijing where he went one step further and recreated an entire steppe
landscape by carting in tons of steppe soil, flora, and even automaton tigers.
• There is archaeological evidence that even when cities were conquered, the nomadic Mongols sometimes set
up their yurts within the destroyed city walls, as at 13th-century CE Sarai, for example, where yurts were set
up in many villa gardens.
• Yurts continued to be used in such urban settings for feasts, formal audiences, as guest houses and for
women about to give birth.
• It seems then that the yurt was such a part of the identity of steppe peoples that it proved very difficult to
abandon for more modern and spacious alternatives.
THE EVOLUTION OF YURTS
• Still today, yurts, besides their appeal to tourists eager to
live for a while in a traditional abode, continue to be used
by nomadic peoples in such places as the Gobi desert for
their practical functionality, even if now they might sport
such fancy additions as aluminium chimneys and solar
panels.
YURT CAMPS
• Although a family can erect a yurt in just one hour and when taken down it can easily be packed onto
a horse, camel, or cart, there was an even more convenient option.

• A specific type of yurt seen in the medieval period was the khibitkha (or ger tergen) which was
permanently mounted onto a cart.

• These especially wide carts could be massive and were pulled by a large team or even several teams of
yoked oxen when required.

• The 13th-century CE chronicler William of Rubruck recorded that he had seen wagons used for this
purpose with axles 'as large as ship's masts' which were pulled by up to 22 oxen.

• There are also stories, such as that of Shiremun, the grandson of Ogedi Khan, using wagoned yurts
as a means to secretly transport troops to a meeting of Mongol tribal chiefs during the many bitter
succession conflicts which wracked the empire each time a khan died.
YURT CAMPS
• The traditional procedure to make camp for more ordinary nomads was to create a perimeter circle of
yurts, within which were positioned the vehicles and livestock of the tribe.

• This arrangement was known as a gure'en but, as most nomads lived in small groups so as not to
overburden the pasture in any particular area, it was really only a strategy employed by senior
chieftains and at larger gatherings such as seasonal or annual tribal meetings.

• The imperial camps, where the khan himself was present, seem to have had the opposite arrangement
with the wagons forming an outer square perimeter to the yurts within.

• The yurt of the tribe's chief was typically set up in the centre of the camp while the khan moved about
each night depending which wife he fancied spending time with.

• The term gure'en later came to be applied to any fortified camp and then to the standard social and
military unit of the Mongol Empire, the 'thousand', which was also called a mingan.
MECHANISM OF A YURT
MECHANISM OF A YURT
ELEVATIONS YURTS WITH DIFFERENT
ROOFS
PLAN OF YURT
SECTIONS OF YURT