THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

Literature

Most famous epic poem- The Secret History of Mongols

Genghis Khan's rise to power and
the creation of the Mongol Empire
Mid- to late-13th century and was
supposed to be hidden from
non-Mongols
Folktales also played a major role in
oral literature and their subject matter
ranged from love to heroism to supernatural acts.
Graphic Arts
• Religious themes dominated traditional painting and
sculpture.
• For example : saddles, horse blankets, storage chests,
and knives were often highly decorative
• Tanka (scroll paintings) illustrate the various gods
and saints of Lamaist Buddhism decorated every
temple
• imported from Tibet and created locally by lamas.
• variety of sizes and were often painted on cotton or
silk.
• In the post-socialist period, it has become increasingly
popular for Mongol families to own tanka and display
them in their homes
Performance Arts

• The government has been supportive

of performing arts
• Subsidized traveling shows of operas, plays,
ballets, folk music and dancing, and circuses.
• The most important folk instrument is the morin
khuur ,a stringed instrument whose name comes
from the horse head carved above the tuning pegs.
• Often played together with the tovshuur and the
shudraga.
• Other instruments used in folk music include
transverse and vertical flutes, drums, cymbals,
gongs, and tambourines.
• Other types of folk songs include yurol, maatgal,
urtyn duu and khoomei.
• In the post-socialist era, the country's youth have
embraced Western music and there are quite a few
nightclubs in the major cities where one can dance
to the same pop music topping the charts in the
United States, Europe, and elsewhere in Asia.
Why it is interesting?
• Adaptable with their lifestyle
• Mongolian religious belief are mostly dominated
their arts
• Creative in making musical instrument

Importance of knowing other

culture
• Other cultures are intersting
• Stimulate your mind
• Fosters understanding in each others