Advertisement
Published: April 29th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Tsaagan Uvgon
Tsaagan Uvgon, the old white man, god of water and long life The official at the immigration office at Ulaanbaatar airport scanned my passport and visa, then shook his head and spoke briefly in Mongolian to Enkhbayar, my driver, as he handed back my passport. “Is there a problem?” I asked. “Big problem” Enkhbayar said shortly, as we marched back out of the crowded office. Despite all the weeks of carefully getting a letter of invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Mongolian Embassy in London, to allow me to stay in Mongolia for 90 days, the Embassy in London had stamped my visa as entry only. Was I going to have to stay here forever?
We drove back through the chaotic Ulaanbaatar traffic to collect Caroline and get to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office, but too late as they had closed. We returned the next morning, despite our busy schedule of interviews, and luckily all went smoothly. So after a second long drive to the airport, and an hour’s queue to see someone, my passport was stamped and my visit registered. Phew!
However the next day I had another problem to deal with as my camera was stolen from my pocket whilst I was transferring money from my international
bank to a local bank for ease of access in this country where ATMs are few and far between. Although we phoned or visited many of the places we had visited that day the camera was gone. Hopefully the insurance will pay but it meant I had to spend most of my free time trying to find a replacement. I was warned to avoid the shops on Peace Avenue as they stock cheap Chinese fakes, so I ended up buying from an expensive store with the kind help of Choikhand, Caroline’s Mongolian PhD student. The motto: ALWAYS be careful of cameras and money and NEVER just put it in your pocket!
The days we spent in Ulaanbaatar were tightly packed with interviews with Ministry Officers, NGO representatives and Buddhist lamas. All added good information to our project on herder communities and the environment. It is particularly interesting to gather the views of Buddhist lamas on the re-emergence of Buddhism after the socialist period. Although banned during that time many Mongolians are returning to Buddhism. Our interests lie in how Buddhist teaching and activities relate to environmental conservation. As it is traditionally wrong to kill animals wildlife protection seems compatible with
Gas masks
Batbold leads opposition against uranium mining in sacred areas of Mongolia Buddhist philosophy. Buddhists are in general against exploitation of land for mining. Other activities are promoted instead to improve herder livelihoods such as vegetable growing.
Civil protests about environmental issues seem quite common in Mongolia. While we were in UB a number of herders had established a protest camp in Sukhbaatar Square in front of the State Palace. They were there for the whole week, complete with gers and horses, campaigning against government corruption and international mining companies operating in Mongolia. Herding has been and still is the main livelihood for nearly 50% of the population. But many international companies are moving into the country in search of mineral wealth such as gold and copper. This has been of particular concern as water sources dry up or are polluted due to unregulated mining activities. A coalition of environmental NGOs, the Mongolian Nature Protection Civil Movement, are protesting about the effects of mining on the environment. This is particularly detrimental to herder livelihoods as they often lose land or water.
Because of our research we were invited to a ceremony by our friend, lama Batbold, who was taking part in a ceremony on Mount Khundlun, a small mountain about 80 km
herder protest
Herders protesting in Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar from Ulaanbaatar. Mount Khundlun has been surveyed as the break point of three major drainage basins and has spiritual significance. However explorations for uranium have been taking place in the area and the mountain is under threat. In a convoy of vehicles we bumped our way over the landscape and climbed steeply to the top of the mountain. At the top, a monument was wrapped in green cloth and Buddhist lamas were preparing for the ceremony. We stood on the mountain top battered by a string wind as slowly more people arrived. When about 100 people had arrived the ceremony started with speeches about the threat to the land. Batbold talked about the Buddhist care for nature and the problem of uranium mining, flanked by two figures in protective masks and the monument was unveiled. The lamas then chanted Buddhist sutras. This was followed by a dance of nagas and Tsagaan Uvgon, the ‘white old man’ of Mongolian custom. Traditional music and song finished the ceremony although the sustained high notes of the woman singer completely overloaded the amplifier.
On our last evening in Ulaanbaatar, Caroline, Choikhand and I went to see the Mongolian Ballet School perform Swan Lake at the National Theatre. The dancing was lovely, the costumes vibrant and the audience was enthralled. It seems that many young Mongolian girls aspire to become ballet dancers, a few still go to ballet school in Russia. It was a great way to spend the evening before setting off for the Mongolian countryside where I will be spending the next 3 months.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.074s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 7; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0507s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb