OCR Text |
Show J!ftf f ?a and J MMiji ili 111 II Win iirafWWii i iiWii iiwi mm - mi Mi, " tmm iii ' IT1 1 Devil Dance, a Lama Church Ceremony. (Prepared by the National Geographic Society, So-ciety, Washington, D. C.) MONGOLIA, where the treatment treat-ment of foreigners has led to the assertion that the country coun-try is dominated by Russia, is a land with a rather unimportant present, pres-ent, but a great past. The Chinese are loath to remember the past, including their own conquest, and speak of these neighbors with the thinly veiled contempt con-tempt for all who dwell beyond China's borders, as the "People of the Wilderness." The great figure In Mongolia's past Is Genghiz Khan who set out 700 years ago from the Mongolian steppes to conquer the world and came near accomplishing ac-complishing his dream. Forty years after the disappearance of the mighty conqueror (1227), a grandson, Kublal, crowned his triumphs tri-umphs by becoming not only the master mas-ter but the enlightened, magnificent monarch of the whole of China, Indo-China, Indo-China, Burma, Korea, Borneo and Sumatra. Su-matra. Unfortunately for his dynasty, the settled life of ease and luxury in Peking sapped the vigor of his followers follow-ers in a single century. One more great leader was to appear ap-pear among them in the person of Timur (he Lame (Tamerlane), born to subdue Iran and Turan, defeat the growing power of the Turks, and fire Moscow, thus blazing the way for his last descendant, the kindly knight-errant knight-errant and poet, Sultan Baber, to found the Empire of the Great Mogul. But the fall of the Mongols was scarcely less rapid than their rise. In China they were able to, hold sway only eighty-eight years. Elsewhere their empire crumbled quickly, leaving leav-ing only isolated remnants under their dominion. i Resources Not Developed. We still know little of Mongolia's resources. Gold mines certainly exist there (one of which, the "Mongolor," is beginning to be developed by American Amer-ican capital), as well as silver, copper and coal mines. The rivers abound In fish, the forests In valuable timber and fur-bearing animals, while the great """""tablelands have farming potentialities equal to Texas and Nebraska. But the primitive Mongols derive little benefit from these riches. Like the lilies of the field, "they toll not, neither do they spin." They are a '"shining" example of how men reduce their anxieties by reducing their nqeds. Financial crises cannot affect them, for money as a medium of exchange Is little used on the plains, where brick tea has more value than minted dollars. Municipal affairs do not concern con-cern them, for they build no cities, leading a migratory, care-free exist-encekTheyjjepf! exist-encekTheyjjepf! n.qroads; the lllimlt-ilble lllimlt-ilble steppe is a natural highway where nations can pass without crowding. crowd-ing. They require little water: In their climate men cannot wash. They want no electricity : at sundown, after a long day In the saddle, they are ready to lie down and sleep. Finally, the Increasing In-creasing cost of living does not trouble them, since It costs them nothing to live except the cure required to guard their herds from wolves. Living an easy, open life a life of true liberty, remote from courts of justice and police the Children of the Wilderness willingly abide by Genghiz' ancient code of laws simple, logical, humane, and admirably suited to their nomadic habits. Their lumbering oxcarts ox-carts were designed In his day; their sheep and horses are the original native na-tive breeds; the ancestors of their camels carried the silken tents of the conqueror. Mongolian camels are superb beasts, very different from the ugly, flea-bitten, one-humped Arabian variety. In all the glory of their winter coats for, strange to say, this species thrives In the cold and even delights to gambol In the snow they are pictures of stately dignity, though In summer, when the long hair falls off in patches, they become repulsive-looking. Mongol Pony Is Clever. The camel may be useful, but the horse Is much more popular among the Mongols. The native breed, indigenous in-digenous to the country, Is seldom over l.'i hands high and rarely beautiful, beau-tiful, lint for endurance, cleverness, and originality, the little Mongol pony has few rivals. In the depth of winter win-ter his owner neither feeds him nor provides him with shelter. . An extra growth of hair and thickness thick-ness of hoof (for lie is never shod) protect him against the bitter cold. As for his food, this Intelligent little beast learns to scrape away the snow with his forefeet and find the sparse remains of the summer grass underneath. under-neath. Though mares, easily distinguished by trailing manes and tails, are kept at home for breeding purposes, Mongol Mon-gol ponies are exported in great numbers num-bers to China. They roam the plains freely until wanted, and are then captured cap-tured in a curious way. Two or three Mongols start out together to-gether on fleet mounts specially trained for their work. The riders carry long birch poles, like fishing-rods, fishing-rods, with a rope noose at one end. When the chosen animal is overtaken, over-taken, the noose is slipped over its neck with a dexterous twist. One man then dismounts and, squatting squat-ting .upon his haunches, seizes the terrified ter-rified animal by the tail. Like the proverbial dog with the tin can, he starts off at a run, dragging tie man I behind him. The. latter slides along over the grass in his soft felt boots till the beast stops exhausted. Then he is easily thrown and a saddle fixed on his back. Again the animal struggles, squealing squeal-ing like a pig meanwhile, but a strong rider manages to mount him, and after af-ter a few niinutes the pony is considered consid-ered tamed and fit to be ridden by Mongols, at least. Expert horsemasters from childhood, child-hood, both men and women are equally equal-ly at home in the saddle. In fact, the pony is man's inseparable companion on the steppes, and the Mongol, who will never walk if he can help it, develops de-velops an unsteady, rolling gait when ill-luck forces him afoot. Monasteries and Lamas. In Mongolia monasteries are the great; centers of amusement, interest, ' culture, and wickedness. The priests exercise complete sway over the people peo-ple by their unlovely religion of terror, the Tibetan form of one of the later sects of Buddhism known as the Tantric a revival of the morbid Indian In-dian cult of Siva. This repulsive creed, with Its hideous hide-ous demonology, Is so well suited, however, how-ever, to a land where cruel and tremendous tre-mendous atmospheric phenomena make man appear a helpless atom struggling against the mighty natural forces of existence, that it prospers. Like frightened children, the People of the Wilderness desire to see their terrors embodied in Idols which may be placated, and the cunning monks are quick to take advantage of their fears. Thus monasteries arise and grow rich. The most famous and best-kept monasteries are the abodes of the living liv-ing Buddhas. The current belief is that these men are gods incarnate, and when they die, or, as the Mongols Mon-gols put it, "change the vehicle," are reborn into this world with the power to remember their former existence and prove their identity by using 'phrases characteristic of the last Buddha, selecting things that belonged to him from among many which were not his, etc. To the foreigner a Mongol feast Is a doubtful pleasure. He dislikes the idea that the unfortunate sheep have been slaughtered In the barbarous native na-tive way. It is difficult also to eat comfortably, having to attack, with only the assistance of a knife, a great expanse of fat mutton spread on a brass dish nearly two feet In diameter. diame-ter. Practice, however, makes Mongols Mon-gols expert, and In an incredibly short time each native has gobbled his share, seizing the piece of meat In his left hand and cutting It off close to his lips. After all have gorged themselves and grown cheery with copious drafts of airak, hosts and guests mingle with the crowd In the meadow for the "fun of the fair." Many gather round a story-teller, who recites a legend drawn from the rich Mongolian folklore, some historical incident connected con-nected with the (Jreat Khan 'or some quaint fulry tale Inspired by the uiy tery of the steppes. |