In the homeland of *The Secret Tale* and Geser
Let’s take a brief look at the history of Mongolian literature: Mongolian literature is heavily influenced by its oral nomadic traditions. The “three pillars” of Mongolian literature are: The Secret History of the Mongols, Geser, and Jangar—all reflect the centuries-old traditions of the heroic epics of the Eurasian steppe. Mongolian literature has also served as a reflection of contemporary society, the level of political, economic, and social development, as well as leading intellectual trends.
The earliest form of Mongolian literature was oral. Shamanic oral traditions and heroic epics date back to the earliest period of Mongolian history. Shamanism and its poetry have survived in Mongolia to this day. Tales of heroes, comprising ten thousand or more verses, are not read but sung. Of the Mongolian heroic epics known as “uliger” or “tuli,” the best-preserved versions are found among the Oirats (Bayats, Derbets, Khoshuts, and Torguts) and, in an abridged form, among the Khalkha Mongols.
Oirat poems (tuli) were performed to the accompaniment of the musical instruments tovshur (balalaika) or khuur (violin). They were usually sung by professional singers known as tulchi. Oirat epic poems contain up to 20,000 verses. Oirat epics include “Bum-Erdeni,” “Daini-Kyurul,” “Yegil-Mergen,” “Yergil-Tyrgel,” “Shara-Bodosh,” and others. Khalkha tuli are composed in prose. Well-known Khalkha-Mongol epics include “The Best of Men” (“Erinzen-Mergen”), “Manibadar-zangi of Our Khoshun,” “Bogdo-noyon Jangar-khan,” and others.
The earliest written examples of Mongolian literature include the folk poem “The Song of Hongirad,” the humorous “Song of Bohé-chilger,” and the folktales “The Tale of Genghis Khan’s Two Horses” and “The Tale of the Orphan Boy.” In 1240, the manuscript “The Secret History of the Mongols” was created, describing Genghis Khan’s conquests from the Mongols’ perspective. The work has survived in a transcription using Chinese characters.
Ah… We’d love to continue the story, but our conversation with the reader must end with chess. So we’d like to draw your attention to the national championship currently taking place in Mongolia. Let’s check out the results and discover some new names.