Horse Headed Fiddle

Within Mongolia, music remains an integral part of the culture, and traditional instruments often are played in a way to evoke Mongolian culture — by embracing the wind, the rolling steppe and high mountains, birds or horses. One such traditional instrument is Mongolia’s horse head fiddle — Morin Khuur. The design of the Morin Khuur is closely linked to the all-important cult of the horse and when played, it can produce sounds similar to the noises that a horse makes. The traditional playing method of a ‘tatlaga’ is considered as the alphabet of learning Morin khuur. This unique method can produce diverse tunes and melodies in one movement through the bow and express the idea and content by its diverse playing methods of ornamenting, glissando and double moves etc. Tatlaga resembles the galloping, cantering, running and trotting of horses. Also, It is interesting that the Morin khuur is used to tame animals until today. Herders, from the Gobi region of Mongolia, face a vicious problem when a mother camel unexpectedly rejects her newborn colt because of a particularly difficult birth. There is a traditional coaxing ritual to encourage the mother camel to make her accept the newborn or to adopt an orphan. The mother camel is tied closely to the calf and the singer with Morin khuur begins a monotone song, accompanied by certain gestures and chants. The use of Morin khuur as a coaxing ritual for baby camels came to the attention of the public in the West with an introduction of the Oscar nominated docu-drama movie 2004 “The Story of the Weeping Camel” by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni.

The story of how this instrument created: There are many different versions of this legend, but this is one … Once upon a time, a horseman rode through the night sky and spotted the ger of a beautiful herdswoman. He stayed with her for one night and at dawn he rode away. The second night he returned to the woman’s delight, but at dawn again he disappeared. After several nights the woman decided to keep the horseman by her side. While he slept, she crept out to his horse and noticed that the animal had little wings above its hooves. In a drastic moment, she cut off the horse’s wings. When her lover left the following morning, his mount fell to the earth and died. Despairing over the loss of his horse the man grieved night and day. To soothe his sorrow, he carved the horse’s head from a piece of wood and transformed it into a two-string instrument, using the bone, hair and the hide of the dead horse. The Mongolian horsehead fiddle is played to this day in celebration of the spirit of all horses.

Khuumii: Throad Singing

Mongolian throat singing is a kind of musical art. It is said that the throat was formed very early, but the date of its formation has not been determined yet. Some people call it the “art of sound imitation. Khöömii is an art form that attracts a lot of attention from researchers. The formation of the throat was greatly influenced by the nature. People who draw inspiration and strength from nature not only imitate the sounds of nature, but also penetrate its essence and create this wonderful art. Therefore, Khöömii has become an integral part of Mongolian festivals, household traditions, customs and rituals. Mongolian khöömii has developed in Mongolian territory. Mongolian throat singers attract the attention of researchers around the world with their singing skills. There are many types of this art in singing style and there are 4 types of Mongolian throat singing.

Kharkhiraa — A sound that comes from the depths of the chest

Whistle — A sound that comes out of the mouth.

Narmai — The sound of the nose.

Shakhai — The sound of squeezing the voice and close to the baritone melody.

Mongolian Khöömii/Throat Singing/ expresses the dialects of many nations and ethnic groups, their way of life, shamanism, religion, hunting and some natural beauties. The melody of the Mongolian throat is a wonderful art that has been sung in the minds of human beings in combination with the melody of the fiddle and long songs and blessings