A Ceremony at the Lakefront of Üüreg Nuur

We had arrived at Üüreg Nuur and set up camp (tents and Fugons and a truck) at the lakefront. The lake is only about 15 km from the Russian border in the far northwest of Mongolia. The water of the lake is salty. I climbed a hill for a better view, but quickly came back to the lake, because a ceremony was just starting there. It was something like laying the foundation stone for a ger camp [1]. A goat's horn was used to gouge the earth so it wouldn't be a human hand, then a hole was dug. Meanwhile, a lama and two disciples, one older and one very young, were reciting Buddhist sutras. A fire of dung [2] was burning and incense was also burning beside it. During the recitation, the lama threw grains of grain in front of him, not only into the hole but also into the fire and onto the surrounding area. Then scriptures and cakes for the spirits were placed in the small pit. One of the organizers of the future camp cleaned the place clockwise with milk [3], interestingly it was milk from a tetra pack. Finally, incense and grains came into the hole and then the camp organizers, the lama and us tourists put earth into the hole. This ceremony was intended to bring luck and prosperity to the future camp, but also to encourage construction. It will be the first ger camp at the lake. We'll probably be on a photo at the camp, but that's fine with us.

 

 

 

Links and Annotations:

[1] https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2022/10/mongolia-staying-in-ger.html

[2] Dung is a common fuel in Mongolia. The cow dung there is different than in Germany, for example, because the animals do not receive concentrated feed, but only feed on grass and herbs such as wormwood. The air in Mongolia is very dry, so the moisture is quickly removed from the dung.

[3] Important ritual, also here: https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2022/08/mongolia-little-ritual-on-departing.html

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