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Mongolia's Art Work
Traditional painting includes paintings in oil, watercolour or calligraphies; or the people used oil colours on leather. The works took a determinedly nomadic view of the world, giving a typical interpretation of this narrative and everyday life. Mongolian painting developed from simple rock drawings to Buddhist art. The main theme of the paintings developed later into a fine art form.

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**//__Mongolia's Traditions__//**
The traditional dress of the Mongols has a rich history spanning many centuries. It is closely connected with the Mongolian way of life and the country. The costumes are used in different situations; somebody rides on horseback over the steppe, he sits at home in his ger (yurt - round felt tent), or he dances at a national festival. The conditions of climate excert influence on the kind of dress, the costumes for the seasons of the year. In summer the Mongols wear a light coat or frock, the "Terleg" (Törlök), in autumn and winter a wadded coat, the "Khovontei Deel", or a lambskin coat, the "Khurgan Dotortoi Deel", in winter they wear a sheepskin dress reminding of a fur coat, the "Tsagaan Nekhii Deel".

The Mongolian national costume is a robelike garment called a deel, that, like the Tibetan robe, has no pockets. The del is worn with a thin silk sash several yards long tightly wound around the waist. Attached to the sash are essential objects such as the eating set, tinder pouch, snuff bottle, and tobacco and pipe pouches. Mongols, like the nomadic Tibetans and Manchurians, use an ingeniously designed eating set incorporating a sharp knife and a pair of chopsticks, and sometimes also includes a toothpick, ear scratcher, and a tweezer. They are made of precious metals and embellished with semi-precious stones.

The dress reflects the age of the wearer. The costumes of elderly people are, as a rule, modest and plain. The female dress shows differences between the attire of the girls and that of married women. The latter is decorated and adorned more splendidly with ornaments and jewellery. The design of the garments, the combination of colours as well as the decorative ornaments speak of an old tradition. The national costumes were mostly brown and dark blue. The Mongols wear the coat with the oblique border, the "Tashuu Engertei Deel", and the coat with the rectangular border, the "Durvuljin Engertei Deel". The materials from which the dresses were sewn were either produced by the people themselves, such as "leather, wool, and fur", or dresses have been made from silk, cotton, wool, and brocades and were richly decorated with jewellery and ornaments of gold, silver, corals, pearls, and precious stones. Every nationality has its own headdress (i.g. the "Tortsog", "Yuden", and "Zharantai"), hence there are many different kinds of caps and boots. The master (male or female) was able to glue, quilt, and stuff with wadding; he knew the symbolism of the ornaments used on the dresses, the symbolism of the colours and their combination.[|traditions]

Religion
===Buddhism Larry Moses traces the first contact of the Mongolians with Buddhism back to the 4th century A.D. By that time the T´o-pa Wei dynasty would have some influence on the Juan-juan dynasty which dominated Mongolia at that time (Moses 1977: 23-4). A later Buddhist influence is that of the Kitan in the 10th century, from which at the time of writing a stupa in Kerulen Bars Khota and the remainings of Buddha statue at Khalkhin Gol. In 1125 the Kitan dynasty falls and Mongolia reverts to a disorganized collection of warring tribes in which Nestorianism, Manicheism and shamanism are the main religions. (Moses 1977: 34-9)=== It is in the time of the Great Khans that the Tibetan form of Buddhism gains influence in Mongolia. In the beginning of the 13th century Chinggis Khan conquers Tibet. The leader of the biggest empire ever was known for his religious tolerance, having Nestorian Christians, Moslems, Manicheïsts and shamans within his realm. When after his death trouble arises in Tibet his grandson is send to settle things. Allthough doing this with a trail of destruction he makes friends with Sakya (Sa skya) Pandita, the patriarch of the //Sa skya// sect. With these two the special Tibetan lama-patron relationship starts. Godan´s successor Khubilai Kahn continued this relation with Sakya Pandita´s nephew Phags-pa. He was kept at the Mongolian court, but more for political than spiritual reasons. By holding a representative from the ruling //Sa skya pa//, Khubilai hoped to realise a friendly attitude of the Tibetans. While being at the Mongolian court Phags-pa converted great parts of the ruling class including Khubilai (Fonteijn 1999: 32-4; Heissig 24; email contact Henk Blezer). So for the first time Mongolia came under major Buddhist influence, although it seems to mainly have been limited to the upper class. At the end of 16th century Altan Khan is in power. He meets with Sonam Gyatso, a Tibetan Buddhist leader whom he gives the title of Dalai Lama. This meeting means a revival of Buddhism in Mongolia. Later great-grandson of Altan Khan will pointed as an incarnation of the Dalai Lama, strengthening the ties between Mongolia and Tibetan Buddhism (email contact Henk Blezer). From that period on Buddhism becomes the predominant religion in the Mongolian territories and establishes a big clergy. At the end of the nineteenth century there were 583 monasteries and temple complexes and 243 incarnate lama's would be living in the Mongolian territories, of which 157 resided in Inner Mongolia (Heissig 1980: 1; Worden & Savada). The Buddhist clergy controlled about 20 percent of the country’s wealth and in the 1920s there were about 110.000 monks, making up one-third ofthe male population (Worden & Savada). Moses especially emphasis the negative impact of this clergy: [|religion] [|religion]

Housing
During communist purges in the 1930´s most monasteries in Mongolia have been destroyed. Monks have been killed or taken to Siberia, to be never heard from again. Since the fall of communism however there is a real revival of Buddhism taking place. Lama´s are trained again, old monasteries are being restored or rebuild at a different place and new monasteries arise. On this website you will find a, far from complete, overview of monasteries in Mongolia. In general a monastery would consist of various buildings on a compound. One of these buildings is the main temple, where often - though not always - the main ceremonies take place. Like the door of a ger, the entry of a temple should be pointing to the south [|housing]