For thousands of years, nomadic herders of Mongolia roamed across the country-side from season to season. Dry, windy areas close to rivers are best for summers while areas away from river-bank wind and close to mountains or hills are best for winter stays. In the country where pasture always was and still is a public domain, the herders moved freely to the best locations for the season. With this lifestyle of freedom of movement and pastoral animal husbandry was invented the national dwelling called the ‘Mongol ger’. It is a round structure of easily dismantle-able walls, polls and a round ceiling covered with canvas and felt, tightened with ropes. The ger was designed to be light enough for Mongolian nomads to carry, flexible enough to fold-up, pack and assemble, sturdy enough for multiple dismantling and assembling as well as easy for regulating temperatures within.

Over many centuries the mongol ger was modified into a perfectly aerodynamic structure which can withstand Mongolia's fierce spring winds ranging up to 18-20 meter/sec. It can be dismantled in half an hour and assembled in an hour by a small family with 2-3 adults. The Mongol ger has many varieties. The most common “5-wall ger” consists of five lattice segments forming a circular wall, a door, a toono (round window ceiling), two bagana (columns that hold the toono), and 88 uni (long poles that connect wall lattices and toono which forms the roof of the ger). There are also several accessories attached to the ger.

The traditional Mongol ger is usually a product of multiple individuals. There are specialized craftsmen for various parts of the ger. For example, some craftsmen specialize in making the matching wood parts of the ger, while the others specialize in painting and ornamental carving of the ger elements, and ger furniture. Others specialize in the cutting, sewing, stitching of covers, wall curtains and floorings. And some specialize in making large, overly ornamental, festivity gers only. The main craftsmen of the ger are those who do the ger wood parts.

They work according to traditional methods and technology, meticulously crafting the wooden elements to precisely fit the others. The most time-consuming part of the work is making the lattice wall of the ger. The craftsmen select the wood very carefully, using water and fire to add flexibility to the wall. They employ only the best quality leather and animal oil to hold the lattice together. Traditionally, the ger craftsmen are also herders themselves and make gers according to orders. When a craftsman is busy with a ger order, he and she asks his or her neighbor or family members to take care of his animals temporarily. Therefore, the craftsmen did not separate their lifestyle from regular herding lifestyle. The busiest time for a craftsman is summer—prior to the most popular wedding season, autumn.

The tradition of craftsmanship of the Mongol ger evolved slowly but its main features are the same all over the country. These features include: wooden structures painted and embellished with traditional Mongolian ornamentation; covers made of white felt and white canvas; ropes made of animal hair; flooring and carpets made of hand-sewn felt; and furniture located inside the ger according to custom such as the kitchen area should be in the east south side of the ger etc.

Small

changes in crafting occur in different regions depending on local tradition or local craftsmen’s heritage. The main way of teaching ger craftsmanship to the younger generation is through mentoring by a senior craftsman. Ger dismantling and assembling is always a family operation where children learn through watching the elders. Cutting sheep wool, thickening the wool, making felt, doing ropes, stitching canvas, and preparing woodwork are usually a community endeavor in nomadic areas. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited to participate in these activities. Children and youths are attracted to ger making works at an early age and the best of these young participants often work as assistants to local ger craftsmen for some time. In everyday life, senior people played leading role in keeping the tradition of the ger alive.

With urbanization, this tradition is getting lost. Many seniors living in the cities, no longer teach the ger tradition to their children. As a traditional dwelling, the Mongol ger plays important social and cultural role for nomadic families. A ger is a must-give gift to newlyweds marrying in the countryside or soum centers but not in cities. Increasingly, tourist camps and mining camps utilize gers. As demand for gers increases, camps are built out of non-traditional materials such as brick walls, metallic roofs etc. Such camp gers are immovable and are not traditional. Therefore, those who make traditional gers are regarded as rare, valuable asset of the area and are highly respected in their community. People go to them with hadag (blue silk, a sign of respect) and money when asking for a new ger making. Also, nomadic herders who use traditional gers are becoming fewer because many of them use small buildings or log cabins in their four seasonal locations and don’t bother dismantling and assembling a ger from location to location. Sometimes, sadly, those who loyally use mongol ger are those who can’t afford buildings in his four seasonal locations in nomadic areas or those who can’t afford a building or apartment in the cities. Poor or rich, all nomads have to use Mongol gers in two hardships: zuds (extra cold and icy winters) and summer dry spells. In both situations, herders have to move to unusual places to find pasture for their animals. Even though it is a sad reason to retain a time-honored tradition, ger craftsmen are respected even more highly after such hardships.

With the registration of this element as a representative of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, the rights of groups, individuals and communities concerned will not be violated. Instead, their reputation will grow among the Mongolians thanks to greater attention to our heritage and the demand for their craftsmanship will grow. Such registration will also not violate the rights of other groups who use gers. Even though Mongol gers contain all the features of gers used in other countries, its associated customs, ornamental designs and use for nomadic herding are distinct and kept this way for centuries. Ecologically, the ger as a one-room shelter uses only a small amount of fuel to keep it warm. It is also proving to be quite a flexible dwelling in adapting green technology. Thousands of Mongol nomadic families adapted solar and wind power in their gers and herders watch television thanks to these technologies. Engineers design solar heating systems, insulating cover canvas, electric floor heating for Mongol gers. However, these new green technologies serve as accessories to already made traditional gers and new developments in greening the ger have not affected traditional ger crafting. The best gers are still considered to be those made traditionally in Uvurhangai province. Custom dictates that when ger is moved, there

should remain no trash or hole on the spot so that grass can quickly return to the spot where the ger stood. It means that traditionally, there’s always ecological customs taught to younger generation while introducing ger culture. Registration of the element in the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity will immediately open up a sensational discussion in the Mongolian media. This will bring a new wave of research, books and writings about the Mongol ger, stirring fascination and curiosity in our young generation to learn more about the ger. The funding for writing and research on the Mongol ger and training courses on ger craftsmanship will also increase not only at the government level but also at the soum and province level. The local and national reputation of ger craftsmen will increase and they will be seen as important bearers of Mongolian's cultural heritage. Any courses of mentorships they offer with the purpose of transferring their knowledge to our younger generation will be valued and acknowledged. The demand for their knowledge and craftsmanship will grow accordingly. If Mongol ger is registered as representative of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity,

nomadic herders using the ger will be more respected by city young people. The typically soft- spoken nomadic herders will explain to our younger generation the features and traditions of the

ger and their lifestyle more eagerly. City young people, reading English language literature closely, will understand valuable cultural aspects of the ger and also respect those who live in gers in the city. Many city dwellers unfairly blame the ger-district dwellers for polluting the air with their dinner and heating fires. Young generation engineers might work harder to make the ger heating system more appropriate to city environments. Some such systems are already being tested in several places. Therefore, the registering the ger will help close the gaps between young and old, city and country people, and hopefully at best, between rich and poor. Craftsmanship of mongol ger, if closely researched, can offer many creative ideas to younger generation of humanity. The solutions that nomadic herders found and incorporated into ger construction and craftsmanship can address many modern-day problems related to survival, climate change, earthquake, windstorms, and sudden changes in temperature. Therefore, the registering Mongol ger craftsmanship by UNESCO may open doors to the creative young generation to help overcome the above mentioned challenges. Also, the social aspect of living in the ger might become an interesting subject for future study for human relations. When old and young generations live together in a single ger, respect and tact become essential skills that help bond family members. In conclusion, the ger craftsmanship, ger use and all the associated customs of the Mongol ger can offer a valuable cultural enrichment to humanity. Craftsmanship of the Mongol ger is a traditional household enterprise involving the labor of a household or a neighborhood where men are engaged in woodcarving while women and men are painting, sewing and stitching, felt-making etc. Uvurkhangai province is a region known as the origin of traditional ger craftsmanship. The nomination project team produced a list of bearers of the element. Currently, in Uvurkhangai province 385 families and groups practice ger craftsmanship including 80 in Hujirt soum, 15 in Kharhorin, 200 in Bat-Ulziit, 20 in Uyanga and 70 in Arvaiheer soum. The Initiative to nominate the element came from these communities. The nomination team was invited by community leaders to conduct research in Uvurkhangai province

for the past three years. Households, communities and individuals from the area participated in the preparation of nomination materials with enthusiasm and full consent. The main region of traditional ger craftsmanship is the central region of the country, located in the south of Khangai mountain. The region includes the territory of several soums of Uvurhangai province, namely, Hujirt, Kharhorin, Bat-Ulziit, Uyanga and Arvaiheer. Besides this main area of craftsmanship, up to 10 families craft mongol gers in nearly every province of Mongolia. Today, in Ulaanbaatar, there is one small ger making factory where a community of blind and people with limited vision work. Housing in a ger is quite common all over Mongolia. Besides Mongolia, craftsmanship of ger exists with its own distinct features in the neighboring regions of Central and Inner Asia, namely, the Mongols of Inner Mongolia, Qinghai in China, Buryatia and Kalmukia in Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.