| Description |
Urtiin Duu is a traditional form of musical expression of the nomadic Mongols. As the slow pace, wide-ranging melody and poetic, philosophical text of the songs express values instilled by the vast, peaceful natural landscape where the nomads live, the Urtiin Duu can be considered as a manifestation of the nomadic spirit, while its composition and performance are directly associated with cycles of the nomadic lifestyles. It serves as a variety of cultural functions, in occasions for social gathering, entertainment and artistic production, community rituals such as weddings, new ger warming feasts, birth of a child, the completion of felt-making, the production of the first airag (fermented mare’s milk). Mongolian long songs are classified in three major styles: Aizam urtiin duu (rhythmic long song), Jiriin urtiin duu (typical long song) and Besreg urtiin duu (short long song). Urtiin Duu-Traditional Folk Long Song was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008. |
