Art Council of Mongolia, Culture Naadam Project

(2) The statue of Mazu

03: Children are asked to touch the nose of Toshidon

02: Children are given rice cakes from Toshidon

Toshidon is a religious event held on New Year’s Eve on Shimo-Koshikijima Island in the city of Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. The Toshidon deities are said to visit on the evening of December 31, riding headless horses. Children of ages three through eight come out to meet them in order to be given large rice cakes called toshimochi.\n01: Toshidon holding a dialogue with children

Technology of baking bread with flour, milk, oil, salt, and yeast. Fatir is special festive bread for celebrations. It is eat-en with qurutob, shurba and shakarob dishes as well.

In the culture of Mongolians, some of the bones of the animals are used and respected in the worship, ritual and traditional games. The anklebone of animals is one of these respected bones. Since Mongols have domesticated the livestock animals, they have created the culture of the anklebone as well. There are about 120 variations of anklebone games, such as “Horse race”, “Milking mare”, “Catching anklebones”, “Anklebone guessing”, “Flick anklebones”, “Throwing a khomboroo”, “Set four difficult”, “Birth of Camel”, “Multicoloured turtle”, “Anklebone shooting”, and so on. Playing games with anklebone is helpful to the nurture of children, and it gives them a chance to check their speed and sight, and let them recognize the appearance, age and sex of animal, and to learn the insight to love and protect animals, and to develop their language and mentality. Additionally, this game has an effective influence to the growth of creative and nurtured person through mother language, folk literature and folklore.

A traditional sweetness of Tajiks similar to halva. It is prepared with white of egg, sugar and bekhi – a kind of plant. That is special sweet for Ramadan month and other celebrations.

A kind of thin bread similar to lavash baked in the tanur – national oven. Chappoti is a popular bread of the tableclothes of holidays, celebrations and weddings.

Traditional meal which is usually pre-pared for breakfasts. It is cooked with flour, oil, sugar, milk or water.

A kind of thin bread similar to lavash baked in the tanur – national oven. Chap-poti is a popular bread of the tableclothes of holidays, celebrations and weddings.