Introducing Mongolian culture! HushTug craftsmen built a Mongolian ger.
Hello!
This is a HushTug Hariuner.
Recently, Durgun (20 years old), a craftsman, started living alone!
Since he was living alone, he decided to live in a ger (a traditional Mongolian house), and everyone in the workshop worked together to build it.
I myself only saw people building gers from the sidelines when I was a child.
It was my first time actually building one.
It was surprisingly fun (laughs).
This time, we will introduce how to build and the features of Mongolian Ger (traditional house), a traditional Mongolian culture!
table of contents
- Gel characteristics/history
- Surprisingly easy! How to build a ger
- summary
1. Characteristics/History of Gel
Mongolian gers are traditional felt (sheep's wool) houses that date back 2,500 to 3,000 years.
The gel gradually took on its current shape in the order shown in the image above.
It is dome-shaped and made mainly of wood with a frame covered in sheep's wool and cloth.
In the past, Mongolians lived by raising five types of animals (horses, camels, cows, sheep, and goats) as livestock .
As a result, houses were built using materials from these animals, and even today animal fur is still used for wall coverings.
According to Mongolian history, Genghis Khan also lived in a felt ger, and when he went to war in various regions he built a ger on an ox cart like the one in the picture and traveled around.
[Features of Mongolian Ger]
- The structure of the gel is very simple, allowing a lot of air to flow in and out.
You can always enjoy fresh air. - The walls of the eco-friendly and warm ger are made from sheep's wool, making them very eco-friendly and warm.
- It is also extremely durable: Since the walls of the Gel are not fixed to the ground, it is designed not to easily collapse even in the event of an earthquake.
It is also surprisingly heavy at approximately 300 kg, and because of its round shape it can withstand strong winds such as those caused by typhoons. - Easy to move around Gers are houses designed to make it easy for nomads to move around, and are easy to build and dismantle.
A fast person can set it up in about an hour and take it down in about 30 minutes.
2. Surprisingly easy! How to build a ger
Mongolian gers have a very simple structure and are not as difficult to build as they look.
If you're experienced, you can assemble it in about an hour.
Here we will introduce how to assemble the gel and its composition!
1. Building the exterior walls
The walls are made of wood joined together with animal hides.
It can be stretched out and used to surround an area like a fence, forming the framework of a wall.
The houses were originally built to make it easier for nomads to travel, so they were designed to be folded up compactly when moving so as to minimize bulk.
By the way, the house we built this time was made by combining five walls (the fence part in the photo above).
The size of a house depends on the number of walls, but it is common for houses to be built with between 4 and 12 walls.
The number of people that can live in one ger can be roughly determined by the number of walls it has.
For example, the smallest ger, made with four walls, can roughly accommodate four people.
If you ever get the chance to live in a ger, ask how many walls it has!
2. Installation of the roof supports and tono
This orange round wooden object is called a tono and is like a window that lets sunlight into the ger.
The tono is supported from below by iron pillars.
What surprised me here was that the gers I saw as a child had two wooden pillars and the floors were also made of wood.
The location of this build is in a residential area and there is no need to move, so the structure was designed with strength in mind, with a cement floor and one iron pillar.
Additionally, having only one support pillar has the benefit of increasing space in the house, making it a very modern evolution!
3. Attaching the roof and door
The 21 sticks are called sea urchins .
We will attach this sea urchin to the tono and fence.
All that's left to do is attach the entrance door and the frame will be complete.
The whole thing looks like this.
It's starting to look like a gel!
From here on, we will cover the framework.
4. Cover the entire gel
The gel cover has a four-layer structure, each with a different function, so we will introduce them in order.
First, cover the innermost white cloth tsabagu .
When viewed from the inside, the tsabaug has white walls and ceiling, making the inside of the ger look clean.
We all bought a new tsabagu for the craftsman who came this time.
The roof and walls are covered with esgi turaga, a felt fabric made from sheep's wool .
The esgi tula protects you from the wind and cold and keeps you warm inside the ger.
This is what it looks like from the inside.
Modern gels use vinyl covers to keep the inside of the gel dry when it rains.
A cloth-covered brace made specifically for gel is then placed on top.
This time, I built it for spring and summer, so it has a thinner cover.
Gel cloth covers come in two types, one for spring/summer and one for autumn/winter, with the thickness of the fabric changing depending on the season.
It is standard to rebuild a ger twice a year.
If there is a gap between the brace and the door, rain and other things will get in, so it is important to align them tightly.
5. Busuur to fix the entire gel
The bustle is a belt used to secure the entire gel in place, and basically three are attached to secure it in place.
Pull each one firmly to secure it in place so it doesn't come off.
It was quite difficult to tighten as it required quite a bit of force.
Finally, attach some square curtain-like objects to the windows from the outside, then thread a strong string over the gel to stop it from flying away in strong winds, secure it to the ground, and your setup is complete!
Normally it takes 3-4 people to complete the work in about an hour, but this time it took 8 people, including young people with little experience building, so despite the large number of people involved it took about 4 hours.
But I'm glad that everyone in the workshop had fun building it!
Gel is attracting attention worldwide!
Quote: http://www.tusgal.mn/mongol-ger-delkhiid-trend-bolj-baina
This time we all built a traditional Mongolian ger, but it seems that it is becoming popular overseas to make gers stylish and live in them, and there are even gers that serve as hotels and restaurants.
I was surprised at how stylish it was, and I'm really happy that this kind of Mongolian culture is recognized worldwide!
3. Summary
In this blog, we introduced the traditional ger as part of Mongolian culture.
The countryside of Mongolia is blessed with vast natural scenery and is home to many Mongolian gers.
If you are traveling, be sure to try staying in a ger.
I think it's quite comfortable and fun.
By the way, if you are traveling, we recommend coming in spring or summer so you can enjoy the lush natural scenery!
As an aside, tents that allow you to easily experience living in a ger are actually available in Japan, and are secretly gaining popularity among outdoor enthusiasts!
If you are interested, please check out this FB page.
→ Click here for details on ger tents
Well, that's all for now, look forward to the next update!
HushTug
Hariuna