Benedictions\n\nMongolian well-wishing is a powerful expression of the miraculous capacity of words. It is one of the genres of Mongolian oral poetry that uses melodies. Briefly, benedictions (well-wishing) propitiate people’s future happiness and well-being through skilfully composed and recited poems. There are thousands of benedictions on various subjects. For instance there are benedictions recited while beating the sweat cloth of a saddle, while distilling milk vodka, while celebrating a birth, and while cutting an infant’s hair for the first time. Besides ancient benedictions, many contemporary benedictions are being kept at the ILL. These include benedictions for a new ger, weddings, a child’s first haircut, endowment practices, mare-milking ceremonies, foal-branding ceremonies, the People’s Revolution, and others for the military.

Folk Short Songs\n\nMongolian folk songs are divided in three different categories, such as long songs, short songs and the authors’ songs. Folk songs are shorter than other forms of expressions with average durations of one to five minutes, but there is a high volume of them. Thus, restoring, categorising, and digitising folk songs were the most time-consuming tasks compared to others. Within the framework of the project, just under forty-eight hours of songs were restored and digitised.

EPICS 1\n\nThere were more than fifty epics performed by renowned epic tellers, including S. Choisuren, B. Avirmed, Sh. Buyan, M. Yadmaa, G. Khainzan, Ts. Zodov, G. Od, T. Purev, R. Lkhagva, Ch. Khartsaga, Dugersuren, Kh. Zambal, R. Duvchinsambuu, D. Bat-Ulzii, E. Namilan, B. Gombojav, B. Gurragchaa, and U. Bataa that cover over 136 hours of the restored and digitised recordings.

Odes\n\nAn ode is an expression of noble feelings of some events and it is linked to certain ceremonies. There are many common characteristics among benedictions and odes. People who recite odes can perform them to a very specific tune. Benedictions are rich in expressing future dreams and fantastical thinking. But odes express present events, as well as people’s pride, admiration, and enthusiasm. There were just over ten hours of restored and digitised odes.

Storytelling\n\nStorytelling is an oral expression that recalls phenomenal events that occurred in society or human lives. The stories, which are expressed artistically, have a certain level of interest and are unique. The storyteller is an individual who has seen that special event or has heard of the events from other person who knows the event very well. Besides storytelling, this category includes materials of local dialects, folk talks of traditional rituals and customs, and the remembrances. The category of storytelling covers over fifty hours of recordings.

Tales & Legends\n\nTales are an important genre of the oral prose literature of the Mongolians. Tales typically begin with the phrase “Once upon a time, in such-and-such a place, in such-and-such a country.” Mongolian tales are symbolic. The most frequent ending is “and they lived happily ever after.” The legends are a popular genre of oral prose literature. The real-life legends are always complimentary expressions of historical events within folk literature. Historical facts are usually adorned with fanciful magic and metaphoric devices to later become historical legends. Among the restored and digitised data, the tales take up the most recording hours. Within the framework of the project, over two hundred hours of tales and almost fourteen hours of legends were restored and digitised.

Folk Long Songs\n\nMongolian folk songs are divided in three different categories, such as long songs, short songs and the authors’ songs. Folk songs are shorter than other forms of expressions with average durations of one to five minutes, but there is a high volume of them. Thus, restoring, categorising, and digitising folk songs were the most time-consuming tasks compared to others. Within the framework of the project, just under forty-eight hours of songs were restored and digitised.

Vakalutuivoce is a traditional duet chant performed by men, usually from the fisherfolk clan in the maritime islands and coastal communities of the larger islands. The chants usually tell of the successful fishing expeditions of the fisherfolk clans. \nContents may vary but usually hinge upon fishing and the coastal environment. For communities located in the islands of the larger islands, these chants are called Vakavunigasau. \nThe Vakavunigasau is a functional chant associated with tugging logs. It is constantly chanted at the construction of a house and aims to help break the monotony, boredom, and heaviness of labor. It also inculcates a sense of solidarity and unity among workers and keeps the work proceeding at a methodical and companionable rate. The singing style of Vakalutuivoce is parallel to that of Vakavunigasau. For example, a melody is added as an accompaniment to another melody.

CD4_NARRATIVE TRADITIONS – ORAL EPICS AND BALLADS VOL. I: THE TULU PADDANA\n\nOral epics, ballads, and narratives form a major part of the background of rituals, storytelling, and local mythologies – all an important part of the intangible cultural heritage of India. The vast range of oral epics in India, most often sung, also contain recitation and prose that explain the text. The meters vary greatly, and they all have different definitions and terms. For instance, the meter and singing of the Alha is called Alha Chhand. A wide variety of types of performances and expression of this genre exist. Some stories are narrated with scrolls that illustrate episodes. Sometimes, they are acted out, and sometimes sung, as in the case of the paddanas, which are performed while transplanting rice. Stuart Blackburn and Joyce Flueckiger distinguish three kinds of oral epics in India: martial, sacrificial, and romantic. Some epics tell a story with multiple episodes and characters, and some are “multi-story” oral epics. Oral epics in India are very closely tied to communities, with performers, audience, and participants all belonging to the same community. Most oral epics are associated to rituals, the performance of some being the ritual itself. Caste also plays an important role in the performance or patronage of the oral epic traditions in India. \n\nThe great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata in some cases, enter the world of these local oral epics, where the performers are considered to be reincarnations of heroes and gods from these epics. According to Komal Kothari, an eminent folklorist of India, this phenomenon happens when the impact of the oral epic spreads beyond its initial local boundaries. Though we are not able to present full performances of all the oral epics, we believe that these recordings provide a good glimpse into the variety of meters, singing styles, and contexts that exist within these traditions. Three oral epics are presented in this volume. They are all part of larger collections, and each one is contributed by an expert on the genre who has done extensive research. The paddanas were contributed by Peter Claus, the Nanda Devi jagar by William Sax, and Alha by Karine Schomer.

CD5_NARRATIVE TRADITIONS – ORAL EPICS AND BALLADS VOL. II: THE JAGAR AND THE EPIC OF ALHA\n\nOral epics, ballads, and narratives form a major part of the background of rituals, storytelling, and local mythologies – all an important part of the intangible cultural heritage of India. The vast range of oral epics in India, most often sung, also contain recitation and prose that explain the text. The meters vary greatly, and they all have different definitions and terms. For instance, the meter and singing of the Alha is called Alha Chhand. A wide variety of types of performances and expression of this genre exist. Some stories are narrated with scrolls that illustrate episodes. Sometimes, they are acted out, and sometimes sung, as in the case of the paddanas, which are performed while transplanting rice. Stuart Blackburn and Joyce Flueckiger distinguish three kinds of oral epics in India: martial, sacrificial, and romantic. \n\nSome epics tell a story with multiple episodes and characters, and some are “multi-story” oral epics. Oral epics in India are very closely tied to communities, with performers, audience, and participants all belonging to the same community. Most oral epics are associated to rituals, the performance of some being the ritual itself. Caste also plays an important role in the performance or patronage of the oral epic traditions in India. The great epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata in some cases, enter the world of these local oral epics, where the performers are considered to be reincarnations of heroes and gods from these epics. According to Komal Kothari, an eminent folklorist of India, this phenomenon happens when the impact of the oral epic spreads beyond its initial local boundaries. Though we are not able to present full performances of all the oral epics, we believe that these recordings provide a good glimpse into the variety of meters, singing styles, and contexts that exist within these traditions. Three oral epics are presented in this volume. They are all part of larger collections, and each one is contributed by an expert on the genre who has done extensive research. The paddanas were contributed by Peter Claus, the Nanda Devi jagar by William Sax, and Alha by Karine Schomer. This album presents extracts from two kinds of narrative traditions that are part of the intangible cultural heritage of two very different traditions and regions of India.

EPICS 2\n\nThere were more than fifty epics performed by renowned epic tellers, including S. Choisuren, B. Avirmed, Sh. Buyan, M. Yadmaa, G. Khainzan, Ts. Zodov, G. Od, T. Purev, R. Lkhagva, Ch. Khartsaga, Dugersuren, Kh. Zambal, R. Duvchinsambuu, D. Bat-Ulzii, E. Namilan, B. Gombojav, B. Gurragchaa, and U. Bataa that cover over 136 hours of the restored and digitised recordings.

Folk Performing Arts\n\nThis CD presents a selection of the best, most distinct, and most outstanding works of Mongolian folk performing arts, which acknowledges their contribution to the cultural diversity of humanity.