Photos in SPE

With President of Struga Poetry Evenings



Director of SPE




Лийтэв, Траян Петровски, Бранко, Саэд Гойда /Араб/
Петровскийн зуслан /Арбинова/



Македонийн малчин айлд




Струга яруу найргийн үдэшийн уншлага /нуурын эрэг, сүмийн үүдэнд/

The Legend of the Horse-head Fiddle

by G. Mend-Ooyo
Translated by Peter K. Marsh


It is said that a long time ago there was a young man named Huhuudei, who lived in a white felt palace-ger. One day he decided to discover the mystery of magic. He didn’t know where to look to find it, but the Mongolians say that in order to find something, you must search for it, and in order to learn something, you must be persistent. So Huhuudei decided to wonder around this world in hopes of mastering the mysteries of magic.
To do this, however, he first needed a fast and tireless horse. He took his saddle and bridle and came to a herd of horses grazing on the steppe. But though he looked, he didn’t find the good horse that he was looking for. He needed a beautiful stallion that could travel a year’s distance in a month, and a month’s distance in a day. He search among the thousands of horses on the north sides of mountains and among the thousands of horses on the south side, but still he could not find the one horse he was looking for.
One day, when he sat exhausted on the ground, he heard what sounded like a beautiful ethereal melody coming from nearby. He went to where the sounds were emanating and found on the ground two pieces of horse manure connected by a horse hair. The hair vibrated in the breeze blowing across the steppe creating the ethereal sound he had heard. He pondered that if a single hair could create such a beautiful melody, then many hairs could create an even more beautiful one. When he returned home, he took a wooden ladle and covered the top of its base with a piece of dried skin. He then attached two horse hairs to the two ends of the ladle. He took another horse hair and attached it to both ends of a tree branch. This was how the fiddle originated.
Huhuudei carried his fiddle on his back to the summit of a mountain to look for his horse. As he walked, the breeze vibrated its strings, creating pleasant melodies. These melodies made Tengger (Sky) even bluer and the nearby springs even clearer. They also calmed the horses that pastured on the steppe below. The Mongolians say that “not every man is alike, and not every horse is joroo. ” While some of the grazing horses paid no attention to the melodies of the fiddle, others did and neighed in response.
Huhuudei learned how to play his fiddle by imitating the ways the breezes made the strings vibrate. He practiced his fiddle over and over again. One day he heard the sound of a horse neighing coming from very far away. He moved in the direction of the sound, sat down and began again to play his fiddle. As he moved closer, these distant sounds became clearer. How endless is the steppe, how numberless are the horse herds?, he wondered. Huhuudei continued to move in the direction of these sounds and eventually came into the valley of a blue mountain. Here he sat and again played his fiddle. The valley was filled with grazing herds of horses. From far away a tall bluish-brown horse with a beautifully even back approached him, its four feet pounding the ground as it did. As it came close, it was startled by an old horse skull lying beside an ovoo.
Huhuudei took this skull, which had startled the bluish-brown horse, and filled its interior with horse manure in a way that made it appear to come alive. Then he set his fiddle on top of the skull and again began to play it, playing over and over again. On the ovoo were hung many horse hairs that appeared to sing as the breezes blew past them. Then the old horse skull itself began to make a sound like a horse’s neigh, which made the many horses in all directions neigh.
Huhuudei again played his fiddle. He played for three days and three nights. On the third night, just before dawn, the bluish-brown horse suddenly brightened and neighed, the echoes of which bounced off of the surrounding mountain. At that moment a white wing, like that of a swan, emerged from under the horse’s legs and opened and closed. Huhuudei played again for another three days, and as he did flowers sprouted from the horse’s skull and quickly grew. Again, just as the sun was about to rise, the bluish-brown horse brightened and neighed, its echoes bouncing off of the surrounding mountain. Once again, the white, swan-like wings emerged from under the horse’s legs and opened, but this time the bluish-brown horse flew into the air. Huhuudei continued to play his fiddle until the bluish-brown horse leapt into the air and flew high above the heads of the horses grazing on the steppe below. It circled three times before returning to the earth.
Huhuudei wondered how he could capture alive such a wild horse that had never been touched by anything except the stars, moon, and sky, and by the plants and flowers of the steppe. Many fine horse herders gathered in order to capture the bluish-brown horse. But none of them could put even a 100 ald-long rope around its neck. The young man played his fiddle for three months from a place where he could see the bluish-brown horse from a distance. But then he stopped, stood up at the edge of the horse herd, and decided to go back home.
Huhuudei carried his fiddle with the old and weathered horse skull over three mountain passes. As he crossed the third, breezes blew over the fiddle’s strings, making what sounded like a horse neigh. He crossed over another three mountain passes, and as he crossed the third one, he heard the head of his fiddle make a horse neigh. When he turned to look back, he saw the bluish-brown horse approaching him in the air, neighing as it landed. Huhuudei felt that this horse must have been called by his fiddle’s melodies. When he sat on the ground to play his fiddle, the bluish-brown horse came close to sniff the head of the fiddle and again it neighed. The horse then allowed Huhuudei to caress its beautiful even back and neighed two times.
This was how that young man got the bluish-brown winged horse. This was the horse that shortens the distance of a year to a month, and the distance of a month to a day. Huhuudei then started herding the uncountable herds of horses on the great steppe of Mongolia by flying this amazing animal.
But even with such a fast horse, he chose not to continue pursing his dream to wander around the world in search of the mystery of magic. When people questioned him as to why he was ending his search, he replied, “How can one find anything more mysterious and magical than the horse-head fiddle, which has a beautiful melody and magic? Through the sound of my horse-head fiddle, I have captured the wild horse that had never been touched by anything except the Sky Wind. Through the sound of my horse-head fiddle, I created the wings that made my horse fly. If magic exists, then it must be the horse-head fiddle!”
From that time on, every family who lived on the steppe, herding horses and nomadizing, placed their horse-head fiddle on their home’s khoimor. Every family carved a fine horsehead on the top of their fiddle, made strings with horse tail hairs, and preserved on their fiddle the sound of their horse’s gallops and neighs. In this way they preserved the memory of their horses. It is said that on the Mongolian steppe, all were fiddle players and all horses became fast. The horse-head fiddle spread throughout the Mongolian steppe. In the melodies of the horse-head fiddle, the horse herds multiplied rapidly like rice and wheat, the scented breezes blew, plentiful rains fell, the springs were full, herbal flowers and plants blossomed, nothing frightened the people, there were no illnesses, and everyone lived happily from that time on.

THE TRAVELING STAR

THE TRAVELING STAR
by G. Mend-Ooyo


Once upon a time there were two boys called Altan Bombarai and Mungun Bombarai, who lived with their parents, King Altai Sumber and Queen Oyu Sundel, in Alag Buur Gobi. They had flocks of wild asses and wild, light-bay horses scattered all over the steppe, wild sheep and mountain goats covering the talus, and as many herds of camels as caravans and bushes.
It had not rained for many years, and Alag Buur Gobi had dried out. The grass had become sparse and water was scarce.
King Altai Sumber's family loaded up all their possessions, and one day before dawn an unbelievably long migrating carava started off towards the mountain of the Azure Stupa which could be seen on the horizon.
The older boy, Altan Bombarai, led the caravan riding his golden-white horse. The caravan was so long that, when the front of the caravan was already crossing the Khangai Mountains, the rear still had not emerged from the mists of Gobi. At the head of the caravan, Queen Oyu Sundel, the mother of the two boys Altan Bombarai and Mungun Bombarai, was sitting in a sandalwood coach, whose roof was of juniper and conifer, and which was harnessed to a precious white camel gelding.
King Altai Sumber brought the long migrating train to the great road through Khangai Mountains and said: “Well, my children! During the day, proceed in the direction of the mountain of the Azure Stupa, which seems to touch the sky. At night, go towards the star of azure pearl right above the mountain. Do not stop! Once I have rounded up the beasts and animals left behind, I shall catch up with you." The King left on his mottled brown horse, which is faster than rain and wind, leading his velvet black horse, which is never overtaken by air or wind.
The boy Altan Bombarai led the long caravan through a valley of blue mountains, in the direction of the mountain of the Azure Stupa, which touches the sky. When the front of the caravan, led by Altan Bombarai, was reaching the top of the mountain of the Azure Stupa, and while the rear was still traveling through the valley of the Blue Mountains, the King still had not returned to his family. The caravan kept going and going. The night fell as they were still traversing the mountain slope.
The star of azure pearl on the horizon seemed very close by, and there was an azure bridge connecting the mountain of the Azure Stupa with the star.
When the mountain of the Azure Stupa came to an end, and when the caravan turned to cross the azure bridge over the limitless blue Sky to the star of azure pearl, Altan Bombarai asked his Mother: “Mommy, Mommy! Should we keep going? Here Earth comes to an end and the Sky starts. Shouldn’t we stop here?"
Queen Oyu Sundel said: “I am worried about your Father’s delay." "What did he tell you about stopping?"
“He told me to go towards the mountain of the Azure Stupa during the day, and towards the star of azure pearl at night, and he told me not to stop anywhere.” Altan Bombarai replied.
"How can we go against what your Father has said?" answered Queen Oyu Sundel. So Altan Bombarai led the caravan and kept going over the bridge which linked the Earth and the Sky. And still there was neither sight nor sound of Father returning.
The Sky Bridge came to an end, and the front of the caravan arrived at the star of azure pearl. The caravan kept on moving.
Altan Bombarai asked: “Mommy, Mommy! Should we still keep going? Earth had come to an end and we went on the Sky Bridge. Now that the Sky Bridge has come to an end, we are traveling on the star of azure pearl. Shouldn’t we stop here?”
“It has been a long time since your Father left”, replied Queen Oyu Sundel. “I am so worried, that I am unable to sleep and I can't hold back my tears. We'd better do something now.”
The three of them discussed the matter and decided to go back to the foot of the mountain of the Azure Stupa and wait for Father there. They thought that something terrible must have happened to him, or else he would have caught up with them at the foot of the mountain of the Azure Stupa.
While they were getting ready to go back, with Mungun Bombarai leading the caravan and Altan Bombarai following it, the azure bridge of the Sky detached from Earth and folded up. It is said that the Sky Bridge connects to Earth once in nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand years and that it also detaches from the Earth once in nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand years. This was the very moment that the Sky Bridge detached from Earth.
Thus Altan Bombarai, Mungun Bombarai and Queen Oyu Sundel ended up in the blue Sky, separated from their home in Alag Buur Gobi and from the Earth, where King Altai Sumber remained.
Everything in the blue Sky world is made up of gems. The buildings have topaz walls, golden and silver roofs and coral pillars. The roads are covered with pearl and the soil is of turquoise and azure. Everything illuminates itself. There is no suffering, no weeping, sadness, hunger, or thirst.
The Milky Way starts from the star of azure pearl. It takes nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand years to travel from one end of the Milky Way to the other end. The caravan kept going and going. After nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand years it will reach the other end of the Milky Way and from there they will land on another star of azure pearl. Once again, an azure bridge will appear between the star and Earth. The caravan will come down this bridge onto the mountain of the Azure Stupa. From the mountain of the Azure Stupa they will descend the mountains and reach their Alag Buur Gobi. The caravan kept going and going.
Apparently, they took a lunch break right in the middle of the Milky Way. Right there is the King of Heaven’s palace, made of crystals and topaz. Outside the crystal palace they unharnessed the camel geldings from the carts so that the camels' backs could have a rest.
The people in Heaven do not know how to light a fire. They cook only by magic. So Queen Oyu Sundel borrowed the Dung-basket and Rake constellations from the Sky and collected the camel dung to light a fire. They took a rest while having milky tea, dried meat, and fried pastry from the load.
The golden white and silver white horses tied up to the Golden Stake, or Pole Star, look like the two yellowy white stars in the Sky. The Seven Old Men of the Big Dipper, who once lived on Earth and later went to Heaven, came across Altan Bombarai, Mungun Bombarai and Queen Oyu Sundel and showed them the way.
In the Sky World, nine hundred and ninety-nine years pass by for one lunch break. The family was to move on after the lunch break.
While the caravan was passing through the crystal streets of the King of Heaven's topaz city, the Children of Heaven looked at them in wonder and said they should feel at home in the Sky world. “There is no lack of anything. You can tend to your camels, and you can get as much clothes and food as you wish by magic. And there is no death, the people here have eternal life,” the children said, hoping that they would stay.
Altan Bombarai, Mungun Bombarai and Queen Oyu Sundel expressed their gratitude to the people of Heaven and said: “At the end of the Milky Way there is a star of azure pearl. A bridge appears and links that star to Earth once in nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand years. We should, given time, cross that bridge. On the horizon, we will find the mountain of the Azure Stupa, which we should descend. From there we will cross the valley of a thousand Blue Mountains and arrive at our Alag Buur Gobi. In our Great Gobi of Alag Buur, it must have rained, water must have filled rivers and streams, and flowers must have blossomed. As the wild asses, horses, camels, sheep and mountain goats are scattered for grazing, Father Altai Sumber must be there, waiting for us”, they said with a sigh.
The King of Heaven's astrologer said: “On the wide, sun-drenched valley of the Great Gobi of Alag Buur, there is a big rocky mountain. Also there is a large circle. In the middle of the circle, there are four directions. Right in the middle of the four directions there is a burning flame. That is your Father’s heart. But right there your Father is sleeping soundly and forever. Take some holy water in this crystal urn with you. When you sprinkle the water over your Father, he will wake up from his eternal sleep. Continue your journey from there and all four of you please come visit our King of Heaven's topaz city after nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand years again”. Thus saying, he saw them off.
Altan Bombarai and Mungun Bombarai left their golden white and silver white horses tied up to the Golden Stake as a symbol of their return and proceeded on the Heavenly Prince’s twin brown horses as fast as clouds. Now they are on their way down the Milky Way with their Mother Oyu Sundel sitting in the sandalwood coach whose roof is of conifer and juniper.
“There is a star of azure pearl at the end of the Milky Way. Sky stairs will extend from the star of azure pearl down to the mountain of the Azure Stupa once in nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand years. We will climb down the stairs, descend the mountain of the Azure Stupa, cross the valley of the thousand Blue Mountains and reach the Great Gobi of Alag Buur. Our Father is there, and we will wake up our Father by sprinkling the holy water from the crystal urn that was given to us by the King of Heaven’s astrologer. When our Father wakes up he will know that we have traveled on the Milky Way and brought him the holy water of eternal life, and he will be overjoyed. From a three years' distance, our Father will call his speckled brown horse, which is faster than rain and wind, and his velvet black horse, which is never overtaken by air and wind. He will count the animals and beasts spread over the northern and southern sides of the mountain. We will erect our big, white ger palace. Then Father, Mother, and we two sons – the four of us - will live happily ever after.” This is what they’re saying to one another while continuing their journey down the Milky Way. When Altan Bombarai and Mungun Bombarai, along with their Mother Oyu Sundel, come down on Earth, all their wishes will come true and they will live happily ever after.



Translated from Mongolian by Surenjavyn SUMIYA