ANIMAL MYTHS OF MONGOLIASwallow
The myth emphasizes the
swallow’s playful nature.
The bird spends its time in
joyful flight, ignoring the
fact that it is supposed to
be working for the eagle.Wasp
The Mongols considered the wasp to be
aggressive and well suited to its task of
sampling the flesh of other creatures.
Mongolian tiger mask
The tiger, a symbol of vitality and new
life, was represented in masks used
for many different Mongolian rituals.THE EAGLE, THE WASP,
AND THE SWALLOW
At the beginning of time, the eagle – the king
of flying creatures – wondered what to eat.
So he asked the wasp and the swallow to taste the meat of
all living things and tell him which was the best. The wasp
flew quickly to each creature, biting into its flesh at every
stop. The swallow, on the other hand, spent all his time
flying across the blue sky and forgot about his task. At
the end of the day, the two met up and the swallow asked
the wasp which meat tasted the best, to which the wasp
replied “human flesh”. But the swallow thought that
eating humans could bring trouble to the eagle. It bit
of the wasp’s tongue so that all it could do was buzz.
Then the swallow told the eagle that snake meat tasted
the best, and eagles have loved to eat serpents ever since.THE TIGER DANCE
A favourite figure in Mongolian mythology is Tsagaan
Ebugen (White Old Man), who got his name because
of his white robe and hair. Originally a fertility deity,
he was also considered to be a god of animals, birds,
rivers, and mountains. He carried a staf topped with
a dragon’s head, which people believed he used to
heal animals, or make them ill. He had a special role
to play in the welcoming of the new year, so every
year a shaman dressed as Tsagaan Ebugen would
arrive at the place where people
gathered to celebrate. A tiger skin
would be displayed, which the old
man would beat with his stick,
symbolically killing the
animal and acquiring its
strength. He would then
begin to dance and drink
large amounts of alcohol,
until he was so drunk that
he could no longer dance.THE SWAN WOMAN
One day, a man saw nine swans flying across Lake Baikal in southern
Siberia. After landing, the birds removed their feathered dresses to
bathe, transforming into beautiful young women. The man hid one of
the dresses, so that when they finished bathing, only eight of the swans
could fly away. After wooing the remaining swan woman, he made her
his wife, and they had 11 sons. One day, she pleaded with him to let
her try on the dress and he allowed her to. As she put it on, she flew
upwards, but the man was quicker and caught her feet, preventing her
from escaping. But he realized that she wanted to leave desperately, so,
after their sons had all been named,
the man let the swan woman put on
her dress once again and fly away.Mongolian ger
Commonly known as a ger or
yurt, the traditional Mongolian
tent has a skylight. It was through
this that the swan woman tried
to fly to escape from her husband.At home again
After bidding farewell to her family, the swan
woman flew around the tent, blessing it, and
then returned to her native home on the lake.91