Page |
Chapter 4: Assessment
- Despite the country’s name, the modern-day population of Mongolia is evenly
split between ethnic Mongols and ethnic Kazakhs.
FALSE
Mongolia is a very ethnically homogeneous country, with the large majority of the
population speaking one of several dialects of the Mongol language. Kazakhs, located
in the western part of Mongolia, are the principal non-Mongolian minority and make
up slightly more than 4% of the nation’s population.
- Tibetan Buddhism was the dominant religion in Mongolia until a communist
purge during the 1930s.
TRUE
Roughly one-third of men in Mongolia in the 1920s were Buddhist monks, living
both within and outside the monasteries. During the late 1930s, Mongolia’s
communist leadership purged the Buddhist clergy. As many as 100,000 Buddhist
monks may have been killed during this time, and nearly all of the country’s
monasteries were destroyed.
- In terms of educational achievement, Mongolian women outperform their male
counterparts.
TRUE
In Mongolia there is a reverse gender gap at all levels of the educational system (i.e.,
the ratio of women to men in all levels of schooling favors women).
- Urtiin duu is a traditional Mongolian musical style that is often performed for
special events and on ceremonial occasions.
TRUE
Urtiin duu singers frequently perform at ceremonial festivities—such as weddings,
new home inaugurations, child births, and livestock brandings—as well as at national
celebrations, including Naadam and Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year).
- The Naadam festival features competitions in Mongolia’s three traditional “manly
sports”: wrestling, fencing, and boxing.
FALSE
Mongolia’s three traditional “manly” sports—wrestling, archery, and horse racing—
are the focus of Naadam, a festival celebrated each July in Ulaanbaatar and numerous
towns around the country.