Post, by Andrew. When we first arrived in Mongolia, we traveled to a place called Turtle Rock, located in the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. It is a large granite rock that looks like a turtle. Near the turtle is an interesting cairn of stones, called an ovoo. I found ovoos colorful and interesting.
Mongolian Ovoo, A Cairn of Stones
An ovoo is a type of alter made from stones with a wooden pole sticking out of the center. Ovoos are found in Mongolia, as well as surrounding countries, and are found in high places like mountains and grassy hills.
What are Ovoos?
When a person is traveling, they are suppose to stop by the major ovoos to ask the spirits for a good trip. The traveler adds a rock to the pile, makes their request and then they circle the ovoo clockwise, three times. Nemka, our guide is in the picture below. She was a lot of fun and I discovered that she didn’t like big bugs.
You can see other items besides stones, like crutches or car parts that are added for good health or luck. Horses are revered in Mongolia, so sometimes nomads will place a horse skull on the ovoo. You can read more about the Spirit of the Horse.
Silk scarves or prayer flags can be tied onto the pole in the ovoo. A blue silk prayer scarf symbolizes the color of the sky. The blue color looks just like the Mongolian sky. Tengri is the sky god spirit and is worshiped at the end of summer. During this time, blue silk will be added to the piles. Silk prayer scarves can be blue, yellow, white, green or red.
When people travel they learn all kinds of things that is different from what they believe. ~ Andrew
