Hand-shaking while greeting was unusual, as touching the hand of a respected person was traditionally impolite. Older or distinguished people were greeted first. Mongolians traditionally have strict patterns of greeting. Another says ‘Khun bolokh bagaasaa khuleg bolokh unaganaasaa’ (‘a man’s character can seen in his childhood as a horse’s can be seen from the foal’). One proverb says ‘Erkhiig surakhaar berkhiig sur’ (a child should be experienced, not spoiled). However, they said, excessive love and care made a child capricious and spoiled. Mongolians said that scolding, intimidation or threats make a child perverse and stubborn, so a caring and loving education was particularly important. Particular attention was paid to toys and games to help intellectual growth, and Mongolians love to play simple games with children, such as guessing the number of shagai (lamb’s ankle bones) held in the fist setting the alag melkhii (multicolored frog) anklebone shooting and shagai shuurekh. For healthy growth, children were taught the dangers both of over-eating or being hungry, in addition to good manners. Children were taught to tend young animals, water horses, collect dried dung, and milk cows from a young age. Parents also carefully watched how the child learned and behaved, encouraging what they saw as good and condemning what they saw as bad.

Children were told tales and legends, riddles and proverbs, and taught to respect parents, siblings, older people and strangers.

The Mongol saying ‘Holiig ni doroond garyg ganzagand’ translates literally as ‘make the child’s legs reach the stirrups and hands reach the reins.’ This means that the child must grow physically able to help his parents and relatives. Such traditions came from the deep respect given to the unborn child, who might one day become an intellectual, a statesman, or just a faithful person to his family and community. It was also forbidden to pass a pregnant woman when walking, to swear in her presence, or even to speak in a loud voice. It was strictly forbidden to frighten a pregnant woman, to make her unhappy or to make her do hard labour. There is indeed a language association: the Mongolian word humuujil, meaning to educate, to bring up, is related to the words humuun, meaning human, and humuuniig hun bolgoh, meaning to make a man.Īlong with a healthy physical upbringing, much attention was traditionally paid to the intellectual and ethical development of a child, even before birth. As in any other nation, Mongolian customs and traditions have their own specific distinguishing features.Mongolians have always considered childrearing and education to be the primary consideration. They involve psychology, ethics, science, education, religion and family relationships. Mongolian customs and traditions have grown as part of the development of central Asian nomadic civilization, passed down from generation to generation.

Civ 5 mongols