RETURN OF OLD SCRIPT

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RETURN OF OLD SCRIPT

 

 

Mongolian traditional script is based on an alphabet and written

vertically, from top to down, left to right.

Banned for more than half a century, the traditional Mongolian script

is attracting an increasing number of young people who are keen to

learn about their national culture and history.

 

Introduced in the times of Chinggis Khaan, some eight centuries ago,

it was widely used until 1942, when Stalin decided that Asian nations

including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia must all

use Cyrillic instead of their native script. Scholars readily came up

with proper grammar rules, and nation wide educational campaigns were

launched to re-educate people.

 

 

An example of printed calligraphic style.

Within 40 years, traditional script was abandoned and forgotten as

new generations began learning only Cyrillic. By 1990, a mere 10 per

cent of Mongols, mostly the elderly, could read and write in old

script.

 

But thanks to the democratic changes of the early 90s, the old

Mongolian script was not only rehabilitated but recognized as a

backbone of national culture.

 

 

Ornaments made of words.

Written vertically, from the top downwards, the fast flow of the

script is also a beautiful artistic expression.

 

Nowadays, about a hundred old script fans gather at the Agula Center

once a year to test their skills. The center was set up in 1996 and

soon become the focal point for the revival of calligraphy, an

ancient art of writing.

 

 

Sign by Ts. Tamir, a student. "Boorte Chono" - the name of mythical

wolf, the forefather of Mongols.

The Center regularly holds an annual contest together with The Open

Chronicles and The Khumuun Bichig weeklies, the latter being

published in old Mongolian script. This contest has become

increasingly popular, attracting both young and old from all walks of

life.

 

The Agula Center's director S. Badral, 36 says: "When I was a student

in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) back in the 1980s, I often used to

go to the Hermitage Arts Museum where the stone stella from Chinggis

Khaan's time is preserved.

 

"I would stand for hours in front of the stone stella, fascinated by

the fine, ornament-like scripts. Even the name 'Chinggis Khaan'

seemed to have been done in his own handwriting. Sometimes, when the

guard was not around, I would touch the stella with my forehead to

express my homage to the wisdom of my forefathers.

 

 

"Quiet Justice- Supreme Delight." by N.Bat Erdene, 24, an artist. He

won the 1998 Contest with these words usually written on the back

strips of noblemen head gear.

"Mongolian traditional script is very expressive, and the longer you

look at it, the more you admire its perfection. Rejecting the old

script inflicts irreparable damage to national culture. What was

created by the genius of the nation shall not disappear without a

trace in the river of time."

 

"When I was a small child, my grandfather who was a painter at the

Lamyn Gegeen Monastery, one of the largest at his time, taught me the

traditional script. Now I teach other young people. Perhaps, this is

the essence of what is called the bond of generations. I hope this

link will help to preserve the treasures of our culture to future

generations."