western Mongolia

#1Pic1Day: Antre Air | Line for Water (Mongolia, 2009)

Line for Water (Mongolia, 2009) The dwellers of the village of Tsengel in westernmost corner of Mongolia are queuing for water from a communal pipe in the middle of the village. This is a daily routine in most rural areas of Mongolia, due to unavailability of water system. Tsengel is last village in western Mongolia, neighboring with China and not far away from Kazakhstan, inhabited by predominantly Muslim Kazakh minority ethnic group. A big number of Kazakhs from Western Mongolia have migrated to Kazakhstan. Antre Air (Mongolia, 2009) Para penduduk dusun Tsengel di ujung paling barat Mongolia sedang mengantre air dari pipa komunal di tengah dusun. Ini adalah aktivitas harian di daerah pinggiran Mongolia, yang masih belum memiliki sistem pipa air. Tsengel adalah dusun paling ujung di Mongolia, berbatasan dengan China dan paling dekat dari Kazakhstan, dihuni oleh minoritas Kazakh yang beragama Islam. Sejumlah besar penduduk Kazakh di Mongolia Barat telah bermigrasi ke Kazakhstan. [...]

February 13, 2014 // 2 Comments

#1Pic1Day: A Kazakh Muslim Wedding (Mongolia, 2009)

Muslim Wedding (Mongolia, 2009) A Muslim Kazakh bride in westernmost corner of Mongolia is preparing for nikah, legalization of marriage held by Muslim religious leader. The Kazakhs are predominantly Muslim minority groups inhabiting western Mongolia, especially in the province of Bayan Olgii. Most of the wedding ceremonies here are held in Western (Russian) way, as it comes simpler and cheaper. In Kazakh wedding in Mongolia, vodka is always present. The father of this bride even held a cup of vodka in his hand, praying by reading Bismillah (in the name of Allah) to all guests. The mother of the bride then stood up, saying gratitude to all guests while wailing and weeping, and finished the vodka all at once. Pernikahan Muslim (Mongolia, 2009) Seorang pengantin Muslim Kazakh di ujung paling barat Mongolia sedang bersiap melangsungkan akad nikah. Pernikahan di sini lebih sering dilangsungkan dalam cara barat atau Rusia daripada cara tradisional (yang lebih rumit dan mahal). Dalam pernikahan Kazakh di Mongolia, vodka tidak boleh absen. Ayah pengantin perempuan ini bahkan sempat mengangkat secawan vodka, mengucap Bismillah irrahman irrahim, dan berterima kasih kepada semua tamu yang hadir. Disambung dengan ibunya yang berdiri, berterima kasih sampai menangis-nangis, dan menenggak habis satu cawan [...]

February 12, 2014 // 8 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Makan-Makan | Time to Eat (Mongolia, 2009)

Time to Eat (Mongolia, 2009) Kazakh people of Bayan Olgii, Western Mongolia are having lunch with a pile of sheep meat. The Kazakhs are predominantly Muslim minority groups inhabiting the westernmost part of Mongolia, especially in the province of Bayan Olgii. While eating, each of them bring a knife to cut the big pieces of meat, and they all eat from the very same big plate. Makan-Makan (Mongolia, 2009) Para minoritas Muslim Kazakh di provinsi Bayan Olgii, Mongolia Barat sedang menikmati makan siang berupa sebongkah daging domba besar. Masing-masing mereka membawa pisau, dan makan langsung dari piring besar yang sama. [...]

February 11, 2014 // 0 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Sang Pemburu Elang | The Eagle Hunter (Mongolia, 2009)

The Eagle Hunter (Mongolia, 2009) The Kazakhs are a minority groups inhabiting the westernmost part of Mongolia, especially in the province of Bayan Olgii. They are predominantly Muslims and still preserve the tradition of eagle hunting. The possession of eagle have been pride for the nomadic people since centuries ago, including Arabian sheikhs who are eager to pay any sum for the highest quality of eagles and falcons smuggled from Mongolia. As for the Mongolian Kazakh, eagles are used as weapon to hunt for foxes, and they got their eagles by kidnapping them from the wilderness. The fur hat wore by Kazakh hunters are made from fur of foxes’ legs they have hunted down. Once a year, Eagle Festival is held in the provincial capital of Olgii to preserve this almost-extinct ancient tradition. Sang Pemburu Elang (Mongolia, 2009) Bangsa Kazakh, minoritas Muslim yang mendiami wilayah bagian barat Mongolia (Provinsi Bayan Olgii) masih mempertahankan tradisi berburu dengan elang. Tradisi memelihara elang sudah berusia ratusan tahun dan merupakan kebanggaan bangsa-bangsa nomaden, termasuk para syeikh Arab yang sanggup membayar mahal untuk elang-elang dan rajawali berkualitas terbaik yang diselundupkan dari Mongolia. Bagi bangsa Kazakh Mongol, elang yang ditangkap dari alam liar adalah senjata mereka [...]

February 10, 2014 // 2 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Welcome to Mongolian Toilet (2009)

Welcome to Mongolian Toilet (2009) Still whining about dirty Chinese toilets? Then, welcome to this Mongolian toilet. Welcome to Mongolian Toilet (2009) Masih sering ngomel kalau toilet China yang paling jorok? Selamat datang di toilet Mongolia. [...]

February 7, 2014 // 6 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Santai Dulu Ah… | Relaxing (Mongolia, 2009)

Relaxing (Mongolia, 2009) A little girl of a Mongol nomad family is having me-time, relaxing under the winter sunshine in arid desert of southwestern Mongolia. Santai Dulu Ah… (2009) Seorang anak gembala Mongol berjemur menikmati sinar mentari musim dingin di padang gersang Mongolia selatan [...]

February 6, 2014 // 0 Comments

#1Pic1Day: Metropolis, Mongolian Style (2009)

Metropolis, Mongolian Style (2009) Khovd, with population of 35 thousand, is the biggest city in western Mongolia. Mongolia has land area about the same as that of Indonesia, with population of only 2.7 million, more than half of which live in the capital. What you see then is an almost empty country. Metropolitan ala Mongolia (2009) Khovd, dengan jumlah penduduk 35 ribu orang, adalah kota terbesar di Mongolia bagian barat. Luas Mongolia hampir seluas daratan Indonesia, dengan penduduk 2,7 juta jiwa, yang hampir separuhnya tinggal di ibukota, menyebabkan negeri raksasa ini begitu lengang dan lapang. [...]

February 5, 2014 // 0 Comments