Final Dances and Farewells
by Paul Sereno

Drums and cymbals are among
the many fascinating objects
inside the Buddist temple of Nan Se.

Mongolian Rain Ceremony
The Alxa Desert in western Inner Mongolia has been home to nomads for thousands of years. Few inhabitants of this vast area, however, now practice this ancient lifestyle. Most Mongolian families are sedentary, moving their herds of camels and goats to winter quarters perhaps a few kilometers away. Their very existence in this arid region is now threatened by lack of water.

The source of the problem lies elsewhere. The sizeable lakes near Ejin Qi near the border with Outer Mongolia have now dried up completely through overuse by the local population. The rivers that fed these lakes and surrounding areas, furthermore, are diverted further to the south to irrigate the floodplain of the Huang He (Yellow River). The entire region is drying up and is dependent more and more on the light rains that fall during the short wet season.

Perhaps that's the reason the rain ceremony is of special importance in this part of western Inner Mongolia. Such ceremonies, practiced for centuries but prohibited during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), are making a comeback. An extraordinary opportunity came our way -- to attend a rain ceremony in the Mazongshan area!

Sprinkling water on the silk ribbons tied to the post, a woman makes her offering
during the rain ceremony.

We drove to the base of a steep rocky precipice called Daxi Lubtung, where we found a small crowd of Mongolians gathering around a monument built of bolders and wooden poles. Banners of silk cloth were tied to the poles and fluttered in the wind, as the Mongolians circled, sprinkling milk, water and fruit on the monument. Incense burned; prayers were said. In a small adjacent tent, a Buddist lama chanted continuously from handwritten text, stopping only to play various instruments at his feet.

Chanting from hand-written script,
the lama is absorbed in ritual.

Team members were given banners as well, which we tied to the monument. Many climbed to a second monument at the very top of the precipice. The sun was very bright. We all hoped more rain would soon fall than in previous years. We descended the precipice and headed toward a group of yurts in the distance. One of the yurts was a make-shift Buddist shrine. Incense burned and candles added to the sunlight streaming through the central opening of the yurt. Paul offered a gift of food and drink for the occasion.

Before the team jons the celebration, Paul makes a gift of food and drink in one of the yurts.

Incense, candles, offerings, and donations mark the site of worship inside a yurt.

The Mongolians who came for the ceremony mingled in celebration. Pots of food, composed mainly of goat muscle, organs and blood, were prepared. A portrait of Ghenghis Khan hung on the back wall. We ate the food of nomads and imagined a time, nearly a thousand years before, when Mongolian horsemen ruled a sprawling empire.

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