General
The Mongols are shy by nature. They often hide their confusion or embarrassment behind a smile. Most of the Mongols are taciturn, reticent, tolerant, and some people say, superstitious. Fussiness and inconsistency are considered undignified. At the same time, the Mongol may grow very excited when playing a game, or boil over in anger.
Language
Mongolian, belongs to the Altai group of languages (which include Finnish, Turkish, Kazak and Korean. It is spoken by about 7 million people in the world including Mongolians, Inner Mongolians, Buriyats, Kalkmycks and Tuvinians. In Mongolian speech organs such as the nose and larynx take relatively less participation but tongue, teeth, palate and lips take an active part in producing sounds.
Religion
Interest in Buddhism as a national religion began with Chinggis Khan. He employed the Buddhist Uigur people as teachers and state officials. The Uigur were a respected people and had great cultural influence over the Mongols. Chinggis Khan also held meetings with Buddhist leaders during his reign. In his will, he instructed his successor,
Clothing
The Del is the Mongols' traditional garment worn on both workdays and special days. It is a long, loose gown cut in one piece with the sleeves; it has a high collar and widely overlaps at the front. The Del is girdled with a sash.
The Ger
The Mongolian Ger is ideally suited to the country's extremes of climate and the people's nomadic way of life. It is a multipurpose dwelling that can be easily collapsed, transported to another place and put up again fully preserving its original shape.
Music & Dancing
Music is an important part of Mongolian culture. This is particularly the case in the countryside as families and friends will sing and play music together as a past time. A visitor to a countryside ger will often be coaxed into a song. Mongolians sing to their animals, sing about the environment, sing about nomadic lifestyles and sing about their patriotism.
Food
The Mongolian diet really depends on where you are in Mongolia and what time of year it is. In the south a staple diet of mutton and camel with camel dairy products is the norm. However, in the Khangai Mountains, beef is more common.
Cultural Tips
You are almost inevitably going to encounter the residents of the countryside. Things move slowly here and the standards of living you are used to are not the same. Part of Mongolia’s charm is its ancient customs and traditions. If you can learn and respect them before you step into the countryside, then you may get a more welcome reception. You may also become a small part in helping to preserve these traditions for future visitors,