Mongolia by BRA… on google maps
Sükhe regarded the dead body of his once-perfect white horse… and wailed louder than the wind that tore o’er the land. The hand of his neighbour’s lord was in that. All that day, Sükhe wept, his father despairing he’d ever stop weeping.
Hush, his horse whispered to him in the night. Dry your eyes and listen… take my bones and form them into a long neck. See how? And the horse showed him how. Now take my skin and use it to cover a soundbox. And take my hair and from it form strings. And atop the neck carve my head. See how? And the horse showed him how.
The next day, Sükhe did as his horse’s spirit had shown him.
“What is it?” asked his father.
“It is my morin khuur, my horsehead fiddle. So my horse and I together can still ride the wind.”
146 words, written for What Pegman Saw: Mongolia
There exist two stories to account for the first creation of the morin khuur… this is my take on one of those.
And for those who want a taste of the horseheaded fiddle … as performed by the Dutch Pagan Rock band Omnia. And it’s worth listening through to the 3 minutes mark, as it then livens up
crispina kemp 
Great story Crispina. Folklore is something I’ve yet to explore. So I listened to Omnia, then I listened to another and another. Mesmerizing. You’re words and the PRAYER were perfect together.
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I thank you. I discovered Omnia a couple of years back. They now figure heavily in my play lists. Very, very talented.
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And very calming somehow
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Have you discovered the Raven yet? I’ll email you the link
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Got it!!!! WOW! He does such a great performance of the poem! It’s on my list now!
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Isn’t it absolutely wonderful. As far as I can ascertain, and I haven’t researched it, but while the band is Netherlands based, Steve, the singer, has a Welsh surname, but it’s hyphenated with a Dutch one, so I think maybe he’s married to the harpist, Jenny.
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Everything about it from the performer to the end product is wonderful. Cool!
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it and appreciated it too.
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Oh yes! Very much! It’s also a reminder to me to go back and read the poems and poetry I used to read and love.
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That poem is available on the web. I found it.
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The Raven? I may have a copy. But send the link.
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https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven
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ok Thanks 🙂
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Pleasure 🙂
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I may post it. Just because a lot of people probably don’t know it. AND tis the season and the video you showed me. Think?
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Indeed. Absolutely. And I’ve just whetted some appetites. 🙂
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INDEED! lol I’ll do it when I come back from the little store. Won’t be long.
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You have a knack with these, Crispina. I love how you go digging to find the folklore of a place and bring it to life.
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In this post I didn’t do much digging. I long ago fell in love with the horsehead fiddle, and Mongolia draws me in a way few other places do.
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I had two girls on my crew over the summer from Mongolia. I had really given little thought to it before that. They gifted me a metal of Ghenghis Kahn still a proud part of their heritage.
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An extremely high % of easter Eurasian males carry Ghengis Kahn’s dna. From Hungary through to China. He had rather a lot of wives. But yes, he’s still an important character, memory, feature, in their culture.
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Totally enjoyable and magical Crispina!! You do have a knack for these things and they always seem a lead-in that begs for more!!
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Thanks Judy. It’s just a folktale I’ve retold. You know that’s one of my loves
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I do, I do!
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🙂 🙂
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Great story, I love the spirit of the horse that runs through it, and the sense of freedom.
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This was inspired by a documentary I saw (on YouTube) some years back, about these children learning to place the horsehead fiddle. It went quite into depth regards the music. It is the wind across the steppe, it is the horses. The image of those children, manically drawing the music from those simple-seeming fiddles (though in truth they’re not simple) stays with me.
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This is great stuff, Crispina. Love the voice of the horse speaking to its owner, telling him how to create the fiddle so they’ll never be apart. Just cracking mythic storytelling. Loved it
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I thank you, but I can’t take full credit. It’s a rehash of an old tale.
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Still, you told it well
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I thank you. It was close to my heart; a long-standing interest
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This is a nice retelling of a folk-tale. I particularly like the way you include “The hand of his neighbour’s lord was in that.” You add to the grief of losing a beloved companion, the sense that the companion was snatched away deliberately and brutally.
I enjoyed Omnia’s music – thank you for including it!
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Omnia’s sits midway in my love affair with Mongolia. I was delighted when I found it: They’d a band from Netherlands, but they include music from all places.
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I’m utterly captivated, both by the legend you’ve bought to life, and the side of Mongolia you’ve shown me. The music is great too!
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Glad you like. But who could not love Omnia’s music
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This is beautifully written. The music you added in the link is utterly hypnotic. I love ‘throat singing’ and the amazing ways people have found ways to tie down music and make folklore their own. Fabulously done.
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I thank you. A long standing interest, unleased by the Pegman prompt.
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🙂 I do love those prompts for, quite literally, where they ‘take me’ 🙂
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I loved reading it. Folklore is one of my favourite things to read and Mongolia is such an interesting place. Do you know about the Mughal (Moguls)?
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I have heard mention, but I wouldn’t claim myself familiar. An area that needs filling in… but not for a while yet
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Oh, I see. It is one of my favourite part of history.
Well, history is like a vast ocean, and it’s more than impossible to know everything in one life. 😅
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I guess I’m far more knowledgeable about Western European history, cos that’s where I live
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Oh yes. Currently I am busy making my own Cygnetian history and exploring legends all around the world, from the Mughal to Inca… I have to search deeper into your subject though. 😃
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I wish you well with it. I’ve found that in researching one thing you learn so much more in related subjects.
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Oh, yes it does help me in knowing the world.
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I wish you well in your journey of discovery 🙂
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Thank you and same to you.
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🙂
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What a mythical take on the origin of a musical instrument, it makes it feel so powerful and important in the culture. I enjoyed the song, too — I’m a big fan of folk music, so I liked it even before it livened up. 🙂
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You should check out Omnia on YouTube. Their offerings are varied, and talented.
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