Mongolian sonic marvels such as khoomii, or throat singing, and morin khuur, the horse-headed fiddle, are no longer considered oddities on this subtropical island.
But there are variations in styles and practices among different regions and tribes of the Asian Steppe that, though mostly imperceptible to the untrained ear, mean that one troupe of throat singers from, say, Russia’s Tuvalu, is rather different than one from Mongolia or China’s Inner Mongolia — and thus, at least for fans of the art form, worth seeing.
Consider the Musical and Dramatic Theatre of Khovd Aimag, which tours Taiwan starting this week. The troupe specializes in the (in Taiwan) heretofore-unfamiliar sound of the Altai Mountains.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF COURTESY OF MONGOLIAN AND TIBETAN AFFAIRS COM
Seen as distant and remote even by Mongolian standards, the province of Khovd is located at the foot of Altai Mountains in the western part of the country, bordering on Xinjiang. The region is home to 13 tribes and its musical and while in a sense multicultural, its artistic traditions are said to have received less influence from the outside world because of its remote location.
When asked about the differences between throat singing in western Mongolia and China’s Inner Mongolia, Nanjid Sengedorj, the award-winning lead khoomii artist from an ensemble of 18 Khovd khoomii singers, bielgee dancers, and other musicians, said their region’s music evokes the beauty of the Altai Mountains.
Another art form from western Mongolia, bielgee is a kind of dance that dates back to the 13th century. With the emphasis on movements of the shoulders, hands, fingers, waist and legs, bielgee dancers portray the traditional life of western Mongolia, mimicking daily activities such as archery, wrestling and horse-riding.
The ensemble also showcases the tsuur, a hand-carved wooden flute. This traditional instrument is distinguished by a fast vibrating echoing sound.
“Imagine you are in the Altai. Hawks soar high above and hover over the mountains, which are capped with snow year-round. It is the sound of tsuur,” Nanjid Sengedorj said.
May 26 to June 1 When the Qing Dynasty first took control over many parts of Taiwan in 1684, it roughly continued the Kingdom of Tungning’s administrative borders (see below), setting up one prefecture and three counties. The actual area of control covered today’s Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The administrative center was in Taiwan Prefecture, in today’s Tainan. But as Han settlement expanded and due to rebellions and other international incidents, the administrative units became more complex. By the time Taiwan became a province of the Qing in 1887, there were three prefectures, eleven counties, three subprefectures and one directly-administered prefecture, with
It’s an enormous dome of colorful glass, something between the Sistine Chapel and a Marc Chagall fresco. And yet, it’s just a subway station. Formosa Boulevard is the heart of Kaohsiung’s mass transit system. In metro terms, it’s modest: the only transfer station in a network with just two lines. But it’s a landmark nonetheless: a civic space that serves as much more than a point of transit. On a hot Sunday, the corridors and vast halls are filled with a market selling everything from second-hand clothes to toys and house decorations. It’s just one of the many events the station hosts,
Two moves show Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is gunning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) party chair and the 2028 presidential election. Technically, these are not yet “officially” official, but by the rules of Taiwan politics, she is now on the dance floor. Earlier this month Lu confirmed in an interview in Japan’s Nikkei that she was considering running for KMT chair. This is not new news, but according to reports from her camp she previously was still considering the case for and against running. By choosing a respected, international news outlet, she declared it to the world. While the outside world
Through art and storytelling, La Benida Hui empowers children to become environmental heroes, using everything from SpongeBob to microorganisms to reimagine their relationship with nature. “I tell the students that they have superpowers. It needs to be emphasized that their choices can make a difference,” says Hui, an environmental artist and education specialist. For her second year as Badou Elementary’s artist in residence, Hui leads creative lessons on environmental protection, where students reflect on their relationship with nature and transform beach waste into artworks. Standing in lush green hills overlooking the ocean with land extending into the intertidal zone, the school in Keelung
RSS