The picture shows the 100-year-old Mongolia bag quietly displayed at the Naadam venue. Photo by Aolan
At the venue of the 34th Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Grassland Naadam, which just ended on the 16th, hundreds of Mongolia buns with their own characteristics became a beautiful scenery. Among them, a Mongolia bag that has been precipitated for more than a hundred years has become an Internet celebrity check-in point.
The white wool felt of the past has long been worn out and gray, full of traces of time. Whenever someone passes by, almost all of them will check in and take pictures here. At this time, Ban Fengong will step forward and tell the life of a hundred years ago presented by this Mongolia bag.
Mongolia is a symbol of the traditional lifestyle of the Mongolian people. Its construction skills integrate woodworking, embroidery, carving, painting, weaving, etc., which is the culmination of Mongolia folk handicrafts, and was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008.
Ban Fengong and his elder brother now run a Mongolia bag making factory together in the Sunit Right Banner of the Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and his brother Ban Fengbin is also the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Mongolia bag making skills. When the business is not busy, the brothers will go to the pastoral area to search for old objects and collect old stories. This Mongolia bag was purchased from herders during a field survey many years ago.
The brothers estimate that it has accompanied the herders for at least three generations. Because of its long history and poor preservation, Mongolia bags have many problems such as damage, stains, insect eggs, and aging. Over the years, they have repaired it according to the principle of repairing the old as the old. "The wool felt is crispy now, and I don't dare to work too hard to install it now."
"This Naadam is the first appearance of this Mongolia bag in a large-scale event." Ban Fengong told reporters, "Other objects other than Mongolia are ready-made, and the purpose is to show the life scene of a hundred years ago." Although this Mongolia bun does not conform to current usage habits, it is a good 'history textbook'. ”
The picture shows Ban Fengong explaining to Russia visitors in Mongolia. Photo courtesy of Ban Fengong
For 3 consecutive days, in the sparse light cast from the roof, Ban Fengong talked about how to build a tandoor, the use of tea mortars and milk buckets, and the origin of the patterns on the cabinets...... In his narration, visitors feel as if they have traveled back in time to the nomadic life of a hundred years ago.
Outside this Mongolia bag, Lele carts, haystacks, and simple sheepfold cattle sheds are lined up one after another, and under the blue sky and white clouds, there is a scene of leisurely pastoral songs. A few meters away from this scene is a dense modern Mongolia bag. They are different in size, shape, and material, and have different use scenarios, some are intangible cultural heritage exhibition halls, some are restaurants, some are Naadam project competition areas, and some are rest areas......
"Some of them are produced by our Mongolia packaging factory, whether it is craftsmanship or design, it is too different from the one a hundred years ago." Ban Fengong told reporters that with the development of society and the improvement of living standards, the former Mongolia bag is no longer very suitable for the current life. "In the past, Mongolia was just a residence for steppe herders; In recent years, with the rise of specialty catering and cultural tourism industries, many homestays in the Mongolia and Mongolian restaurants in other provinces are our customers. ”
Over the years, the brothers have continued to innovate on the basis of ensuring that the main structure, materials and styles of traditional Mongolia bags remain unchanged. In order to improve production efficiency, machinery and equipment have been introduced; In order to improve the shortcomings of felt insects with peculiar smell, the material of wool and chemical fiber blend was developed; In order to enrich the decorative art of Mongolia bag, computer engraving, painting and metal ornaments were introduced; In order to carry out the research and development of new products, new materials and new processes, an innovation studio was set up to develop the types of Mongolia bags from the original 13 kinds to 120 varieties and more than 150 styles in 12 departments......
The picture shows the interior display of modern Mongolia at the Naadam venue. Photo by Aolan
"This century-old Mongolia bag is only 3.9 meters in diameter, which was already considered a 'large apartment' at that time. And now, even ordinary herdsmen rarely order such a small Mongolia bag. The largest Mongolia we have made is 25 meters in diameter. "Ban Fengong talks about the changes in demand for Mongolia buns, and keeps giving examples." Now many customers are asking for tempered curved viewing windows, which used to be the window of Mongolia bag. A few days ago, we also made a Mongolia bag with a 360-degree panoramic floor window for a scenic spot in Xing'an League, which is very beautiful. ”
"In my opinion, the essence of the so-called nomadic culture is to facilitate life. Manifested in the Mongolia bag technique, it is six words: easy to disassemble, easy to build. This is also our production principle all along. According to Ban Fengong, his father and grandfather are also craftsmen who make Mongolia bags for herders.
Over the years, the Banfengong brothers have made outstanding contributions to the inheritance of Mongolia culture, and the Mongolia bag construction skills they recommended were selected into the "2023-2025 National Intangible Cultural Heritage Productive Protection Demonstration Base Recommended List".
"Now we can let more people, let our next generation come here to learn and pass on the skills of Mongolia bag." Ban Fengbin said.
"Even if you don't know how to do it in the end, it's a kind of inheritance to be able to learn about the production method and process." Ban Fengong added.
On the 17th, the tourists at the Naadam site gradually disappeared, and the brothers unpacked the Mongolia bag and transported it back to Sunit Right Banner. In the future, it will continue to be reinstalled as it is and displayed in the conference hall of the Mongolia package factory.