TENGIS  (the booklet) 
Songs of the Darkhad people 

The Darkhads live in the province of Khövsgöl in the north west of Mongolia. They inhabit the immense valleys of the steppe surrounded by rocky mountains which they call chichged. These nomadic shepherds earn a living by rearing the "five muzzles": horses, sheep, goats, camels, cattle. Cows, which are common in the other provinces of Mongolia, are replaced here by the yak which alone is capable of giving milk all year round. Winter is particularly harsh in this region, even for a country with an extremely continental climate like Mongolia. It begins in October and ends in March. In January and February the temperature plunges to minus 50 degrees Celsius. Tengis is a place situated on the bend of a river to the north of the village and reknowned for its cold season.

In 1921, the long Manchurian domination was replaced by the patronage of the Soviet Union. Mongolia became the first Soviet satellite. Moscow's plan was to settle part of the population in order to employ them in public services and technical aid for the Negdel (farming cooperatives). Today, those cooperatives no longer exist but the villages which sheltered the settled populations remain. The Russian financial aid which was vital for this community project has dried up completely since the dismantling of the Soviet block at the end of the eighties.
The village of Rintchinlkhumbe, one of four in the valley, currently has a population of three thousand.

The livelihoods of these inhabitants now depend on the relationship they maintain with those families which have remained nomadic. One member of each family lives in the village. This person serves as a bridgehead to the facilities and products of sedentary life. In return, the villagers buy cattle left in the care of the shepherd families who in turn owe them a share of the products created by the rearing of these animals (dairy products, meat, hides,...). These relationships, originally based on family ties, or more rarely on ties of friendship, are made official during festivities such as that for the lunar new year (Tsagaan sar ) and the associated exchange of greetings and gifts.

Until recently, the life of the farmers and the rural populations remained isolated from the influence of wider market imperatives. But the fashion for cashmere completely changed this state of affairs. The farmers sell cashmere for a very high price. For hundreds of years goats played only a secondary role in Mongolian farming, but today farmers buy them in huge numbers thus provoking a rapid deterioration of the most accessible pasture-land. In money terms, they are increasingly wealthy. Their pasture-land, however, is becoming poorer and poorer.
This has led to discordance between farming techniques established through the ages and current economic logic. The arsenal of the latter is powerful. Electricity arrives in the village each evening at eight o'clock. Television sets are switched on and sitcoms vaunt the western way of life. Nevertheless, the Darkhads are proud of what is theirs, of their lifestyle and their history. During the Middle Ages and the times of Cinggis-Khaan, these men of the great Mongolian north were known for their shamanic gift. Although they speak Mongolian Khalka (language of the dominant ethnic group and official language of Mongolia), the Darkhads jealously preserve their dialect with its trailing accent which rises to a high note at the end of each word.

Long and short songs, songs of praise and popular songs
This recording presents the musical practise of the Darkhads of the village Rintchinlkhumbe. The "Chichgedin oianga", literally the "Group of the valley", interprets styles belonging to Mongolian populations as a whole but, except where indicated, the repertoire is principally Darkhad. They sometimes incorporate into their repertoire songs from directly neighbouring populations: the Khotgoïds and the Tsataans who make a living from rearing reindeer in the mountains ranging along the Russian border.

The short songs are indeed short. They are built on pentatonic melodies. One of the regular practises of the Darkhads is to use these melodies to improvise new lyrics. This is their opportunity to put to music a witticism or a mockery about a new element of their environment or human entourage. Observation and subtle use of language are two highly prized qualities throughout Mongolia.
Long songs are of a more solemn style. Each syllable is drawn out, shaped, reformed and vocalized for the sheer pleasure of it. Once the text is written down it rarely represents more than a few sentences. Pauses for breath are sparse and symbolically charged: the singer relives. Mongolians use the same word to express both life and breath. The horse hurdy-gurdy "Mörin Khüür" must follow the meanders of the voice without ever anticipating on it. Unlike long and short songs, songs of praise are characterized by an abundance of words. As their name suggests, they are sung in praise of a place, or of the actions of the daily lives of the nomadic shepherds. They are generally accompanied by the hurdy-gurdy. The "Tüülitch" bards are aging and this style is seldom adopted by young people who prefer the short songs better adapted to the rhythm of modern life.
Mongolian popular songs are more recent and are sung throughout Mongolia. They are based on a verse/chorus structure which closely resembles that of our popular songs.