The Concept of Havuu

February 3, 2008

For many Americans, their ideal vacation is to visit a big city–e.g. New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, Rome. For most Mongolians, it is quite the opposite. The perfect vacation for residents of Ulaan Bataar, the capital city and my home while teaching at Chinggis Khaan University, is havuu, a Mongolian word that roughly translates to ‘the countryside’. It is that seemingly endless expanse of land that begins at the city limits and extends far beyond the horizon. Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country on earth with a land area of 600,000 square miles, more than twice the size of Texas and almost the size of Alaska, but a population of only 2.5 million–roughly that of the Denver metropolitan area.

The Great Steppes of Mongolia

It is said that within the soul of every Mongolian, rich/poor, young/old, male/female, is the desire to live a rural, nomadic lifestyle. On summer weekends and holidays, this city of one million inhabitants empties out as people head to the mountains, the Gobi, or, most popular, the steppes–the wide open grasslands and prairies that cover half the country. Those few Mongolians who are well to do might own a dacha, a country home that looks like a small chalet. The middle class will head to yurt camps–felt-covered tents rented by the day, much like a Mongolian B&B. The less well off will take a tent, backpack, petrol stove, and board a bus to reach their destination. The poorest may walk a few miles beyond the city’s edge and simply throw a bedroll by a river. However they do it, though, they go.

Mongolian Yurt Camp

Some people actively participate in organized outdoor activities, with horseback riding, fishing, hunting, and hiking the most popular. (Swimming and boating are a little more difficult in a country where water temperatures rarely rise about 55 degrees, even in mid-summer.) However, organized activity is not the purpose of these outings. Most just sit and enjoy the fresh air, endless vistas, and lack of noise and crowds. They join together with family and friends in groups that may total a dozen or more, eating, drinking vodka, beer, and ayrag (fermented mare’s milk), storytelling, singing traditional folk songs, and experiencing a bit of the rural lifestyle their parents and/or grandparents may have led before moving to Ulaan Bataar and adopting city life.

Eating, Drinking, and Relaxing Inside The Yurt

In 1980 75% of Mongolians were nomads living in yurts, herding yaks, sheep, camels, and goats, and moving with the seasons. Today that numbers is 25%. Some predict that it may fall to less than 10% in the next generation as more and more young leave home to study at a university, either in Ulaan Bataar or overseas, and do not return to work the family herds. The capital is where the jobs are as well as the schools, restaurants, nightclubs, and other attractive trappings of city life. From Monday to Friday it meets their economic and lifestyle needs, but on weekends their true love will usually come out–returning to the unspoiled and unpopulated countryside.

For us city dwellers who cannot imagine returning to the primitive small town lives of our grandparents, even for a weekend, this inner yearning for a rural, nomadic life style is hard to grasp. However, the concept of havuu, the great open countryside, is deeply and firmly rooted in the soul of all Mongol people.

About the author: Michael Schneider and his wife lived in Ulan Bator where he was teaching at Chinggis Khaan University under the auspices of a Fulbright Grant. While there, he had occasion to travel with some Mongolian families for weekend trips to the steppes and talked with them about how much the above  characteristic is a part of their heritage and culture.