The Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China, as well as Buryatia and Kalmykia republics of Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of Mongolic peoples. The Oirats and the Buryats are classified either as distinct ethno-linguistic groups or subgroups of Mongols.
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of 1,564,116 square kilometres, with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's most sparsely populated sovereign state. Mongolia is the world's largest landlocked country that does not border a closed sea, and much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to roughly half of the country's population.
This article on the demographics of Mongolia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a small section of China's border with Russia. Its capital is Hohhot; other major cities include Baotou, Chifeng, Tongliao, and Ordos.
The Buryats are a Mongolic ethnic group native to southeastern Siberia who speak the Buryat language. They are one of the two largest indigenous groups in Siberia, the other being the Yakuts. The majority of the Buryats today live in their titular homeland, the Republic of Buryatia, a federal subject of Russia which sprawls along the southern coast and partially straddles Lake Baikal. Smaller groups of Buryats also inhabit Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug and the Agin-Buryat Okrug which are to the west and east of Buryatia respectively as well as northeastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China. They traditionally formed the major northern subgroup of the Mongols.
Articles related to Mongolia include:
Buddhism is the largest religion in Mongolia practiced by 51.7% of Mongolia's population, according to the 2020 Mongolia census. Buddhism in Mongolia derives much of its recent characteristics from Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug and Kagyu lineages, but is distinct and presents its own unique characteristics.
Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar was the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu and the first Bogd Gegeen or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia.
Hinduism in Mongolia is a minority religion; it has few followers and only began to appear in Mongolia in the late twentieth century. According to the 2010 and 2011 Mongolian census, the majority of people that identify as religious follow Buddhism (86%), Shamanism (4.7), Islam (4.9%) or Christianity (3.5). Only 0.5% of the population follow other religions.
As of 2020, Islam in Mongolia is practiced by approximately 5.4% of the population. It is practised by the ethnic Kazakhs of Bayan-Ölgii Province and Khovd Province aimag in western Mongolia. In addition, a number of small Kazakh communities can be found in various cities and towns spread throughout the country. Islam is also practiced by the smaller communities of Khotons and Uyghurs.
The Erdene Zuu Monastery is probably the earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. Located in Övörkhangai Province, approximately 2 km north-east from the center of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the ancient city of Karakorum, it is part of the Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site. The monastery is affiliated with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Ovoo, oboo, or obo are cairns used as border markers or shrines in Mongolian folk religious practice and in the religion of other Mongolic peoples. While some ovoos simply consist of a mound of stones, most have branches and khadag stuck into them. In the absence of stones, ovoos can be made entirely of branches, or even soil or sand.
Dulduityn Danzanravjaa was a prominent Mongolian writer, composer, painter, Buddhist scholar, physician and the fifth Noyon Khutagt, the Lama of the Gobi. His name is a Mongolian adaptation of the last part of the Tibetan name Lobsang Tenzin Rabgye given to Danzanravjaa by the fourth Bogd Gegeen on his visit to the Mongolian capital, Urga, in 1812 – where Danzanravjaa was also recognized as an Incarnate Lama. There are several versions concerning the origins and use of "Dulduityn". He was the fifth incarnation of the Gobi Noyon Khutagt, which is the title of a prominent line of tulkus of the Nyingmapa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia and was found by the personal attendant of the fourth Noyon Khutagt in 1809. It was not possible to enthrone Danzanravjaa as the fifth Noyon Hutagt because of the ban from the ruling Manchu (Qing) dynasty on recognition of this line of incarnations. Mongolia at the time was under Manchurian Qing control. He was enthroned as the Avshaa Gegeen in Ongiin Gol Monastery by Ishdonilhudev Rinpoche. He is primarily famous for his poetry, but is also known for his prophecies, and treatises on medicine, philosophy, and astrology.
The Constitution of Mongolia provides for freedom of religion; however, the law somewhat limits proselytism.
The Mongolic peoples are a collection of East Asian-originated ethnic groups in East, North, South Asia and Eastern Europe, who speak Mongolic languages. Their ancestors are referred to as Proto-Mongols. The largest contemporary Mongolic ethnic group is the Mongols. Mongolic-speaking people, although distributed in a wide geographical area, show a high genetic affinity to each other, and display continuity with ancient Northeast Asians.
The Mongols were highly tolerant of most religions during the early Mongol Empire, and typically sponsored several at the same time. At the time of Genghis Khan in the 13th century, virtually every religion had found converts, from Buddhism to Eastern Christianity and Manichaeanism to Islam. To avoid strife, Genghis Khan set up an institution that ensured complete religious freedom, though he himself was a Tengrist. Under his administration, all religious leaders were exempt from taxation, and from public service. Mongol emperors were known for organizing competitions of religious debates among clerics, and these would draw large audiences.
Mongolian shamanism, known as the Böö Mörgöl in Mongolian and more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and its surrounding areas at least since the age of recorded history. In the earliest known stages it was intricately tied to all other aspects of social life and to the tribal organization of Mongolian society. Along the way, it has become influenced by and mingled with Buddhism. During the socialist years of the twentieth century, it was heavily repressed, but has since made a comeback.
Yellow shamanism is the term used to designate a particular version of shamanism practiced in Mongolia and Siberia which incorporates rituals and traditions from Buddhism. "Yellow" indicates Buddhism in Mongolia, since most Buddhists there belong to what is called the "Yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism, whose members wear yellow hats during services. The term also serves to distinguish it from a form of shamanism not influenced by Buddhism, called "black shamanism".
Dayan Deerh or Dayan Degereki is one of the most important divinities in the folk practices and shamanic invocations in Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia. His cult is linked to fertility rites which are practiced in yellow shamanism as well as in black shamanism. He is still venerated, especially on the eastern side of Lake Khövsgöl.
Religion in Inner Mongolia is characterised by the diverse traditions of Mongolian-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, the Chinese traditional religion including the traditional Chinese ancestral religion, Taoism, Confucianism and folk religious sects, and the Mongolian native religion. The region is inhabited by a majority of Han Chinese and a substantial minority of Southern Mongols, so that some religions follow ethnic lines.
