The Mongolia Life Cycle Sociology Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

Mongolias population of 2.8 million is growing annually by 1.5 percent. One-third of Mongolians live in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Approximately one-fourth live in smaller cities, especially Darhan, Erdenet, and Choybalsan. The rest of the population is spread throughout rural Mongolia. Most of these inhabitants are nomadic herders. With rural conditions increasingly harsh, more people are moving to cities-a trend that threatens the survival of traditional nomadic society.

Reform has allowed freedom of religion, and more than one hundred monasteries have reopened. Many young Mongolians are receiving an education through these traditional centers of learning, and people are once again able to practice cherished traditions. Boys are increasingly applying to become monks, and Buddhism is rapidly regaining its popularity. Kazakh Muslims (about 4 percent) are free to practice Islam. Christianity is gaining influence.

Urban wedding ceremonies take place in "wedding palaces." Afterward, many couples now go to a Buddhist monk to receive a blessing or have their future predicted. A large feast treats as many relatives and friends as the new couple's families can afford to feed. In rural areas, common-law marriages are typical. Rural couples receive a ger from the husband's family. Mongolian families traditionally exchange gifts in conjunction with a wedding. The groom's family usually gives livestock, while the bride's family offers jewelry and clothing.

(Culture Grams)

National culture-including societal organization, governance, land management, cultural customs, and material culture-was largely shaped by the nomadic pastoral lifestyle. The legacy of Genghis Khan's empire is a rallying point for Mongol nationalist pride today.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

Lamaism, the Tibetan form of Buddhism, entered the Mongolian society in the sixteenth century. It had a strong impact on the Mongolian culture for centuries. Mongols sought the counsel and help of the lama (priest or monk) for every aspect of their life: migration, marriage, childbirth, disease, and death. Since 1949, Lamaist beliefs and practices have decreased drastically.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

After the fall of communism, Mongolia witnessed a religious revival and more and more people sought comfort from spiritual activities. Despite being unfamiliar with religious ceremonies and prayers, people flocked to temples for religious services and many families began to send one of their children to join the monkhood.

The devout also contribute money to the temples and invite the Lamas to their homes for lavish feasts.

(REL)

Due to Mongolia's small population, women are a vitally important part of the workforce. Men and women have an equal place in the Mongolian economy and this equality carries over into the home. Women still tend to do more than half the housework and play the primary role in supporting the family, but the role of the Mongolian woman is undergoing rapid change.

(WIC)

People

   Mongolia

Top of Page

Population:

2,832,224 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 27.9% (male 402,448/female 387,059)

15-64 years: 68.4% (male 967,546/female 969,389)

65 years and over: 3.7% (male 45,859/female 59,923) (2006 est.)

Median age:

total: 24.6 years

male: 24.3 years

female: 25 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.46% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:

21.59 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:

6.95 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 52.12 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 55.51 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 48.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 64.89 years

male: 62.64 years

female: 67.25 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.25 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

less than 500 (2003 est)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Mongolian(s)

adjective: Mongolian

Ethnic groups:

Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000)

Religions:

Buddhist Lamaist 50%, none 40%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4% (2004)

Languages:

Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.8%

male: 98%

female: 97.5% (2002)

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mg.html#People

Birth

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.birthdaycelebrations.net/traditions.htm (Birthday Celebration)

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ (Birth - % of Skilled attendant at Delivery)

http://www.who.int/reproductive-health/global_monitoring/data.html (Birth - % of Skilled attendant at Delivery)

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/profiles.htm (Abortion)

How is birth viewed in the culture?

Fertility is important in Mongolian society, so childless women usually experience social stigma.

(WIC)

Are there any customs regarding the way newborns should be swaddled, whether they stay in the house, carried around in public, etc.?

Are babies normally birthed in hospitals or at home?

Is there a preference for doctors or midwives?

Skilled attendant at delivery (%), 1997-2005*

97

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/mongolia_statistics.html

More than 95 percent of all pregnant Mongolian women receive ante-natal care. As of 2004, the maternal mortality rate was 98 deaths per 100,000 live births. Estimated infant mortality rates for 2006 are 52 per 1,000.

(WIC)

Are there any formalities/celebrations in the culture regarding newborns?

Among Buddhists there are many naming ceremonies.  In some traditions, children are named between the ages of three and eight.  After children are born, their parents have their Kika's drawn up.  The Kika is a very specific horoscope which many Buddhists believe determines all aspects of a person's life including marriage and death.  At the naming ceremony, a rimpoche, or Buddhist holy person, looks carefully at the child's Kika and selects a name which reflects the traits and predictions described in the Kika.  After cutting a strand of the child's hair, the rimpoche announces the child's name.

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:ybpfeaiYiCUJ:rainbowwarrior.coa.edu/laura/ceremony/religiuosceremony.htm+Buddhist+naming+ceremonies&hl=en&gl=in&ct=clnk&cd=1

How are birthdays celebrated in the culture? Are they important events?

How does the culture view abortion?

Abortions are legal in Mongolia and available on request.

(WIC)

ABORTION POLICY

Grounds on which abortion is permitted:

To save the life of the woman Yes

To preserve physical health Yes

To preserve mental health Yes

Rape or incest Yes

Foetal impairment Yes

Economic or social reasons Yes

Available on request Yes

Additional requirements:

An abortion can be performed during the first three months of pregnancy and later if the pregnant woman suffers from an illness seriously threatening her health. Approval of the family or of the spouse is required.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONTEXT

Government view on fertility level: No official position

Government intervention concerning fertility level: No intervention

Government policy on contraceptive use: Direct support provided

Percentage of currently married women using

modern contraception (15-49*,1994): 25

Total fertility rate (1995-2000): 2.6

Age-specific fertility rate (per 1,000 women aged 15-19, 1995-2000): 47

Government has expressed particular concern about:

Morbidity and mortality resulting from induced abortion No

Complications of childbearing and childbirth Yes

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1990):

National 65

Eastern Asia 95

Female life expectancy at birth (1995-2000): 67.3

For all women of ages specified.

BACKGROUND

Under the Mongolian Criminal Code of 6 July 1960, abortion was generally illegal. If it was performed by a physician, it was punishable by up to two years' imprisonment. If it was performed by a person lacking the highest medical qualifications, or if performed under unsanitary conditions, the punishment was increased to up to five years' imprisonment. Nonetheless, under general criminal law principles of necessity, an abortion could be performed to save the life of the pregnant woman.

In 1986, the abortion provisions of the Code were amended. Although abortion is in general still considered a serious offence, the Code authorized medical authorities to establish the conditions for the performance of legal abortions. Three years later in 1989, the health law was amended to reflect this change. Paragraph 56 of the Code was modified to provide that becoming a mother was a matter of a woman's own decision. During the first three months of pregnancy she could obtain an abortion on request and, later in pregnancy, when necessary due to illness. Abortions were to be performed by physicians under hospital conditions, and the Ministry of Health was to approve a list of illnesses justifying the performance of an abortion on medical grounds.

The health law was revised in 1998 but its provisions on abortion remained the same. The 1996 National Population Policy of Mongolia adopted by Parliament stated that abortion should not be promoted as a means of family planning. The Government considers the abortion rate to be too high. The Government also reiterated in 1999 that abortion is generally permitted if a pregnant woman requests it and that abortion is publicly subsidized.

Prior to these amendments to the law enacted in the late 1980s, legal provisions governing abortion in Mongolia echoed the pronatalist population policy of the Government. In responding to the Eighth United Nations Inquiry among Governments on Population and Development, the Government indicated no position on the fertility level and no policy to modify it. The Government remains seriously concerned over the high levels of infant, child and maternal mortality.

The Government has attributed the relatively high abortion rate, 25.9 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44, to shortages of modern contraceptives, as well as to a lack of knowledge concerning contraceptive use. Many women choose to have abortions carried out illegally by private physicians because of cheaper costs. Induced abortion accounts for a large percentage of maternal mortality in Mongolia, causing at least 850 maternal deaths each year.

The Government seeks to increase the contraceptive prevalence rate to more than 50 per cent by 2001. The National Reproductive Health Programme was adopted in 1997. The Government reports that, since the International Conference on Population and Development, held in Cairo in 1984, successful steps have been undertaken to ensure access of women to reproductive health-care services. Each provincial centre and some district cities have established reproductive health cabinets attached to the local public health centres. These cabinets provide services such as counselling, and pregnancy monitoring and evaluation. A National Adolescent Health Programme was adopted in 1997.

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/abortion/profiles.htm

Childhood

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.right-to-education.org/content/age/armenia.html

http://www.cohre.org/get_attachment.php?attachment_id=3069 (Sub-Saharan Africa - Rights of Women

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

What is a normal childhood in the culture?

Are children raised by their parents or grandparents?

What role do grandparents and extended family members play in the raising of a child?

Attitudes about child rearing are generally quite relaxed and all family members participate in the supervision and moral education of children.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

What are normal childhood activities in the culture?

Are children revered or just another piece of the population?

Are male children valued more?

At what age do children begin school?

Offices are generally open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6 p.m. Shops are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Grocery stores have the same hours as shops but often are open on Sunday. A large open market featuring consumer goods, rural crafts, and assorted items operates several days a week on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar.

(Culture Grams)

Are children expected to contribute to household income?

How is child labor viewed in the society?

Coming of Age

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

What marks a child's coming of age in this culture?

At what age do children normally "come of age?"

Are there certain rites or celebrations that mark coming of age?

What is expected of youth in this phase of life?

Are there certain difficulties experienced by this age group?

At what age are children expected to work & contribute to the maintenance of the family?

Dating & Courtship

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/ (Sexuality )

http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/ (Sexuality)

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

What are the general attitudes about dating in the culture?

Dating is fairly common.

(WIC)

Dating between schoolmates and coworkers commonly leads to marriage.

(Culture Grams)

Is there are distinction between courtship and dating in the culture?

At what age do people generally start dating?

How do men and women meet each other?

Mongolian women usually meet men at schools, in the workplace, and at social gatherings.

(WIC)

If dating is not customary, describe how people get together for marriage? Is it arranged?

If marriages are arranged, talk about how. What are the rituals around it (classified ads, matchmakers, astrology, etc.). If marriages are arranged, what are the factors in finding a suitable mate?

Are chaperones customary? If so, who serves as the chaperone?

Are there popular venues for dating?

Does a man or woman pay for dating expenses?

Describe a typical dating experience.

How long do people generally date before they get married?

Generally speaking in the culture, what are considered desirable attributes in a man?

Generally speaking in the culture, what are considered desirable attributes in a woman?

Does religion play a role in dating?

What are taboos of dating in the culture?

Is sex in dating common or taboo? What is the view of pre-marital sex?

If premarital sex is common, is birth control promoted, practiced, or taboo?

Is cross-cultural dating or cross-religious dating allowed or encouraged? Do people date outside their social, economic, education, religious, and ethnic categories?

How important are parents'/family approval for dating?

How does a proposal for marriage occur?

Arranged marriages are traditional in Mongolia, but for the last century, young Mongolians have become increasingly free to choose their own partners with minimal parental involvement. They normally marry within their own tribes.

(WIC)

Marriage

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/asian_traditions.html

(Wedding Celebration)

http://www.myhappylove.com/lyrics/wedding-traditions.html (Wedding Celebration)

http://www.right-to-education.org/content/age/armenia.html

(Minimum Schooling / Marriage / Employment Age )

http://www.coe.int/t/e/social_cohesion/population/demographic_year_book/2003_edition/04%20country%20data/ ( Population/Marriage/ Divorce/ Fertility)

http://www.cohre.org/get_attachment.php?attachment_id=3069 (Sub-Saharan Africa - Rights of Women

http://kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/ (Sexuality)

http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/ (Sexuality)

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/reports.htm (For the status of women rights)

http://www.international-divorce.com/ (Divorce & Custody)

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/hostfamilies/culturequest_index.htm

Is marriage considered a sacred/spiritual act or simply a legal act in the culture?

At what age do people normally get married?

The legal marriage age for Mongolian women is 18, but most women marry in their early to mid twenties.

(WIC)

Mongolians usually marry between the ages of 18 and 25.

(Culture Grams)

Does hierarchy in the family play a role in who is able to get married or who gets married first?

How are marriages celebrated? What are the rituals associated with the marriage ceremony?

A custom of "denying entrance on marrying" has been common among the nomadic and seminomadic Mongols. The bridegroom, accompanied by relatives, rides to the bride's yurt (house). He finds the door slammed in his face. After repeated requests, the door is finally opened. He presents a hada (ceremonial silk scarf) to his parents-in-law on entering and is given a banquet with a whole lamb. After the meal, the bride sits with her back to the others. The bridegroom kneels behind her and asks what her nickname was in childhood. He drinks at her house all night long. The following day, the bride leaves the yurt first. She circles the yurt on horseback three times, then speeds along to the bride-groom's house. The bridegroom and his relatives ride after her. The door is also slammed in her face and is only opened after repeated requests.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Urban wedding ceremonies take place in "wedding palaces." Afterward, many couples now go to a Buddhist monk to receive a blessing or have their future predicted. A large feast treats as many relatives and friends as the new couple's families can afford to feed. In rural areas, common-law marriages are typical. Rural couples receive a ger from the husband's family. Mongolian families traditionally exchange gifts in conjunction with a wedding. The groom's family usually gives livestock, while the bride's family offers jewelry and clothing.

(Culture Grams)

The wedding day is begun at a local temple where the couple separately asks for the blessings of Buddha. Both bride and groom are then dressed in outfits traditional to their region.

At the mutually auspicious astrologically designated wedding time, the bride and groom are individually taken to the shrine room of their local temple or a hall hired for the occasion. Here, the couple sees each other for the first time on that day.

Spiritual Buddhist wedding traditions don't necessarily require the presence of monks or the use of a temple's shrine room. For these traditions, the wedding location would be equipped with a shrine to Buddha featuring candles, flowers, incense and a statue or image of Buddha.

The ceremony begins as the entire assembly recites the Vandana, Tisarana and Pancasila readings. The couple then lights the candles and incense sticks surrounding Buddha's image and offers him the flowers within the shrine. Because of the secularity of Buddhist weddings, there is no assigned set of marriage vows. However, the bride and groom will recite their expected undertakings using the Sigilovdda Sutta as a guide. The Sigiloydda Sutta says:

"In five ways should a wife, as Western quarter, be ministered to by her husband: by respect, by courtesy, by faithfulness, by handing over authority to her, by providing her with ornaments. In these five ways does the wife minister to by her husband as the Western quarter, love him: her duties are well-performed by hospitality to kin of both, by faithfulness, by watching over the goods he brings and by skill and industry in discharging all business."

After these vows are spoken, the bride and groom can exchange rings. If monks are present, the marriage vows will be both preceded and proceeded by their chanting.

After the Wedding

Once officially married, the couple receives their guests with the huge feast and decorations prepared in the previous days to the wedding.

http://www.urbandharma.org/udnl2/nl021004.html

Finally, the assembly or perhaps the parents only, should recite the Mangala Sutta and Jayamangala Gatha as a blessing.

http://www.buddhanet.net/funeral.htm

What are the cultural expectations of marriage?

Do men and women have equal say in their marriages?

What are the typical roles of the man and woman in marriage?

How much do parents or in-laws have to say about their offspring's marriage? What degree of involvement do they generally have?

Where do couples normally reside--in their own place, with parents, etc.?

The sons, after marrying, move out of their parents' home. However, they live nearby and may travel with their parents in search of new pastures. In seminomadic districts, families often include parents, sons, and daughters-in-law.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Are affairs common? Are they culturally accepted?

Are men or women allowed to have multiple spouses?

Mongolian traditional society allowed polygamy as long as the husband could provide for each wife. However, polygamy was legally banned some time ago and is no longer practiced.

(WIC)

Do laws equally protect the rights of individuals in a marriage?

How are anniversaries celebrated in the culture?

Is divorce legal or acceptable in the culture? Under what circumstances is it acceptable to divorce?

What is the process in the event of a divorce?

Mongolian women could initiate divorce and remarry afterwards. In such cases the new husbands usually accepted a divorced woman along with her children, as acquiring a "ready-made" family was believed to indicate an existing spiritual connection.

(WIC)

Do women retain any rights?

What happens to children of a divorce?

A Mongolian woman can initiate divorce. In most divorce cases, the mothers get custody of minor children.

(WIC)

Is remarriage for widows condoned in the society?

Family & Parenting

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.cohre.org/get_attachment.php?attachment_id=3069 (Sub-Saharan Africa - Rights of Women

http://map.sscs.org.au/Documents/cultural_dictionary.pdf (Similar to Cultural Grams)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.unece.org/stats/trend/ (Population/ Families & households/ Employment/ Housing)

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-profiles.html (Family)

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/reports.htm (For the status of women rights)

http://www.international-divorce.com/ (Divorce & Custody)

What does the family unit in a home look like? (i.e. 2 parents, children? Parents, children, all relatives?, etc.)

Is there an imposed or cultural idea about how many children are the right amount for a family?

What is the typical family size?

Nomadic extended families often live in a camp of several gers. Husbands take care of herding and slaughtering, while wives handle milking and food preparation. Older children care for younger siblings.

Urban families live either in high-rise apartments or in a ger, with its surrounding fence and storage shed. A ger in or near a city will have electricity but not heat or water. Due to a housing shortage, three generations must often share a small apartment; parents sleep in the living room and children and grandparents in the bedrooms. Urban families have one or two children. Both parents generally work outside the home. Networks of family reciprocity are an important means of support. For example, rural relatives may supply their city relatives with meat and dairy products, and the urban dwellers may reciprocate by taking one or more of the rural family's children to live with them in the city so they may receive a better education.

(Culture Grams)

Traditionally, families were the main unit of production in this herding society. The kinship system was patrilineal and sons generally established households in a common camp with their fathers.

Several generations of families customarily live together in a nomadic camp known as a khot ail ("group of tents") and share herding tasks. This camp, generally consisting of two to seven households, serves as a way of pooling labor for herding and has numerous social and ritual functions.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

A Mongolian family generally consists of a husband, a wife, and their young children.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

How central are children to the family?

What are the general reasons for having children?

Children have always been treasured in Mongolian culture, and large families were historically the norm. Large families were considered desirable because many children ensured extra help and security in old age. Although family size is changing today, the country is still so sparsely populated that some people still believe it is advantageous to have "as many Mongolians as possible."

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

How important is birth or gender order?

Is there a family hierarchy or cultural custom in terms of childbearing (i.e. the youngest child of a family may not have children until the eldest has had them, etc.)

What is the expectation or role of each parent after the birth of the child?

Who is the "head" of the household?

Mongolian women traditionally held a higher social status than women in many Asian cultures. Still, a woman's primary role was as a homemaker.

(WIC)

The father is head of the family, but the mother is responsible for household affairs.

(Culture Grams)

Who makes the chief decisions for the family?

The Mongols are monogamous. The family is dominated by the man, but herders usually consult their wives about major decisions.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Traditionally, Mongolia has always been a patriarchal society. Mongolian proverbs such as "If a husband does not beat his wife once a month, he is not a man"

Today, Mongolian men often maintain the appearance that they are the family decision-makers, even if their wives actually make the decisions. However, the number of single-parent families headed by women is growing in Mongolia.

(WIC)

Who earns the income?

Who customarily manages the household? (Mother, Father, Grandparent?)

Describe typical family life? (daily routines)

What are the roles of the children (up to 10 yrs.)?

What are the roles of adolescents (11 and up)?

What are typical/favorite family activities?

Urban wedding ceremonies take place in "wedding palaces." Afterward, many couples now go to a Buddhist monk to receive a blessing or have their future predicted. A large feast treats as many relatives and friends as the new couple's families can afford to feed. In rural areas, common-law marriages are typical. Rural couples receive a ger from the husband's family. Mongolian families traditionally exchange gifts in conjunction with a wedding. The groom's family usually gives livestock, while the bride's family offers jewelry and clothing.

(Culture Grams)

Is meal sharing with the family typical/mandatory?

Dinner is considered the main meal of the day. The whole family generally eats dinner together.

(Culture Grams)

Is divorce common?

Today, divorce is relatively rare in Mongolia. In most divorces, mothers receive the custody of children and are entitled to child support and alimony.

(WIC)

With whom to the children go if there is a divorce?

What cultural expectations are there in terms of "duty" to parents?. What or how much do children "owe" their parents in adulthood? Does hierarchy/economics/education/or other play a role in terms of which child has more "responsibilities" or "duty requirements"? (i.e. in Japan/Korea, etc.)

Most Mongolians live in nuclear families, though elderly parents live with the family of their youngest son (or daughter if they have no sons).

(Culture Grams)

Are grandparents important in the culture? What role do they play in the family?

Attitudes about child rearing are generally quite relaxed and all family members participate in the supervision and moral education of children.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

Where do grandparents usually live?

Most Mongolians live in nuclear families, though elderly parents live with the family of their youngest son (or daughter if they have no sons).

(Culture Grams)

Work / Professional Life

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://www.right-to-education.org/content/age/armenia.html

http://country.alibaba.com/profiles/CM/Cameroon/practical_information.htm (Typical Office / Business Hours)

http://www.airninja.com/worldfacts/countries/Vietnam.htm (Work/Profession - % of Unemployment)

http://www.cohre.org/get_attachment.php?attachment_id=3069 (Sub-Saharan Africa - Rights of Women

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/reports.htm (For the status of women rights)

At what age do people normally begin working?

Do people have a choice with regards to their profession or is it proscribed for them by parents or others, economic or social standing, education level, or other?

Do people normally stay in the same work / profession for life?

What constitutes a typical workday? (Hours, lunch break, going home)

Offices are generally open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6 p.m. Shops are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Grocery stores have the same hours as shops but often are open on Sunday. A large open market featuring consumer goods, rural crafts, and assorted items operates several days a week on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar.

(Culture Grams)

How difficult is it to find employment?

Do men and women have equal rights and access to jobs?

Mongolian women have a very high level of education compared to that of men and dominate the medical, nursing, teaching, and professional childcare sectors. More than 77 percent of the country's doctors and 60 percent of the lawyers are women. They also make up 67 percent of the general school teachers and 33 percent of the teachers in higher educational establishments.

Women constitute nearly 47 percent of the agricultural workforce and 46 percent of those in industry. Women occupy about 30 percent of the posts at the administrative and managerial levels.

(WIC)

How are female professionals viewed?

Do men and women get equal pay?

Although gender-based pay discrimination is prohibited, it does exist, with women working longer hours and earning less pay than men for performing the same work.

WIC)

Although women had legal equality with men under socialism, they were burdened with the responsibilities of housework and childcare as well as their labor for wages.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

What happens to a woman's professional life if a she is married or has children?

At what age do people generally retire or stop working?

Old Age

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 64.89 years

male: 62.64 years

female: 67.25 years (2006 est.)

https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mg.html#People

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

http://kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/ (Sexuality )

http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/ (Sexuality)

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ageing/ageing2006chart.pdf (Retirement age)

How is old age viewed in the culture? Are older people a working part of the fabric of society?

What do people do after they stop working or they retire?

Are people still viewed as important in the culture upon retirement?

Does the older generation have respect in the culture?

Grandparents are treated with great respect for their wisdom and life experience, which they use to help raise their grandchildren.

(Culture Grams)

What is the role of a grandparent in the family?

Where do older people generally live?

What happens when ill health befalls the elderly?

Who cares for the elderly?

Who makes decisions on their behalf?

Are there cultural expectations for care giving in hardship cases (i.e. orphaned, death of parent/relative)?

Death

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Culture Grams which is in our WTP Folder ----- Birth, Dating, Marriage, Family, Recreation, Death/After Life

How is death viewed or handled in the culture?

What are the rituals associated with death?

Funerals were traditionally an important and costly event for Mongolian families. They would customarily give lamas substantial monetary gifts to pray for the well-being of the spirit of the deceased. Receiving the lamas' consultation about the handling and disposition of the body was considered very important to prevent future misfortune from occurring to the family. Others in the community would typically provide gifts of animals and money to assist the family at the time of the funeral.

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Mongolia.html

Originally, the Mongols believed in shamanism. The shaman is a witch doctor, a dream reader, and an intermediary (go-between) between the living and the spirit world. He is also skilled in divination (predicting the future or reading signs in nature) and astrology. Remnants of shamanism still exist, including sacrificial offerings to ancestors, and reverence for the Sun, Moon, and nature.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Depending on local custom, the Mongols practice cremation, burial in the ground, or hold a funeral in the wilderness. In the western region (where herders travel in search of pasture), the last form of burial is the most common. The body of the dead is placed in an open, horse-drawn cart and carried over rough terrain until the corpse falls off the cart due to the bumps. Then the body is laid in the wild. It is believed that when it is eaten by wolves or vultures, the soul of the dead rises to heaven. If the body is still there after a week, it is regarded as unlucky: the soul was not accepted in heaven. A lama (priest) is then invited to recite the scriptures and pray for the dead.

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Mongols.html

Death & Funeral

There are two main traditions that are observed:

1. The funeral ceremony, traditionally lasts over 49 days, the first seven days being the most important. Prayers are said every seven days for 49 days if the family can afford it. If the family is in poor circumstances, the period may be shortened to from 3 to 7 days. Usually, it is the responsibility of the daughters to bear the funeral expenses. The head of the family should be present for, at least the first and, possibly the second, prayer ceremony. The number of ceremonies conducted is dependent on the financial situation of the family. The head of the family should also be present for the burial or the cremation.

2. In the second tradition, the prayer ceremony is held every 10 days. The initial ceremony and three succeeding periods of ten days until the final burial or cremation.

After 100 days a final prayer ceremony is conducted, but such a ceremony is optional and not as important as the initial ceremonies.

In the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, to which most Chinese Buddhists subscribe, it is believed that, between death and rebirth, there is an intermediate period called Antarabhava in Sanskrit or the Bardo in Tibetan. It is an important period which has an influence on the form that the rebirth shall take. If the family ensures that proper assistance in the form of prayer and remembrance ceremonies are duly performed, the departed is better able to take a favourable rebirth.

Funeral Rites

(as practiced in Thailand and other South East Asian Countries)

The people rely upon monks to chant the sutras that will benefit the deceased, and to conduct all funeral rites and memorial services. To conduct the rites for the dead may be considered the one indispensable service rendered the community by the monks. For this reason the crematory in each large temple has no rival in secular society.

According to tradition, when a person is dying an effort should be made to fix his mind upon the Buddhist scriptures or to get him to repeat one of the names of Buddha, such as Phra Arahant. The name may be whispered in his ear if the person is far gone. Sometimes four syllables which are considered the heart of the Abhidharma, ci, ce, ru, and ni, representing "heart, mental concepts, form and Nibbana" are written on a piece of paper and put in the mouth of the dying man. It is hoped that if the last thoughts of the patient are directed to Buddha and the precepts, that the fruit of this meritorious act will bring good to the deceased in his new existence. In a village, at the moment of death, the relatives may set up a wailing both to express sorrow and to notify the neighbors who will then come to be of help.

After death a bathing ceremony takes place in which relatives and friends pour water over one hand of the deceased. The body is then placed in a coffin and surrounded with wreaths, candles and sticks of incense. If possible a photograph of the deceased is placed alongside, and colored lights are suspended about the coffin: Sometimes the cremation is deferred for a week to allow distant relatives to attend or to show special honor to the dead. In this case a chapter of monks comes to the house one or more times each day to chant from the Abhidharma, sometimes holding the bhusa yong, a broad ribbon, attached to the coffin. Food is offered to the officiating monks as part of the merit-making for the deceased.

The food offered in the name of the dead is known as Matakabhatta from mataka ("one who is dead").

At an ordinary funeral in northern Thailand the cremation takes place within three days. The neighbors gather nightly to feast, visit, attend the services and play games with cards and huge dominos. The final night is the one following the cremation. On the day of the funeral or orchestra is employed and every effort is made to banish sorrow, loneliness and the fear of spirits by means of music and fellowship. Before the funeral procession begins the monks chant a service at the home and then precede the coffin down the steps of the house, - stairs which are sometimes carpeted with banana leaves. It is felt that the body should not leave the house by the usual route, but instead of removing the coffin through a hole in the wall or floor, which is sometimes done, the front stairs are covered with green leaves to make that route unusual.

A man carrying a white banner on a long pole often leads the procession to the crematorium grounds. He is followed by some elderly men carrying flowers in silver bowls and then by a group of eight to ten monks walking ahead of the coffin and holding a broad ribbon (bhusa yong) which extend to the deceased. Often one of the monks repeats portions of the Abhidharma en route. The coffin may be carried by pall bearers or conveyed in a funeral car drawn by a large number of friends and relatives who feel that they are performing their last service for the deceased and engaged in a meritorious act while doing so. If the procession is accompanied by music the players may ride in ox carts or in a motor truck at the rear. During the service at the cemetery the monks sit facing the coffin on which rest the Pangsukula robes. After the chanting the coffin is placed on a pyre made of brick; the people then come up with lighted torches of candles, incense and fragrant wood and toss them beneath the coffin so that the actual cremation takes place at once. Later the ashes may be collected and kept in an urn.

Frequently the bodies of prominent or wealthy persons are kept for a year or more in a special building at a temple. Cremations are deferred this long to show love and respect for the deceased and to perform religious rites which will benefit the departed. In such cases a series of memorial services are held on the seventh, fiftieth, and hundredth days after the death. In one instance a wealthy merchant did not cremate the body of his daughter until he had spent all her inheritance in merit - making services for her. Another merchant spent the ten thousand baht insurance money received on the death of his small son entirely for religious ceremonies.

As along as the body is present the spirit can benefit by the gifts presented the sermons preached and the chants uttered before it. This thought lies back of the use of the bhusa yhong ribbon which extends from the body within the coffin to the chanting monks before it. The dead may thus have contact with the holy sutras. When the body is cremated the spirit is more definitely cut off from the world, it is best therefore not to force that spirit to enter the preta world finally and irrevocably until it has had the benefit of a number of religious services designed to improve its status.

Theravadins Buddhist follow the Indian custom of burning the body at death. The Buddha's body was cremated and this set the example for many Buddhists, even in the West. When someone is dying in a Burmese home, monks come to comfort them. They chant verses to them, such as:

"Even the gorgeous royal chariots wear out; and indeed this body too wears out. But the teaching of goodness does not age; and so Goodness makes that known to the good ones."

After death, while the dead person is being prepared for the funeral fire, the monks continue to chant in order to help the dead one's good energies to be released from their fading personality.

The monks come with the family to the funeral. The family and all their friends give food and candles to the monks. Goodwill is created by these gifts and it is believed that the goodwill helps the lingering spirit of the dead person.

http://www.buddhanet.net/funeral.htm

Are anniversaries of death remembered or celebrated? If so, how?

What is the view of afterlife?

The Buddha said of death: Life is a journey.

Death is a return to earth. The universe is like an inn. The passing years are like dust.

Regard this phantom world As a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, A flash of lightning in a summer cloud, A flickering lamp - a phantom - and a dream. {1}

According to Buddhism, after death one is either reborn into another body (reincarnated) or enters nirvana. Only Buddhas - those who have attained enlightenment - will achieve the latter destination.

Reincarnation (Transmigration)

Based on his no-soul (anatta) doctrine, the Buddha described reincarnation, or the taking on of a new body in the next life, in a different way than the traditional Indian understanding. He compared it to lighting successive candles using the flame of the preceding candle. Although each flame is causally connected to the one that came before it, is it not the same flame. Thus, in Buddhism, reincarnation is usually referred to as "transmigration."

Nirvana

Nirvana is the state of final liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. It is also therefore the end of suffering. The literal meaning of the word is "to extinguish," in the way that a fire goes out when it runs out of fuel. In the Surangama, the Buddha describes Nirvana as the place in which

it is recognized that there is nothing but what is seen of the mind itself; where, recognizing the nature of the self-mind, one no longer cherishes the dualisms of discrimination; where there is no more thirst nor grasping; where there is no more attachment to external things.

But all these descriptions only tell us what is not Nirvana. What is it like? Is it like heaven, or is it non-existence? The answer is not clear, due in large part to the Buddha's aversion to metaphysics and speculation. When he was asked such questions, he merely replied that it was "incomprehensible, indescribable, inconceivable, unutterable."

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/beliefs/afterlife.htm