On Thursday, in a rare urban-rural migration, our jijur Altaa returned permanently to her home in Hentii to become an udgan (удган, female shaman - бөө is the male version). She's been preparing for this for the past several months, slowly acquiring the tools of the profession - including a metal mirror worn around the neck and assorted wooden animal carvings - and consulting with her teacher about her upcoming training. Her previous profession was clothing design (she was really excited when I first said I was a designer, but was a bit let down when she heard what I actually do), for which she studied in Kyrgyzstan. She and her husband Tumur (pictured below, right) gave me one of the loveliest gifts I've ever received - a hand-tailored Mongolian shirt in the style that Javkhlan is wearing nowadays. I wanted to save it for a nice occasion, so I first wore during my talk at HCI International. Now that Altaa and Tumur are gone, we've got a new jijur. Haven't spoken to her much, so all I know is that she's originally from UB.
Nice hat!
Posted by: R | 21 August 2007 at 04:19 AM
You forgot to mention that you burned the shirt.
Posted by: tater-tot | 21 August 2007 at 04:55 PM