A ger, also known as a yurt, is a round, tent-like, one-room portable dwelling that housed the Mongol peoples since ancient times and up through today.
The ger is designed to be put up and taken down quickly - thus serving the needs of the nomadic Eurasian steppe sheepherders. Felt is draped over a collapsible wood frame which can be packed onto a horse or yak for transport to new pastures.
The sheep supplied the wool from which the felt was made. Felting was a seasonal activity, done in the spring and summer after lambing and shearing.
Traditionally, women made the felt and they owned the gers, where they lived with their children and husband.
A ger is comprised of a collapsible wooden frame covered with layers of felt. Wooden lattice panels formed into a circle comprise the walls.
Wooden slats or ribs formed the roof. The ribs slant inward above the walls to meet in the center. A hole at the top allows smoke from the fire to escape. In modern times a chimney pipe through the roof serves to channel the smoke from a wood burning stove up and out of the ger.
Entry and exit are through a single, south-facing opening.
Borte, Temujin and their Mongol nation contemporaries would use a flap of felt to cover the opening. The flap could be simply folded over onto the side of the ger or it could be rolled up and tied.
Modern gers use a wooden door, often painted blue.
Twin fires flanked the entry outside. These were sacred, said to cleanse the spirits of all who entered.
Also, it was considered disrespectful to step on the threshold upon entering or leaving the ger.
There are no windows in a ger. The main source of light comes from the opening in the roof, and the door. The light from a dung cooking fire would be negligible.
Symbolism permeates the space in a ger. If you were a guest in the ger of Borte-Ujin, exalted primary wife to Genghis Khan, you would be seated directly across from the door, the place of honor, so as to look upon all who enter and leave.
At the entrance to the ger, before you step inside, you pass through two sacred cleansing fires - one on each side. You deliberately avoid stepping on the threshhold - an affront to the gods. During the day, the light from the sun shifts from the men's side on the left or West side to the women's side on the right, or East. The morning light illuminates the men's weapons, riding gear and tools as they gather their things for the work day. In the afternoon, the light shifts to the women's side as she prepares the evening meal.
An alter with gods made from clay holds simple household offerings is placed opposite the door. The dung fire in the center is used for cooking, making tea, for warmth and for light.
Because of the limited indoor space, custom dictated that one make oneself unobtrusive indoors. Shouting was not permitted. Movements were kept to a minimum. Children's play took place out of doors.
The ger was divided into indoor zones. The fire occupied the center, where the smoke could escape upward through the roof. The fire was used for cooking, heat and light. It was also considered sacred. One walked around the fire and did not step over it.
Directly opposite the entry/exit on the north side of the ger sat an altar. The left side of the interior, the west side, was the men's side. Here the men slept and stored their tools, tack and weaponry when not in use. The women's side of the ger, the east, or right side of the interior, is where the women and children sleep.
This placement has practical elements. The sun illuminates the men's side in the morning, as the men are gathering their gear for that day's work. In the afternoon, the women's side is illuminated as she prepares the evening meal.
Important possessions are displayed at the north part of the room, near the altar. It is where guests are seated during their visit. The photograph included here is a contemporary model of a ger. The light pooling on the floor shows how the sun illuminates the different areas during the day.
Most of the family's possessions are kept inside the ger. In the times of Borte and Temujin, goods were scarce and practical. Cooking and sewing implements; also, tools and weapons.
Inhabitants sat or knelt or squatted. They slept on stacked rugs and hides on the floor and covered themselves with more hides.
Borte's pearl and jade wedding beads hung from the timbers that framed the roof, no doubt on her side of her ger.
An idol, perhaps fashioned from clay, would be placed on the altar. At meals, bits of meat or broth would be smeared on the idol, to give thanks to the gods.
Any other valuables would be displayed in the same part of the room.
The fire was dangerous for small children. Mothers tethered them to their waists to keep them safe.
Over the centuries, a wooden door replaced the felt flap. Also, a metal chimney pipe now channels smoke from a wood burning stove up and through the roof. Contemporary photographs often show solar panels above the south-facing door.
As the Empire grew in size and power, so did the size of the gers, especially those that housed the khans. To accommodate these dwellings, gers were constructed and permanently installed on giant, flatbed wagons called khibitkha or ger tereg
Thirteenth-century missionary William of Rubruck described the axles as being the length of ship's masts and pulled by twenty or more oxen.
The design of the ger itself is meant to provide cooling, warmth, fresh air and comfort to all the inhabitants regardless of their indoor location while allowing portability.
The siting of the ger is important. The door faces south and the prevailing north wind travels around, and over, the circular ger. The hole in the roof both draws in cool, fresh air from outside and exhausts smoke and stale warm air outside.
Frequent seasonal migrations combined with the harsh steppe climate of the Mongolian Plateau required the ger to be portable and at the same time able to withstand up to 60 mph winds, bitter Arctic air and fierce snow and rain.
The heavy felt that covers the frame provides insulation and protection from the elements. The floor is fashioned from sheep, goat or yak hides. Old, worn hides were rolled up and stuffed into cracks at ground level to provide further insulation from the cold and wind.
To keep peace among neighbors and illness at bay, the gers are situated far apart.
Gers have been in use on the steppe for all of recorded human history, and for millenia before that. The Scythians of Central Asia were known to use them at least since before 500 BC. Greek historian and scholar Herodotus was first to describe them to written history. Gers are still in use by the Mongol people today.
Today, it is possible to stay in a ger if one travels to Mongolia.
