The biggest advantage of the yurt is that it is easy to disassemble and assemble, making it easy to relocate. A yurt only requires two camels or a Lele cart to transport it, and it can be set up in two or three hours. Furthermore, it can be made from local materials and made locally, and can be made by folk craftsmen. In addition, although the yurt looks small in appearance, the usable area inside the yurt is very large, and the indoor air circulation and lighting conditions are good. It is warm in winter and cool in summer, and is not afraid of wind and rain. It is very suitable for the residence and use of nomadic herdsmen who often move their livestock.
The yurt is located in the southeast direction. This is related to the ancient northern grassland people's worship of the sun and the custom of rising to the sun. But this southeast-facing habit is not only a belief, but also a way to resist severe cold and wind and snow. It contains the wisdom and creativity of the grassland people to adapt to the natural environment, because they live in the alpine zone and there are frequent northwest winds in winter.
The yurt is mainly composed of three parts: frame wood, thatch, and ropes. No mud, water or adobe bricks are used to make bricks and tiles, and the raw materials are either wood or wool. It can be described as a wonder in the history of architecture and a major contribution of the nomadic people.
1． The frame wood of the yurt: The frame wood of the yurt includes Taunao, Unni, Hana, and threshold.
(1) Taunao
There are two types of yurts: coupling type and rafter-insert type. The wood is required to be good, usually made of sandalwood or elm. The difference between the two types of tau is that the crossbars of the connected tau are separated, while those of the rafter type tau are not separated. The connecting taunao has three rings, and the outer ring has many small wooden strips extending out to connect the uni. This kind of Taonao and Unni are connected together. Because it can be divided into two parts, camels are very convenient to transport.
(2) Wuni
Wuni is translated as rafter, which is the shoulder of the yurt. It is connected with Taonao on the top and Hana on the bottom. The length, size, and thickness should be uniform, and the wood requirements should be the same. The length is determined by the tunao, and its quantity should also change with the tunao. In this way, the yurt can be shoulder-length and round. A uni is an elongated wooden stick, oval or round. The upper end must be inserted or connected to the tau, and the head must be smooth and slightly curved, otherwise the felt bag will easily tilt and fall over. There is a rope buckle at the lower end to make it easier to put the heads together. The thickness is determined by the Hana. Generally, it is stuck in the Yaxing fork at the end of the Hana, and the upper end is exactly level. Uni is usually made of pine or red willow wood.
(3) Hana
Hana undertakes Taunao and Unni, and determines the size of the felt bags. There are at least four, and the number is determined by the size of Taunao. Hana has three magical properties:
First, it is its flexibility. The height and size can be adjusted relatively, unlike Taonao and Uni, which have fixed sizes. It is generally customary to talk about how many heads and leather nails there are in a hana, not how many feet or inches. There are usually ten leather nails, eleven leather nails, etc. (referring to one hana). The more leather nails there are, the higher the hana will stand up, and the less likely it will be stretched; the fewer leather nails, the lower the hana will stand up, and the greater the possibility it will be stretched. There are generally fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen heads. Adding a head will increase the mesh size and increase the width of the hana. This feature provides the possibility to expand or reduce the yurt. When making Hana, willow sticks of the same length and thickness are arranged across each other at equal distances to form many small parallelogram meshes, and leather nails (camel skin is best) are nailed at the intersection points. In this way, the yurt can be big or small, tall or short. If the yurt is to be built high, the mesh of the yurt should be narrow and the diameter of the bag should be small; if the yurt is to be built low, the mesh of the yurt should be wide and the diameter of the bag should be large. It should be set higher in the rainy season and lower in the windy season. Mongolians are nomadic throughout the year, so they don’t have to worry about choosing a foundation for a yurt. This kind of house is incomparable. Due to this characteristic of Hana, it is very convenient to load, unload, carry and cover.
Second, it is a huge support. The Y-shaped branch of the hana crosses over, receiving the cries of Unni on the top, the cries of the legs touching the ground on the bottom, and the cries of other hanas on both sides. After Hana's head evenly withstood the gravity from Unni, it was dispersed and evenly spread through each mesh, and passed to Hana's legs. This is the secret why a willow stick as thick as a finger can withstand two to three thousand kilograms of pressure.
Third, it is beautiful in appearance. The wood of Hana is made of tamarisk, which is light but not broken, does not crack when punched, does not lose its shape when exposed to moisture, has the same thickness, the same height, and the same mesh size. The felt bag made in this way not only meets the mechanical requirements, but also has a well-proportioned and beautiful appearance.
Special attention should be paid to mastering the curvature of Hana.
Usually there are special tools. The head should be bent inward, the face should be protruded outward, the legs should be turned inward, and the upper half should be no more straight and upright than the lower half. In this way, the Uni can be stabilized and the bag can be rounded, making it easier to hoop it with three ropes.
(4) Door
After the hana is erected, adjust the mesh size so that the height of the hana is the height of the door frame. The door is framed by a frame. Therefore, the door of the yurt cannot be too high, and people have to bend down to enter. The felt door should be hung outside.
(5) Pillars
There are eight hanas on the yurt to support the pillars. The yurt is too big and the weight increases, so windy weather can cause parts of the yurt to bend. This is often the case with connected tuna. Eight---ten hana yurts use four pillars. In the yurt, there is a wooden frame surrounding the fire support, with holes drilled in the four corners to insert the pillar legs. The other end of the pillar is supported on the wood tied to the Taonao. Pillars include circles, squares, hexahedrons, octahedrons, etc. The patterns on the pillars include dragons, phoenixes, water and clouds. Only princes can generally use dragon patterns.
2. Tailoring of felt:
It consists of roof felt, ceiling, surrounding felt, outer cover, felt door, felt door head, felt wall base, felt curtain, etc.
(1) Top felt
The top felt is the top decoration of the yurt and has always been valued. The top felt is square, with straps on the four corners. It has the function of regulating the freshness of the air, the warmth and coldness in the bag, and the intensity of light. The size of the top felt is determined by the length of the diagonal of the square. When cutting, take the middle of the Taunao crossbar as the starting point and measure from side to side. The four sides should be wrapped with threads twisted with camel hair. Various patterns should be drawn out on the four sides and corners, or two horsehair and horsetail ropes should be used. Sew the roots side by side on the four sides, and nail straps on the four corners.
(2) Ceiling
The roof is the part of the yurt that covers the uni. Each half is like a fan, usually composed of three to four layers of felt. The inner layer is called Qibuge or Qiribuge. Take the distance from the center of Taunao to the end of Hana (half crossbar plus uni) as the radius. The drawn felt piece is the lapel of the ceiling. The drawn part of half the crossbar is the collar of the ceiling. The middle is equivalent to Just dig out a big circle and cut out the ceiling. When cutting the collar, it is taboo to expose the head. The production of thatch pays attention to auspicious days. When cutting, it is divided into two pieces, the front and back. The connecting parts are not exactly aligned and must be cut separately. This will prevent rain, wind, and dust from pouring in. The inner tarpaulin must be wrapped at the intersection of the Hana and Uni feet, so that the outer felt will not be so tight and the appearance of the yurt will remain unchanged.
After the ceiling is cut, the outer perimeter must be edged and pressed. The placket should be inlaid with four finger widths, and the collar should be inlaid with three finger widths. The straight part where the two pieces meet also needs to be edged. In this way, the felt edge can be fixed firmly and it will look more beautiful at the same time.
(3) Wai Rang
The part of felt surrounding Hana is called Wai Rang. A typical yurt has four blankets. There are three layers inside and outside. The inner layer of felt is called Hanabuchi, and the felt is rectangular.
When the tailor was weaving the felt, he was a step ahead of Hana. The collar of the apron should have a slit and a belt. There are also ropes on the two legs of the apron. The exposed outer part of the felt must be edged and taped. Layers are used where the northeast fence felt and the east crossbar meet. The felt with battens should be pressed on top of the felt without battens. The skirt of the apron has no strips or edges.
(4) Outer Cover
The outer cover is called Hulturige in Mongolian. It is the part of the roof that is covered with thatch. It is a decoration of the yurt and a symbol of rank.
When tailoring Hultu Rige, the collar was just as big as the outer ring of Taonau. Hultuzge has four legs, which are level with Unni's legs. The outer cover is decorated with many straps. Its collar and lapel must be edged. There are cloud patterns, lotus flowers, and auspicious patterns, and the embroidery is very beautiful. The origin of Hulturige is very early. In the past, ordinary people had it, and later it became the patent of aristocratic lamas.
(5) Door
Door, originally referred to as felt door, is made of three or four layers of felt. The length and width are measured from the outside of the door frame. There are four sides and two sides, with various patterns. Ordinary doors are mostly white with blue or red edges. The top is hung on the door. The gap between the door head and the ceiling should be blocked with a strip of felt with three tongues (three protruding felt strips), and it should also be edged and patterned.
3. Making straps and ropes:
The functions of the yurt’s straps, ropes, pressure ropes, binding ropes, and falling ropes are to maintain the shape of the yurt, prevent the hana from exploding outward, and make the ceiling and felt It will not slide down and be blown up in the wind. In short, it has a lot to do with keeping the yurt stable and extending its life.
(1) Rope The rope is the rope used to tie the Hana. It is made of horsehair and horsetail. Divided into inner rope and outer rope. Twist the horsehair and ponytail into six thin strands, twist three strands left and three strands right into a rope, and then sew two, four, and six strands side by side into a flat shape. The advantage of this kind of rope is that it can bear strength and does not stretch. The inner rope is a wool rope tied around the middle of the naked Hana when the yurt is erected. The pressure of the Hana is very high, and the quality of the inner rope must be particularly strong. Once the inner rope is broken or not tied tightly, the Hana will be stretched out, the Taunao will sink, and the yurt will be in danger of collapse. The outer ropes are tied outside the felt and are divided into upper, middle and lower ropes. Some of the colors of the ropes match well, and they look like flowers when rubbed. The outer rope not only prevents the henna from bulging out, but also prevents the felt from sliding down.
(2) Pressure rope Pressure rope is also called belt, which is divided into inner pressure rope and outer pressure rope. When erecting the wood, the rope that ties the naked unnie horizontally is called a rope. There are four or six internal pressure ropes in the yurt, which are also made of horsehair and horsetail and are relatively thin. These pressure ropes are the same thickness as the uni pressure ropes to prevent the tunao from sinking or rising, and keep the yurt roof in its original shape.
The external pressure ropes are divided into three types: ordinary eight pressure ropes, network straps and outer cover straps. Ordinary pressure ropes are thicker than internal pressure ropes, and external pressure ropes are used on the outside of the tarpaulin. Four in the front and four in the back. The network straps are different from ordinary pressure ropes. They are placed on the ceiling and hang down like tassels from around the bag. In particular, the ceiling hem is made more delicately, hanging down and sewn onto the blanket. The outer cover straps are only available for yurts with outer covers. Felt bags with outer covers do not need other external pressure ropes. The outer cover itself plays the role of the top pressure rope of the bag. The outer cover is more accurately said to be a rope than a tarpaulin. The straps nailed to the legs and collar of the outer cover hold the lapels of the ceiling and the bundles of pots together more tightly so that they cannot be blown up by strong winds.
(3) Binding rope and falling rope
The tying rope is a thin rope that ties the mouths of two adjacent hanas together to make them into a whole. It is made with a camel The hair on the knees is mixed with horsehair and ponytail. The falling rope is the rope pulled down from the highest point of Taonao. The Mongols attach great importance to this belt, which is made from the knee hair or mane tail of male camels and horses. When strong winds arise, tighten the rope to prevent strong winds from blowing the yurt away.
4. Hayabuki:
Hayabuchi is the part that goes around the felt and presses the bottom to seal it. In spring, summer and autumn, it is mainly made of splendens (dead branches), small reeds and wood, and in winter, it is made of felt. Hayabuki in the warm season is rolled into a round rod shape, folded and put away when there is no wind, and wrapped around it when there is wind. Hayabuki used in winter is made of several layers of felt, with patterns on them.