Genealogy of rhyming poets on the Mongolian Plateau モンゴル高原、韻踏む詩人たちの系譜
The nomadic people of the Mongolian Plateau have cultivated a highly developed oral literature. Mongolian nomads lead a mobile lifestyle with their livestock so that their literary creations have not been done on ‘heavy’ paper, which is inconvenient for mobile life, but by telling stories orally. In order to create and memorize long stories, the technique of “rhyming” is essential. Therefore, from ancient times, rhyming culture has been practiced among two kinds of story-teller-singer: shamans and tuulichs (bards). Quite intriguingly, their rhyming tradition has been carried on by contemporary hip-hop rappers in Mongolia.
Shaman（シャーマン）
Traditionally, Mongolian shamans has practiced spirit-possession rites in taiga forests and steppes, wearing wild-animals-skin-coats and beating leather hand-drums. However, the practice of shamanism remained only among remote minorities, such as Darkhads and Buryats when the socialist modernization started at the beginning of the 20th century, because of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism. In Mongolia, the spirits who possessed to shamans would tell stories. In terms of being rhyming poets, shamans and tuulichs have much in common. However, the shamans tell their tragic ‘history’ rather than the spectacular tales of heroic epics which is told by tuulichs.
Tuulich（トーリチ）
Heroic epics have been widely sung and recited by Mongolians living across the Central Eurasian Steppe. These heroic epics are called “tuuli” in Mongolian, and the poet who sings and recites the tuuli while playing the stringed instrument is called an “tuulich.” These Mongolian heroic epics comprise two recurring motifs: “courtship” and “recapture.” In other words, 1） the hero wins a horse race or wrestling competition and marries a beautiful woman, and 2） the hero loses his herd and wife to a monster, but recovers his wife and property under the advice of a “wise horse”.
Rappers（ラッパー）
Hip-hop (rap music) is overwhelming pop-music scene in Contemporary Mongolia. One of the reasons is that the rhyming poetry has deeply rooted in their traditional culture. The tradition of rhyming practiced by shamans and tuulichs is now carried on by rappers. Second, rap music can touch people’s heart because there are so many social issues, such as the disparity between the rich and poor, environmental pollution, and political corruption.