 Otgonbayar Chuluunbaatar was born in the Altai Mountains in Western Mongolia, where she lived with her nomadic family until her enrollment at university. She belongs to the Zakhchin people, an ethnic minority with a population of 25000 people, who speak their own dialect and keep their traditions alive up to today. An important part of Zakhchin culture is their music, which differs from that of the Khalkha majority. For generations the Zakhchin songs have been passed on orally by a few singers. In the last years the life of the Zakhchin people has greatly changed under the influence of the capitalistic market reforms. The youth is more interested in Western music, and many move to the city in search for a better life. Consequently, as the Zakhchin songs have never been studied nor written down, there is now a great danger that this musical treasure will be lost.
The singer Otgonbayar attaches great importance to the preservation of the traditional culture of her people, to which she contributes in the musical realm. Together with her husband she had the idea to collect the disappearing melodies and lyrics of the Zakhchin songs from the last singers.
The project started in 2004 and since then, publications in different languages were collected, song texts of the seeked singers noted and audio files for her archive recorded.
For these purposes she collects material in the steppes of her homeland. At times she had to travel several days on horseback in order to visit the last still existing singers on the summer pastures in the Altai at an altitude of 3000 m.
The first from Otgonbayar self chanted CD “Songs of the Zakhchin People in Western Mongolia” was recorded in 2005 and the next CD with the title „Zast Altai“ followed already 2006. All songs are of the so-called „short songs“ (bogino duu) and „long songs“ (urtiin duu) style, those which are permitted to perform by women. The songs are sung vocally only or accompanied by the „tobshuur“ or guitar played by Wolfgang Hofer.
Despite this unusual accompaniment, Otgonbayar’s recordings encountered her fellow countrymen’s appreciation during her next visit to Mongolia. Encouraged by the success, she continued her project. Part of the songs have been presented to the public for the first time by the Polish radio and in the Japanese television. Otgonbayar´s next CD with the title ‘Zastiin Nogodoi’ will be recorded in spring 2007.
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