The Secret History of the Mongols, updated in musical form and annotated
November 23, 2015 7:38 PM Subscribe
The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work, and is regarded as the single most significant native Mongolian account of Genghis Khan. Linguistically, it provides the richest source of pre-classical Mongolian and Middle Mongolian, and while you can read it in various translations, it can be quite a slog. That's why Mongolian rappers Gee of/with Click Click Boom team up with Jonon to present a musical version of Mongolian History, in Mongolian. Luckily, there are English subtitles to this video, but there's still a gap between knowing the words and knowing what they mean. With that, you can find a collections of links as annotations below.
Notes: the lyrics below are directly from the text in the video, and I probably made some incorrect connections between the lyrics as written and the linked material. Also, there are a significant number of links to Google books previews (listed as Gbp from here on), and a few PDFs.
Spirits of our fathers and elders
Huns are the starting point
Kherlen, Orkhon, Tuul rivers
Khyargas, Bayan lakes,
Mammoths and Dragons
Sabre tooth and wooly rhino
Tribes of Nangiad (Gbp) and Sharnuud
Chonos, Onnuid and Ikires
The Khasmal Stone Camp is blocked they say
Rage of the ancient tribal gods is difficult
Clans of the El Land
Turk, Mongol and Khamnigan
Shang dynasty to the south
Battle Mahazin
Powerful lord Modu Chanyu
Great and mighty Blue Wolf (Chinu-a) (PDF, Pg 3/99)
Forced the Great Wall to be built
By Qin Shi Huangdi
Give us your queen or your land (said the Donghu)
(Modu replied) Land is the nation’s foundation (Gbp),
Shoot where my arrow flies!
Xianbei succeeded the mighty Xiongnu (Gbp)
Huns destroyed Rome, fierce Atilla
Decimal system of the steppe (Gbp):
Left, central and right wings
Chieftain Bumin crushed the pre-Avar Rourans
Turk, Uyghur and Kyrgyz
Balbals and kurgans
Inscribed stele of Kul-Tegin
Etugen, the deity of that time.
Nohos, Kiyan and Ergune valley
Furnace that blasted through the mountains
Mongol ancestor is Burte
Our roots are from Kok Tengri
Nomad swords, killing each other
If we are united we can conquer all
The grudge left by Ambagai Khan
Five arrows (Gbp) of Alan Goa
Far-minded people who don’t break their oaths
We were proud in the 13th century
We frightened and attacked many empires
Whether Temujin is the great lord of history
Before I ask that, let me kneel at your feet
The methods of the decimal system is great
All the people obey the Great Yassa Law
Soldiers’ corpses blackened at the bottom of the crevice
Yes, the Great Kuriltai is called at the camel steppe
Calling the Great Kuriltai, consulting the white-haired elders
Land and soil, gods of the land and water, spirit-calling shamans
Christendom and Islam tremble before Timur (more from Archive.org, Hathi Trust)
Mooncake festival begins from Toghontemur of the Fourty-Four
Khurai! Attacking as far as horses’ hooves can carry
Dominating Moscow at the banks of the Mushgai river
Khans from West to East, Genghis’ sons, Uukhai!
Queen Manduhai crushed armies and united the nation.
Gold, silver coins, show respect in return
F-ck you! I’m a Mongol, simply judge by force!
Ard Ayush and Galdan Boshigt against historical oppressors
My Khalkha land, water and soil fed by their blood
Three against ten, Amarsanaa and Chingunjav (Gbp)
Mongol citizen ID is a gift of their bravery
Through the lost years our names were written by Manchu knife (Gbp)
That was indeed history, never forget that truth!
Manchu oppressors left us behind. Opportunity is presented to us.
Mongolia becomes independent, Year 1911.
We stuck knives into the Kuomintang and Whites
Sukhbaatar’s front fought allied with the Reds, Year 1921.
Bodoo and Danzan, leftist, rightist, ideology conflicts.
Empty theory of communism. It might work, so we tried it.
Lenin is the idol who leads the people.
For the sake of an experimental rabbit they accuse my wise men.
Bodoo, Danzan, Buyannemeh, Amar, Genden (Gbp x3)
Guilty opponents of the Party and Revolution
O Motherland!
You raised the fiery red revolutionary flag
You shot all those who opposed you (PDF)
Independence won for a higher price than my sons
Stinging sharp-worded poems written by Choinom
True words, captured political rebel
Let me give my life for the newly born Mongol nation
From my birth this is my prophecy
My nation state was dying and at the end
Bell sound, my people crying, freedom assembly
Coming out of darkness, crawling through the 1990’s (PDF)
Hiding our word weapons and feather pens
S. Zorig fought for peace and democracy
Society in disorder
His manly bravery clearly seen on his stone statue.
Power and influence, erroneous child of democracy
Black mishap of freedom, at the courts.
Notes: the lyrics below are directly from the text in the video, and I probably made some incorrect connections between the lyrics as written and the linked material. Also, there are a significant number of links to Google books previews (listed as Gbp from here on), and a few PDFs.
Spirits of our fathers and elders
Huns are the starting point
Kherlen, Orkhon, Tuul rivers
Khyargas, Bayan lakes,
Mammoths and Dragons
Sabre tooth and wooly rhino
Tribes of Nangiad (Gbp) and Sharnuud
Chonos, Onnuid and Ikires
The Khasmal Stone Camp is blocked they say
Rage of the ancient tribal gods is difficult
Clans of the El Land
Turk, Mongol and Khamnigan
Shang dynasty to the south
Battle Mahazin
Powerful lord Modu Chanyu
Great and mighty Blue Wolf (Chinu-a) (PDF, Pg 3/99)
Forced the Great Wall to be built
By Qin Shi Huangdi
Give us your queen or your land (said the Donghu)
(Modu replied) Land is the nation’s foundation (Gbp),
Shoot where my arrow flies!
Xianbei succeeded the mighty Xiongnu (Gbp)
Huns destroyed Rome, fierce Atilla
Decimal system of the steppe (Gbp):
Left, central and right wings
Chieftain Bumin crushed the pre-Avar Rourans
Turk, Uyghur and Kyrgyz
Balbals and kurgans
Inscribed stele of Kul-Tegin
Etugen, the deity of that time.
Nohos, Kiyan and Ergune valley
Furnace that blasted through the mountains
Mongol ancestor is Burte
Our roots are from Kok Tengri
Nomad swords, killing each other
If we are united we can conquer all
The grudge left by Ambagai Khan
Five arrows (Gbp) of Alan Goa
Far-minded people who don’t break their oaths
We were proud in the 13th century
We frightened and attacked many empires
Whether Temujin is the great lord of history
Before I ask that, let me kneel at your feet
The methods of the decimal system is great
All the people obey the Great Yassa Law
Soldiers’ corpses blackened at the bottom of the crevice
Yes, the Great Kuriltai is called at the camel steppe
Calling the Great Kuriltai, consulting the white-haired elders
Land and soil, gods of the land and water, spirit-calling shamans
Christendom and Islam tremble before Timur (more from Archive.org, Hathi Trust)
Mooncake festival begins from Toghontemur of the Fourty-Four
Khurai! Attacking as far as horses’ hooves can carry
Dominating Moscow at the banks of the Mushgai river
Khans from West to East, Genghis’ sons, Uukhai!
Queen Manduhai crushed armies and united the nation.
Gold, silver coins, show respect in return
F-ck you! I’m a Mongol, simply judge by force!
Ard Ayush and Galdan Boshigt against historical oppressors
My Khalkha land, water and soil fed by their blood
Three against ten, Amarsanaa and Chingunjav (Gbp)
Mongol citizen ID is a gift of their bravery
Through the lost years our names were written by Manchu knife (Gbp)
That was indeed history, never forget that truth!
Manchu oppressors left us behind. Opportunity is presented to us.
Mongolia becomes independent, Year 1911.
We stuck knives into the Kuomintang and Whites
Sukhbaatar’s front fought allied with the Reds, Year 1921.
Bodoo and Danzan, leftist, rightist, ideology conflicts.
Empty theory of communism. It might work, so we tried it.
Lenin is the idol who leads the people.
For the sake of an experimental rabbit they accuse my wise men.
Bodoo, Danzan, Buyannemeh, Amar, Genden (Gbp x3)
Guilty opponents of the Party and Revolution
O Motherland!
You raised the fiery red revolutionary flag
You shot all those who opposed you (PDF)
Independence won for a higher price than my sons
Stinging sharp-worded poems written by Choinom
True words, captured political rebel
Let me give my life for the newly born Mongol nation
From my birth this is my prophecy
My nation state was dying and at the end
Bell sound, my people crying, freedom assembly
Coming out of darkness, crawling through the 1990’s (PDF)
Hiding our word weapons and feather pens
S. Zorig fought for peace and democracy
Society in disorder
His manly bravery clearly seen on his stone statue.
Power and influence, erroneous child of democracy
Black mishap of freedom, at the courts.
Are you kidding me right now, is this a Mongolian Hamilton, I AM EXCITE
ok or more accurately is hamilton the english Secret History of the Mongols
posted by poffin boffin at 7:51 PM on November 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
ok or more accurately is hamilton the english Secret History of the Mongols
posted by poffin boffin at 7:51 PM on November 23, 2015 [4 favorites]
There's a whole album, but I'm not sure there are handy English translations for more songs.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:13 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by filthy light thief at 8:13 PM on November 23, 2015
i will send it to my mongolian friend batuca and demand translations via whatsapp
posted by poffin boffin at 8:48 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by poffin boffin at 8:48 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
plz repost, ktnx
posted by filthy light thief at 9:00 PM on November 23, 2015
posted by filthy light thief at 9:00 PM on November 23, 2015
Tuvan throat singing awwww yis that is my laryngo-uvular jam
posted by Sebmojo at 10:41 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Sebmojo at 10:41 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
This just made my morning. Thanks for sharing!
I read the first third of the Secret History for a class in graduate school, because, as a lark, I took a class on the history of the Mongols, and it turned out to be a really fantastic decision. They'e so fascinating! It took a little while to get oriented to the text, but once I did, I thought it was a pretty good story that rolled along, and I love the way that horse references permeate the text, how everyone's horses are described in careful detail. When an attacking general gets killed, you also hear about what happened to his horse.
posted by colfax at 10:58 PM on November 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
I read the first third of the Secret History for a class in graduate school, because, as a lark, I took a class on the history of the Mongols, and it turned out to be a really fantastic decision. They'e so fascinating! It took a little while to get oriented to the text, but once I did, I thought it was a pretty good story that rolled along, and I love the way that horse references permeate the text, how everyone's horses are described in careful detail. When an attacking general gets killed, you also hear about what happened to his horse.
posted by colfax at 10:58 PM on November 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
[Gee is on Bandcamp, and so is his album Mongolz - this makes me happy]
posted by filthy light thief at 4:42 AM on November 24, 2015
posted by filthy light thief at 4:42 AM on November 24, 2015
Well there goes my day. :)
I recently listened to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast series Wrath of the Khans 1 - 5. If you have about 10 or so free hours and an interest in Ghengis Khan, this is for you. It is a free download.
posted by dougzilla at 9:05 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
I recently listened to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast series Wrath of the Khans 1 - 5. If you have about 10 or so free hours and an interest in Ghengis Khan, this is for you. It is a free download.
posted by dougzilla at 9:05 AM on November 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by filthy light thief at 7:43 PM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]