Two Horses of Genghis Khan (Das Lied von den zwei Pferden)

A film by Byambasuren Davaa

Two Horses of Genghis Khan

Dear grandmother...

When I remember the head of horse-head fiddle

that you gave me...

my heart aches so much.

When I see that head of a horse-headed fiddle without its body...

memories of my relatives who were separated.

Although it had magical words on its body,

Time had won over its body and broke it.

To revive this horse-head fiddle was your last wish.

Today, I'm going from Inner Mongolia to Mongolia.

I have dreamed of coming here, but it was not the right time.

I'm going to meet horse-head fiddle ensemble in Ulaanbaatar.

With them I really want to sing "Two Horses of Genghis Khan".

I hope this song is alive in the hearts of the people of Mongolia.

But first, I have to complete the lyrics of this song

which was written on this body of horse-head fiddle.

- Hello! - How do you do?

I want to go to the city center. - That way.

This way? Thank you.

Play again. Two melodies are interacting with each other. Pay attention please.

Play your D clearly.

Don't lag behind.

What? - There's a woman who wants to meet you.

- How do you do? - How do you do?

- Are you the teacher Batchuluun? - Yes, that's me.

- My name is Urna. - Did you have a nice trip?

I had a nice trip. How are you? Having a good summer?

Yes. Having a good summer?

Now let's meet the musicians of our ensemble.

Let's meet our singer Urna from Inner Mongolia.

- Hello to you all! - Hello!

I've heard about horse-head fiddle ensemble many times before.

But only today I met you.

I also heard about you before.

I thank you, because you're a hero who popularized Mongolian culture in the west.

What is your purpose for coming here?

My purpose here is to do a research of the word

and melody of a song "Two Horses of Genghis Khan"

In Inner Mongolia, there are several types of this song exist.

I heard about this song also exists in many forms in Mongolia.

So I decided to come here and study it.

In Mongolia, there's a legend about two horses of Genghis khan.

During the war, these two horses protected Genghis Khan.

While in peace time, they were the supporters of their master.

In the song, the words go as the older horse instructs the younger one.

On behalf of out ensemble, I wish you success for

your aspirations to study this precious song.

Of Genghis khan

Two Horses of Genghis Khan

Very appropriate.

Especially this side.

Mother Earth, please give me your

Well, who made this fiddle?

I have no idea.

From the look of the sign, it was used by some aristocrat.

From what my grandmother told me, it is a very old horse-head fiddle.

Well...

It had a song lyrics on its body.

Have you heard about the song called "Two Horses of Genghis Khan"?

I heard about it, but I don't know it.

I came from a far country.

Please, can you make a body for this fiddle?

If I repair it in an old style, I would use horse tail.

White horse tail sounds more melodious.

My only wish is to revive it in its original style.

Do you play fiddle? - No, I don't.

I used to play Yangqin in China. But now I'm a singer.

Why did you quit playing?

In China, there are 56 nationalities. When I study in

Shanghai, I used to go out and hear other ethnic music.

But almost all of them had some kind of

Chinese melody to it. It was a real tragedy.

I learnt many things from those experiences.

So I decided to sing my ethnic songs in their pure form.

Are you Mongolian?

Yes I am. - I am sorry.

I doubted a bit, because you wore deel (traditional clothing).

What of it? This is a nice deel.

In the city, people don't wear deel anymore.

Mostly tourists wear deel.

What if I was a tourist? - Oh, I paint for a living.

Are you a painter? - Although I am a herder, now

I paint, I sing, I do khuumii (throat singing).

Do you sing? - Yes.

Have you heard about "Two Horses of Genghis Khan"?

- No, but I heard about the legend.

What is it like living in the city? - For me, it's not bad. I paint and sing.

But many people lead a hard life here. Some of them even collect trash.

Why come here instead of living in the countryside?

- Because of gold. Gold mining destroys pasture for livestock.

In the summer, there's not enough rain.

In the winter, harsh weather kills the livestock.

For some of the people it's very hard to live.

Please forgive me for talking rubbish. What's your name anyway?

Urna. - Enkhnaran.

My surname is Tsahar Tugchi. - Mine is Olkhonud.

Alright, nice to meet you. Now I should mend my business.

- Nice to meet you too. Hope to see you again.

Thank you, good bye.

Which way are you going? - Bumbugur.

Where do you want to go? - To north.

To the train station.

This is our Ordos song. - Thank you, it was a great song.

I didn't catch some of the words. Are there any Chinese words?

- No way. This is our Mongolian traditional song.

In Inner Mongolia, all the people sing this song.

Inner Mongolia is part of People's Republic of China, isn't it? - What?

It is part of People's Republic of China, isn't it?

There's no such country as China.

You should say it as the Middle Country. - Oh, really?

If you ask some Chinese, they won't answer Hangguo instead they will answer Zhongguo.

What's that mean? - It means the Middle Country.

The Middle Country has 56 nationalities. For example, Inner

Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, Khotons and Han Chinese.

Alright, I understood that China is consisted

of 56 nationalities, is that right?

Don't say China. Say the Middle Country. - Alright, I understand.

I couldn't get in touch with you. Now I'm on my way to the countryside.

Oh really?

I'm on mountaintop, so I have a network.

Really?

That would be bad.

No way.

That's a really old horse-head fiddle.

I think that... Hello? Hello?

I thought that you would bind a new body for my fiddle head.

Hello? Hello?

Hello?

What should I do?

There's no network.

What should I do now? - Send a text message.

Then what? - Go ahead and text.

Can we send it? - Let's see what happens.

Tell me what to text. - That's an old horse-head fiddle.

Please don't detruncate it.

I'm sorry.

"Please don't detruncate it. I'm sorry." - Yes.

How can we send it?

Is that all? - Yes.

Is it sent?

No. It doesn't work. - What should we do?

Press send and throw it in the air.

Please try hard.

Is it sent?

Sent.

Now I'm relieved.

It's your phone. Thank you very much.

We should have throw Urna with her phone.

Let's sing a song.

Don't worry. It will move.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

What should we do now?

It's your fault to lead us to the wrong way.

It's going to rain. It's going to be very hard for us.

It's going to be tough.

Dear grandmother...

Although it was broken you loved your horse-head fiddle head.

So I couldn't had it cut again.

My purpose of coming here is to revive my horse-head fiddle.

What should I do?

First, I will try to find the song I'm searching.

Let's wait for how things turn out.

Did you rest well?

- Yes I did. I slept too much and left alone.

We have so much work that we have to get up early.

Eat some.

Are you coming here from so far and only for milk.

I have another reason to be here.

Do you sing?

- I'm not a singer. But I sing in my own way.

Mongolians say that if we open our mouth we sing.

- When I herd my livestock I sing.

You sing for your livestock, but not for me?

I'm not that good. - You must be a singer.

Do you sing? - No.

Do you know a song called "Two Horses of Genghis Khan"?

- I heard about it, but don't know how to sing.

I have a wish to find this song.

Tomorrow, a wedding will be held near. - How nice.

On that wedding, many singers will get together.

But can I go to that wedding?

They will come here and get kumiss from us.

Really? - Yes, for the wedding.

Will they take me to the wedding? - I hope so, I'll tell them.

If I go there, what will happen to the other guys who stuck?

- Don't worry about them. We sent food to them.

How come you guys got stuck here? - During the night, we lost track.

You should have go the other way?

By which way?

- You should have turn round through there, or by there.