May Your Windhorse Be Strong
In the afternoon of Day 3 in Hovsgol Province, we crossed into “shaman land.” Really, we were entering a national park area and the main valley west of the great Lake Hovsgol. The valley or series of valleys is known as the Darhad Depression. The entry is marked by a line of thirteen ovoos. An ovoo is basically a pile of rocks, often with a pole or tree trunk sticking up out of the middle, or with a sort of teepee of branches and trunks alongside it. People like to stop and add stone to the ovoo, wishing for a safe trip or whatever is on their mind. They also tie blue or white silk prayer strips to the sticks and branches. At one ovoo there was a pair of crutches on the rocks, probably left in thanks to the spirits for healing.
The thirteen ovoos included twelve for the twelve Year Animals of the Chinese Zodiac, and one bigger than the others representing the local spirits. Our Mongolian companions told us we should find our year animal, walk around it three times, as one does at an ovoo, and then bow and pay our respects. I found the pig, Morley the rat, and Pacey the pig like me. We left rice grains and “lucky stones” we had collected along the way. At the big ovoo we left an extra portion of stones and rice, and just as we finished, the mountainside sent us a reply.
A big whirlwind came up in the trees nearby, roaring and whipping their the branches around. It broke free of the forest and passed right over us in a shower of dust and leaves. At first we were a little stunned, but then we decided it was the mountain welcoming us and giving us strong windhorse.
What’s windhorse? That’s a Mongolian expressing for the state of your spirit. If your windhorse is weak, it’s hard to get things done and your life gets messed up. If it’s strong you can accomplish your goals and you have a strong defense against disease, difficulties, and anyone who would harm you. I love the expression, because it reflects the Mongolians’ love for horses. They even have a popular weekly TV show about horse wrangling and beautiful horses.
Many people here take windhorse seriously. So far, our trip has gone well and the three of us are healthy, so maybe it means our windhorses are strong.
May your windhorse be strong, too!
