Sainshand city. Danzanravjaa Museum. Mongolia.
SIGHTS OF INTEREST
DORNOGOV AIMAG
DANZANRAVJAA MUSEUM
Nestled in the heart of Dornogovi Province, the Danzanravjaa Museum stands as a
tribute to the revered Mongolian lama, poet, and playwright, Danzanravjaa. Known
for his profound influence on Mongolian culture and spirituality, he left an
indelible mark on the nation during the 19th century. The museum, an enchanting
blend of history and culture, offers visitors a unique insight into the life and
legacy of this extraordinary figure. His personal artifacts, including
traditional Buddhist manuscripts, costumes, and artwork, are meticulously
preserved and displayed, allowing guests to step back in time and immerse
themselves in the rich tapestry of Mongolia's spiritual history.
The museum itself is a beacon of architectural elegance, reflecting
traditional Mongolian design with a harmonious blend of modern elements. As you
walk through its halls, the serene ambiance provides a perfect backdrop for the
captivating exhibits dedicated to Danzanravjaa’s multifaceted legacy. From his
innovative theatrical works to his passionate advocacy for social reform and
education, the displays paint a vivid picture of a man ahead of his time. A
visit to the Danzanravjaa Museum is not only a journey through history but also
an opportunity to appreciate the timeless impact of a cultural icon whose ideas
continue to resonate in contemporary Mongolia.
The Danzanravjaa Museum was established in 1991 in honour of the fifth Goviin
Dogshin Noyon Khutagt ("Terrible Noble Saint of the Gobi"), one of the greatest
and most unusual intellectuals in Mongolian history. The museum preserves and
displays Danzanravjaa's original artistic works and literary manuscripts, along
with his books, religious items, theatrical costumes, personal possessions, and
similar objects illustrating his life and work.
Upon Danzanravjaa's death in 1856, his disciple Sh. Balchinchoijoo (Ishlodon)
assumed the role of takhilch, or curator or the objects associated with
Danzanravjaa's life. This curatorship was passed on within the same family for a
further five generations until the religious purge of 1938, when orders were
given to destroy Khamar Monastery and all of its contents. The curator at the
time, G.Tudev, secretly took action to rescue the objects of Danzanravjaa's
legacy before their destruction could take place. Entering the monastery
surreptitiously each night, he packed and removed crates full of books,
theatrical costumes, artworks, and religious and personal items used by the
Noyon Khutagt, ultimately saving 64 wooden chests-out of a total of 1500. He
secretly buried these crates in various locations in the vicinity of Khamar
Monastery. The crates remained hidden until 1990 when, with end of socialist
rule in Mongolia, Tudev's grandson Altangerel dug up the objects and founded the
Danzanravjaa Museum.
DANZANRAVJAA MUSEUM'S COLLECTION
The Danzanravjaa Museum’s collection is composed of objects produced by or
otherwise related to Danzanravjaa, leader of the red sect of Buddhism in the
Gobi desert. The objects date back a minimum of 150 years and originate from the
Gobi region. Since the demise of Danzanravjaa, approximately 150 years ago, the
collection has been in the care of a single family who have preserved them using
largely traditional preservation methods, passed down through the generations of
carers. Preservation of the collection has included a period of approximately
sixty years of burial, after careful packing of the collection and including
periodic exhumation to survey and repack the items. Approximately one third of
the collection was exhumed in 1990 and the majority of these objects moved to
their current location in the Danzanravjaa Museum, Sainshand, established in
1990 for the purpose of housing and displaying the collection. A smaller number
of objects are housed in reconstructed temples from the Danzanravjaa complex.
The majority of the collection remains buried and is exhumed one to two times
annually, when it is examined, repacked and reburied. Some objects in the
collection have not survived the burial process and have deteriorated beyond
use.
The collection includes works on paper, coated images on paper, documents,
prayer books, costumes (predominantly silk and cotton) including masks, hats and
boots, metal, wood and the ashes of Danzanravjaa.
Since being removed from burial it has been observed that some objects have
rapidly deteriorated.
DANZANRAVJAA. BIOGRAPHY
Danzanravjaa was born in 1803 in the Gobi Mergen district of Tusheet Khan
province, in what is nowadays the Khuvsgul district of Dorno-Gobi. His mother
died when he was very young, leaving him to be brought up by his father as an
only child. Being extremely poor, father and son lived by begging until 1809,
when Ravjaa became a disciple of the religious master Ishdoniilkhundev of Ongiin
River. It soon became apparent that the boy was extremely precocious; it is said
that Danzanravjaa earned considerable respect for the literary genius
exemplified by his early poems and songs. In 1811, in recognition of his
extraordinary intellectual and artistic abilities, local religious authorities
bestowed on him the title of fifth reincarnation of the Gobi Noyon Khutagt,
Danzanravjaa completed his basic training in Buddhist literature, art, religion
and philosophy by the early 1820s. Thereafter he established the three
monasteries of Galbyn Uul, all of which became local centres of culture, art,
and education. Danzanravjaa gave considerable attention to the development of
Khamar Monastery in particular, where he established a professional theatre and
touring company, public library, museum, and primary school-all of which
reflected his serious commitment to the cause of public education.
Danzanravjaa's primary school ('children's datsan') was unique in
pre-revolutionary Mongolia as it offered talented children a free general, non
religious education-consisting of instruction in Mongolian and Tibetan literacy,
mathematics, natural science, and history - without discrimination as to social
class or gender. Successful graduates of the
primary school were invited to undertake further vocational artistic training,
preparing them to work as actors, singers, orators, set decorators, costume
designers, and stage assistants in the Saran Khukhuu theatre company, or as
teachers in schools, as well as the seal used in certifying qualified graduates.
The Saran Khukhuu Company also has a significant role in history as Mongolia's
first professional public theatre. A three-level outdoor theatre was constructed
specially for the performance of Danzanravjaa's festival-dramas. Which included
a mixture of song, dance, oration, comedy, and melodrama presented by a company
of approximately 300 actors travelled and performed for local audiences in other
regions of the Gobi. Some of the costumes and other objects originally used in
the theatre are on display at the Museum today.
In the 1840s Danzanravjaa also established what is considered to be the first
museum in Mongolia. As many as ten thousand objects were stored and exhibited at
the 'exhibition temple' at Khamar Monastery, including personal works and
possessions, gifts from the public or from high-ranking religious and political
authorities, and unusual objects collected during Danzanravjaa's extensive
travels. Alongside this museum was a public library, where visitors could have
books read aloud or translated by library staff.
Danzanravjaa's known literary output included more than 300 poetic works, over
100 songs, a philosophical treatise, the ten-volume Saran Khukhuu operetta, and
numerous religious tracts written in both Mongolian and Tibetan. Several of
Danzanravjaa's songs and poems remain popular to this day, with songs such as 'Ulemjiin
Chanar' being commonly sung at holidays and celebrations. In addition
Danzanravjaa created several dozen paintings on religious themes.
Danzanravjaa's poems, songs, and teachings are remarkable for their outspoken
criticism of 18m-century Mongolian society. Greatly disturbed by the hypocrisy
he saw in others, Danzanravjaa denounced those whom he perceived as helping
themselves without helping others, criticizing others without criticizing
themselves, or displaying various other forms of foolish or duplicitous
behaviour. His sense of irony was well-developed even as a young child; he is
reputed to have gained considerable attention for an improvised verse composed
at the rear of the home became wet from rain blowing in through the smoke-hole,
while the commoners at the entrance remained dry: 'When clouds come and it is
time for rain / What difference between the door and the rear? / When death
comes and it is time to pass on / What difference between the old and the
young?' In his later life Danzanravjaa spared no criticism even of high-ranking
lamas and political figures; his later poem `Ichig Ichig' (shame, shame'), for
instance, is direct in its attack on hypocritical doctors, lamas, and other
'wise' men, in sharp contrast to the cautious reverence displayed by most
contemporaries. Similarly the great festival music drama of Saran Khukhuu
contains frequent references to the 'terrible dishonest times' in which Ravjaa
saw himself as living, and which he considered to be the source of the evil and
corruption prevalent even amongst the high-ranking officials he satirized on
stage. Indeed Ravjaa earned many enemies as a result of his iconoclasm and
general irreverence for authority, notably due to his opposition to Manchu rule
of Mongolia, which he saw as being corrupt and exploitative. Danzanravjaa's
pessimism became increasingly evident in his later writings, culminating in the
poem ' Yertunts avgain jam' (the way of the world'), composed as he became aware
that he had been poisoned and about to die.
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