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Architecture: Nomadic Architecture of Inner Asia
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Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10207-1
# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
Architecture: Nomadic Architecture of Inner Asia

Ferenc Zámolyi*
Department of History of Architecture and Building Archaeology, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria
The Sinor Research Institute for Inner Asian studies defines the term Inner Asia as follows:
Inner Asia, or the interior of the Eurasian landmass, comprises in historical terms the civilizations of Central Asia,
Mongolia, and Tibet, together with neighbouring areas and peoples that in certain periods formed cultural, political, or
ethnolinguistic unities with these regions. In the past the Inner Asian world was dominated by pastoral nomadic
communities of the great Eurasian steppe, and its history was shaped by the interaction of these societies with
neighbouring sedentary civilizations. (Website of the Sinor Research Institute, Indiana, Bloomington).
Thus, Inner Asia is not only a geographic term but even more a cultural-historical term for defining the
broader region which led to the emergence of different nomadic populations in Asia. These civilizations
and peoples were and are mostly inhabiting the arid steppe areas in the interior of the continent. Their
economy was mostly based on cattle herding; the ecology of the steppe made it necessary to move the
animals at certain intervals to avoid overgrazing. This frequent change of location together with the
requirements and benefits of animal husbandry led to the emergence of certain specific dwelling forms,
several of which endure and are still used even in our modern age. The fact that these buildings are
still present may be a proof of their sophistication and adaptation to local climate and prevailing
lifestyle. However, as everywhere, in many Inner Asian countries, the lifestyles and economy of the
people are changing, and these changes lead in many places to sedentarization and the abandonment of
nomadic habits.
Types of Nomadic Dwellings

Historically, we can discern several types of nomadic dwellings, which were used in Inner Asia:
• Tents with a load-bearing inner structure

• The yurt (Turkic) or ger (Mongolian), a trellis tent with a load-bearing inner structure and felt covering
• Carts with tents attached to them
• The black tent, a very special tent form made out of black goat hair or yak hair
• Different tents, usually for very temporary purposes and not intended for permanent dwelling
At present, only the trellis tent (the so-called yurt or ger) and the black tent are still in use among Inner
Asian nomads for permanent dwelling. Tents with a load-bearing inner structure (the precursors of trellis
tents) and carts with attached tents are only of historical significance. While the more permanent nomadic
structures remain in one place usually for a period from 2 to 3 weeks to several months, according to the
environment and time of the year, various simple tent types, usually made of light materials, are used for a
few days’ stay during hunting, traveling or attending festivities.
While in Mongolia the harsh climate makes agriculture a not very viable alternative to animal
husbandry, in many Central Asian countries there is an option, especially with the advent of moderniza-
tion, to switch to agriculture. Especially in those countries formerly part of the USSR, this change was
*Email: zamolyi.f@archimania-vision.at
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Fig. 1 Mongolian nomad camp
forcedly introduced. Thus, it is not always clear to what extent the nomadic lifestyle is still a living
tradition. In Mongolia, gers and people living a nomadic life are still dominant in the countryside (Fig. 1),
and many trellis tents can also be found in the suburbs of the main cities. In other countries, the amount of
nomadic trellis tents still used is supposedly far less. However, the success of the trellis tent can be only
estimated if one realizes that approximately 50 years ago, some people as far as central Anatolia and other
parts of Turkey were still living in them. Nowadays, on the other hand, they have become extremely rare
or maybe even do not exist anymore in the same region. Anatolia of course can only be counted as part of
Inner Asia in a very broad cultural sense, but it shows that certain types of nomadic dwellings were used in
a very broad geographic area, usually due to historic migrations of certain steppe people.
Tents with a Load-Bearing Inner Structure

Such tents had an inner frame of wooden sticks supporting a covering made out of textile or felt and thus
may have functioned somewhat similar to a Native American teepee. There are also hints that in certain
regions, mobile huts with curved wooden poles were in use. These dwellings can be considered the
predecessors of the more sophisticated trellis tent. A better-documented ancient historical example for a
tent with an inner frame might be the Sarmatian tent as there have been paintings showing such tents
found, while a contemporary example is the dwelling of the reindeer-herding minority of Tuva people
living in Mongolia (Fig. 2).
Trellis Tent
The trellis tent has walls made of a wooden lattice bound together with rawhide stripes. There are many
variants in size or number of these lattice wall elements used. The trellis tent has a wooden roof ring (roof
wheel) which in certain areas may be supported by columns. The wooden roof wheel and the walls are
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Fig. 2 Tent with load-bearing wooden inner structure, N-Mongolia
Fig. 3 Trellis tent being erected. Mongolia
connected by wooden poles (roof struts). The wooden frame is usually strengthened by ropes wound
around the perimeter of the wall (girths) and also through the roof structure. The trellis tent is usually
covered by layers of felt made of sheep wool. In case of Turkic variants also, a decorated reed mat (cane
screen) is put up along the wall before it is covered with the wall felt. Nowadays, trellis tents do have a
proper door; formerly, only a more makeshift door frame was made and the entrance covered with a piece
of felt. According to Andrews, the trellis tent was invented supposedly around the eighth century AD by
Turkic tribes. At the time of Ghenghis Khan, it seems to have been used side by side with nontrellis tents
of a similar form, as passages in the Secret History of the Mongols (dating from approximately 1240)
suggest (Andrews, 1999) (Fig. 3).
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Fig. 4 Noghay tent-cart, after Andrews (1999)
Tents on a Cart
Models of four-wheeled wagons dated to 600 BC were found in Kerch in East Crimea, and several authors
of classical antiquity mention nomadic people of their time living in felt-covered tent cars. Some mention
structures resembling wickerwork attached to these wagons (Andrews, 1999, pp. 13–17). Apparently later
there was a shift to two-wheeled cars. Cuman (Polovtsy) people fleeing from Mongols are depicted in
two-wheeled carts with steep tents in the thirteenth-century Radziwill Chronicle. Also dwellings which
could be taken from the cart and placed on the ground seemed to have been introduced with time.
Szalay (2009) remarks that in the Chinese chronicles of the Heida Shilue (1237), the Chinese envoys Peng
Daya and Xu Ting from the Sung Dynasty write about the form of life of a nation they call ”Black Tartars”:
Their dwellings are felt tents which have no [solid] walls or beamed rooms.[. . .] On the day for travelling when the camp
is broken up, cows, horses and camels are used to pull the cabins on carts in which one can sit or lie down. These are
called tent carts.
The yurt [qionglu] is of two kinds. The Yenjing style uses willow sticks as a structure which is like lattice work of the
south and is collapsible. [. . .] They are carried on horses. The grassland style uses willow sticks to weave a rigid
enclosure and across its diameter felt is used to pull it taut; these are not collapsible and are carried on carts.
In the seventeenth century, the Noghay are reported to have been living in similar tents. These dwellings
did not have a trellis yet; however, there is a photograph from the beginning of the twentieth century
showing a Noghay tent cart with a tent apparently having a fixed trellis (Andrews, 1999) (Figs. 4 and 5).
Black Tent
There are two regions of Inner Asia where nomads use black tents as dwellings: Tibet and Baluchistan.
If Inner Asia is meant in a very broad definition, there would be other areas (e.g., parts of Iran, Anatolia -
Fig. 7) where black tents are in use. For a detailed description of black tents, see Andrews (1997) or
Ambrosch (2005) or Pfeifer (formerly Ambrosch 2015). In this article, only the Tibetan and the
Baluchistan tents will be described.
The Tibetan tents can be divided according to Ambrosch (2005) into three types. All these three are made
of Yak hair, which is different to other types of black tents, which are made of goat hair. The shape of Tibetan
tents is extraordinary, as they are all quite low, and one of their variants is almost domelike in appearance, as
most of the supporting wooden poles are arranged outside the tent itself and are higher than the ridge. Thus,
the ropes first go upward and are redirected via the poles to the ground. The appearance of this tent is much
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Fig. 5 Noghay tent-cart, after Andrews (1999)
Fig. 6 Black tent in Ladakh (Source: Gisela Hayfa, Helga Zimpel-Erler, Ulrich Zimpel)
like a spider sitting on the ground with its legs being the guy ropes. The form of the tent itself, however, is
very similar to modern tent forms used by mountaineers, which is of course an adaptation to strong winds
and the cold climate. The short roof ridge of the tent is held up by two poles, and at the apex, an opening can
be found where the smoke of the fire can exit (Figs. 6 and 8). The other types of Tibetan tents do not have
such a spectacular form. The second type uses no high wooden poles for the guy ropes, but they are directly
staked to the ground, and a low stone circle is put up around the tent. The third type is similar in appearance
but incorporates a low stone wall into its design. Tibetan tents are cold as the fabric does not insulate well.
People have adapted to these conditions and have to be able to bear very low temperatures.
Baluchi tents are made of goat hair, and they have an inner frame of arches made of willow wood.
However, this frame is not capable of supporting itself without the tent fabric, and the structure needs guy
ropes to stand. Most other black tent types which can be found in Arabia, northern Africa, or Asia Minor
do have straight poles supporting the tent fabric, thus the Baluchi tent can be regarded as an unusual
construction. It is not only used in Baluchistan but in a few other neighboring regions of Afghanistan
(Ambrosch, 2005, pp. 79–81).
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Fig. 7 Different parts of a Yör€

uk (Turkish) black tent. Red: wooden posts under pressure, blue: fabric under tension, green:
guy ropes under tension (Source: Ambrosch, 2005)
Fig. 8 Tibetan tent (Source: http://enjoyingindia.com)
Tents for Temporary Use

A variety of tents for short trips, hunting or using at festivals were known to nomadic people. To illustrate
the topic, Szilágyi’s description of Mongolian tent types will be cited:
Asar. This is a generic term for several tent types, such as cacar (one without vertical walls) and cačir (one with vertical
fabric walls). The word asar means “tent, tent palace, pavilion”, and one can find references to it written as early as in the
Mongolian times. It is usually used at great festivals or to welcome visitors. The size of an asar can vary from small (for
one or two persons) to large capable of hosting 500 people. In his account of the enthronement of G€uy€ug khan (1246),
Plano Carpini, the Franciscan friar, reports about a giant tent that could hold two thousand people, and the support pillars
of which were adorned in gold. In later times, the plans of several Mongolian Buddhist temples were designed after cačir.
(Szilágyi, 2009).
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Fig. 9 Mongol tent of the Maixan type (Source: Birtalan, Rákos, Tartsák, & Zámolyi, 2009)
The Mongols use other tent types, for example, the Maixan, which is a tent with an inner structure of
two forked vertical poles and a ridge pole laid across them. The tent cloth is held up by this roof ridge and
has to be fixed with ropes and stakes. These variants, as the other temporary tents, need the tensile strength
of the tent fabric to stand. Trellis tents and tents with a load-bearing wooden structure, which are usually
used by Inner Asian nomads as dwellings, are capable of standing by themselves without their covering or
any guy ropes. According to Szilágyi (2009), at festivals an ornate version of the maixan (ugaljtai
maixan), mostly of blue color, is erected, which is decorated with the patterns of “endless knot” (öljī utas)
and “longevity” (pǖj) (Fig. 9).
Difference Between Turkic and Mongolian Trellis Tents

Although there is quite a large variety of Turkic trellis tent types (yurts), in this article only the Mongolian
ger will be described in detail. The basic characteristics of trellis tents are similar everywhere and will be
discussed when describing the Mongolian ger. For a detailed account on Turkic trellis tents, please refer to
Andrews (1999), which is the best and most comprehensive work available.
There are certain basic differences between Turkic and Mongolian trellis tents:
• The roof wheel of Turkic yurts is not supported by columns.

• Usually, the roof wheels of Turkic yurts are made of one piece of wood, which is steamed and bent in a
circle, while the roof wheels of the more common type of Mongolian ger is assembled out of several
parts carved in a curved shape.
• The roof struts of Turkic yurts are usually bent to form a dome-like shape.
• The roof of Turkic yurts is definitely steeper than that of gers.
• The roof struts of Mongolian gers are usually heavier and thicker than those of Turkic yurts.
• The trellis laths of Turkic yurts are also bent, often in elegant curves to form somewhat spherical walls
(the trellis laths of Mongolian gers are only bent minimally).
• Turkic yurts usually have a (decorated) cane screen around the trellis walls, which Mongolian gers only
very seldom have.
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Fig. 10 Mongolian trellis tent (ger)(Source:Birtalan et al., 2009)
Fig. 11 Uzbek trellis tent (Source: Erich Lehner)
• Turkic yurts have more and elaborately decorated felt rugs inside the dwelling. Usually the floor is
covered in such rugs, while in the Mongolian ger it is not. Also Mongolians decorate their felt rugs in a
somewhat different technique.
• Turkic yurts tend often (but not always) to be more decorated on the outside than Mongolian gers,
which have a plainer appearance.
• In Mongolian gers sometimes roof wheels and roof struts are painted elaborately with different
symbolic designs. Often also the door is painted similarly.
• In spring Mongolian people often have to take newly born lambs or other animals into the ger, as the
weather can still be very harsh at that time. Thus a small pen is set up near the entrance for that purpose.
In Turkic yurts this measure is usually not necessary.
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Fig. 12 Kirgiz trellis tents (Source: Gisela Hayfa, Helga Zimpel-Erler, Ulrich Zimpel)
Fig. 13 Kirgiz trellis tents (Source: Gisela Hayfa, Helga Zimpel-Erler, Ulrich Zimpel)
• While Turkic yurts are usually put up facing east, Mongolian gers are always erected facing south with
their entrance (Figs. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16).
The Mongolian Ger as an Example of a Nomadic Dwelling

The yurt, or as the Mongolian nomads call it, the ger, was designed to function as a mobile dwelling used
all year round in a climate which in winter is extremely cold and stormy but is comparably arid. Although
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Fig. 14 Afghan trellis tent at the Anthropological Museum Vienna, sketched by the author
Fig. 15 Decorated cane screen of a Kirgiz tent (Source: Vidák István)
snow is a typical phenomenon during the Mongolian winter, high precipitation is not; the climate can be
described as continental.
The location of a ger is altered very frequently; a camp is abandoned depending on surrounding
resources for 2–3 weeks (Gobi region) to 2–3 months (in the more northern parts of Mongolia).
This means that well-designed heat insulation and an easy possibility of heating are essential for the
inhabitants to survive the winter. As heating material (in this case animal dung) is scarce, it has to be used
very effectively.
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Fig. 16 Felt rugs of a Kirgiz tent (Source: Vidák István)
Fig. 17 Traditionally the ger was either packed onto camels or transported on two-wheeled carts when nomads moved from
one grazing area to the next with their herds
Mobility is another defining factor of nomadic architecture. People must be capable of disassembling
the building into parts and load it on animals or carts in a comparably short time and with a minimum of
effort involved. For transport, it has to be as light as possible and should occupy only a small space. After
transport, the dwelling has to stand as soon as possible.
The criteria mentioned above define most structural properties of the yurt. It is a dwelling with a very
light but strong wooden frame, which is covered with layers of felt for insulation and for protection against
storm and rain. However, it is only in ethnographical terminology that the yurt is called a “trellis tent,”
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Fig. 18 Transport of a ger by modern means on a truck
Fig. 19 The ger in winter. It is optimised to loose as little heat as possible, but its light structure cannot take snow loads. Thus
as soon as snow falls, it has to be scratched from the roof (Source: Kevin Tierney)
“round tent,” or “felt tent.” From the architect’s point of view, it is more related to a house, as it has a
wooden frame, which stands by itself without any supports or need of guying. Real tents do not stand
without their textile skin, which takes an active part in carrying loads and tensile forces. A tent always
needs guy ropes, which fix the construction to the ground, while a yurt does not. In the case of the yurt, the
felt provides protection against wind, rain, and snow. It has no significant structural function.
It seems that in former times mobility was even more important than it is today, as ancient nomadic
tribes are reported to have moved around mainly in tents or yurts fixed permanently to carts. However,
nowadays these solutions have disappeared, and the dwellings are always dismantled when transported.
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Fig. 20 In strong winds trellis tents with high pitched roofs are in danger of being toppled, those with low pitched roofs are in
danger of being “lifted” by the slipstream. Thus the roof structure of the Mongolian ger is low, comparably heavy, and in case of
a storm extra weight is attached to the roof wheel to hold the dwelling down
Fig. 21 Forces in a Mongolian ger (low roof ) as opposed to some Turkic yurts (higher roof )
Today, if no motorized transport is available, the yurt is still packed on animal-driven carts pulled by yaks,
oxen, or camels. If the terrain is rugged, everything is loaded on camelback. A camel can carry
approximately 300 kg on short distances and 200 on longer ones. This means a yurt and household
items can be transported by three to four camels (Figs. 17 and 18).
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Fig. 22 Kirgizian craftsman building a yurt with hand tools (Source: Vidák István)
Fig. 23 Feltmaking: The horse is dragging rolled up new felt over the steppe to compress it (Source: Jillian Van Ells)
When assembled, the pieces of the yurt, which themselves are small and light (and in case of the wall
elements even foldable), form an optimized spatial structure. The form of the yurt is favorable for several
reasons: firstly, the dome or flat cone-shaped interior with the low wall section offers a maximum of free
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Fig. 24 Preparing to roll up the wool placed on the “mother felt” (Source: Birtalan et al., 2009)
inner space while using a minimum of construction material; secondly, the form is almost half dome
shaped. The sphere has the smallest surface area–to–enclosed volume ratio of all geometric bodies. The
loss of heat energy is directly proportional to the surface area.
This means that a half-dome-shaped house loses less energy than all other forms. Thus, the form of the
yurt is optimized to lose as little heat as possible. Additionally, its comparably low structure, which
integrates well into the surrounding landscape, offers as little surface to wind forces as possible. Usually,
the emerging forces are pulling the structure upward. That is why in case of stormy weather usually a
weight is attached to a central rope, which hangs from the roof wheel. The roof structure of the Mongolian
yurt is also heavier than the roofs of other yurt types. This could be also an adaptation to strong winter
storms, as the heavy roof ring and the roof poles attached to it are not easily susceptible to being dragged
away. Also in case of low cone-shaped roofs no pushing forces appear. Pushing forces are more dangerous
than pulling forces as they can lead to toppling of the structure (Figs. 19, 20, and 21).
As the Mongolian ger roof does not have a high pitch and the roof ring is heavy, it is necessary to
support it with posts. Other yurt types that possess higher roofs and lighter rings do not need any supports.
The pitch of the roof essentially determines the forces submitted by the roof poles to the wall
construction, thus pushing it outward. The lower the roof pitch, the larger the outward pushing forces.
If supporting middle posts are used, much of the load and thus of the outward pushing forces is taken over
by them.
To strengthen the walls, several ropes are tied from one door jamb to the other, holding together the wall
elements like a belt or a ring, adsorbing the forces pushing in the outer direction. If these ropes are cut, the
walls will lean outward, and eventually the whole construction will collapse.
It is also these ropes that ensure that no fixed connections between the roof poles and the heads of the
wall elements are needed (the connections are flexible ones, a loop fixed to the end of the roof poles being
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Fig. 25 Preparing to roll up the wool placed on the “mother felt” (Source: Birtalan et al., 2009)
wound on the heads of the wall elements). The only more or less fixed connections in the structural system
of the dwelling are those joints where the roof poles are sunk into cavities of the roof ring and of course
those of the roof frame, which add a lot to the stability of the structure.
The form of the Mongolian yurt apparently changed at least to a slight extent from the Middle Ages
on. One essential difference seems to be that as nowadays no open fire is used anymore and smoke is led
by a chimney pipe outside the dwelling, the roof ring and maybe also the roof shape has become lower.
When open fire is used, a high pitched roof is more favorable. This roof can also be topped by a chimney-
like roof ring, thus generating even more effective upward draught transporting the smoke outside.
The reasons for change in the form of yurts through the ages have not been thoroughly examined so far,
so maybe further research will provide more insight into this topic.
Manufacture of a Nomadic Dwelling

The wooden frame of trellis tents is usually manufactured by specialists (Fig. 22), that is, somebody of the
community versed in carpentry work. The production of the felt cover is done by nonspecialists (Figs. 23,
24 and 25).
In Mongolia, larch wood is traditionally used for the trellis, the roof wheel, and the columns, while
willow or birchwood is used for the roof struts. It is important to note that after felling the wood it is
usually put for some time into a lake, river, or creek, as the water leaches out the nutrients and the sap
inside the wood and thus makes it less prone to insects and decay. While formerly yurts where made by a
carpenter with simple hand tools, nowadays there are often factories producing yurts or gers with the help
of power tools and modern machinery (Figs. 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34).
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Fig. 26 Plans of a Mongolian ger, survey by Martin Summer
The size of a ger is usually measured by the number of its trellis wall elements, the xan. The most
common gers have 4, 5, or 6 xan, which means their diameter ranges from about 4.25 m to 5.5 m and 6.4 m
respectively. There are gers which only have 3 xans, but they are only used as storage buildings and not for
dwelling purposes. When Mongolians talk about gers, they not only mention the number of xans but also
sometimes the number of roof struts (uni).
The most common gers have a ground floor area of 20–30 m2, and if dismantled and packed for travel, a
middle-sized ger weighs around 1,000 kg. The wall height is around 1.5 m; the overall height of a ger in
use nowadays is around 2.3–2.5m (Figs. 26, 27, 28 and 29).
The felt covering is made by the whole community in late summer or autumn. First the sheep are
sheared, and then the wool is beaten with sticks. This procedure loosens the wool and helps to free it from
dirt. After that, the wool is laid on an already finished piece of old felt (the mother felt) and is wound
around a wooden axle. It has to be taken care how the wool fibers are placed and which quality of wool is
used in which place. The axle is bound to the saddle of a horse and dragged behind on a clean flat stretch of
300–350 m around 15 times. After that the felt bundle is opened, and the new piece of felt (son felt) turned,
wound up again, and dragged again around (Birtalan et al., 2009) (Figs. 23, 24 and 25).
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Use of Space Within the Ger

When entering a ger from the south through the entrance, the most prestigious part can be found exactly
opposite the door to the north in front of the wall. Here, usually sacral objects, Buddhist icons, or butter
lamps can be found; sometimes photos of family members are placed here. This part of the inner space has
the highest rank, which diminishes when moving toward the door. Guests are seated according to this
plan: The most respected, the higher ranking, or maybe also the oldest are given a place more to the north,
near the prestigious part, while younger or nether-ranking guests are seated nearer to the doorway
(Fig. 37).
Customarily one moves inside a ger from left to right in a clockwise direction. The central part of the
dwelling is avoided; the roof-supporting columns, which demarcate this space, should not be touched.
Also one should not pass between them. The inner space within a ger is divided into two halves: the mens’
part (the Western half) and the womens’ part (the Eastern half). Upon entering the dwelling one would first
see the saddles and tools stored on the left-hand side from the entrance in the men’s half. Also newly born
sheep and goats are usually brought into this part of the ger if the spring weather turns very severe.
Somewhat more inside there is a container for koumiss, the fermented mare’s milk. Also further, tools or
weapons (if there are any) can be found here.
From this first part one enters the living or sleeping part of the yurt; the boundary is usually signified by
chests or boxes, and also beds can be found here. On the womens’ side the subdivision of the space is
similar: near the door there are kitchen utensils, pots, and a water container, while more inside there are
chests and a bed. People sleep always with their heads pointing toward the north. Formerly people slept on
felt mats, but nowadays almost everybody owns a proper bed.
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The ger is heated by an iron stove situated in the center of the dwelling, right below the tonoo, the roof
wheel. Nowadays a chimney pipe leads the smoke out of the dwelling; in former times there was an open
fire. As usually in the steppe there is not enough firewood to be found, dried animal dung is used for
fuelling the fire. The ger is lit mainly by the opening in the roof wheel (Figs. 35 and 36) and partly by the
translucent walls themselves if the felt is not too thick. The lighting from above has a pleasant quality. The
light coming through the tonoo produces a spot within the inner space, which changes its position
according to daytime and thus functions like a sundial.
From a Nomadic Lifestyle to Modern Sedentary Forms

Mongols usually only choose a sedentary lifestyle when migrating to towns or when other reasons make
staying in one place possible or necessary. Tourism can be such a reason.
In the northern forested areas a long tradition of sedentary architecture exists. These buildings are
mostly log cabins of some kind. The Buriat people have evolved a traditional way of building with wood
and log structures; the other timber buildings usually have a little bit makeshift and improvised appear-
ance (Figs. 38, 39, and 40).
In urban areas timber is an expensive building material; so many poor people use bricks or concrete
instead. Loam is sometimes applied over a wooden latticework as plastering to walls of both wooden and
concrete houses. Most of the building materials are imported from China or Russia; bricks are also
manufactured in Ulan Bataar in several factories.
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Fig. 29 Painted column (bagana) of a Mongolian ger (Source: Birtalan et al., 2009)
Fig. 30 Ger manufacture in Ulan Bataar
If a sedentary or more or less sedentary lifestyle is chosen, the ger is only abandoned after a longer
period of time. It is usual to see in most cases a parallel existence of the nomadic dwelling and houses
made out of wood or stone. In this case the houses are mostly inhabited in winter and the yurt in summer.
A reason for this is that the yurt is airier. In winter as one house dweller in Ulan Bataar said, the ger can be
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Fig. 31 Ger manufacture in Ulan Bataar, using modern tools
heated up very fast, but it gets cold again very fast as well. This is because the walls have no thermal
storage capacity. The houses with their thick walls hold the heat better but are usually badly ventilated
because of inferior design and material quality (especially the windows). This makes living in them during
summer not really comfortable (Figs. 41, 42, and 43).
In the northern forested areas the Buriat people have developed an octagonal house, which closely
resembles the yurt. Its walls are made of timber logs, the corners connected usually with a butt-and-pass
method, sometimes with interlocking saddle notches. However, most log architecture in Mongolia is built
with a local variant of the butt-and-pass method, where half of each log is left longer and protrudes over
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Fig. 34 The black marks on the trellis laths of this Mongolian ger show, that they are bent over fire, and not steamed and bent
into shape like the laths of Turkic yurts, which have a more elegant curve
the wall plane. One fourth of the logs are sawed away on the upper and lower part of the corner joint, so an
interlocking pattern of log ends in both directions emerges. This method is one of the simplest connection
methods in log building and is mostly used over all of Mongolia. Some houses in the Buriat regions use or
used interlocking saddle notches as corner joints, which already needs more expertise in woodworking. Gaps
between logs are stuffed with moss to prevent wind blowing through the building (Figs. 44, 45, and 46).
In some Buriat houses there is a quadratic space in the center, which is lowered slightly below floor
level and also contains the hearth. It is flanked by four posts, which support a frame in the ceiling, above
which there is a kind of lantern with windows or at least a roof-covered smoke hole. In smaller houses the
pillars are maybe not necessary; the radially running rafters are able to hold the structure up by
themselves. In other houses the rafters are not radial. The roof construction is supported by beams placed
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Fig. 35 Roof wheel of an Uzbek yurt (Source: Erich Lehner)
Fig. 36 Detail of a roof wheel of an Uzbek yurt (Source: Erich Lehner). The rim of such wheels is steamed and bent to a
circular shape. The roof wheel of Mongolian gers is assembled from several pieces and not bent
diagonally over the corners and then in layers on top of each other, thus diminishing the open span each
time until only the smoke hole is left free.
These buildings are traditionally covered with earth, wooden shingles, timber boards, or tree bark. In
recent time tar-bitumen roof sheeting or corrugated iron sheets are also used.
In areas where log building has not much tradition or where the stationary buildings also have a more
temporary character, octagonal houses are also often built out of timber boarding with a slightly stronger
wooden skeleton. Here the substructure is connected with the timber boards by nailing, forming panels in
much the same technique a wooden garden door is made. These makeshift panels are put together to form
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Fig. 37 Inside a Mongolian ger, looking northward from the entrance
Fig. 38 Log cabin being built, Mongolia
an octagonal shape, with a roof made with the same method. On top of the roof a lantern with windows is
placed, and some of the wall panels have windows as well. All in all these are usually not very well-built
houses, but they show direct structural relation and proximity to the Buriat houses and the nomadic yurts.
Usually in these octagonal houses the central hearth is replaced by a table, and the oven is shifted to the
kitchen area on the right side from the entrance near the wall.
There are some intermediary types of these houses, where a yurt roof ring is still used, sometimes
planted on a pole (Figs. 47, 48, and 49).
In the northern regions there is also a strong tradition of rectangular house building. These houses are
usually log structures and often show strong Russian influence. In cases where the house interior is still
one single room, people try to adhere to the spatial organization of areas within the yurt.
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Fig. 39 Many wooden houses are built in a form closely related to the ger, and have also a similar inner organisation
Fig. 40 Log cabin in the shape of a ger
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Fig. 41 Octagonal house in Ulan Bataar
Fig. 42 Stove with heating wall inside an the octagonal house. The wall ensures that heat is radiated slowly to the surrounding
room in winter
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Fig. 43 Ground plan of the octagonal house shown above
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Fig. 44 Buriat log cabin
Fig. 45 Buriat log cabin with peculiar roof structure
In urban areas houses stand on plots surrounded by high timber board fences which prevent passing
people and neighbors from looking inside. The gates of the plot are usually painted with traditional motifs.
Houses are mostly situated on the northern part of the plot, entrances looking south. Very often there is still
a yurt standing on the plot in front of the house, and in the southeast or southwest corner an outhouse and
other auxiliary buildings can be found. Sometimes houses show a double organization pattern, which
means that they are built symmetrically and can accommodate two families. Very typical features are the
heating walls, which are walls made of bricks which lead the smoke from the iron oven with inner tubes in
many bends to the chimney. As the smoke has a long way to pass through the wall its energy heats up the
bricks which provide a large surface area radiating warmth into the house interior. The negative side effect
is that as the smoke cools down on its lengthened path, acidic substances contained within start to
condense and corrode the chimney. This can also lead to gases escaping into the living area, which can
have adverse health effects.
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Fig. 46 Corner detail of a Buriat log cabin
Fig. 47 Wooden house resembling a ger. Mongolia, Terelj
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Fig. 48 Wooden house resembling a ger. Mongolia, Terelj
Fig. 49 Inside a wooden house resembling a ger. In this house even a roof wheel has been used. Mongolia, Terelj
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Fig. 50 Little rectangular shed, Mongolia
Fig. 51 Rectangular anteroom attached to a ger-like hall of Gandan Monastery, Ulaan Bataar
Constant features of urban living are sheds and auxiliary buildings. Some of them are built on runners to
be movable within the plot boundaries. In some cases these sheds are also used as entrance buildings for
yurts and houses as a kind of anteroom. This seems to be quite an old invention, as yurt-like halls of
monasteries also frequently show these features (Figs. 50 and 51).
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References
Alexander, A., De Azevedo, P., Hirako, Y., & Tsering, N. (2006). A manual of traditional Mongolian
architecture. Ulan Bator, Mongolia: Tibet Heritage Fund (supposedly).
Ambrosch, K. (2005). KaraHane – Schwarzzelte als tempor€ are mobile Behausungen f€ ur Arch€
aologen in
trockenen heißen Regionen. Wien: Publizierte Diplomarbeit, Tu Wien, IVA-ICRA Verlag.
Andrews, P. A. (1997). T€ ubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients (TAVO), Beihefte, 74/1 nomad tent types in
the middle east. Wiesbaden, Germany: Dr ludwig Reichert Verlag.
Andrews, P. A. (1999). Felt tents and pavilions. The nomadic tradition and its interaction with princely
tentage. Kölner Ethnologische Mitteilungen, Sonderband, Institut f€ ur Völkerkunde. Köln, Germany:
Universit€at zu Köln.
Birtalan, Á., Rákos, A., Tartsák, A., & Zámolyi, F. (Eds.). (2009).Traditional Mongolian culture – Part I
material culture. Budapest, Hungary/Vienna, Austria: Institut f€ ur Innerasienkunde ELTE Budapest,
IVA-ICRA Wien..
Bruun, O., & Narangoa, L. (Eds.). (2006). Mongols – From country to city – Floating boundaries,
pastoralism and city life in the Mongol lands. Copenhagen, Denmark: Nias Press – Nordic Institute of
Asian Studies.
di Plano Carpini, J. (1245–1247). Kunde von den Mongolen, eingeleitet, € ubersetzt und erl€autert von
Felicitas Schmieder, Thorbecke, Sigmaringen
Janzen, J., Taraschewski, T., & Ganchimeg, M. (2005). Ulaanbataar at the Beginning of the 21st
century – Massive in migration, rapid growth of ger-settlements, social spatial segregation and
pressing Urban problems – The example of 4th Khoroo of Songinokhairkhan Duureg (GTZ research
papers 2). Ulan Bator, Mongolia: NationalUniversity of Mongolia, CDR-Center for Development
Research.
Maidar, D., & Daris€ uren, L. (1976).Ger. Ulānbātar. [The yurt – The Mongolian felt tent].
Pfeifer, K. (formerly: Ambrosch, K.) (2015). The Yör€ uk Black Tent - Adaptation in Design in the Course
of Changes in Production. Unpublished PHD Thesis, Vienna University of Technology.
Sinor Research Institute, Indiana, Bloomington. http://www.iu.edu/~srifias/about/about-the-region/.
Accessed February 28,2015.
Szalay, P. (2009). Carts and tent carts. In Á. Birtalan, A. Rákos, A. Tartsák, & F. Zámolyi (Eds.),
Traditional Mongolian culture – Part I material culture. Budapest, Hungary/Vienna, Austria: Institut
f€
ur Innerasienkunde ELTE Budapest, IVA-ICRA Wien.
Szilágyi, Z. (2009). Tents. In Á. Birtalan, A. Rákos, A. Tartsák, & F. Zámolyi (Eds.), Traditional
Mongolian culture – Part I material culture. Budapest, Hungary/Vienna, Austria: Institut f€ur
Innerasienkunde ELTE Budapest, IVA-ICRA Wien.
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Architecture: Nomadic Architecture of Inner Asia

Chapter · January 2016

Mobile Vernacular Architecture in the Middle East View project

Indonesian Vernacular Architecture View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Architecture: Nomadic Architecture of Inner Asia

Types of Nomadic Dwellings

• Tents with a load-bearing inner structure

Fig. 1 Mongolian nomad camp

Tents with a Load-Bearing Inner Structure

Fig. 2 Tent with load-bearing wooden inner structure, N-Mongolia

Fig. 3 Trellis tent being erected. Mongolia

Fig. 4 Noghay tent-cart, after Andrews (1999)

Fig. 5 Noghay tent-cart, after Andrews (1999)

Fig. 7 Different parts of a Yör€

Fig. 8 Tibetan tent (Source: http://enjoyingindia.com)

Tents for Temporary Use

Difference Between Turkic and Mongolian Trellis Tents

• The roof wheel of Turkic yurts is not supported by columns.

Fig. 10 Mongolian trellis tent (ger)(Source:Birtalan et al., 2009)

Fig. 11 Uzbek trellis tent (Source: Erich Lehner)

The Mongolian Ger as an Example of a Nomadic Dwelling

Fig. 15 Decorated cane screen of a Kirgiz tent (Source: Vidák István)

Fig. 16 Felt rugs of a Kirgiz tent (Source: Vidák István)

Fig. 18 Transport of a ger by modern means on a truck

Manufacture of a Nomadic Dwelling

Fig. 26 Plans of a Mongolian ger, survey by Martin Summer

Fig. 27 Plans of a Mongolian ger, survey by Martin Summer

Use of Space Within the Ger

Fig. 28 Plans of a Mongolian ger, survey by Martin Summer

From a Nomadic Lifestyle to Modern Sedentary Forms

Fig. 30 Ger manufacture in Ulan Bataar

Fig. 31 Ger manufacture in Ulan Bataar, using modern tools

Fig. 32 Ger manufacture in Ulan Bataar

Fig. 33 Ger manufacture in Ulan Bataar

Fig. 35 Roof wheel of an Uzbek yurt (Source: Erich Lehner)

Fig. 37 Inside a Mongolian ger, looking northward from the entrance

Fig. 38 Log cabin being built, Mongolia

Fig. 40 Log cabin in the shape of a ger

Fig. 41 Octagonal house in Ulan Bataar

Fig. 43 Ground plan of the octagonal house shown above

Fig. 44 Buriat log cabin

Fig. 45 Buriat log cabin with peculiar roof structure

Fig. 46 Corner detail of a Buriat log cabin

Fig. 47 Wooden house resembling a ger. Mongolia, Terelj

Fig. 48 Wooden house resembling a ger. Mongolia, Terelj

Fig. 50 Little rectangular shed, Mongolia

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