Journey to Tuva – Otto Mänchen-Helfen- 1929

Otto John Mänchen-Helfen ( 1894 in Vienna, Austria – 1969 in Berkeley, California) was an Austrian academic, sinologist, historian, author, and traveler. Between 1927 and 1930 he worked at Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow, he then he moved to Berlin from 1930 to 1933, till the rise of Nazisms when he then decided to go back …

Kongar-ool Ondar

My wife told me while I'm writing this article that she hasn't heard that many songs by Kongar-ool Ondar in a day since her childhood in Tuva. Kongar-ool Borisovich Ondar (Ондар Коңгар-оол Борис оглу,  in Russian/Tuvan, 4 December 1962 - 25 July 2013) was an influential Tuvan musician of the 20th century and one of …

fistful of promises

Up to today there's no yet a wide bibliography about Republic of Tuva in English. The main information available are mostly related to "Tuva Or Bust" by Ralph Leighton (1991), "In Siberia" by Colin Thubron (1999) and few other readings on Khoomei throat singing. Fistful of Promises offers an image of the Republic of Tuva …

The soul of Mongolian horseman – documentary-

This is the documentary about Omba, an old Mongolian women, choose by UNESCO to transmit the principles of a traditional instrument Morin Khuur to four kids. Morin Khuur reflects the deep relation between man and horses in the Mongolian steppes daily life. The instrument its composed by wood and horse hairs, used to make the …