Descriptions and portraits of the abstract world in Mongolian language proverbs

Dorjdulamragchaa S., Unurbayan Ts. Descriptions and Portraits of the Abstract World in Mongolian Language Proverbs. Bulletin of Buryat State University. Philology. 2022; 4: 34–40 (In English).

The proverbs, idioms, and fixed phrases of the language is a crucial tool that expresses profound interpretation with a few words, therefore it becomes the … culture and mental culture of that nationality. In other words, we can see that nationality’s cognition and special characteristics of the culture and think, such as nature and the weather, the economy, and religion. Modern ethnologists and ethnolinguists had admitted that the proverbs and idioms are the language facts that they preserve the patterns and characteristics of the national thinking,

For these reasons, this field’s research has increased, therefore the researchers are studying the proverbs relating to linguo-culturology and ethnology.

Scientists consider that ‘Proverbs, a type of the folklore, is spread orally and close to the spoken language, thus it reflects people’s attitude and worldview, from this we can see how nationality’s value comes out in the proverbs’ [7, p. 45]. “The proverb expresses the unique thinking which originated from the people’s mind, ordinary lifestyles, also it becomes a reflection of the thinking and mindset.” [8, p. 87]. “Proverbs is a type of the folklores that express deep meaning with the fewer words, it has upbringing importance for the kids, but also it is a great tool which is in the middle of many sciences.” [3, p. 1] “Through the Modern philosophy, psychology, and cognitol-ogy concept, we live in different parts of the globe and communicate in different languages, while proving with solid evidence that the mental faculties and abilities of human beings have in common.

Every nation that is included in the different and unique traditions, lifestyles, religions, and cultures, see their nature, human life, events, and any features and feel it in their different ways, then reflect it in their language” [1, p. 113]. It is expressed in different ways in those nations and it became the root of the concept that every nation has different perspectives and thinking typologies of the mindset.

For these reasons, the proverbs will become a crucial fact and a tool to explore peculiarities of thinking of Mongolians’ and the worldview, thus the concepts of Mongolians’ lifestyles, farm spread, the customs, the religions, the culture and traditions, and the knowledge and education all reflected in the proverbs.

To cognize their inner world and the abstract things humankind compare it to the real and actual things they have discovered already, and therefore they differentiate them into the substantial and unsubstantial, eventually, they assume the attitude.

Thus we can see how Mongolians perceive their (abstract) inner-world such as their mind, thoughts, and intention, and anima, also how they treat and value it, we can emphasize the proverbs.

To do this research we have worked on about 200 proverbs and summarized them. From this study, we can see that most of the proverbs are comparing the words mentality, thinking, and ideas and anima to the realias, likewise there is a peculiarity of thinking such as those abstracts are much better than the realias.

We have used 200 proverbs that included the words mind, intelligence, and anima, therefore we did observation and assessment on those words. From this recognition, we could determine that Mongolians use real objects to correlate to abstract words such as mind, idea, intelligence, and anima, hence emphasizing them over those realistic objects.

One. A view to assert the wisdom over everything:

-Emphasize the wisdom and put it over things and properties:

The poorness of intelligent is severe

The poorness of the property is not severe

Being smart is better than the colorful

Being full is better than being hungry.

From those kinds of proverbs, we can see that Mongolians prefer and profit wisdom and prudence. Mongolians believe that it is shameful to be foolish and witless, instead of being fancy or nice and being fallen for the property and money, we prefer advancing our sophistication and apprenticing the cognition.

Thus the preference of wisdom comes out some certain proverbs such as Instead of adorning your body with the goods it’s better to adorn it with wisdom. With following proverbs “It’s better to gather knowledge than adorning it with wealth.”, “Gather knowledge, instead of property.” proverbs we value the wisdom over everything.

The reasons why we assert wisdom and knowledge; first: we admit that wisdom is only one property that is invariable and renderable generation to generation, therefore it is impossible to replace with anything. Secondly, Once we have obtained it, it is impossible to be stolen or burned, flooded. It will become a perpetual property in one’s whole life.

• - A view of opposing the wisdom to the anger and annoyance:

Turn down your anger

Look out your mindfulness

In the mound of the anger,

The water of the wisdom will not hold up

Wisdom is an eternal growth

The anger is a headwater of the ignorance

The above-mentioned proverbs remark that with that haughty and pride men don’t get wisdom, arrogant one will not succeed, thus one needs to control his anger, achieve to gain prudence. Eventually one can be a decent and matrolly person.

This is one of the expressions that Mongolians have been accentuating the cleverness and wisdom, basing on their experience of life, and cognition of the world, they deliberate the good and the bad, what can be done and what can not be done.

• - A view of opposing the wisdom to the anger as it is one of the human characters: An intelligent person educates others with their words

An annoyed person educates others with their fist

Words for the smart person

Method for the angry person

A smart person makes others understand

An angry person makes other depressed with these proverbs, the anger and the wisdom always oppose each other and replaces one another. Thus, compared angry men’s actions to the smart men’s actions. It’s a reflection of that while Mongolians get along with nature, we make conclusions on it comparing the irritated men’s action to the wise men’s action.

• - Opposing the intelligent person to the unintelligent person:

A smart person’s sight and the destination is long

Silly one’s sight is close

Smart person encourages

Silly one gives a mallet

When the smart one cries

An addlehead will laugh

In the Mongolian language, there are plenty of phrases and idioms which oppose the wiseacres’ actions to the thick-headed people’s action. With these sentences I mean that the smart person and the moron person always oppose each other, the words smart and the moron are the one common features of the positive and the negative standard and the judgment of the human being. The conception of being smart and the silly reflects on the fairy tales, legends, and the “Universal 3 metaphors” except the proverbs in the Mongolian language.

Also, in other proverbs:

A feeble one,

In whose mind the he-goat embodied.

If you live without learning

You become like livestock soon

In the Mongolian language, it’s prevalent that comparing stupid people to the livestock. It shows that among Mongolians, the measurement of stupidity is the livestock.

In early literature:

There is a proverb,

Originally stupid

If don’t correct that

Even who is a red-faced person

Actually, that is livestock [4, p. 229].

In the Mongolian language, there are many proverbs like, “lamb with a turn-sick”, “A feeble one, in whose mind the he-goat embodied.”

• - The value, assets, and the power of wisdom:

Unconscious man’s

A red hand will suffer

Silly man will

Sell oneself three times

If the mind is empty

There is nothing in the mouth

Smart one has methods

Talented one has creations

Silly one’s feet will suffer

Unsuccessful one’s body will suffer

The smart one will feed a thousand

Silly one will die because of the hunger

In these proverbs, it expresses that men cognates the world with the help of the mind and intelligence, find the reasons behind something, create and live enthusiastically. If a man is unconscious, the one will have to do that hard work with its naked hands, not only that he had to do that labor repeatedly, making himself burn out vise-versa, the conscious man always finds easier ways to handle that situation.

After all, here appears Mongolians’ evaluability and the attitude of respecting the wisdom, mind, scholarship over everything,

Two. A view to value the anima over everything

• -    Preferring the mind to the body

As the cognition of the Mongolians, one’s body, and the mind makes people perfect and embodies a man, metaphor and comparative proverbs are one of the common in the Mongolian language. In particular:

It’s better to have a strong anima

Than the strong spine

One’s strength will beat one

Heart’s strength will beat thousands.

Those are the samples of what we consider being emotionally strong is far better than being bodily strong. A person who is emotionally strong and tolerant can survive all the challenges more than the bodily strong one. So that the Mongolians value the spirit over the body strength.

Spiritual suffering is rougher

Than the body’s suffering

In these examples, we can see that Mongolians prefer being mental wellness rather than health. If the spirit gets sick, it is one of the worse things and is difficult to heal. In other words, We can heal personal disease in many ways, but it is far more difficult to heal the mind and spirit’s illness. We, Mongolians say that “A scar made by the words will not be healed, The personal illness will get healed .” with this, an injury caused by the words become the base of the medical diseases. Therefore since if we get hurt people already, we can not return those situations.

The dirt of one’s body is better

Than the spirit’s dirt

Spirit’s stain is worse

Than the pot’s stain.

From the above-mentioned proverbs, we can understand men suffer and harm themselves with evil intentions, and do bad and inappropriate actions. Hence, we can wash the dirt from our bodies, but we can not erase the stain in our spirit. It is challenging to get to know his or her inner mind, therefore to pure the inner mind is unattainable.

• - A view to value the warm-heartedness and the goodwill

It is proven that humankind gives value to cognize the characteristics of the phenomenon and things, occasions, and events, on their bad and good, ugly and beautiful, black and white, solid and soft, useful, and useless. In Mongolian proverbs, it is common to oppose bad and good intentions. In particular,

A good heart will revolve the steppe

The bad heart will revolve oneself

In the tip of the good intention, there will be the grease

In the tip of the bad intention, there will be the blood

The kindness seed blooms

Ill will’s seed rots with this, compared bad and good things in a double line, opposed each action’s result to one another, thus a kindhearted person will succeed in any situation, creating more than he did. Therefore his life always goes up and achieves one’s goal. As a result of the bad spirit, one will not succeed even if he worked hard, that one’s life will always be challenging. In these proverbs to express above mentioned meaning people used the opposed meaning words such as oil and blood, rot, and bloom.

In these proverbs, the word ‘oil’ expresses the positive meanings like a benefit and the productivity whereas with words such as ‘blood’ we express the meanings of burden and dilemma, expressing negative meanings in the proverbs.

Mongolian language words such as -to be saturated with oil, -altruistic, prosperous, oil on the mouth (has a good mouth-means someone has nice and positive words, has positive thoughts) -to smear one’s head (to screw up and to brew trouble) [5, p. 212‒214] can show that it’s opposed meanings.

Researcher Gerelmaa. G, once pointed out that in Mongolian language the word “oil” expresses effective, beneficial, productive in Mongolian thinking and it becomes the etalon of the things which are useful. In general, the word “oil” symbolizes being wealthy and prosperous, and one’s life will always be upgrading and upwards in Mongolian nomadic lifestyles and Mongolian thinking” [2, p. 95‒96].

In return of the goodness

A beautiful feast will start (One will have a beautiful wedding)

If the intention is positive (right)

Fate will be right

The one who has An evil mind

Will eat their cheekbone’s meat.

Thus, with these proverbs, expresses that the goodwill always returns to the person in many good ways vise versa. The bad intention and bad will always bring rough occasions and all the delightful moments will come with the result of the positive and good thoughts. The way how the person lives purely depends on the pure heart and the spirit. It will become one of the expressions of how sympathetic and gracious Mongolians value the purity and sustainability of the spirit.

Kind-hearted one’s life (steps) will be white

The one who has the milk (saali) whose “khot” will be white

Terminate one’s destiny with bad thoughts

Destroy dairy products with dirty pots.

The bad intention will hunt himself

Twisted horns will hunt the eye-sockets

A vengeance intention will bedevil oneself.

A high mountain will tire the horse.

Furthermore, we can get to know that Mongolians explored the three main factors of being a right person must have a healthy body, robust intelligence, and kind-heartedness in ancient times, and followed this rule to raise their children.

Conclusion

The Mongolians’ intellective culture and the ideology such as morality, traditions, and values have reflected on the Mongolian proverbs that include the words, intelligence, ideas, and spirit. To conclude from the above-mentioned evidence, we can see that positive evaluability and attitude of Mongolians respectfulness and preference to the universe.

The main thinking characteristics of the Eastern people, abstract thinking over the substantial, the general thinking over the specific way of thinking echoed unquestionably into the proverbs.

Thus, it is obvious that Mongolian is a sympathetic nation that respects wisdom and intelligence, well-educated, positive, and good thoughts and kindness.