The ancient, earth-friendly wisdom of Mongolian nomads | Khulan Batkhuyag

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Ivana Korom

Prevoditelj: Gordan Prakiš Recezent: Sanda Liker

It's funny how foreigners ask me the same questions

Zanimljivo je kako me stranci pitaju uvijek ista pitanja

when they first meet me.

kada me upoznaju.

Questions like,

Pitanja kao što su:

"Wow, you're from Mongolia?

"Vau, ti si iz Mongolije?

So do you ride horses to go to work?"

Jašeš li konja na putu do posla?"

"Do you know what Coke is?"

"Znaš li za Coca-Colu?"

Or, "Do you have chocolates in Mongolia?"

Ili, "Imate li čokoladu u Mongoliji?"

And if I want to have fun with it,

I ukoliko se želim malo zabaviti,

I say things like,

kažem primjerice:

"Oh my God,

"O moj Bože,

I've never heard any of those before.

nikada prije nisam čula za te stvari.

What are Coke and chocolates?

Što su to Coca-Cola i čokolada?

Can you tell me more about them?"

Možete li mi reći nešto o njima?"

It always works,

Uvijek upali

and we have a good laugh about it too.

i dobro se nasmijemo na račun toga.

In reality, our capital city, Ulaanbaatar, is very urban.

U stvarnosti je naš glavni grad, Ulaanbaatar, vrlo urban.

We have commercial buildings,

Imamo komercijalne zgrade,

brand-name hotels

brendirane hotele

and beautiful art spaces too.

i predivna mjesta umjetnosti također.

But all too often

Ali prečesto

foreigners fixate on what Mongolia lacks.

se stranci fiksiraju na ono što Mongoliji nedostaje.

They look at our massive, untouched landscape,

Vide naš ogromni i netaknuti krajolik,

traditional nomadic lifestyles,

tradicionalni nomadski način života

and see it as a sign of poverty.

i u tome vide znakove siromaštva.

And I disagree.

Ne slažem se s time.

In fact, I think there's a lot we can learn

Ustvari smatram da imamo mnogo toga za naučiti

from ancient Mongolian nomads

od mongolskih nomada starosjedilaca,

that will help us survive

što će nam pomoći preživjeti

in the years and decades to come.

u godinama i desetljećima koji slijede.

This is a picture of me playing Mongolia's most celebrated traditional instrument,

Ovdje ja sviram najcijenjeniji tradicionalni mongolski instrument

morin khuur,

morin khuur

or horsehead fiddle.

ili "konjsku guslu".

I started playing the instrument when I was only nine,

Počela sam svirati taj instrument kada mi je bilo samo 9 godina

and by 11 I was traveling the world

i navršivši 11 putovala sam po svijetu

representing Mongolia at international festivals,

predstavljajući Mongoliju na internacionalnim festivalima

living and studying in places like Japan, China, Finland, Germany and Sweden.

živeći i studirajući u mjestima kao što su: Japan, Kina, Finska, Njemačka i Švedska.

But then suddenly,

Ali onda odjednom,

when I was 21,

kada mi je bila 21 godina,

I lost my loving mother,

izgubila sam voljenu majku

and just two years later

i samo dvije godine kasnije

I lost my father.

izgubila sam oca.

As an only child,

Kao kćer jedinica

I was devastated and lonely.

bila sam užasno potresena i usamljena.

At the time, the only thing I had left was my country,

U to vrijeme jedina stvar koja mi je preostala bila je moja zemlja

so I decided to move home.

pa sam odlučila vratiti se kući.

When I was lost with sorrow,

Kada sam bila izgubljena u tuzi,

my country gave me a feeling of safety and belonging.

moja zemlja dala mi je osjećaj sigurnosti i pripadnosti.

I imagined eternal the blue sky of Mongolia as my father

Zamišljala sam vječno plavo mongolsko nebo kao mojeg oca

and the untouched, gorgeous landscape as my mother.

i netaknute, predivne krajolike kao moju majku.

Having lived in developed countries for over a decade,

Živeći u razvijenim zemljama duže od jednog desetljeća,

I became very distant from the nomadic lifestyles,

postala sam vrlo udaljena od nomadskog načina života

so I wanted to reconnect and experience it for myself.

i zato sam se željela ponovno povezati i doživjeti ga osobno.

I often journeyed away from the city toward my grandparents' provinces

Često sam putovala dalje od grada do provincija mojih baka i djedova,

in rural Mongolia

u ruralnoj Mongoliji,

to see where my parents and I came from,

kako bih vidjela odakle smo moji roditelji i ja potekli

and better understand my own identity.

i kako bih bolje razumjela svoj vlastiti identitet.

Growing up, I'd always heard stories about how Mongolian nomads

Odrastajući sam uvijek slušala priče o tome kako su mongolski nomadi

were the most hospitable people on earth,

najljubazniji ljudi na Zemlji

and I wanted to see with my own eyes

i željela sam svojim očima vidjeti

whether they really feed and give shelter to a stranger.

daju li doista hranu i pružaju li smještaj strancima.

So I set off to the countryside,

I tako sam se zaputila na selo

driving along dirt roads for hours.

vozeći blatnim putevima satima.

What's incredible about Mongolian nomads

Ono što je nevjerojatno kod mongolskih nomada

is that the neighbors are often 40 kilometers apart,

je to da su susjedi često udaljeni po 40 kilometara

and there's no private land ownership of pasture land in Mongolia.

i ne postoji privatno vlasništvo zemljišta i ispaša u Mongoliji.

In a way,

Na neki način

Mongolian nomads have the complete freedom,

mongolski nomadi imaju kompletnu slobodu

moving about the gorgeous landscape as they wish.

kretati se predivnim krajolikom kako žele.

Eventually, I spotted to humble yurts

Naposljetku sam ugledala dvije skromne jurte

and I pulled over.

i zaustavila se.

Yurts, or ger,

Jurte ili "geri"

are a traditional Mongolian dwelling.

su tradicionalna mongolska prebivališta.

They're made from one hundred percent natural material,

Izrađene su od stopostotno prirodnog materijala,

a wooden frame and floor,

drveni okvir i pod,

leather rope

kožno uže

and thick blankets made from felted sheep's wool.

i guste deke izrađene od filcane ovčje vune.

And it takes about only three to four hours

I potrebno je samo tri do pet sati

to assemble or disassemble,

kako bi ih sastavili i rastavili

and keeps them warm

i one ih griju

through the minus 50 degree Celsius winters.

kroz zime na i do -50°C.

Outside the yurt,

Izvan jurte

the kids were playing with sheep and goats,

djeca su se igrala s ovcama i kozama

and as I greeted them,

i dok sam ih pozdravljala,

their parents welcomed me inside.

njihovi roditelji su me pozvali unutra.

The wife poured me nice warm milk tea,

Žena mi je usula fini topli mliječni čaj,

and the husband offered me food

a muž mi je ponudio hranu

that they had already prepared on the table.

koju su već pripremili na stolu.

After some casual chitchat,

Nakon ležernog razgovora

the husband politely asked my purpose,

muž me pristojno upitao za svrhu mog putovanja

so I replied bluntly

i ja sam prosto odgovorila

that I was just traveling

da jednostavno putujem

and exploring my grandparents' roots

i istražujem korijene svojih baka i djedova

and that I needed a place to stay

i da mi je potrebno mjesto gdje ću odsjesti

as the sun was setting.

dok je sunce zalazilo.

And guess what?

I pogodite što?

He said I could stay as long as I needed to,

Rekao mi je da mogu ostati dokle god mi je potrebno

on one condition.

pod jednim uvjetom.

He asked if I would play the morin khuur,

Pitao me mogu li zasvirati morin khuur,

our traditional Mongolian horsehead fiddle.

našu tradicionalnu mongolsku konjsku guslu.

In my head, I couldn't believe it was coming true.

U mojoj glavi nisam mogla vjerovati da se to obistinjuje.

And the horsehead fiddle was like a ticket.

I konjska gusla je bila kao ulaznica.

When Mongolians find out that you can play morin khuur,

Kada Mongoli saznaju da znate svirati morin khuur,

you're instantly respected.

odmah ste poštovani.

They say its two strings

Kažu da njene dvije žice

express all the events of the world.

odražavaju sva svjetska događanja.

I ended up staying with them for nine days,

Na kraju sam ostala kod njih devet dana

and they didn't even ask me to leave.

i čak me nisu tražili da odem.

I think if I tried to stay there for two months,

Mislim i da sam pokušala ostati dva mjeseca,

they would have let me.

dozvolili bi mi.

And here's the thing:

I stvar je u ovome:

before I met them,

prije nego sam ih upoznala,

I assumed that Mongolian nomads were hospitable out of kindness

smatrala sam da su mongolski nomadi gostoljubivi iz pristojnosti,

like anybody else.

kao i svi drugi.

But then I realized it was more than that.

Ali tada sam shvatila da je više od toga.

It was about surviving as a community.

Stvar je u preživljavanju kao zajednice.

Because nomads live in extremely remote areas,

Zbog toga što nomadi žive u ekstremno udaljenim krajevima,

they are completely at the mercy of nature.

oni su kompletno u milosti prirode.

Heavy snowfall,

Jaka mećava,

a sudden flood

nagla poplava

or a raging storm

ili bijesna oluja

can devastate a nomadic family.

mogu uništiti nomadsku obitelj.

Today, it's a stranger who needs help,

Danas možda stranac treba pomoć,

but tomorrow, it could be you.

ali sutra to možete biti i vi.

That's why they look out for each other

Zbog toga se brinu jedni o drugima

and welcome anyone in need of help.

i ugoste svakoga kome je potrebna pomoć.

This really touched my heart,

To me je zbilja dirnulo

because I feel like we humans are becoming more and more selfish.

zbog toga što smatram da mi ljudi postajemo sve više sebični.

Staying with a truly nomadic family awakened me.

Prebivanje kod istinske nomadske obitelji me probudilo.

It was nothing like I've ever seen in developed countries.

Nije bilo slično ničemu što sam vidjela u razvijenim zemljama.

The wife of the family

Žena u obitelji

showed me how they produce organic dairy products from scratch,

mi je pokazala kako proizvode organske mliječne proizvode od nule,

like white cheese, yogurt, tsegee,

kao što su bijeli sir, jogurt, "tsegee",

and even a traditional vodka made from cow milk.

čak i tradicionalnu vodku napravljenu od kravljeg mlijeka.

And every tool they use is made from natural material by hand.

I sav alat koji koriste napravljen je ručno od prirodnih materijala.

And inside the yurt,

A unutar jurte

we burned dried cow dung to stay warm

ložili smo sušenu kravlju balegu kako bismo se ugrijali

instead of using fuel.

umjesto da smo koristili gorivo.

Everything stood in sharp contrast

Sve je bilo u oštrom kontrastu

to my city life filled with plastic and steel.

s mojim gradskim životom punim plastike i čelika.

And this was a five-senses experience to me,

I ovo je za mene bilo iskustvo sa svih pet osjetila,

a completely different form of sophistication.

potpuno drugačiji tip sofisticiranosti.

The more I traveled across remote and rural destinations in Mongolia,

Što sam više putovala kroz udaljene i ruralne destinacije u Mongoliji,

the more I understood

sve sam više razumjela

how ancient nomadic lifestyle was powered by Mother Nature.

kako je starim nomadskim načinom života upravljala Majka priroda.

Nomadic life is truly zero waste.

Nomadski način života je zaista život bez rasipanja.

Over the course of six years,

Kroz šest godina

I visited more than 20 families,

posjetila sam više od 20 obitelji

and my experience was always the same.

i moje iskustvo je bilo uvijek isto.

They invited me in, offered me food

Pozvali bi me unutra, ponudili mi hranu

and gave me a place to stay if I needed it.

i dali mi mjesto da odsjednem ukoliko mi je potrebno.

I was surprised by how little they owned.

Bila sam iznenađena koliko malo posjeduju.

At first, I thought it was because they moved about four times a year.

Isprva sam mislila da je to zbog toga što se sele oko četiri puta godišnje.

OK, that's a very simple logic to understand.

OK, to je bila vrlo jednostavna logika za razumjeti.

You only carry what you need.

Nosiš samo ono što ti je potrebno.

But then I learned

Ali tada sam naučila

there's a deeper philosophy behind it.

da iza toga stoji dublja filozofija.

Historically, nomads believed

Povijesno, nomadi su vjerovali

that we are only passing through this life,

da mi samo prolazimo kroz ovaj život

that people come and leave naked,

i da ljudi u njega ulaze i izlaze goli,

so they believe that there's no point in building anything that destroys nature

tako da vjeruju da nema smisla graditi ništa što će uništiti priroda

or in being greedy for materialistic things

ili biti gramziv prema materijalnim stvarima

when your life expectancy is only less than 100 years.

kada je tvoj očekivani životni vijek manji od samo 100 godina.

Instead, they invest in tradition,

Umjesto toga oni investiraju u tradiciju,

heritage, history,

podrijetlo, povijest

and pass it from generation to generation.

i prenose ih sa generacije na generaciju.

This ancient nomadic philosophy made me realize that I should think bigger

Ova antička nomadska filozofija me natjerala da shvatim da trebam misliti veliko

and further than my own convenience and comfort.

i dalje od moje vlastite ugode i komfora.

In the Mongolian countryside, I felt a true form of freedom,

U mongolskim sam selima osjećala istinsku formu slobode

and every time I came back to the city,

i svaki put kada bih se vratila u grad,

I looked for ways to live more minimally.

tražila sam način da živim što više minimalistički.

I digitalized all of my company's paper procedures.

Digitalizirala sam sve procedure na papiru koje je moja tvrtka imala.

What once took 20 packs of A4 paper

Ono za što je nekad bilo potrebno 20 paketa A4 papira,

now takes just one.

sada je potreban samo jedan.

I downsized my apartment, reduced my carbon footprint

Uzela sam manji stan, reducirala svoj ugljični otisak

and picked up a habit to rethink my actions,

i stekla naviku da propitujem svoje akcije

like purchasing, choosing transportation,

kao što su kupovina, izbor prijevoznog sredstva

and many other lifestyle choices at home and work.

i mnoge druge životne odluke kod kuće i na poslu.

And most importantly,

I ono najvažnije:

I stopped working on fast-moving consumer-goods marketing projects

prestala sam raditi na brzim i konzumeristički orijentiranim marketinškim projektima

and now work with organizations that promote sustainability.

i sada radim samo s organizacijama koje promoviraju održivost.

But by far the biggest change

Ali daleko najvažnija odluka

is that I've started to see development

je ta da sam počela gledati razvoj

with fresh eyes.

drugim očima.

In cities,

U gradovima,

living in a traditional yurt as a nomad

nomadski život u tradicionalnim jurtama

and having less

ili imati manje,

is often interpreted as a sign of poverty,

često se interpretira kao znak siromaštva,

not just abroad

ne samo vani

but at home in Mongolia too.

nego i kod kuće, u Mongoliji.

We think that the end goal for every developing country

Mislimo kako je krajnji cilj svake zemlje u razvoju

is to become the next Tokyo or New York City,

postati slijedeći Tokyo ili New York

with their skyscrapers, big shopping malls and toll roads.

sa svojim neboderima, velikim šoping centrima i cestama s naplatom cestarine.

Communities around the world are abandoning their traditional lifestyles

Zajednice diljem svijeta napuštaju svoje tradicionalne načine života

in pursuit of material wealth.

u potrazi za materijalnim bogatstvom.

But let's not forget,

Ali nemojmo zaboraviti

the developed countries

da su razvijene zemlje

are the ones most responsible for climate change.

one koje su najodgovornije za klimatske promjene.

So we have to ask ourselves,

Dakle, moramo se zapitati

why do we keep on following the same blueprint

zašto stalno pratimo isti obrazac

when we know it causes harm to the world?

kada znamo da on čini štetu svijetu?

We've all experienced the consequences of our choices

Svi smo iskusili posljedice naših odluka

over the past eight months.

tijekom proteklih osam mjeseci.

So doing right by Mother Nature

Tako da činiti dobro Majci prirodi

and focusing on earth-friendly, zero-waste habits

i fokusirati se na navike prijateljske prema Zemlji, bez rasipanja,

is not an option anymore.

više nije samo opcija.

And who knows the key ingredients better than our ancestors,

A tko zna ključne sastojke bolje od naših predaka,

the ones who survived without the media

onih koji su preživjeli bez medija

or technology

ili tehnologije,

but with wisdom alone?

samo pomoću mudrosti?

As a citizen of Mongolia,

Kao građanka Mongolije

I grew up hearing

odrastala sam slušajući

that developing countries are inferior,

kako su zemlje u razvoju inferiorne

and I really took it to heart.

i zbilja sam to uzimala k srcu.

But today, I want to say loud and clear

Ali danas, želim jasno i glasno reći

that I don't see disadvantages from developing countries anymore.

da više ne vidim nedostatke u zemljama u razvoju.

On the contrary,

Naprotiv,

I see countries that have the biggest opportunity

vidim zemlje koje imaju najveće mogućnosti

to do things in the right way,

kako bi učinile stvari na pravi način,

countries that can define their own kind of development

zemlje koje mogu definirati svoj vlastiti stil razvoja

and have the most advantage to build a better and safer environment

i imaju najveću prednost da izgrade bolje i sigurnije okruženje

for everyone.

za svakoga.

What worked for our ancestors for thousands of years

Ono što je vrijedilo za naše pretke tisućama godina

can work for us now,

može vrijediti i za nas sada

and in the future,

i u budućnosti,

when combined with the latest innovations.

kada to kombiniramo s najnovijim inovacijama.

After all, we're all guests in this world,

Naposljetku, svi smo gosti na ovome svijetu,

so let's do right by the earth and each other

tako da činimo dobro prema Zemlji i jedni prema drugima

just like the ancient Mongolian nomads did.

upravo onako kako su to činili drevni mongolski nomadi.

Thank you.

Hvala.