Look at One Way Mongolia's Nomadic Traditions Being Preserved
KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR: Mongolian tribesmen have been following the nomadic lifestyle of their ancestors for centuries. Now the modern age is encroaching on their way of life. Glen Van Zutphen reports on one way Mongolia's traditions are being preserved.</s>GLEN VAN ZUTPHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bayat (ph) and Kotan (ph) tribes lived as herdsmen in Mongolia's far west for generations. Some still live as their grandfathers did in nomadic tents, now as "yurts" (ph) or "gerds." But today, the traditional lifestyle is increasingly under threat. Tribal musicians and dancers are helping to keep alive a heritage that may otherwise be lost.</s>BALAN, DANCER-MUSICIAN (through translator): We tell everything that is part of our way of life -- horses, animals, riding and transportation and daily activities, that is what we show in our dancing.</s>ZUTPHEN: Mongolian's herders spent a lifetime grazing their animals on the country's grasslands. That began to change under the Soviet government that ruled the country for decades. Drought and harsh winters drove others away. Today, the grand movements of that outdoor life have been adapted to the smug interior of a tribal home.</s>BALAN (through translator): This dance fits with our lifestyle and where we live. We live in felt tents where we only have a small space for dancing.</s>ZUTPHEN: The horse violin echoes the sound of horses galloping across the step. The dancers describes the daily work of herding, cooking, sewing and caring for children. Lhagva recalls a time when these outfits and dances were part of everyday life. Now she hopes to pass them to a younger generation.</s>LHAGVA, FOLK DANCER (through translator): People nowadays are eager to learn foreign dances and adapt them, which means it's a tendency to forget traditional dances. These dances are being lost.</s>ZUTPHEN: Less than 40,000 Bayats and Kotans are left in their traditional homeland, but the dances help preserve a way of life that once seemed limited only by the vast dome of heaven itself. For INSIDE ASIA, I'm Glen Van Zutphen.