[MR] * Ger

[rmhowe]

Follows a partial bibliography from my researches on Ger or
Mongolian Yurts, eventually it will probably double.
Since so many people are interested in pictures and how-to
details I thought I might put this out presently as opposed
to some unknown time from now with a more complete article 
attached.:

This section contains a lot of sources I ran into while 
writing this paper.  Having done the research over a long 
time I would say that I am prejudiced  against most of the
modern versions.  I think that many of the designs are crude 
compared with their Mongolian counterparts. I do however 
think that sometimes the better western versions are the 
low impact ideal for people who take to the woods, 
foresters, researchers, outdoor types, camp and park 
applications - and what about the homeless or poor? They 
leave no footprint and can be moved easily.  One plus is 
that they’ll stand up to heavy weather when most tents won’t.
..................

American Academic Encyclopedia, Vol. 20, p. 347, Yurt.  

Back Home Magazine, Summer 1994, You Can Take It With You, 
article by staff, pp. 22-3.  Also The Yurt : Shelter in the 
Round, by Bill Copperthwaite, pp. 18-21. (Sources for both 
Tents and Architectural (wood) Building Plans, multistory.

Build a Yurt, by Len Charney, MacMillan Publishing Co.,
1974 (A whole book on crude wood yurts. Scary.)

Caravans to Tartary, by , Roland and Sabrina Michaud.  
Thames and Hudson, London, New York, 1985, 81 illus., 
ISBN 0500273596. Mostly pictures of daily life among the 
nomads of Afghanistan and Turkestan, including a number of
depictions of the inside and outside of felt yurts with 
curved frames.

The Changing World of Mongolia’s Nomads,  By Melvyn C. 
Goldstein and Cynthia M. Beall, University of California 
Press, Berkeley, 1994, ISBN 0-520-08551-5.  Focuses on 
the life of the Mongols after the collapse of the Soviet 
System, when they are relearning the ways of self-sufficiency. 
Among other things the yurt factories closed down. Shows 
many details of making, repairing and assembling modern yurts.

Chingis Khan and the Mongol Conquests, by Owen Lattimore, 
Scientific American article, August 1963, pp. 60, and 64. 
Basic illustration of period yurt included.

Commonsense Architecture, by John S., Taylor, pp. 23, 36, 116.  
Efficiency mentions.

Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute - The Story Of Lady Wen-Chi. 
This scroll was done in the 14th century and contains some
of the earliest accurate pictures. Metropolitan Museum of Art 
- New York, 1974. Color. Probably the best period illustrations.

Encyclopedia Americana, 1995, Vol. 19, pp.356-7, Mongolia.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Ed., 1994.
Vol. 15, Building Construction. pp.312-3.  Vol 24, Yurt, p. 879.

Everyday Life Through the Ages, M.W.Davison, M.A., Readers 
Digest Assn., 1992, p.170. Basic drawing of a ger.

Felt Tents and Pavillions, The Nomad Tradition and its 
Interaction with Princely Tentage; Peter Alford Andrews; 
Klner Ethnologische Mitteilungen; 2 volumes: 862 pages 
per volume, 257 black and white illustrations, 5 vignettes, 
20 maps, 17 drawings, 18 colour plates, hardback, Melisende. 
Published in association with the University of Cologne, 
ISBN 1901764052, 1999.

The First Horsemen, by Frank Tippet, Time-Life Books, N.Y., 
1974. EXCELLENT!! Pp.15-8, 25-8, 80-84,143-53.  
Contains 1899 photos by Samuel M. Dudin!

The Gobi Home Companion, by Beth Teck, self published, 
St. Louis, Mo., early 90’s? pp. 36-46.  Generally distributed 
within the Dark Hordes, Mongol recreation groups. Fairly good 
on construction details and illustrated (but left out the door). 
Still in current distribution. Appears to draw heavily on the 
book Tents, Architecture of the Nomads, by Torvald Faegre.

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind, Marshall Cavendish Ltd., 
London, 1978, pp. 1162-4.

The Land of the Camel, Tents and Temples of Inner Mongolia, 
by Schuyler Cammann, Ronald Press Co., N.Y., 1951, pp. 58, 
62-4, 70-1, 124-5, 157, 189.  Interesting narrative including 
the yurt’s relation to religion and an alternative felt 
manufacturing method.

Marco Polo, The Historic Adventure Based on the Television 
Spectacular,  Storybook adaptation by Elizabeth Levy, 
Random House, l982, ISBN 0-394-85329-6.  Wonderful for period 
recreated scenes. Shows interior of a great yurt, and 
exteriors of a camp. Photos from the movie series.

Mongol Community and Kinship Structure, by H.H.Vreeland, III, 
Human Relations Area Files, New Haven, CT, 1957, 2nd Ed., 
pp. 228-31, 45-52, 212-3, and 226-7. This is a great source 
for history and construction methods but no useful 
illustrations. 

Mongolian Architecture; by Tsultem, N., Publisher: 
Ulan-Bator: State Publishing House, Ulan-Bator, 1988,
State Publishing House. Blue cloth, tall folio, dj., 
150 color & 50 b&w photos, text in both English, 
Russian, Spanish & French languages, high quality paper,
printing & binding.  This book covers the historical 
survey of Mongolian Architecture, the Ger and the 
subsequent wooden architecture based on the Ger form, 
national buildings. Photographs of early burial complexes
dating back to the stone ages, stone sculptures, rock-
paintings, the ruins of settlements, fortresses, palaces,
fancy gers and ger-carts. Color photographs of the land,
landscape, colorful ger, fortress walls, palaces, temples,
monasterial complexes, sacred gates, architectural details 
of important traditional structures, gates, fancy portals, 
and a bell tower, Tibetan influenced Mongolian 
constructions, Tibetan temple styles, etc. 
Wonderful extremely fancy National Ger, unusual ones too.

The Mongols, by David Morgan, Basil Blackwell Ltd., 
1986, ISBN 0-631-13556. Contains many historical 
illustrations of the Mongols and their yurts.

The Mongols, S.R.Turnbull and A. McBride, Osprey Publishing, 
London, 1980, pp. 17, 20, 24, 38, and plates E and F. 
Fairly good for period. 

New Directions for Felt, an ancient craft, by Gunilla 
Paetau Sjoberg, Interweave Press, 1996, ISBN 1-883010-17-9. 
Originally published as Tova in 1994 by LTs forlag, Stockholm. 
Feltmaking Techniques in Other Cultures, pp. 23-36 is an 
exceptional chapter on making felt and yurt parts in 
Mongolia today. Also sewn carpets for the yurts. It 
definitely has the best illustrations of the felt making 
I’ve seen, also bending and drilling the khana sticks, 
various door illustrations, interior and exterior shots of 
the yurts.

New Society, # 31, Oct. 1974, Inside a Mongolian Tent, by 
Caroline Humphrey, pp. 273-5.  This is an article on the space 
relationships inside the Mongol yurt, a microcosm of the idea 
of the very ordered Mongol idea of the universe, and how it 
is changing with the advance of modern ideas into their culture.

Nomads, (A Channel 4 Book, BBC) by Peter Carmichael, Collins 
and Brown, 1991, ISBN 1-85585-061-3, The Horsemen of Mongolia, 
article by Steven Seidenberg, pp. 96-125. Many pictures of 
modern Mongolian life, including a particularly nice shot of a
the outside of a yurt makers shop showing a very fancy roof 
wheel, khana sections, and door frames from the side, also 
felt covered yurts, and inside shots of yurts, one a particulary 
large and fancy one, their inhabitants and furnishings.
   
Sacred Spaces, Issue 9, Spring 1995, Known World 
Architectural Guild Newsletter, article, The Mongolian Yurt, 
by Matthew Power, 11 Highland Ave. Cumberland, ME 04021.  
This is a Hoedad style yurt similar to the one in Shelter II.

Shelter, Shelter Publications, Bolinas, CA, 1973. In reprint now. 
Cover illustration, p. 16.  These guys did a great job on 
this book.  Limited on yurts but significant illustrations.

Shelter II, Shelter Publications Staff, Random House, 1978, 
pp. 30-3, pp. 158-9.  Again good. Contains regional variations 
of the yurt.  Also contains a modern American forestry yurt 
called a Hoedad yurt.

The Tent Book, by E.M.Hatton, Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston, 1979. 
EXCELLENT!! If you are interested in tent research this is a 
great book to have. Pp. 2, 15-7, 23-5. 101-10. 230-2.

Tents, Architecture of  the Nomads,  By Torvald Faegre, 
Anchor Books, 1979 ISBN 0-385-11656-x. A whole chapter on 
yurts and their construction from many different cultures. 
It has no photographs, but mostly drawings, very clear 
contruction details. EXCELLENT.

Time Frame A.D. 1300-1400, The Age of Calamity, Editors, 
Time-Life Books, Alexandria, VA, 1989, pp. 84-5. Brief 
historical notes.

Tipis and Yurts, by Blue Evening Star, Lark Books, 
Asheville, N.C. 1995. Has a few nice pictures of Mongolian yurts.  
I hate to be critical but I wouldn’t want a ger made by these plans.
The Tipis are good though.

World Book Encyclopedia, 1993, Vol. M., pp. 719-21, Mongols.

The World of the Scythians, by Renate Rolle, University of 
California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1989, Eng. 
Language Edition, pp 114-7.  Historical mentions, earliest 
picture, and quote by Herodotus.

--------------------------------------------------------------

National Geographic Articles - Available to almost everyone! 
This is a primary research source especially for the illustrations!
There are a few citations missing in this section.

January 1936, With the Nomads of Central Asia, by Edward Murray, 
pp. 1-57 and Plates. 

March 1962, Journey to Outer Mongolia, By William Thomas 
and Dean Conger, pp. 289-345. This is the primary 
illustraton source for yurt assembly photos, immitated by
others in their articles. If you want to see how its done, 
look this up! EXCELLENT!! It also has what are undoubtedly 
some of the most beautiful interior pictures of a yurt 
commonly available. (Surpassed by Mongolian Architecture.)

March 1980, Journey to China’s Far West. 

Beall, National Geographic, May 1993, Mongolian Nomads, p.128.

December 1996, Ghenghis Khan, By Mike Edwards, and 
James L. Stanfield, pp. 2-37, with inclosed foldout depicting 
Mongol life, travelling yurts, and a geographic map.

February 1997, The Great Khans,  By Mike Edwards, and 
James L. Stanfield, pp. 2-35, second part to the Dec. 1996 
article. Both are excellent articles, a mix of modern and 
medieval sources and pictures.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx
This is a work in progress, eventually there will be an article,
perhaps a small booklet.  The original was a term paper for 
architectural technology. Eventually this entire article will 
be expanded and rewritten. There are many more sources I have 
yet to work in, and it needs illustrations. This is about Mark III.

Master Magnus Malleus, OL © 2002 R.M. Howe
*No reposting my writings to newsgroups, especially rec.org.sca, or
the SCA-Universitas elist. I view this as violating copyright
restrictions. As long as it's to reenactor or SCA -closed- subscriber
based email lists or individuals I don't mind. It's meant to 
help people without aggravating me.* Inclusion, in the 
http://www.Florilegium.org/ as always is permitted.

Mira, you can file this on the Tents Website if you wish.
Stephen Wyley and Sandy Sempel may do the same.