The furniture in a ger is made to be not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing. Many a ger will contain furniture painted bright shades of orange, blue, pink and white and will usually stand out inside the ger. The space inside a ger is usually quite limited, and this lack of space limits the size of most of the furniture.Most visitors into a ger are surprised at how small the chairs and tables are. The chairs are very low to the ground and have no backs at all. The tables, in relation to the chairs are also very low to the ground. However this arrangement makes for a very comfortable and friendly sitting area around the table. The furniture is also built to maximize functionality. Most bed will lift up revealing a surprising amount of storage underneath. It is important to have this storage space because Mongolians generally like to keep their gers free of clutter.
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The oldest complete yurt yet discovered was found in a 13th century grave in the Khentei Mountains. The majority of Mongolian people are still living in yurts. Piano Carpini, an Italian missioner wrote 7 centuries ago that “The Mongols build giant tents; once a red tent accommodated 2000 people”.
The Mongolian yurt consists of two main parts: The yurt’s structure or “Mod” refers to all the wooden parts. The parts shape the form of the yurt. Covering the structure are the soft parts and covers which are made of felt and wool. In addition there are all manner or ropes and strings which tie up and fortify these parts. The resulting yurt is incredibly strong and can be stable in even the fiercest winds.
Yurt’s wooden structure (“Geriin mod”):
1. Khana (walls)
2. Khaalga (door)
3. Toono (roof ring)
4. Bagana (pillars)
5. Uni (roof poles)
6. Shal (floor)
It is important to select a good site that has good, dry soil. The surface of the ground must be even. Before the floor is laid the soil must be shoveled in order to loosen and even it out. Mongolians always put up their yurts with the door facing south. By doing this they can use the roof ring, along with the sun to effectively tell time.
Putting in the Floor (Shal)
Historically, yurts didn’t have floors and the nomads used to put up their yurts directly on the soil. One reason for this was that the herder families needed to bring there animals into their yurts during harsh weather so their animals were not harmed. The yurts were then sealed around the bottom edges with animal dung. Because of this, the inside of the yurt was warm even during cold season. Due to such peculiarities the yurt’s basement or “buuri” originated. Upon social development and changes in people’s lifestyle, the yurts started having floors. The floors are usually made of wood. The size of a floor is longer than side-walls of a yurt by 20-30 cm. The middle part of the floor on the side of the door is longer than the other parts of the floor by 30-50cm. This extra space is used to form stairs. After the floor is laid the door is placed facing south and the walls are connected to the door. During the warm season the floor is put some distance from the ground, which keeps the yurt cool, and for the cold weather the floor must be low to the ground. Often times in the summer Mongolians will build their yurt with no floor at all. Also, when it is warm, the side-walls are lifted up to allow a draft to flow through.
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