04

Once upon time there was a poor man. He had a wonderful steed. The horse was a special one; it was faster than bird and could instantaneously cover great distances. But one day he found his horse dead near his ger. So his heartbroken, he began to make a fiddle from his horse's bones, tendons and hair. Then he fixed the horse's head to the handle and overcome with grief, lay his own head on it to unite himself spiritually to his dead friend. So he started to playing the Morin huur describing his beloved steed's steps, gallop, hurdle, trotting, and neighing. The most popular instruments is the "Morin khuur" -Morin Khuur ( horse headed fiddle ). The instrument’s char­acteristic sound is produced by sliding or stroking the bow against the two strings. Common techniques in­clude multiple stroking by the right hand and a variety of left-hand fingering. It is mainly played in solo fashion but sometimes accompanies dances, long songs (urtiin duu), mythical tales, ceremonies and everyday Thus goes the ancient legend of the illians about the origin of the morin huur.