ABSTRACT
Elderly Mongol people, especially grandmothers or aunts, often tell the children stories for amusement. Storytelling is a favorite form of amusement for the older people as well. The most common stories are those associated with nomadic life and adventure on the steppe. Many societies mark the transition from childhood to adulthood by rites of passage or some special ceremony. In Mongolia, however, there are no rites of passage, no clear-cut break between childhood and adulthood, no particular age marking arrival at maturity. In nomadic life, boys are introduced to the dominant activities of pastoralism, herding and hunting, at a fairly early age, which tends to push adult roles or functions to an earlier age than in many other societies. Since ancient times, the Chinese chronicles, in commenting on the life of the northern nomads, note with a condescending and prejudicial tone that the barbarians "honor the strong and despise the old".
