The Fiddle Made from a Flying Horse
Mongolia's national instrument has a horse's head carved at the top. Legend says the first one was made from a winged horse, so its owner could hear it again.
What was reported
The morin khuur, 'horse fiddle', is a two-stringed instrument played with a bow, its strings and bow traditionally made of horsehair. Its sound is said to imitate a horse: neighing, galloping, the wind across the steppe.
In the best-known legend, a herdsman called Namjil the Cuckoo was given a winged horse that carried him each night to visit his beloved. A jealous woman had its wings cut, and it died. In his grief, Namjil made a fiddle from its bones and hair, carving its head at the top, and played it to remember his horse.
Explanations offered
The legend is one of several told about the instrument's origin. The morin khuur is central to Mongolian music, and its playing is on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- Witnesses
- Mongolian legend
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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