Since time immemorial, mongolians have been moving from one place to another with their herds to adjust to seasonal change.
Customs of relocation to another place of Dariganga people, one of the ethnic subgroups of Mongolia, are slightly different than that of other minority groups in Mongolia by their some unique practices. Before moving, they first check the place to settle down and lay the foundation on an area to build their home Ger. Then they decide on what day to move. The day before moving, they clean the surrounding area where they lived. The same day, all belongings are supposed to be loaded on the carts, getting ready for moving. The next morning, they make a gratitude offer to nature, earth and heaven, which is an act of blessing the nature for providing blissful stay for them. A mixture of some milk, yoghurt and clarified butter traditionally named as “best of three whites” is offered to the 10 geographical directions, resembling four intermediate points, four directions and to the sky and the ground.

Once they depart, few people leave to clean the ground of their old settlement and then catch up the others ahead. To draw carts that are loaded with freight, there is a tradition of harnessing castrated camels and oxen in the front side of the cart as they have a long-time experience of riding and pulling carts. More newly-trained draft animals are harnessed in the middle of the row, while pregnant cattle are attached in the last cart. When the caravan of nomads and their drafted animals start moving, it is a tradition to embark on their journey in the direction of khiimori (literal meaning: wind hors, which represents a person’s soul) of the head of the household (the father or the husband) and arrive at their destination from the direction of his prosperity.

On their way, they usually have rest three times. The first break allows them to check the safety of their loads. At the second break, they tighten the loads up and for the third time, they have a meal break, which is a traditional Mongolian custom of the moving people encounter with a another group of people and mutually serve tea and food. Generally, the nomads who are moving to another place do not make multiple stops, only to have a break for above mentioned reasons.

After reaching the destination, they round the area to settle in clockwise direction and unload the structures of their dwelling Ger. In the meantime, the wife prepares tea and practices a custom of offering the best to heaven. That usually coincides with a period of livestock arrival from grazing land back to the herder’s campsite. The moving herders’ livestock animals would have already left their previous home before the movement begins in the early morning before sunrise or prior to the aforementioned gratitude offer. After the family assembled the Ger, they make an offer to entrust their fate to the nature and heaven. It means as praying for safe life without any loss and illness during their stay in the new place. Afterwards, they have meals.

There is also another tradition that when a person runs into a moving nomads, it is customary to stop to greet them. And only the head of the moving nomads will decide whether to stop or not. If he decides not to stop for the person, a person from the moving nomads will have to leave stay to greet that person, who must wait for the moving people to not to pass by and welcome them. Because, it is said people who let the caravans of moving nomads pass them never succeed in further work and life.

Relocations of the nomadic people may vary due to seasonal conditions. However, the Dariganga people generally adhere to this traditional customs.