Urad Mongolian Wedding Long Songs as a Cultural Resource for Lifelong Learning: Musicological and Educational Perspectives

Abstract

Purpose: Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is increasingly recognised as a resource for lifelong learning, offering structured opportunities for experiential, intergenerational, and identity-affirming education (UNESCO, 2003; Pillai & Achilles, 2015). This study investigates the musicological and ritual characteristics of the Urad Mongolian wedding long song (Urtyn Duu) tradition and examines its potential as an andragogical resource for lifelong learning.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The study employs a qualitative ethnomusicological design combining ethnographic fieldwork in the Urad Banners of Inner Mongolia, historical-textual analysis of the eighteenth-century Buman Zarliq of Mergen Gegeen Luvsandambiijaltsan, comparative musicology against the Central Khalkha standard, and structural analysis of the “Three-Three” (nine-fold) performance cycle. Findings are interpreted through Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning cycle and Knowles’s (2015) andragogical principles.

Findings: The Urad repertoire is structured around a non-repetitive nine-song liturgical cycle, grouped into three ceremonial movements, functioning as a sequenced experiential curriculum delivered across the wedding rite. Musicologically, the Urad style diverges from the melismatic Khalkha standard through a restrained register, limited shurankhai ornamentation, and a distinctive “connected” (khelkhee) melodic-linking technique. The didactic “81 Stanzas” attributed to Mergen Gegeen embed ecological ethics, ancestral reverence, and moral instruction directly within performance, constituting community-based intergenerational education operating in parallel with formal schooling.

Practical Implications: Reframing the Urad wedding cycle as a lifelong-learning resource supports its integration into community-based adult education, heritage-bearer mentorship, and formal curricula, consistent with UNESCO guidance on ICH and education for sustainable development (Pillai & Achilles, 2015). The study proposes strategies for digital archiving, curricular integration, and policy recognition.

Originality/Value: This study is among the first to analyse the Urad wedding long song through the lens of lifelong-learning theory, bridging ethnomusicological documentation with andragogical and experiential-learning frameworks, and contributing a transferable model for understanding ritual heritage as structured, community-embedded learning.