MWW 14: Хадаг

Cyrillic	хадаг
Transcription	hadag
IPA	[χa.tǝk]
Layman’s Pronunciation	HAH-duck
Translation	silk scarf
In Genghis Khan’s time it was qadaγ.

A хадаг (hadag - often transliterated khadag) is a silk scarf that has ritual significance in Mongolia. Usually they’re the color of a summer’s sky - or the Word-of-the-Week table above. There are also golden-yellow ones (for religious offerings), white ones (for high honors), and red and green ones. They also sport Mongolian designs whose cultural significance I can’t begin to speculate on.

Hadag of different colors

Хадаг play a part in many ceremonies. During Tsagaan Sar, they’re usually presented to one’s elders. They also appear in welcoming ceremonies. When I first arrived at my training site and at my permanent site, I was given a хадаг (and a bowl of айраг). Once you get a хадаг, though, it’s yours; you can’t reuse one someone gave you as a gift to someone else. You can give it to nature though. Хадаг are frequently seen in large numbers tied to (sacred?) trees or to овоо. I’ve also seen drivers with хадаг spread across the top of the windshield, held up by the shades / mirror.

Close up of a hadag

Hadag can be tied to just about anything worthy of recognition - in this case, a  ram sculpture on a rock outcrop  overlooking the road near Tsetserleg, Arkhangai Province.