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The riddles used in this article were drawn from the collections ?????? ??????? ????? ?????? [Enigmas and Puzzles of the People of Mongolia], by G. Lovor and Ts. Ölziihitag; and ????? ??????? [10,000 Riddles] by Ts. Ölziihutag. In the earlier collection, there is a section comprising 100 riddles about fire and other phenomena connected with fire (matches, smoke, ashes, the hearth, the cauldron or pot, sparks, and so on). This section follows a general progression of classifying the riddles from the most expansive conception of the cosmos (the Universe, celestial bodies), to the sun and moon, to the stars and constellations, to the year and the seasons, night and day, various meteorological phenomena, shadows, snow and ice, wind and storms, then progressing to the organic world, the human sphere, the human body, tools and implements used by men, and so on. This ordering of riddles also reflects a certain perception of the cosmos, in which the universe is seen as all-embracing, and a vast container, a cosmological perspective reflected in many riddles overall. In the second collection, in two volumes, there are approximately 175 riddles grouped under the heading of Fire and Flames (??? ?????? ????), falling under the further classification of House and Residence (??? ????) (not including riddles about candles, lights, and matches). As is true of Mongolian oral folklore in general, these riddles are characterized by an intensely visual character. In addition they explore (almost, one could say, document) the organic process of fire from its very origins to its drifting away upward as a fading trail of smoke. Through this intense visual symbolism, various aspects of the nomads’ lives are projected onto and thus symbolized in the fire, as we shall explore in detail in this article.
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