Lyrics by Malaqinfu (玛拉沁夫) and Hai Mo (海默), composed by Tong Fu (通福), and originally sung by Wang Shuli (王树理) and Wu Xiuyun (吴秀云), for the 1953 film 草原上的人们 (People On The Prairie).
Embedded above are the original performance/clip from the film, plus a 2016 cover by Buren Bayaer (布仁巴雅尔) and Wurina (乌日娜), which includes a Mongolian version of the same lyrics. Buren Bayaer, who has since passed away, and Wurina were married and co-directors of the Hulunbeier Children's Choir.
Embedded below, after the lyrics, is a cover by Jamyang Dolma (འཇམ་དབྱངས་སྒྲོལ་མ), as well as some contextual notes on ovoos.
十五的月亮升上了天空哟
为什么旁边没有云彩
我等待着美丽的姑娘呀
你为什么还不到来哟嗬
如果没有天上的雨水呀
海棠花儿不会自己开
只要哥哥你耐心地等待哟
你心上的人儿就会跑过来哟嗬
The fifteenth moon climbs into the sky, oh
Why are there no clouds beside me?
I'm awaiting a beautiful girl, oh
Why have you not yet come to me?
If there is no rainwater from the skies, oh
The crabapple flowers won't bloom on their own
As long as ge-ge, you wait patiently, oh
The person in your heart will come running to you
t/n:
Ge-ge 哥哥 literally means older brother but is also used as a term of endearment for a boyfriend.
"Aobao" (Mandarin reading of 敖包) is a phonetic translation of the Mongolian ᠥᠪᠥᠭᠭᠠ—also written as ovoo, obo, ebo—referring to a Mongolian ritual altar, made of heaped stones. This originated from Shamanist tradition and has been absorbed into the Gelug or "yellow sect" of Tibetan Buddhism.
The Mongolian steppe is a flatland, with vast stretches having no easy natural landmarks like hills/rivers/woods. The initial purpose of ovoos was to prevent herders from getting lost on their way home. Later, they were used as road markers or boundary markers. Finally, they evolved into a gathering place for local rituals, prayer/worship, and important folk events. There are ovoos dedicated to heavenly gods, gods of nature, village gods, and ancestral gods.
There are four divisions of ovoo sacrifice: blood, referring to the sacrifice of livestock; wine, referring to the scattering of milk/cream/milk wine/white wine over the alter; fire, in which offerings are burned; and jade offerings, which was only used by princes/nobility and no longer practiced. Prayers would be offered in hopes for wind, rain, happiness, and peace.
