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An old leather bag hangs on the wall inside old Shagai’s gher reminding him about
his youth days, an uneasy job, places he went. A former postal courier, Shagai carried
this bag made of solid hide and weighing no less than five kilograms, almost whole his
life.
“The postal courier service operated round the clock. Were it a cold winter night
or hot summer day, rain or snowfall, we were ready to receive the post and make it to the
next station, as well as to provide food and fresh horses to other travelers,”
recalls he. “A smallest delay could result in fines, or even prison. Control was very
strict and each postal shipment had an accompanying paper where all passed stations put
their sign, date and time of passage,” says with smile Shagai Sandagiin, who lives
now in Songino locality of Zavkhan province.
The state postal service, or called “urtuunii alba” in Mongolian, was set up
way back in 1234 by the decree of Chinggis Khaan with the purpose of “all state
affairs learnt fast.” The postal service existed almost unchanged until the arrival
of telegraph and radio in 1949.
Every year all herders, except poor ones, have had to fulfill this duty for 45 days.
Usually three man were serving at each station staying there with their families and
herds. Postal men would put out a spare gher (felt covered, traditional nomadic dwelling)
for travelers and also were obliged to provide food. The state paid small money for the
use of horses.
The prompt and reliable service was highly appraised by contemporaries. Marco Polo, an
Italian trader who lived 17 years at the court of Kubilai Khaan in 13th century, called it
a “miracle” noting that it is possible to cross within a week the vast Mongolian
Empire stretching all the way from Adriatic to Yellow Sea. A French Franciscan monk Plano
Carpini who traveled from Golden Horde (presently Tatarstan Autonomous Republic in Russia)
to Khar Horin, the capital city of Mongols, wrote: “Each day we changed horses 5-6
times at postal stations covering about 300-375 kilometers distance.”
The network of postal station had two levels: state and local one. The state network
served on the main routes while local one served within provinces. Each route had a chain
of stations some 30 km from each other. That is why horse race distance nowadays is about
one urtuu or the length between two stations.
Altogether more than 100,000 horses were used to maintain the network. Urgent mail was
delivered by special couriers carrying gold or silver medallion with the sign of a falcon.
Such couriers would blow a horn when approaching next station and the postal men should
have a fresh horse ready by time he reaches it. Envelopes with urgent mail have had a seal
with a bird and horse footprints meaning “to ride at flying bird speed.” |
