随着蒙古草原上的白昼渐逝，一头母骆驼背对着刚出生的小骆驼。牧民们知道接下来该怎么做：唱首歌。
As daylight fades over Mongolia’s grasslands, a mother camel turns her back on her newborn calf. Herders know what to try next: a song.
联合国教科文组织对骆驼劝哺仪式的描述写道：将母骆驼拴在小骆驼身边，歌手开始吟唱单调的旋律，并配合手势和吟诵。目的是劝说母骆驼接受新生幼崽，或收养一头孤儿骆驼。歌手不会拘泥于单一曲调。如果母骆驼起初表现出攻击性，劝哺者会变换旋律，慢慢赢得它的接纳。仪式在黄昏或暮色中进行，要求懂骆驼习性，还要有唱歌和演奏马头琴或笛子的才艺。
UNESCO’s listing for the coaxing ritual for camels describes how the mother is tied close to the calf while a singer begins a monotone melody, adding gestures and chanting. The aim is to persuade a female camel to accept a newborn or take on an orphaned calf. The singer does not stick to a single tune. If the mother is aggressive at first, the coaxer shifts the melody and slowly wins her over. The ritual takes place at dusk or twilight and requires skill with camels, along with a talent for singing and playing the horsehead fiddle or flute.
2015年，联合国教科文组织将其列入《急需保护的非物质文化遗产名录》，归属于口头传统、表演艺术、社会实践、仪式节庆活动，以及关于自然和宇宙的知识与实践等类别。一门在家传承的技艺大多数牧民都会实施劝哺方法。如果家里附近没有歌手或乐师，可以请来专业的劝哺者。技艺由父母和长辈通过家庭教导传给年轻一代。该仪式也有助于游牧家庭建立并维系与更广泛社群的联系。
UNESCO placed it on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2015, under oral traditions, performing arts, social practices and rituals, and knowledge about nature and the universe.A skill learned at homeMost herders practice coaxing methods. When a family has no singer or musician nearby, a professional coaxer can be called in. The skills pass from parents and elders to young people through instruction at home. The ritual also helps nomadic families build and maintain ties with their wider community.
保护非物质文化遗产政府间委员会在其第10.COM 10.A.5号决定中解释了将该仪式列入名录的理由，该决定是在纳米比亚温得和克举行的会议上通过的。委员会认定，该提名符合急需保护名录的全部五项标准。该仪式以口头方式由长辈传给年轻人，体现了在严酷气候下牧区社群中人与动物的纽带。它还向年轻一代传授游牧文化和经济知识，赋予社群认同感和延续感。委员会肯定了蒙古为保护一项面临社会和生态系统急剧变化的文化传统所作的努力。
The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage explained its decision to inscribe the ritual in decision 10.COM 10.A.5, adopted at its session in Windhoek, Namibia. It found that the nomination met all five criteria for the urgent safeguarding list. Passed on orally from elders to young people, the ritual reflects the bond between people and animals in a pastoral community facing a harsh climate. It also teaches younger generations about nomadic culture and the economy while giving the community a sense of identity and continuity. The committee recognized Mongolia’s efforts to safeguard a tradition from a culture facing rapid changes to its social and ecological systems.
围绕这一仪式的时代已经变了。摩托车取代骆驼成为首选交通工具，而不断增长的向城市中心迁移潮，使得年轻牧民日益减少。随着新一代与游牧生活失去联系，传承这一传统的人数正在迅速减少。从业者老龄化、气候变化以及快速的经济转型也被列为威胁。
Why the songs are fadingTimes have changed around the ritual. Motorcycles are now preferred to camels for transportation, while growing migration to urban centers has left fewer young herders. As newer generations lose touch with pastoral life, the number of people who carry the tradition is shrinking rapidly. Aging practitioners, climate change, and rapid economic transformation are also listed as threats.
委员会的决定指出了进一步的压力，包括游牧生活方式的消解、薪酬更高的采矿业工作、儿童和年轻人因求学而远离家庭，以及仪式中使用的音乐家和乐器数量的下降。尽管面临这些挑战，社区仍作出努力以维系这一传统，蒙古已将其列入国家级急需保护的非物质文化遗产名录。
The committee’s decision identifies further pressures, including the erosion of the nomadic way of life, better-paying jobs in mining, children and young people staying away from their families for education, and a decline in the number of musicians and musical instruments used in the ceremony. Despite these challenges, the community has made efforts to sustain the tradition, which Mongolia included on its national list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
蒙古的保护计划以传承人主导的唤奶与音乐制作学徒制、学者团队的深入研究，以及地方和国家层面的宣传活动为核心。实践社区协助规划了这些措施，并将在实施和监测进展中发挥重要作用。政府部门将协调参与各方并管理资源。委员会还对蒙古改进首份于2011年提交的申报书给予赞扬，指出知名传承人发起了这一进程，且实践者和地方政府领导人给予了同意。
Mongolia’s safeguarding plan centers on apprenticeships in coaxing and music-making led by tradition bearers, an in-depth study by a team of scholars, and awareness activities at local and national levels. The practicing community helped plan these measures and will play a significant role in carrying them out and monitoring their progress. Government bodies will coordinate the participants and manage resources. The committee also commended Mongolia for improving a nomination first submitted in 2011, noting that renowned tradition bearers initiated the process and that practitioners and local government leaders provided their consent.UNESCO’s records show that Mongolia must periodically report on the condition of the coaxing ritual and the progress of its safeguarding measures.
联合国教科文组织的记录显示，蒙古必须定期报告唤奶仪式的状况及其保护措施的进展。报告分别于2019年12月15日和2023年12月15日提交，下一份报告最迟于2027年6月30日到期。这些更新使联合国教科文组织能够监测该传统的生存能力以及旨在保护它的措施的实施情况。
Reports were submitted on Dec. 15, 2019, and Dec. 15, 2023, with the next report due by June 30, 2027. These updates allow UNESCO to monitor the tradition’s viability and the implementation of measures intended to preserve it.
对于旁观者来说，这个仪式可能显得很简单：日落时分，一位歌手、一只情绪不安的母骆驼和它的小骆驼。然而，如果没有年轻一代去学习这些歌曲，蒙古国将面临失去其游牧文化遗产中某个要素的风险。
To an observer, the ceremony may appear straightforward: a singer, an agitated mother camel and her calf at sunset. However, without younger generations learning the songs, Mongolia risks losing an element of its nomadic cultural heritage.