Ovoo

Ovoo, oboo, or obo (Mongolian: овоо, pronunciationⓘ , Buryat: обоо, Khakas: обаа, romanized: obâ, Traditional Mongol: ᠣᠪᠤᠭ᠎ᠠ,[1] "heap";[2] Chinese: 敖包 áobāo, lit.

They serve mainly as sites for the worship of Heaven and lesser gods led by shamans and kins' elders, but also for Buddhist ceremonies.

[4] Texts used by Mongolian lamas to set up and perform offerings to ovoos were written by the third Mergen Gegeen in the 19th century.

[citation needed] While the view that ovoos were remnants of Mongolian shamanism within Mongolian Buddhism was expounded by Buryat scholar Dorzhi Banzarov, ovoos have been found to only been used as markers instead of sacred sites prior to the rise of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia.

[8] When travelling, it is the custom to stop and circle an ovoo three times, moving clockwise, in order to have a safer journey.