Gelenkhüü (, c. 1877–1938), full name Khainzangiin Gelenkhüü (''Хайнзангийн Гэлэнхүү''), also known as Gelenkhüü Shükherch (''Гэлэнхүү Шүхэрч'' -

Parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

-Gelenkhüü), is a semi-legendary figure from Northern

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. There are numerous tales about him, but the deed he is most remembered for is his attempt to fly by using self-made wings.

Early life

Gelenkhüü was born around 1877 in the Sain Noyon Khan Aimag's Dalai Choinkhor Khoshuu, in what belongs today to Jargalant sum in Khövsgöl aimag. He is said to have been a lively and bright kid. Spending some years as a novice in a local monastery, he seems to have developed technical and creative attempts early on. After having been expelled from the monastery for rejecting certain religious teachings, he became a herder.

The quest for a male heir

Although being married and father to six daughters, Gelenkhüü's desire for a son eventually grew so strong that he left his home for two years and travelled to the

Darkhad The Darkhad ( ) are a subgroup of the Mongols living mainly in northern Mongolia; particularly in the Bayanzürkh, Ulaan-Uul, Renchinlkhümbe, Tsagaannuur Districts of Khövsgöl Province. They speak a regional variant of Mongolian known as ...

areas in northwestern Khövsgöl in order to consult the

shamans Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of th ...

living there. When he returned, he brought a female shaman as second wife. She got pregnant, but only to give birth to yet another daughter. Being an outcast in a community both fearful and suspicious of shamanism, she left Gelenkhüü soon afterwards and returned home. Gelenkhüü, afraid of her possible revenge and evil spirits, erected a suvarga close to his home, using a white-spotted black

yak The yak (''Bos grunniens''), also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, hairy cattle, or domestic yak, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region, the Tibetan Plateau, Tajikistan, the Pamir Mountains ...

to collect the building material and burning incense sticks and butter lights upon its completion. The northward-facing suvarga still can be found some 20 km north-east of Jargalant's sum center. In the late 1920s, Gelenkhüü finally adopted a son from a local woman. As of 2000, the son lived in

Mörön Mörön (; ) is the administrative center of Khövsgöl, Mongolia. Before 1933, Khatgal had been the aimag capital. It has 12,286 families and a population of 46,918, and is considered a major city such as Ulaanbaatar, Darhan, Erdenet and ...

The flight attempt

During the lama uprising of 1932, Gelenkhüü saw airplanes for the first time. He became so fascinated that he began to secretly make a pair of wings from

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

skin and

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

wings. He chose a 170m high cliff as the site for his first flight attempt. Fortunately he had been prudent enough to drive his sheep to the foot of the cliff before jumping into the abyss and got away unharmed. Gelenkhüü died in 1938. A statue in his honour has been erected in front of

's airport building. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelenkhuu 20th-century Mongolian people People from Khövsgöl Province 1870s births 1938 deaths