The Hu — not of course, to be confused with iconic English rock band The Who — is a a Mongolian folk metal band. “Hu” is the Monglian word for “person” and, based on what I’m hearing, is pronounced differently than “who.”
The Hu first came to the awareness of the general public by contributing to the soundtrack of the Star Wars video game Fallen Order, recording the song that eventually became Black Thunder, singing it in Star Wars-ese, having it featured in the game as an in-universe song, then releasing it as a single from their second album.
Now, Genghis Khan is probably history’s most famous Mongol. To the point that he’s probably the only Mongol most English speakers can even name. Unsurprisingly, the Hu has several songs in praise of Genghis Khan.
However, the song I want to focus on today is, instead, about Galdan Boshigt Khan, one of the last major Western Mongol leaders before the Qing Dynasty‘s conquest.
That song is Black Thunder. I haven’t found a source more reliable than an off-hand mention on Wikipedia and Tv Tropes, but the song is apparently based on a historical poem either about or by Galdan Boshigt Khan.
The two most common phrases in the song are probably “haar ayanga” — ‘black thunder’, i.e. the name of the song — and “Tengri”, which translates to ‘Heaven’, is the name of the Mongol Sky-God.
I’m not entirely clear on the exact significance of black thunder, but given that the central Mongol god is the Sky, there’s clearly a connection there.
Fundamentally, it’s a song in praise of Galdan Boshigt Khan and his deeds:
Immortalised in the soul of fearless warriors
Sealing the name of the Mongols in the highest of high Heaven.
The Hu’s Youtube channel has posted the song here:
There’s also a two-part music video presumably depicting Galdan Boshigt’s war against the Qing that has English subtitles translating the lyrics. Though, quick word of warning, it’s pretty violent, so proceed with caution.
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