ovoo

300px|thumb|Ovoo in the Gobi Desert|Gobi desert, Dornogovi, Mongolia Ovoo, oboo, or obo (, , , , Traditional Mongol: , 'heap'; Chinese: 敖包 áobāo, lit. 'magnificent bundle' [i.e. 'shrine']) are cairns used as border markers or shrines in Mongolian folk religious practice and in the religion of other Mongolic peoples. While some ovoos simply consist of a mound of stones, most have branches and khadag stuck into them. In the absence of stones, ovoos can be made entirely of branches, or even soil or sand.

Ovoos are often found at the top of mountains and in high places like mountain passes. In modern times, some of them have developed into large and elaborate structures, becoming more like temples than simple altars. They serve mainly as sites for the worship of Heaven and lesser gods led by shamans and kins' elders, but also for Buddhist ceremonies. == Historical background == Buddhist ritual surrounding ovoo has been dated back as far as the 16th century, but some scholars believe that the origin of ovoo dates back to prehistory. Texts used by Mongolian lamas to set up and perform offerings to ovoos were written by the third Mergen Gegeen in the 19th century. While the view that ovoos were remnants of Mongolian shamanism within Buddhism was expounded by Buryat scholar Dorzhi Banzarov, ovoos have been found to have only been used as markers instead of sacred sites prior to the rise of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia.