Description
Book SynopsisAfter living with Mongolian herding families, Natasha Fijn has observed through firsthand experience both sides of the human-animal relationship. Examining their reciprocal social behavior and communication, she demonstrates how herd animals influence Mongolian herders' lives and how the animals themselves are active partners in the domestication process.
Trade Review'The author contextualises her ethnographic and auto-ethnographic research with reference to ethological studies as much as with anthropological and this approach is more than justified … this book is a significant contribution for those engaged in the study of East and Central Asian cultures, as well as those interested in pastoralists and human-animal relationships more generally.' Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
Table of ContentsPart I. Crossing Boundaries: Prologue; 1. Introduction; 2. A Mongolian etho-ethnography; Part II. The Social Herd: 3. Social spheres; 4. Names, symbols, colours and breeding; 5. Multi-species enculturation; 6. Tameness and control; Part III. Living with Herds: 7. In the land of the horse; 8. The cycle of life; 9. The domestic and the wild; 10. The sacred animal; Conclusion.
