Description
Book SynopsisMusic cultures today in rural and urban Mongolia and Inner Mongolia emerge from centuries-old pastoralist practices that were reshaped by political movements in the twentieth century. Mongolian Sound Worlds investigates the unique sonic elements, fluid genres, social and spatial performativity, and sounding objects behind new forms of Mongolian music--forms that reflect the nation's past while looking towards its globalized future. Drawing on fieldwork in locations across the Inner Asian region, the contributors report on Mongolia's genres and musical landscapes; instruments like the morin khuur, tovshuur, and Kazakh dombyra; combined fusion band culture; and urban popular music. Their broad range of concerns include nomadic herders' music and instrument building, ethnic boundaries, heritage-making, ideological influences, nationalism, and global circulation. A merger of expert scholarship and eyewitness experience, Mongolian Sound Worlds illuminates a diverse and ever-changing musical
Trade Review"The authors and editors whose contributions are part of
Mongolian Sound Worlds have produced an admirable work that balances depth and breadth, rigor and accessibility, fascinating detail and wider thematic arcs, while also greatly enhancing the representation of Central Asian music and culture within ethnomusicological literature." --
Journal of Folklore Research ReviewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Transliteration, Naming, and Place Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Companion Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii
Introduction: Mongolian Sound Worlds: Opening Snapshots
SUNMIN YOON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
PART ONE: LANDSCAPES AND SOUNDSCAPES
Interlude: Song about the Steppe
K. OKTYABR AND JENNIFER C. POST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
1. Sound, Music, Pastoralism, and Nature in Mongolian Sound Worlds
JENNIFER C. POST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
PART TWO: ETHNICITY AND DIVERSITY
Interlude: Musical Journeys in Inner Mongolia and Beyond
TAMIR HARGANA AND CHARLOTTE D’EVELYN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
2. Music and Ethnic Identity in Inner Mongolia
CHARLOTTE D’EVELYN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3. The Politics of Regional and Ethnic Identities in Contemporary Mongolian Urtyn Duu
SUNMIN YOON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4. Gendered Musicality in the Altai Mountains
REBEKAH PLUECKHAHN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
PART THREE: MATERIAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY
Interlude: Consistency, Patience, and Perseverance: Maintaining the Fiddle-Making Tradition
BAYARSAIKHAN BADAMSÜREN AND PETER K. MARSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
5. The Horsehead Fiddle: A Biographical History
PETER K. MARSH AND CHARLOTTE D’EVELYN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
6. The Tovshuur and Oirad Identity in Mongolia’s Western Provinces
OTGONBAYAR CHULUUNBAATAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
7. Social Lives of the Dombyra and Its Makers in Western Mongolia
JENNIFER C. POST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
PART FOUR: HERITAGE AND GLOBALIZATION
Interlude: Everything Has Two Sides: An Interview
ANDREW COLWELL AND D. TSERENDAVAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197
8. Chandman’ and Beyond: Heritage-making of Mongolian Khöömii in Past and Present
JOHANNI CURTET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
9. Mongolian Music, Globalization, and Nomadism
ANDREW COLWELL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
10. “We Were Born with Global Ambition”: Continuity, Innovation, and a New Chapter in the Development of Mongolian Popular Music
PETER K. MARSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .281
