Description
Book SynopsisNomadic Pastoralism among the Mongol Herders: Multispecies and Spatial Ethnography in Mongolia and Transbaikalia is based on anthropological research carried out by the author between 2008 and 2016 and addresses the spatial features of nomadic pastoralism among the Mongol herders of Mongolia and Southern Siberia from a cross-comparative perspective. In addition to classical methods of survey, Charlotte Marchina innovatively used GPS recordings to analyze the ways in which pastoralists envision and concretely occupy the landscape, which they share with their animals and invisible entities. The data, represented in abundant and original cartography, provides a better understanding of the mutual adaptations of both herders and animals in the common use of unfenced pastures, not only between different herders but between different species. The author also highlights the herders' adaptive strategies at a time of rapid sociopolitical and environmental changes in this area of the world.
Trade Review"[...] this book provides important insights into current pastoral practices on the Mongolian Steppe. It illuminates the relationship between herders, their livestock and the environment which provides for their pastoral way of life. [...]
Nomadic Pastoralism among the Mongol Herders: Multispecies and Spatial Ethnography in Mongolia and Transbaikalia will be of tremendous value to anyone interested in nomads of the Mongolian Steppe."
- Daniel J. Miller,
Nomadic Peoples, Vol. 26, No. 2 (2022)
Table of ContentsACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND TRANSLATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Nomadizing among the Mongols
On both sides of the Mongolian-Russian border
In the field
The human-animal-environment triad
CHAPTER 1. NOMAD'S LAND, NO MAN'S LAND?
Nomadizing in Mongolia: adaptations and flexibilities
- Nomadizing in Arkhangai Province
- Unity and diversity in types of Mongolian nomadization
- Flexible routes
- From nomadization to migration
Nomadization in Aga: towards sedentarization
- Nomadization practices in the territory of Zugalai
- Twenty years after. Land privatization
- From privatization to sedentarization: a commonplace?
CHAPTER 2. TO HOLD AND BELONG TO ONE'S LAND
The attractive forces of the nutag
- On the run: animals in search of their nutag
- Walk the line: activating centripetal forces
- Go your own way: roads and paths of the steppe
Maintaining relations with the invisible entities of the nutag
- The
ovoo: cornerstone of the relationship with the nutag
- Consecrated animals
CHAPTER 3. SPACES OF SPECIES
The pastures
- Species and herds
- Everyone at home, and the sheep will be well kept
- Sharing pastures
- Pasture rotation
- The autonomy of animals on the pastures
Watching the herds
- Autonomy under surveillance
- Autonomy and indirect supervision
- In search of the herds
- Watching with the neighbours
- Preventing the mix of small livestock
- Monitoring against theft
The encampment and its spaces
- Human habitation, occasionally also for animals
- Livestock in close proximity to humans: other animals on the encampment
- Mobility of encampment structures
- Types of enclosure and their uses
- The limits of the encampment
CHAPTER 4. ANIMALS AND TERRITORIES
Between attachment and detachment: canine interlude
Livestock breeds
- Mongolian breeds
- Breeds in Aga
Hybridizations
"Hay-ewe, out there in the cold..." Local preferences
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Index
