Nomadic Pastoralism among the Mongol Herders

Nomadic Pastoralism among the Mongol Herders

Multispecies and Spatial Ethnography in Mongolia and Transbaikalia

  • Autor: Marchina, Charlotte; Billé, ZONES SENSIBLES; Billé, Franck; Humphrey, Caroline
  • Editor: Amsterdam University Press
  • Col·lecció: North East Asian Studies
  • eISBN Pdf: 9789048550111
  • Lloc de publicació:  Amsterdam , Netherlands
  • Any de publicació digital: 2021
  • Mes: Juliol
  • Pàgines: 178
  • Idioma: Anglés
This book, based on anthropological research carried out by the author between 2008 and 2016, 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 analyse 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 also between different species. The author also highlights the herders' adaptive strategies at a time of rapid socio-political and environmental changes in these areas of the world.
  • Cover
  • Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note on transliteration and translations
  • Transliteration table
  • Introduction
    • Nomadizing among the Mongols
    • On both sides of the Mongolian-Russian border
    • In the field
    • The human-animal-environment triad
  • 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?
  • 2. To hold on 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • List of figures and pictures
    • Figures
      • Figure 1 Location map of the fieldwork sites
      • Figure 2 Nomadization route of four families in the Bayantsagaan Valley (Marchina 2013: 47)
      • Figure 3 Comparative table of livestock and nomadization practices of the four herders in 2011
      • Figure 4 Overview of the nomadization routes of herders in the Bayantsagaan Valley
      • Figure 5 Kinship diagram of Ganzorig’s family; in black, people living on the encampment
      • Figure 6 Location and characteristics of the six models of Mongolian nomadism distinguished by Simukov (2007: 601-602)
      • Figure 7 Nomadization routes of Uranchimeg’s family in normal or snowy winters
      • Figure 8 Route of the 650 km migration carried out by Batbayar and his family in 2001
      • Figure 9 Kinship diagram of Batbayar’s and Erdenetsetseg’s families
      • Figure 10 Location of the Zugalai village and the main breeding stations (stoyanka) located on its territory (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai)
      • Figure 11 Bair’s nomadic route (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012)
      • Figure 12 Location of sheep-oriented farms near fields cultivated by the cooperative
      • Figure 13 Distortion between the areas grazed by Bair’s herds over a year and his future private land, as provided for by the formalities (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012)
      • Figure 14 Movements of Bair’s sheep and cows from 15 to 20 June 2012 (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai)
      • Figure 15 Map drawn by Sogto of the stations in Zugalai territory
      • Figure 16 Drawing of their nutag by Batbayar and Erdenetsetseg
      • Figure 17 Tracks of a milked sheep and mare from Batbayar over five days in July 2013 (Mongolia, Arkhangai Province, Ölziit District)
      • Figure 18 Tracks of a sheep and camel from Batbayar over five days in November 2012 (Mongolia, Arkhangai Province, Ölziit District); except on the encampment, the trajectories never overlap
      • Figure 19 Approximate delimitation of areas grazed by the sheep of Bair, Solbon and their mutual neighbours in spring (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012); cattle are not affected by these delimitations
      • Figure 20 Tracks of Bair’s guarded sheep on two consecutive days in June 2012 (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai)
      • Figure 21 Tracks of Batbayar’s herded sheep on four consecutive days in November 2012 (Mongolia, Arkhangai Province, Ölziit District); one can observe the alternation of two routes, every other day
      • Figure 22 Tracks of Batbayar’s unwatched camels on four consecutive days in November 2012 (Mongolia, Arkhangai Province, Ölziit District)
      • Figure 23 Bair’s horses’ grazing areas (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai)
      • Figure 24 Tracks of Bair and his neighbour’s sheep which, although only moderately watched, do not cross the grazing boundaries, marked by a road and a cultivated field (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012)
      • Figure 25 Movements of Bair’s sheep under two differentiated surveillance modes (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012)
      • Figure 26 Motorbike journey made by Batbayar in search of his camels
      • Figure 27 Batbayar and Erdenetsetseg’s winter camp (Mongolia, Arkhangai Province, Ölziit District, 2013)
      • Figure 28 Batbayar and Erdenetsetseg’s summer camp (Mongolia, Arkhangai Province, Ölziit District, 2013)
      • Figure 29 Summer encampment of Ganzorig and Mönkhchimeg (Mongolia, Arkhangai Province, Ikhtamir District, 2013)
      • Figure 30 Permanent station of Sogto and Dulma (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012)
      • Figure 31 Permanent station of Solbon and Dasha (Russia, Aga
      • Figure 32 Bair and Sesegma’s winter station (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012)
      • Figure 33 Bair and Sesegma’s summer station (Russia, Aga District, Zugalai, 2012)
      • Figure 34 Diagram of cattle hybridizations
    • Pictures
      • Picture 1 Russia, Aga District
      • Picture 2 Mongolia, Arkhangai Province
      • Picture 3 Russia, Aga District
      • Picture 4 Mongolia, Arkhangai Province
      • Picture 5 Russia, Aga District
      • Picture 6 Mongolia, Arkhangai Province
      • Picture 7 Russia, Aga District
      • Picture 8 Mongolia, Arkhangai Province
      • Picture 9 Mongolia, Dornogov’ Province
      • Picture 10 Mongolia, Bulgan Province
      • Picture 11 Mongolia, Arkhangai Province
      • Picture 12 Mongolia, Arkhangai Province
      • Picture 13 Russia, Aga District
      • Picture 14 Russia, Aga District