Nomadism

Directions: Read and print this article. Look up any words you don't know and come prepared to discuss the article and its vocabulary on Friday.

Nomadism

For the past two millennia, nomadic herders have grazed their animals in the steppe and Gobi regions of Central Asia. Today Mongolia remains the focus of a vibrant nomadic culture, whose traditional technologies, spiritual worldview and folk arts offer a significant contribution to the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

The Central Asian steppe and deserts have been continuously occupied by nomadic peoples for over two thousand years. A great number of Chinese sources make mention of the Hunnu (Xiong-nu), who established an empire extending throughout most of Central Asia that endured from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD. Believed to be the ancestors of the Mongols, the Hunnu are described as being a nomadic people who moved about in search of pasturage and did not practise agriculture. The Jujan people are described in almost identical terms; it is recorded that they moved nomadically following pasturage and water, and that they lived in felt yurts. The later Turks, Uighurs and Khitan are also known to have been nomadic pastoralists-although unfortunately, there is almost no documentary evidence demonstrating the specific husbandry techniques of these early peoples.

One of the most significant monuments attesting to the historical importance of these nomads is the Great Wall of China, erected and maintained principally as a defense against these peoples by the sedentary Chinese. In approximately 214 BC the Chinese Ch'in emperor ordered the construction of a "10-thousand li wall" to protect his state against the nomadic Hunnu, linking together several existing wall segments in the north of China; this wall was later reinforced to provide better protection against the Hunnu during the succeeding Han dynasty. Under the Toba (Northern Wei) state the Great Wall was further repaired and extended as a defense against the Jujan, while in the late 6th and early 7th centuries, the Great Wall was repaired on several occasions so as to improve protection against the Turks. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) the wall was rebuilt and maintained as a defense against the Mongols.

Traditional nomadic animal husbandry in Mongolia involves the herding of five types of animals, known as the tavan khoshuu mal ("five-snout livestock") - cattle (including yaks), sheep, goats, camels, and horses. The products obtained from these animals satisfy nearly all of the Mongolian family's basic needs: beef, mutton, and goat meat, supplemented by a wide variety of dairy products, constitute the Mongolian diet; sheep wool, processed into felt, is used to make clothing, bedding, and insulation for the ger (yurt); horses, camels, and yaks provide transportation; and animal hair and bones are even used to produce musical instruments and children's toys.

Nomadic movements of Mongol herders are not conducted randomly, but according to precisely-defincd traditions. Mongolian nomadic families move their animals into a different general area of pasturage for each of the four seasons, referrred to as uvuljuu (winter pasturage), khavarjaa (spring pasturage), zuslan (summer pasturage), and namarjaa (autunm pasturage). During winter and spring the herds are generally kept in a fixed location to conserve their strength, but in summer and autumn the family will move the herds several times within the larger area of pasturage, so as to give the animals more of a chance to fatten by grazing on fresh vegetation. In the wamer months the herding family leaves behind many of its possessions, travelling in a smaller and lighter yurt with minimal furniture. In forested-steppe regions, where precipitation is more abundant, families move between six and eight times a year, over an average distance of 15-20 kilometres; in mountainous and dry steppe regions families move farther and more frequently, travelling as far as 150 kilometres at a single time. Nomadic patterns in the Gobi are more directly influenced by weather and the location of springs; drought or extreme snowfall can force families to move great distances in search of adequate water and pasturage.

For the winter pasturage a sheltered area is chosen, and animals are kept in a roofed enclosure with an insulating bed of dried animal dung. In the spring, as the animals are at their weakest, the family moves to a pasturage which both has early vegetation and is free of rocky, boggy, or slippery areas that might tax the animals' strength. The herding family moves most frequently in the summer months, bringing the herds to open areas with abundant vegetation. In autumn, as the animals must fatten in preparation for the winter, the animals are taken to a quiet location - far from roads or settlements - where they can graze in peace.

Moving from one pasturage to the next is considered an important and ceremonial event. Before moving, the head of the family dresses in his finest clothing and rides out on his best horse to examine the new pasturage. Once he has chosen a suitable location he places three stones on the ground, symbolically in the form of a hearth, to mark the future site of each of the family's yurts. The family then chooses an auspicious day for moving and begins to pack the household objects in advance of the move. The move itself is subdued, as it is considered extremely unlucky for any argument or commotion to occur during the displacement or its preparations. On the moving day the family's gers are dismantled and all possessions put into oxcarts or a truck, with the most valuable items - the hearth and roof frame, chest, religious icons, head of the household's personal objects - being placed in the head cart. Families along the route followed by the movers invite the passeresby in for tea; and upon setting up their home in its new location, the family invite their new neighbours to visit.

http://www.culture.mn/mongolia.php?recordID=nomadism