Staged Nomadism: Heritagisation and Commodification of Intangible Culture in Mongolia

Abstract

This research paper explores the processes of heritagisation and the politicisation of “nomadic culture”

in contemporary Mongolia based on our anthropological fieldwork conducted between 2022 and 2025. We ana-

lysed how intangible cultural practices are constructed, institutionalised, and performed, tracing the transition

from oyuny/utga soyol (intellectual culture) to the internationally recognised category of soylyn biyet bus öv

(intangible cultural heritage) as legitimised by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural

Organisation). Everyday practices such as epic singing, folk dance (Mongol biyelgee), shamanic ritual, and pas-

toral knowledge are reframed through international institutions, festivals, and state certification schemes. From

the critical perspective of heritagisation, we approach heritage not as a fixed set of tangible and intangible enti-

ties but as a complex process through which practices and narratives are continually reinterpreted in changing

political contexts.