Mongol Nuudel Tradition, Changes, and Memory

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Published: Sep 1, 2020
Keywords:
nomadism pastoralism seasonal travel caravan and human-animal relations

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S. Dulam
A professor of Mongolian folk art and dance at the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture

Abstract

Based on the memory and experience of some local elderly herders and a case of some current seasonal nüüdels (travels) in the west of Mongolia, this article provides a comparative illustration on how practices of nüüdel from one pasture to another differ from those conducted in socialist times. Using the reconstruction of a ‘traditional’ nüüdel and following some existing literature on nomadism and pastoralism, this article intends to show that nomads are not barbarian wanderers who constantly move around in the ‘free’ and/or ‘unoccupied’ landscape. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, it provides a detailed illustration of indigenous experience and knowledge on the pasture, landscape, climate and the environment; techniques to pack, unpack and to safely lead a caravan; love and care for herd animals; division of labor in the household and interaction and collaboration of local people; and customs and treatments to the local spirit masters.

Article Details

How to Cite
S. Dulam. (2020). Mongol Nuudel: Tradition, Changes, and Memory. Acta Mongolica, 19(539), 137–157. Retrieved from https://journal.num.edu.mn/actamongolica/article/view/5667
Issue
Vol. 19 No. 539 (2020): Acta Mongolica
Section
Articles
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Author Biography

S. Dulam, A professor of Mongolian folk art and dance at the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture

Before his retirement, he was a professor and chair at the Department of Literature at the National University of Mongolia for 43 years. Having graduated the National University of Mongolia in Mongolian language and literature in 1973, he completed his PhD on Mongolian mythology and the origins of Mongolian literature at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow in 1982. In 1997, he completed his Doctor of Sciences degree at the Institute of Social Sciences in Buryatia, Russia, with a study on the symbolic system in the Mongolian folklore and literature. Throughout his career, he was a visiting professor and invited speaker at the University of Cambridge (1993), Paris Nanterre University (1991, 1994), University of Strasbourg (1997, 2005), University of Bonn (1993, 1997, 2013, 2016), Minzu University of China (2008, 2009), University of Tours (2012), and University of Rome (2010, 2012). In 2005, he received a state honor that commemorates “successful achievements” (gavyatzütgelten) in the field of science, and in 2017, one of the highest state honors called “People’s Educator” (Ardyn bagsh) was rewarded to him.

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