31 March 2009

Brief overview about urbanization in Mongolia


By Erdenetuya Urtnast

For centuries or until the early 20th century the Mongols had farmed mobile animal husbandry and used livestock products rather than natural sources, such as using of cow dung as fuel. The territory has sparsely been populated because of low carrying capacity of Inner Asian ecosystem.
Thus it can be said that the urbanization process in Mongolia started only after 1921’s people’s revolution and in actual fact, around 50s and 60s of 20th century it began to take shape as a city because of collectivism, industrialization and “great socialist upbuilding” (socialismiin aguu ikh buteen bosgolt).

At the same time, thanks to cultural campaign (soyolyn dovtolgoo) or cultural raid the nomads started to become citizens of “modern city” by their behavior, hygiene and living style.
It doesn’t mean that I want neglect its’ previous history. The city was founded in 1639 somewhere around Shireet tsagaan nuur of Uvurkhangai aimag far away from its current location as a Buddhist monastic centre and, in 1778 the city settled for good at its current location or along the basin of the Tuul and the Selbe rivers, second of which has already evaporated.
Why collectivism and industrialization must be mentioned in connection with the urbanization? Because giving their livestock to negdels (collective farms) many herders migrated to Ulaanbaatar and became workers of new established industries. A main advantage of the period might be taking care of newcomers’ hygiene and civilized behavior.

Around 1970-1980s new micro districts of apartment buildings were built and since then many of ger settlement families moved into the new apartments. During the period the capital city was a medium sized, considerably clean, tidy and typical Russian style city, even there had been ger settlement areas in outskirt of the city. In the socialist period “to be a citizen of the capital was considered as matter of reputation” and Ulaanbaatar citizenship was restricted for rural residents.
Even though, after 1990’s rural-urban migration abruptly increased because of the variety of factors: social, economical, political, cultural and so on.

Ps: Photos were inserted from www.google.com

28 February 2009

Environmental perception of the Mongols

By Erdenetuya Urtnast
Depending on natural condition and resources a certain way of subsistence takes shape and people bring into existence specific cultural and economical patterns. In this sense, in high forest and forest areas people have run hunting, whereas in steppe areas Mongolians have run mobile animal husbandry.

According to Mongolians’ understanding the “nature” is very inclusive concept which covers meaning “mighty force”, “the mother giving birth to all of animate beings”, “fertility, nourishment” and et cetera. The perception that human being relatively and entirely tied together surrounding environment is found in Mongolians’ worldview, religion and ecological consciousness. “According to the original ideas of Mongols, nature is an all-encompassing system which ideally remains in balance, a state of normality regulated by tngri” [1] . Also they they have personified nature and treated as if there is a communication between humans and nature as inter-human communication.

Since animal husbandry is dependent on nature and environment, Mongolians realize that nature and environment are the most vital origin and source of their life. They had not only received natural “generousity” and “bounty” by direct ways but also received via their livestock productivity, therefore they had comprehended very well about that if the vital source of life damaged then their life and fate would dramatically terminate. They had known very well about that if water resource polluted and dried up, then plants and vegetation, soil and pasture would be dessiccated, livestock would be lost, wild beasts and antelopes would shy away and consequently habitat would get lost. Because for them livestock products and natural sources are used for all of necessaries of life, such as food, clothing, lodging and transfortation.

For this reason on the one hand, in order to exist themselves, on the other hand they deeply realize that they are not able to recognize all secrets of the world and they never overcome mighty force of nature, Mongolians made up cultural pattern that adapted to ecological special feature of residing locality and created very sophisticated customs, laws, prohibitions, qtiquettes and religious rituals which are aimed to preserve natural and ecological pristine condition. Such pattern of culture is called as traditional culture. Mongolians never blamed to use natural sources for the sake of subsistence and survival, but had refrained to treat towards nature for gaining profits, breaking the law of nature and avoided to behave in careless and obdurate manners.

[1]Caroline Humphrey and David Sneath (edited). Culture and Environment in Inner Asia: Society and Culture. Volume.2. Cambridge: The White Horse Press, 1996, p.6