[Discussion] PUBL.- Inner Asia Volume 6, Number 1, May 2004

[sule tarakcioglu]

PUBL.- Inner Asia Volume 6, Number 1, May 2004

Contents and Abstracts of the most recent issue of INNER ASIA, published
(May 2004) by the White Horse Press for the Mongolia and Inner Asia
Studies unit at the University of Cambridge.

Contents:

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

Hybridity and Nomadology in Inner Asia
Uradyn E. Bulag

ETHNICITY AND IDENTITY

Between Islam and Mongols: The Qotung People in Inner Mongolia, China
Yang Haiying

The Ethnic Reality in 'Homemade Narration'
Shinjilt

POLITICAL HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

The Complex Structure of Ethnic Conflict in the Frontier: Through the
Debates around the 'Jindandao Incident' in 1891
Burensain Borjigin

The History and the Political Character of the Name of 'Nei Menggu'
(Inner Mongolia)
Huhbator Borjigin

MAN AND NATURE: HERMENEUTICAL AND ECONOMIC APPROACHES

Relationship Between Man and Nature: A Hermeneutical Approach to
Interpreting the Affective Thinking of the Mongolian People
Aitoru Terenguto (Aitor Telengut)

The Transformation of Pastoralism in Buryatia: The Aginsky Steppe Example
Nikolay N. Kradin

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS

Ethnic Minority Immigrants Under the Western Region Development: A
Report from the Sunan Yugur Autonomous County
Mailisha

Chinggis Khan and the New Shamans
Laetitia Merli

REVIEW ARTICLE

The Aftertaste of Hope: Elements for a Historical Approach to the Study
of Collectives in Mongolia and Buryatia
Gregory Delaplace

ABSTRACTS:

5-22
Between Islam and Mongols: The Qotung People in Inner Mongolia, China
Yang Haiying

Abstract:

China's 'minority nationalities' came into being as a result of the
'Nationality Identification Work' carried out in the first decade of the
People's Republic of China. The assumption of internal homogeneity of
'nationality' inherent in the state project has prevented study of the
internal diversity within each nationality. This paper intends, on the
basis of field research, to study the internal diversity of the
Mongolian society. A preliminary investigation has been made of the
ethnogenesis and social structure of the Qotung Mongols in the Alashan
region of Inner Mongolia. Through analysis of the relationships between
the Qotung and the Mongols and Islam, the author points out that Islam
is a major element in the formation of the Qotung Mongols whose
ancestors hailed from various groups in East Turkestan. This case study
shows that Islam should not be ignored when we study the Mongols and it
is imperative that we recognise diversity within the Mongols.

23-39
The Ethnic Reality in 'Homemade Narration'
Shinjilt

Abstract:

This paper analyses the variegated narratives by 'minority
nationalities' in China, hoping to understand the dynamics of their
ethnic consciousness. I focus on the Mongols in Henan Mongolian
Autonomous County of Qinghai Province - hereafter Henanmengqi - where
'Tibetanisation' has been longstanding in culture and language. In
recent decades, they have been subject to the state's ethnic
classification and thus have been conscious of their relationship with
the neighbouring Tibetans and other Mongols in and out of Qinghai. In
this paper, the following themes on their daily experiences are
discussed: What significance does the nationality category of Sogpo
('Mongol' in Tibetan) hold for the Henanmengqi people? Who (which
group) should or should not be included in Sogpo? In what situation does
the semantic content of Sogpo change? The Henanmengqi people are not
free to choose their nationality category, and are often caught in the
conflicting categorisations by the state administrators, scholars, other
Tibetans and Mongols. I pay particular attention to the power dynamics
in such relationships and the strategies taken by the Henanmengqi people
to negotiate with external powers to form their nationality behaviours.
Finally, I will discuss in general the characteristics of what may be
called the grammar or reality of 'homemade narration' by ethnic minorities.

41-60
The Complex Structure of Ethnic Conflict in the Frontier: Through the
Debates around the 'Jindandao Incident' in 1891
Burensain Borjigin

Abstract:

Toward the end of the Qing dynasty, Inner Mongolia became the main
destination for bankrupt Chinese peasants from interior China. With the
increase in numbers of Chinese immigrants, conflicts between Mongols and
Chinese intensified as Chinese struggled for more benefits and Mongols
tried to maintain their traditional social order. In 1891 a Chinese
secret society called Jindandao massacred tens of thousands of Mongols
in the mixed Mongol-Chinese regions of eastern Inner Mongolia. The
survivors fled to the pastoral areas south of the Hingan mountains,
propelling the agriculturalisation of these regions and the refiguration
of the local societies. In China, this massacre has been appraised as an
'anti-imperialist, anti-feudal peasant uprising', disguising the nature
of ethnic conflict between Mongols and Chinese. In the 1990s, however,
Mongol victims of the 'Jindandao Incident' began to demand re-evaluation
of the incident, thereby setting off a heated debate around the issue.
Up to now, most studies of the 'Jindandao Incident' have relied on
memorials prepared by Chinese county and prefectual magistrates,
ignoring the memorials presented by Mongol victims. Based on new data
published in the 1980s and fieldwork in recent years, this study intends
to re-examine the incident and to discuss historical circumstances and
the consequences of this massacre for social change in Inner Mongolia in
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

61-80
The History and the Political Character of the Name of 'Nei Menggu'
(Inner Mongolia)1
Huhbator Borjigin

Abstract:

After the independence of 'Outer Mongolia' in 1911, and especially after
the founding of the Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, 'Outer
Mongolia' (Wai Menggu in Chinese or Gadaad Mongol and Ar Mongol in
Mongolian) became a historical term. Inner Mongolia, on the other hand,
became the focal point of the so-called 'Mongolian problem', and its
name Nei Menggu (C) or Dotood Mongol (M) remained sinocentric, denoting
direct rule as it did in the Qing geographical-administrative
demarcation of the Mongols. The question of naming Inner Mongolia in
both Chinese and Mongolian has thus become significant not only for the
Mongols in China, but also for Mongols in the independent state of
Mongolia. The founding of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Government in
1947 introduced a new name in Mongolian: instead of Dotood Mongol, it is
now called Oeboer (the sunny side of mountain) Mongol, thereby forming a
geobody with Ar Mongol (formerly Outer Mongolia), and it no longer
connotes internal administration within China. However, this change has
not been reflected in Chinese translation, as Inner Mongolia continues
to be called Nei Menggu and historicist Chinese continue to refer to
Mongolia as Wai Menggu. In recent years, some Mongols began to call
Inner Mongolia 'Nan Menggu', and with it came the change of English
translation from Inner Mongolia to Southern Mongolia.  This paper will
discuss this confusion in naming Inner Mongolia both in Mongolian
original (Dotood Mongol vs. Oeboer Mongol) and in Chinese (Nei Menggu
vs. Nan Menggu). A historical scrutiny of the naming of Inner Mongolia
in the twentieth century is important for understanding the political
significance of the existence of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in
China and the challenges it faces.

81-93
Relationship Between Man and Nature: A Hermeneutical Approach to
Interpreting the Affective Thinking of the Mongolian People
Aitoru Terenguto (aitor telengut)

Abstract:

In the traditional nomadic culture of the Mongols, their philosophy does
not centre around people when it comes to relating to the environment.
Instead, sky and nature are worshipped as having the significance of a
spiritual being with a Divine soul. This manner of worship manifests
itself not only in their daily greetings - Hoeoerhii-Amitan, for example
- but also is reflected in their literature, their rituals regarding
life and death, and in historical events. This philosophy allowed them
to protect their natural habitat, and to live in harmony with nature for
centuries; it brought them an inner world of profound peace and
tranquillity. In this modern world where their natural environment is
facing destruction, and their cultural environment is being
contaminated, it is important for us to re-evaluate these issues and
redefine traditional Mongolian worship and its meanings.

95-109
The Transformation of Pastoralism in Buryatia:The Aginsky Steppe Example 1
Nikolay N. Kradin

Abstract:

This article deals with the structure of the pastoral economy of East
Trans-Baikalian Buryats (Aginsky region). The herd structure used to
include the five basic species of domestic animals of Eurasia: sheep,
cattle, horses and, more rarely, goats and camels. A horse was of the
utmost economic and status significance. However, the quantity of sheep
and goats was larger. The pastoral groups owned the land and the nomads
migrated with their herds along their traditional seasonal routes. In
the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the influence of the Russian
economy on the Buryat nomadic economy began to increase. In the USSR,
these processes were more intensive. A complete sedenterisation of
Buryat society took place. Agriculture was developed and nearly
one-quarter of the pastures were used as arable lands. The pastoral
economy changed from subsistence to one that was guided by the market.
Since wool and meat were valuable commodities new breeds of sheep were
raised, and the number of sheep increased greatly thereby giving rise to
degradation of pastures. The ecological crisis did not develop on a
large scale only because political (collapse of the USSR) and economic
crises were ahead of it. As a result, the cattle-breeding and livestock
economies of the Aginsky Buryats have fallen into decay. At present,
although a crisis situation has been held back, progress is not observed.

111-117
Ethnic Minority Immigrants Under the Western Region Development:
A Report from the Sunan Yugur Autonomous County Mailisha

Abstract:

In recent years, sandstorms have seriously threatened Beijing, prompting
the Chinese government to further acknowledge the importance of
ecological issues in the ethnic minority regions. The government is now
undertaking various measures to conserve the environment in minority
regions. However, many ethnic minority people, instead of benefiting
from the government projects, have become ecological immigrants, being
forced to leave their homelands. This report, based on field research,
touches on population resettlement and environmental issues in the
Lianhua and Minghai Townships of the Sunan Yugur Autonomous County of
Gansu Province. The area, inhabited mainly by the Yugur nomads, is
located in the Gobi region of the central Hexi corridor to the north of
the Qilian Shan mountains. The resettlement of the Yugur nomads to take
up agricultural farming ostensibly to adjust population distribution and
to solve ecological problems, has in fact accelerated environmental
deterioration. This case reflects only a tip of the iceberg of the
problems of ethnic minority ecological immigrants in the process of
China's Western Region Development.

119-24
Chinggis Khan and the New Shamans
Laetitia Merli

Abstract:

Since the mid nineties, several shamanic centres have opened in
Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. These centres are places visited by
people consulting shamans with the hope of solving the diverse problems
of their lives, and where rituals are organised. Generally, shamanic
centres are linked with organisations that claim the promotion and
protection of Mongolian culture. They have also become an interesting
gathering place for nationalist organisations, more concerned with
cultural and identity issues than with questions of individual
misfortune. This paper will present examples, through recent rituals, of
how new shamans use Chinggis Khan - whose cult as also forbidden - in a
system of beliefs and practices where the person and the state; the
people and the nation, are treated together to develop the country;
echoing the great past of the Mongol Empire.

125-34
The Aftertaste of Hope: Elements for a Historical Approach to the Study
of Collectives in Mongolia and Buryatia
Gregory Delaplace

Abstract:

This review essay concerns the collective farms in Mongolia and
Buryatia. What is considered here is not collectivisation per se, but
the way it has been studied by European and American specialists in this
field, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s.

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