| Article |
|---|
| Article name |
Nomadism in the Contemporary World: Problems of Traditionalism and Modernization |
| Authors |
Zhambalova S.G. Doctor of History, associate professor, zhambalovas@yandex.ru |
| Bibliographic description |
|
| Section |
Oriental Studies |
| UDK |
94 |
| DOI |
|
| Article type |
|
| Annotation |
The article is an answer to A. J. Toynbee’s challenge that states the dying of “nomadic civilization.”
The article is written on the basis of field data and observations made in China, Mongolia and Russia
and on the basis of literary and visual sources. It traces the tendencies of ethnic processes in the Mongol
speaking nomads environment of the above mentioned three states. Nomads of China, Mongolia and
Russia have been passing from industrial to post-industrial society. At the same time nomads of Russia
and China for a long time lived with sedentary peoples. Economic, political and social specificity of
the contact zone to varying degrees have influenced nomadism. At the beginning of the second decade
of the 21st century there are three models of adaptation of Mongolian people to the contemporary
world. Their further development in the long-term perspective is viewed in the form of two vectors:
retention of nomadism components in contemporary society and gradual transition to Europeanized
(Americanized) way of life. The elements of sacred property are preserved longer, even in case of the
complete replacement of traditional life-support systems with innovations. The present-day Mongolian
people of Mongolia and of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China largely preserve the
traditional culture of life support, which has been departing from the daily life of Buryat people
living in Russia. Traditionalism with its idealization and absolutization of tradition, which is practically
important, is combined with the highly developed ecological culture aimed at people’s caring attitude
to the environment, contributes to the preservation of nomadism in the successfully modernized
Mongolian world. In fact, we witness the existence of the 21st century nomadism that successfully
survives in some areas (Mongolia, China), but gradually disappears in others (Russia).
|
| Key words |
nomads, cattle-breeders, Mongol speaking peoples, Central Asia, way of life,
traditionalism, modernization, modernity. |
| Article information |
|
| References |
|
| Full article | Nomadism in the Contemporary World: Problems of Traditionalism and Modernization |
