I Take MyDombraand Sing to Remember my Homeland

Identity, Landscape and Music in Kazakh Communities of Western Mongolia

Bibliographic Data

ID5851963
AuthorsJennifer C Post (corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume16
Issue1
Pages45-69
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Ethnomusicology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0968-1221 • E-ISSN: 1741-1920
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17411910701276369
OpenAlexW1969262107
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited12

Kazakh residents in Bayan Ölgii province in Western Mongolia use production and performance of the long-necked lute dombra to construct and reconstruct Kazakh perceptions of identity, homeland and place. The performances and instrument-making practices by both nomadic herders and settled residents reveal that they define Kazakhness in relation to their long residence in this mountainous terrain, and in many cases the homeland they refer to in their music is in Bayan Ölgii, a place where Kazakhs continue to maintain local distinctiveness as Mongolian residents. Their musical events contribute to community solidarity in response to nationalization efforts of Khalka Mongolians that often exclude Kazakh interests, and their actions also help residents navigate their struggles over decisions regarding repatriation and the daily impact that globalization has on their lives. Keywords: MongoliaKazakh PeoplePastoral NomadsIdentityHomelandPoliticsPlace (Place-Making)Inner Asia Acknowledgements Earlier versions of this paper were read at 'Diaspora, Postcolonialism and Performance', British Forum for Ethnomusicology one-day conference, London, 26 November 2005, and on the Faculty Lecture Series at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, on 27 March 2006. I would especially like to thank my primary translator during 2005 and 2006, Almagul Soltan of Ölgii, for her help with onsite translation as well as translation of song lyrics and narrative information. Unless otherwise noted, songs in this study were translated by Almagul Soltan. Notes 1. Aqyn (), sometimes akhyn, akyn or akin, is a poet and/or singer who improvises, typically using dombra for accompaniment. Aqyns are highly regarded for their epic poetry and sung social commentary in aitys performances. Many aqyns also sing terme and tolgau and other narrative forms. 2. The Mongolian Statistical Yearbook 2002 (National Statistical Office of Mongolia, Citation2003) lists 74.7 per cent of the employed population in Bayan Ölgii as herder. 3. In his recently published book on contemporary Mongolia, Morris Rossabi says about the Kazakh people in Bayan Olgii, while they have not faced blatant discrimination nor have they been forced to abandon their language, 'however, Bayan Olgii aimag, where most of the Kazakhs reside, is one of the poorest areas of the country. As of 2003, few resources have been devoted to the economic development of the region, and the Kazakhs have had little representation in the government' (Citation2005, 195). 4. My research in Mongolia began in 2004 with a relatively brief, two-three-week trip to the western region in the summer of 2004. This was followed by two-and-a-half months of fieldwork in Khovd and Bayan Ölgii in the spring and summer of 2005 and two months of fieldwork in the summer of 2006. 5. In 1989 there were at least 123,000 Kazakhs living in Mongolia (82,750 in Bayan Ölgii and 12,814 in Hovd and 9000 in the city of Ulaanbaatar) (Finke Citation1999, 111-12). While the population numbers have changed in Bayan Ölgii due to repatriation and remigration, Kazakhs still comprised a high percentage of the aimag population (87-90 per cent). In 1989 Kazakhs comprised 17 per cent of the population in Khovd aimag (Finke Citation1999, 112). 6. Kazakh is a member of the Turkic language family (subfamily of Altaic languages). 7. Russification as a unifying and strengthening strategy in Russia and the former Soviet Union affected individuals and communities representing national groups beginning in the 19th century. Residents of all Central Asian countries continue to feel the effects of this assimilation in their everyday lives. In China, Sinification or Sinicization also emerged as part of a political strategy to assimilate diverse residents of this vast country to embrace Han values. Most recent struggles by Kazakh, Uyghur and Kyrgyz Muslim minorities in Western China (since the mid-1990s) and the opening of borders to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan provide opportunities for these ethnic groups to embrace goods and modern values from their kin rather than from China. See Gladney (Citation1994) for a discussion of these issues in China. 8. In Cyrillic: . 9. In Cyrillic the clans are: , and . I was given information on the clans orally by a number of local residents in Bayan Ölgii. Bulag states: 'The Kazakhs in Mongolia are mostly Abak-Kerei and Naiman Kazakhs who settled in the Altai of Hovd regions of Mongolia after the 1864 Tarbagatai Protocol between Russia and the Qing Dynasty' (1998, 98). 10. This figure represents the population living below the national poverty line on 1990-2002 (World Bank Citation2005). 11. Furthermore, Diener says: 'Not only can dispersed ethnic communities possess intense feelings of place attachment for regions outside of the "ancestral homeland", but they may display cultural practices and attitudes hybridized with those of their "host" society' (Diener Citation2005b, 465). Diener also provides useful discussions on territorial identity in his article 'Mongols, Kazakhs, and Mongolian territorial identity: Competing trajectories of nationalization' (Citation2005a, 19-24). 12. In Cyrillic these terms are (tugan jer), (atameken), (atajurt). 13. The oralman or returnee is a Kazakh ethnic immigrant. Many oralmandar have been given this special status by Kazakhstan in order to encourage their return to Kazakhstan from countries such as the former Soviet Republics, along with Afghanistan, Turkey and Mongolia. The oralman family receives free housing and social assistance, including help finding employment, along with aid in gaining permanent Kazakh citizenship. The repatriation process proved to be problematic for the government in Kazakhstan who were left to manage social services, employment and housing, and to deal with difficulties related to diversity (King and Melvin Citation1999-2000, 22). Dave reports that there was a strict quota for Kazakhs from Mongolia that diminished steadily between 1993 and 1999: 10,000 families in 1993; 7,000 in 1994; 5,000 in 1995; 4,000 in 1996; and 500 in 1999. Among the more than 60,000 who may have repatriated from Mongolia, 10-15 per cent have gone back to Mongolia (Dave Citation2004, 23). 14. This poem was published in 'Hege Mening Otangha Keldym?' in the magazine Egemen Kazakhstan (21 March 1992, 4: 68-69), translated into English by A. Diener. For the full text of this poem see Diener (2003, 394). Used by permission of A. Diener. 15. The dombra is historically tied to the tanbur class of instruments that have been documented in West and Central Asian countries and cultures from the Akkadian era (3rd millennium bce). Two strains were identified by al Farabi writing in the 10th century: one attached to Baghdad (and found in the southern regions of West Asia) and the other, the Khorasan tunbur, found in Persia and many Central Asian countries. There is clear linguistic, structural, performative and other historical evidence of the links among instruments of this type over many centuries. Today variations on the tanbur (or tambur) are found from Turkey to Western China (see Hassan et al. Citation2006). 16. Several older musicians in Mongolia who performed for me using a 19-fret modern style instrument that I carried with me as I travelled spoke about the difficulties of playing with the longer neck and additional frets. Several implied that they felt the instrument had become unnecessarily complex (in relation to the repertoires that they chose to maintain). 17. Recorded in Tsengel sum centre, 22 June 2005. 18. Erkinbek of Ölgii, originally of Sagsai sum recorded this piece on 8 June 2005. 19. In fact, among the widely known and respected instrument makers in Ölgii and surrounding regions, just two or three truly work full-time as dombra makers. Others combine their work with seasonal carpentry jobs in Ölgii and in Kazakhstan in order to make a living. 20. Local dombras typically sell for 6000T to 10000T ($5-9). 21. In contrast, in Kazakhstan-and other Central Asian countries-a long-standing tradition of instrument making has been supported especially in urban centers. These traditions are being renewed in the new independent countries with individual and organizational initiatives. For example, the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia (AKMICA) supports tradition bearers through an apprenticeship programme that provides funding and organizational sponsorship for the ustad-shagird (or master student) process. See for more information on this programme. 22. This was reported to me by several older musicians who are either current or former members of the local theatre in Ölgii. 23. Some makers indicated that the process of completing repairs on some of the older dombras from Kazakhstan provided the opportunity for them to inspect the instruments in detail, including their internal structure and apparent building techniques used during their original construction. One maker told me that he learned to make dombras from a "how to" article published in a magazine from Kazakhstan during the late 1980s or early 1990s. 24. The frets are made of fishing line, today imported from China (and sometimes from Russia); and the dots typically inlaid on the fingerboard are marked by the most popular dombra maker with coloured-paper dots that in America are purchased as office supplies for temporary identification of boxes or books. 25. In Mongolia it is difficult at this time to trace any of the instrument-making practices to any formal ustaz-shakirt (master-student) tradition from Kazakhstan. 26. Examples in this section are drawn from live performances recorded throughout Bayan Ölgii. The instrumental and vocal repertoires and styles performed in yurts and homes in sum centres represent one segment of the living traditions in the region. There is limited access to technology for musical production in Western Mongolia, so, while there is certainly an active interest in popular musical forms, they are drawn largely from Xinjiang and Kazakhstan, 27. In Cyrillic: . The primary instruments used for kui in Kazakhstan are dombra, kobyz (a two- or four-stringed bowed lute) and sybyzgy (an end-blown flute). 28. While countryside musicians (and instrument makers) are literally describing the world around them, in Ölgii city many residential musicians no longer participate in a pastoral nomadic way of life that provides access to the naturescape they sing about so often. Thus their references are often imagined. 29. Built in the 1950s with funding from Russia and Mongolia, the local theatre visibly supports music of Mongolia and Kazakhstan as well as Russia (and other European countries). On the wall of their rehearsal room in Olgii are pictures of great composers that include Mongolian men and European men and three icons from Kazakhstan. Originally established and supported during Soviet times, in contemporary life it has become a space for sharing musical styles and practices: from dombra players to Russian-inspired orchestras; from conservatory-trained singers to local rap/hip-hop groups. 30. Bayan Ölgii Kazakmarynyn dombyra zhane sybyzgy kuileri ( Citation1976 ). 31. A primary stylistic division in Kazakhstan is found in the two regional traditions: tokpe and shertpe. Tokpe, as noted earlier, is identified historically with the western region. Kui played in tokpe style is characterized by Kendirbaeva as "distinguished by their breadth, rapid tempo, symphonic scope, and monumental nature", while kui in shertpe style (originally from the eastern region) are characterized "by their subtlety of nuance, natural performance, and particular lyricism" (Kendirbaeva Citation1994, 109). 32. While this tuning and playing practice was represented by many Kazakh musicians in Mongolia as a local practice, in fact it is found both in pieces performed in Mongolia and Kazakhstan. 33. In the same way the sybyzgy player consistently provides a vocal drone a fifth below the melody; this also makes sybyzgy pieces easily adaptable for dombra players. 34. Kuangon, interview in Bayan Ölgii, 11 July 2005. 35. The Eurasian eagle owl (bubo bubo) is highly valued throughout the region. The downy feathers of the young owl are attached to the dombra as a symbol of honor. 36. Suyenish referred to this piece as "Tastulakh", although the piece and location is more widely known as "Tasty Bulakh" (). I believe the composer is A. Kabyikei, but I have been unable to confirm this. 37. In Cyrillic: . 38. In Cyrillic: . A version of the piece, attributed to A. Kabykei, is found in Bayan Ölgii Kazakmarynyn dombyra zhane sybyzgy kuileri (1976, 174-6). 39. The sybyzgy is an end-blown flute that in Mongolia is played using a vocal drone. 40. This version of the story remembered by Zoya, one of my translators, is in fact a variation on another kui, "Aksak khas" (Limping goose). The story, as notated in Bayan Ölgii Kazakmarynyn dombyra zhane sybyzgy kuileri, is as follows (translation from Kazakh by Almagul Soltan): 'On a beautiful part of a river near a summer place there was a goose with white goslings following it. A man who was a marksman was visiting and had nothing to do. He saw the group of geese and planned to shoot the mother goose (he was especially interested in her because she was enjoying her goslings). When he finally shot her, she tried to fly, recognized that she could not, and started to swim along with her goslings who flew to an island. The man was satisfied that he had shot the goose and was not interested in retrieving his catch. The mother goose walked with a limp. When it was autumn the birds were ready to migrate, but the mother goose could not fly and her flock left without her. The kui player saw her grief and created this kui' (1976, 10). 41. Indeed, Zoya, my translator who is today an English teacher in the city of Ölgii, spoke with pride about her ancestral sum, Delüün. She chose to elaborate on the story told in just a few words by the dombra player from another sum. She said that, since she is from that place, she would naturally know the story in more detail. 42. In Cyrillic: 43. In Cyrillic: 44. Yessenova states: 'The history of the Kazakhs has been traced back to the mid-fifteenth century, when the two outstanding tribal chiefs, Giyet and Janibek, moved their people away from the territory of the Uzbek Khanate to the steppe of Desht-i-Kipchal where they founded an independent political unit known as the Kazakh Khanate' (Yessenova Citation2002, 14). While this is sometimes disputed, official Soviet sources identify Janibek as the first Kazakh khan (Olcott Citation1987, 8). Osman Batur (Bator), the mid-20th century Kazakh warrior who led efforts to resist Soviet and Chinese domination in the Altai region, was known widely and variously as a bandit and (for some Kazakhs) a hero. See Benson (Citation1988) for more information. 45. Recorded in Ullankos on 19 July 2005 and again on 17 July 2006. 46. The Besbogda Mountains are five peaks in the far western region of Bayan Ölgii, on the border between Mongolia, Russia and China. More widely known by the Mongolian name: Tavan Bogd (Five Saints), the naming of Besbodga by local Kazakh using a Kazakh name is one of many examples of how they have claimed connections to specific landmarks using Kazakh instead of the 'official' Mongolian names. Aksu is a mineral spring near the base of the Besbogda Mountains, in Mongolia. 47. The aul is a social and residential unit comprised typically of several households that work cooperatively together. Finke says of aul in Mongolia, 'Next to the family the nomadic camp, called awil, is the most important social unit in the Kazak society' (1999, 133). Aul communities in nomadic camps share work and social life and therefore establish a reciprocity that is can last throughout the year, though it may also be bound only by the season, since some families move their camps more other than others. 48. Recorded in Delüün sum on 29 June 2005 and again on 2 August 2006. 49. Kazakhs in Mongolia-both before and after the Soviet presence in the country-have been Sunni Muslims, although their religious education and practices have been affected, and even curtailed, by their nomadic traditions that prevent them from establishing madrassas and attending mosques for religious training. Some of their Islamic beliefs are also mixed with traditional Shamanism. Their religious systems were suppressed during the Soviet period and they have enjoyed the greater freedom of expression since 1991. Easier access to Kazakhstan, Turkey and the Middle East has also provided opportunities for travel to these regions for religious training (Kimball Citation2002, 703-4). 50. Recorded in Shigertei valley on 29 June 2005 and again on 1 August 2006. 51. See also Schatz (Citation2004) and Svanberg (Citation1999) on lineage and ethnicity in Kazakhstan and Gladney and Jianmin (Citation2003) for a discussion of nostalgia and the power of genealogy among Kazakhs in China. 52. Recorded at Suiksai, Dayan Lake on 9 July 2006. Additional informationNotes on contributorsJennifer C. Post Jennifer C. Post is an ethnomusicologist on the faculty in the Music Department at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. In addition to her recent work in Mongolia, she has conducted fieldwork in India and Northern New England. Her recent publications include Ethnomusicology: A contemporary reader (Routledge, 2005); Music in rural New England family and community life, 1890-1940 (University Press of New England, 2004); and Ethnomusicology: A research and information guide (Routledge, 2004

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · China · Ethnology · Geography · Homeland · Identity (music · Inner mongolia · Kazakh · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · History · Philippine History and Culture

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