A Magpie’s Tale: Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives on the Kazakh of Western Mongolia

Anna Odland Portisch

Published by Berghahn Books 2023

A Magpie’s Tale

Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives on the Kazakh of Western Mongolia

Anna Odland Portisch

Volume 1 in the series Lifeworlds: Knowledges, Politics, Histories

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781800737815

Overview
Contents

About this book

Telling the story of the author's time living with a Kazakh family in a small village in western Mongolia, this book contextualizes the family’s personal stories within the broader history of the region. It looks at the position of the Kazakh over time in relation to Tsarist Russian, Soviet, Chinese and Mongolian rule and influence. These are stories of migration across generations, bride kidnappings and marriage, domestic violence and alcoholism, adoption and family, and how people have coped in the face of political and economic crisis, poverty and loss, and, perhaps most enduringly, how love and family persist through all of this.

Author / Editor information

Anna Odland Portisch has taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies and Brunel University.

Reviews

“What starts as an account of cultural encounters unfolds as a highly informative, entertaining, self-reflexive narrative told with a great measure of empathy and humanism that demonstrates the ultimate unity of humanity.” • Ildikó Bellér-Hann, University of Copenhagen

“I very much enjoyed reading this book. It is both insightful and touching to follow the story of one extended family over the years, and well into the past. In my view, this adds a significant piece of knowledge and reflection on a very little-known part of the world, to which the author had a unique access.” • Peter Finke, University of Zurich

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Illustrations, Figures and Maps Publicly Available Download PDF	x
Notes on Transliteration Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. First Introductions
Chapter 1. Beginnings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
Chapter 2. Relations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	12
Chapter 3. Ölgii Town Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	14
Chapter 4. Drive to Soghakh Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Chapter 5. First Days with the Family Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
Chapter 6. Two Horsemen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
Chapter 7. Night-Time and Morning Rituals Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	36
Part II. Transitions
Chapter 8. The Young Accountant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	43
Chapter 9. The Letter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	48
Chapter 10. The First House in the First Street Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
Chapter 11. Thinking about the Past Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
Chapter 12. The Age of the Market Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	63
Chapter 13. Thick as Cream Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
Chapter 14. Saving Graces Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	77
Part III. Decisions
Chapter 15. Living Arrangements Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
Chapter 16. The People Who Move Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	90
Chapter 17. The Winter Slaughter Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
Chapter 18. Silver Flower Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
Chapter 19. French Extraordinaires Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
Chapter 20. Daughters-in-Law Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
Chapter 21. The Young Uncle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113
Part IV. Into the Past
Chapter 22. The Shaman’s Son Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
Chapter 23. The Closure of the Steppe Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
Chapter 24. The Mongols of the West Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
Chapter 25. New Year’s Eve Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
Chapter 26. Kazakhs and Western Mongols Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
Chapter 27. Night-Time Walk Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
Chapter 28. Cossack Warriors and Settler Pioneers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	138
Chapter 29. A People Frozen in Time Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
Chapter 30. Four Brothers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	148
Part V. New Futures
Chapter 31. Across the Border Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
Chapter 32. A Scar Necklace Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
Chapter 33. A New Homeland Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	168
Chapter 34. Family Ties Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	172
Chapter 35. Kazakh Rebel Fighters of the Altai Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Chapter 36. One Hundred Per Cent Kazakh Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
Chapter 37. The Red Terror Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
Chapter 38. Kurban Ait Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	186
Chapter 39. Mongolia’s Rich Cradle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	190
Part VI. Broken Ties
Chapter 40. Stuck Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	199
Chapter 41. The Strong-Willed Girl Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	201
Chapter 42. Dimpled Bakhytbek Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
Chapter 43. A Short Break Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
Chapter 44. Broken Crown Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	211
Chapter 45. The Visitor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	216
Chapter 46. Journey to Kazakhstan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	220
Part VII. New Worlds, Old Ties
Chapter 47. Two Worlds Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Chapter 48. Brave New World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	231
Chapter 49. A First Wedding Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	238
Chapter 50. Elnara’s Journey Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	242
Chapter 51. An Autumn Wedding Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
Chapter 52. Conclusion: A Magpie’s Tale Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	260

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 282
Keywords: Anthropology (General); Sociology; Refugee and Migration Studies

eBook

Published: January 13, 2023
ISBN: 9781800737815