INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY, MONGOLIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ETHNOGRAPHIC REPORT OF THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE REGION OF GATSUURT MINING AREA, MANDAL SOUM OF SELENGE PROVINCE, MONGOLIA PART I REPORT ULAANBAATAR 2015 1 INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY, MONGOLIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ETHNOGRAPHIC REPORT OF THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE REGION OF GATSUURT MINING AREA, MANDAL SOUM OF SELENGE PROVINCE, MONGOLIA Project implementers: S. CHULUUN – Doctor (PhD), Ass. Prof, Director, Institute of History and Archaeology, MAS B. BADMA-OYU – Doctor (PhD), Researcher, Department of Archaeological and Ethnological Cultural Resource Management, Institute of History and Archaeology, MAS G. BYAMBARAGCHAA – Master, Researcher, Department of Social Anthropology and Culture, Institute of History and Archaeology, MAS M.ALTANSHAGAI – Assistant researcher, Department of Archaeological and Ethnological Cultural Resource Management, Institute of History and Archaeology, MAS Subscriber: Sustainability Pty Ltd Report owner: Institute of History and Archaeology, MAS Ulaanbaatar-51, Jukov-77, Corpus2 -1, MAS Phone: 452894, Fax: 452899 ULAANBAATAR 2015 2 CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................... 1 PROJECT OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................... 2 Methodology: ..................................................................................................................... 2 Scale: ................................................................................................................................ 2 Team: ................................................................................................................................ 2 Objectives: ........................................................................................................................ 2 Interviewees: ..................................................................................................................... 2 Site Selection: ................................................................................................................... 2 Key Findings:..................................................................................................................... 3 Location Determination: ..................................................................................................... 1 Influence and Expected Risk on Culture Heritage: ............................................................. 1 Environmental Conditions of the Survey Area: ................................................................... 2 Survey Team: .................................................................................................................... 2 Details of the survey participants: ...................................................................................... 2 The local administration representatives involved in the interview: .................................... 3 Research situation: ............................................................................................................ 3 Research Methodology: ..................................................................................................... 3 Information with respect to local citizens involved in the interviews is included in the table below: ................................................................................................................................ 3 MONGOLIAN ETHNOLOGICAL SCIENCE IN BRIEF ........................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1: THE SOCIAL STATUS IN MANDAL SOUM, SELENGE AIMAG ................... 13 Administration and territorial unit: .................................................................................... 17 Migration: ........................................................................................................................ 20 Employment of the population, average salary: ............................................................... 21 Amount of workers:.......................................................................................................... 21 Income and expenditure of household: ............................................................................ 22 Education: ....................................................................................................................... 22 General Education Schools: ............................................................................................ 22 Polytechnic school: .......................................................................................................... 23 Agriculture ....................................................................................................................... 24 Livestock husbandry: ................................................................................................... 24 Cultivation of vegetables and crop: .............................................................................. 24 Harvest: ....................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 2: ETHNOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH RESULTS ............................................... 25 Traditional lifestyle ........................................................................................................... 25 3 Traditional Knowledge: .................................................................................................... 26 Traditional Pastureland use ............................................................................................. 26 Culture of horse racing: ................................................................................................... 27 Traditional herb and treatment knowledge: ...................................................................... 28 Knowledge of hunting: ..................................................................................................... 28 Traditional religion and taboo: ......................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 3: ORAL HISTORIES OF THE PLACE AND HISTORIC PEOPLE .................... 32 About the Baatar beil: ...................................................................................................... 32 On the discovery of Yustiin Rashaan, the mineral water source: ..................................... 33 Tugj, the commander ....................................................................................................... 34 Shirkhentseg Mountain .................................................................................................... 35 Kherh Mountain ............................................................................................................... 35 Noyon Mountain in Kharaa .............................................................................................. 36 Michin modny passing ..................................................................................................... 36 Zaraa tolgoi (Hedgehog hill) ............................................................................................ 36 Kharaa River ................................................................................................................... 36 Two Mandal mountains ................................................................................................... 37 Bayansuudal Mountain .................................................................................................... 37 Khuush, Dashdavaa ........................................................................................................ 38 Ajnain davaa (Ajnai`s pass (Ajnai is very quick running horse)) ....................................... 38 Buu tolgoi (Gun hill) ......................................................................................................... 39 Tsaramt ........................................................................................................................... 40 Gurvan bayan (Three rich men) ....................................................................................... 40 Oral histories connected with Chinese people ................................................................. 41 Oortsog ........................................................................................................................... 41 Monument to Sukhbaatar ................................................................................................ 42 CHAPTER 4: ASSESSMENT OF THE MINING PROPOSALS BY LOCAL PEOPLE .......... 43 CHAPTER 5: THE RESEARCH WORK CONCLUSION ...................................................... 45 TABLES Table 1 Research team members ..................................................................................... 2 Table 2 Citizens in the northern foot of the Noyon mountain ............................................. 4 Table 3 Citizens in the southern foot of the Noyon mountain ............................................. 5 Table 4 Citizens in Mandal-5 bagh and Tunkhel village in the south-west region of Noyon Mountain ............................................................................................................................... 6 Table 5 Near the Boroo Gold mine ..................................................................................... 7 4 Table 6 National structure in