Music cultures today in rural and urban Mongolia and Inner Mongolia emerge from centuries-old pastoralist practices that were reshaped by political movements in the twentieth century. Mongolian Sound Worlds investigates the unique sonic elements, fluid genres, social and spatial performativity, and sounding objects behind new forms of Mongolian music—forms that reflect the nation's past while looking towards its globalized future. Drawing on fieldwork in locations across the Inner Asian region, the contributors report on Mongolia's genres and musical landscapes; instruments like the morin khuur, tovshuur, and Kazakh dombyra; combined fusion band culture; and urban popular music. Their broad range of concerns include nomadic herders' music and instrument building, ethnic boundaries, heritage-making, ideological influences, nationalism, and global circulation.

A merger of expert scholarship and eyewitness experience, Mongolian Sound Worlds illuminates a diverse and ever-changing musical culture.

Contributors: Bayarsaikhan Badamsuren, Otgonbaayar Chuulunbaatar, Andrew Colwell, Johanni Curtet, Charlotte D'Evelyn, Tamir Hargana, Peter K. Marsh, K. Oktyabr, Rebekah Plueckhahn, Jennifer C. Post, D. Tserendavaa, and Sunmin Yoon

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Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Transliteration, Naming, and Place Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix

Companion Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii

Introduction: Mongolian Sound Worlds: Opening Snapshots

SUNMIN YOON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

PART ONE: LANDSCAPES AND SOUNDSCAPES

Interlude: Song about the Steppe

K. OKTYABR AND JENNIFER C. POST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

1. Sound, Music, Pastoralism, and Nature in Mongolian Sound Worlds

JENNIFER C. POST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

PART TWO: ETHNICITY AND DIVERSITY

Interlude: Musical Journeys in Inner Mongolia and Beyond

TAMIR HARGANA AND CHARLOTTE D'EVELYN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

2. Music and Ethnic Identity in Inner Mongolia

CHARLOTTE D'EVELYN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

3. The Politics of Regional and Ethnic Identities in Contemporary Mongolian Urtyn Duu

SUNMIN YOON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

4. Gendered Musicality in the Altai Mountains

REBEKAH PLUECKHAHN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

PART THREE: MATERIAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY

Interlude: Consistency, Patience, and Perseverance: Maintaining the Fiddle-Making Tradition

BAYARSAIKHAN BADAMSÜREN AND PETER K. MARSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

5. The Horsehead Fiddle: A Biographical History

PETER K. MARSH AND CHARLOTTE D'EVELYN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

6. The Tovshuur and Oirad Identity in Mongolia's Western Provinces

OTGONBAYAR CHULUUNBAATAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

7. Social Lives of the Dombyra and Its Makers in Western Mongolia

JENNIFER C. POST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

PART FOUR: HERITAGE AND GLOBALIZATION

Interlude: Everything Has Two Sides: An Interview

ANDREW COLWELL AND D. TSERENDAVAA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....