China

IV: Here and Now

Part 4: Mongol Nomads in the Modern World

Introduction:
The traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Mongol people (both in Inner Mongolia and in the country of Mongolia) is perfectly adapted to the rugged conditions of the vast Central Asian grasslands. Unfortunately, as is happening around the world, this culture is endangered by modern pressures that make nomadic herding difficult, if not impossible. Unable to make a living by traditional means, many nomads are forced to migrate to cities in order to find work. Young people are thus not learning the traditional knowledge and practices that keep the culture alive. Even those who do try to continue living the nomadic life are finding it difficult. Modern ideas of property ownership make it difficult to graze animals widely, and the resulting overuse of available pastures can lead to the collapse of ecosystems, or even to desertification, a growing problem in many parts of the world, including Inner Mongolia. Other issues, such as immigration of Han Chinese to Inner Mongolia, further impede the nomadic lifestyle. Worldwide, similar problems face nearly every traditionally nomadic population.

Overview:
In this lesson, students will learn about the problems facing traditionally nomadic people in China, especially Inner Mongolia, and in other parts of the world. They will read articles, listen to online audio, and watch online video, and will identify the causes and solutions of these problems. Teachers can decide how rigorous an assignment to make it. For younger students, discussion might be enough. Older students can be assigned research toward presentations or formal papers. The lesson can also be expanded beyond China and Inner Mongolia to include other areas of Central Asia, or to include the whole world.

Procedure:

If desired, teach a background lesson about nomads, nomadic herding, and/or related topics. It could focus on Inner Mongolia, or be more general. Two National Geographic lessons are linked below, but more can be found with an Internet search.

1. Assign students (individually or in pairs) to read (or watch, in the case of videos) some of the Web sites listed below. It is up to the teacher to decide whether to include only pages related to Inner Mongolia, or to include Mongolia as well. (Some teachers will want to make this a much larger project by including other nomadic peoples from around the world.) Instruct them to take notes on three types of information:
   

   - What problems are the nomads facing?
   - What are the causes of the problems?
   - What solutions are being tried, have been tried, or could be tried?

2. As a class, compile a master list of problems on the board.
3. Looking at the list of problems, come up with a master list of causes. For many of the listed problems, students will be able to come up with more than one cause. They may notice that some causes lead to more than one problem as well.
4. Finally, discuss what could be done to solve the problems facing nomadic people in Inner Mongolia. Encourage students to think of solutions beyond anything they might have read. As these are complex issues, students may not be able to come up with much.
5. For further discussion, talk about tradition. Why would people want to continue to live in the traditional way, when there are so many pressures against it and it's a difficult life? Do students know people—possibly themselves or their families—who try to hold on to traditions despite difficulties? What sorts of things can be included in the idea of "tradition"? (Some possible answers include music, food, clothing, stories, behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, or ways of doing things.) What traditions have students picked up from their parents and other relatives? Are there things that their parents or grandparents knew how to do but that the students can't do? Is that knowledge or skill lost forever? Has anything else been gained in exchange? Are some traditions best forgotten? All of this can lead to an interesting discussion of tradition in general, speculation about the purpose of tradition, and thought about what happens when traditional knowledge and customs are lost.

Resources:
Nomads in Inner Mongolia and China
A short video from National Geographic: "China Nomads Forced to Settle Down."

A May, 2006, story from National Public Radio: "Mongolia's Nomads Face Difficult Transition" looks at issues affecting Mongol nomads. There are several links to related stories.

The "Seas of Grass" episode of the series "Journey to Planet Earth" from PBS covers the degredation of grasslands worldwide, including Inner Mongolia, and the effects of this on the people, such as Inner Mongolian nomadic herders, who depend on the grasslands. The episode's home page includes a video excerpt.

New approaches to combating desertification in Inner Mongolia are discussed in the article "Residents of Inner Mongolia Find New Hope in the Desert."

Another article on the same topic: "Greening the desert with biofuels: Inner Mongolia peasants show it's possible."

"Human and Ecological Communities of Inner Mongolia, China: A System in Stress," by Bruce G. Marcot, looks at problems facing Inner Mongolia, such as desertification, erosion, and related issues.

"Grassland Policy, Privatisation and New Ecology in Inner Mongolia" is an essay (a 29 page PDF) examining policies which make grasslands private, disrupting the traditional nomadic way of life in Inner Mongolia.

Photographer A Yin, who lives among nomadic Mongols in Inner Mongolia and develops his photographs in a tent, has taken thousands of pictures in an attempt to record as much as possible about this endangered way of life.
Five of his photos are included in a slideshow presented by Popular Photography: Photos 11-15. National Geographic has a short biography of the artist.

Daily Life of the Mongols, from Indiana University, covers dwellings, dress, and food.

National Geographic's site for the movie "The Story of the Weeping Camel" has numerous good resources for understanding the lives of Mongol nomads and the issues they face.

Mongolia Today includes many articles on the lives and culture of Mongolian nomads. Issue 4 is dedicated to Mongolian nomads with articles on cuisine, the Naadam Festival, the horse head fiddle or morin khuur, conservation efforts for wild horses, and the medieval horse courier network or urtuu. Other issues also have articles about nomads.

Tibetan Nomadic peoples

Nomads in General
The Wikipedia entry for "Nomad" has a good list of nomadic peoples around the world. Use the names there to search for futher resources and information about other nomadic groups.

Eldis has links to hundreds of articles about nomads and pastoralists, and the issues affecting them. Also try searching Eldis for terms such as Mongol, Mongolia, China, and so forth.

Oxfam International's site on pastoralism has good information and links, much of it related to pastoralists in Africa and the problems faced by pastoralsists everywhere.

The Lyuli, a formerly nomadic group who were forced to settle in what is now Kyrgyzstan, are now in a dire situation. There is a photo essay and article ("Lyuli Minority Group Survives on the Margins of Society") at Eurasianet.

Lesson Plans - Nomads
A lesson plan to accompany the "Seas of Grass" episode of the series "Journey to Planet Earth" is available from PBS. The episode covers the degredation of grasslands worldwide, including Inner Mongolia, and the effects of this on the people, such as Inner Mongolian nomadic herders, who depend on the grasslands. The episode's home page, has a video excerpt.

"Animals of the Nomads" is a lesson plan for middle school students from National Geographic.

"Nomads: Where Boundaries Move" is a lesson plan for grades 3-5 from National Geographic.

Related Issue: Minorities in China
Other topics that could be invesitgated further include Xinjiang province, Tibet and Tibetan nomads, minority languages in China, etc.

Representation of Chinese Minority Groups in Propaganda Art is a great lesson from the China Project.

Language issues in China, including the Uyghur language, were discussed on Chicago Public Radio's Worldview in September, 2006. Audio of the program is available online.