|
MongoliaCultural Unity and Mongol Identity
Implicit Nationalism
The result of Mongolia's economic development and
urbanization was a population that was, on the one hand,
increasingly and unprecedentedly divided by occupation,
education, residence, and membership in well-defined and fairly
rigid status groups, but that was, on the other hand, less
clearly distinguished from that of other economically developed
and urbanized countries. If being Mongolian meant living in a
ger in the midst of a sheep herd and being good at riding
horses, then the Mongolian identity of those who lived in highrise apartments, rode buses, and worked at desks or in factories
where knowledge of the Russian language was required was
problematic. Mongolian nationalism, clearly a politically
sensitive topic, continued to be a strong although implicit force
in Mongolia. The Mongol language, the cultural trait most
obviously shared by all Mongolians, continued to be fostered.
Much effort was devoted to translating foreign literature and
textbooks into Mongol, and teams of Mongolian scholars carefully
replaced Russian loan words with new terms developed from ancient
Mongol roots. The goal appeared to be to ensure that Mongol did
not become a dialect restricted to shepherds or preschool
children and that the educated elite did not speak mostly Russian
or Russian-influenced Mongol.
Apart from the significant omission of Buddhism and the
Buddhist church, much of traditional Mongol culture was studied,
preserved, and transmitted to the younger generation as a source
of national pride. In early 1989, party general secretary Jambyn
Batmonh told a Soviet interviewer that the harmful errors of the
1930s included destruction of the monasteries and with them the
priceless cultural heritage of the Mongolian people. In 1989 the
party called for overcoming indifference to the national cultural
heritage, and efforts were under way to change the negative
evaluation of Chinggis, who had been condemned as a bloodthirsty
and aggressive conqueror of, among other places, Russia. Higher
secondary schools began teaching the traditional Mongol script,
replaced by Cyrillic in February 1946. In early 1989, the trade
union newspaper Hodolmor (Labor) called for mass
production of the traditional Mongol gown, the deel, and
suggested that all Mongolian diplomats wear it.
Data as of June 1989
|
