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Examining human-animal relations among the reindeer hunting and herding Dukha community in northern Mongolia, this book focuses on concepts such as domestication and wildness from an indigenous perspective. By looking into hunting rituals and herding techniques, the ethnography questions the dynamics between people, domesticated reindeer, and wild animals. It focuses on the role of the spirited landscape which embraces all living creatures and acts as a unifying concept at the center of the human and non-human relations.
“This book offers a deep and reflective view of the complex relationships between humans, animals, and the environment… [and] provides a unique perspective on how indigenous communities face modern challenges, such as government pressure and adaptation to contemporary life, phenomena observed in various geographies around the world. Altogether, it results in an interesting, well-written, and vividly animated ethnography portraying the daily lives of Dukha families in northern Mongolia.” • Sibirica
“This is an engaging, well-written and lively ethnography of a group of Dukha families in Mongolia. It is situated within the anthropological literature on reindeer pastoralism but beyond that contributes a unique, lively perspective on a group of people who are poorly documented in English.” • David G. Anderson, University of Aberdeen
“With this book, Küçüküstel offers us a very timely and deeply insightful account of Dukha life. Her insights are the result of living with people over an extended period of time, and from experiencing what she describes by way of first hand participation. In this sense, her work is truly ethnographic. It is a beautiful account, at times deeply touching.” • Alex C. Oehler, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada
Selcen Küçüküstel is a social anthropologist who works as a post doctorate researcher at the University of Carlos III Madrid. She also works as a freelance photojournalist for different geography and culture magazines, covering anthropological stories from different parts of the world.
List of Figures
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes on Text and Transliteration
Introduction: The Forest is Watching You
PART I: TAIGA EMBRACING ALL
Chapter 1. Map of Memories in a Spirited Geography
PART II: LIVING WITH REINDEER
Chapter 2. Beyond Domestication: Nurturing Control
Chapter 3. Seasonal Cycles and Migration the Taiga
Chapter 4. Reindeer as an Intimate Partner
Chapter 5. Our Parents Know Everything Better
PART III: HUNTING AMONG SPIRITS
Chapter 6. Respecting the Hunt
Chapter 7. The Way We Hunt
Chapter 8. Luck in Hunting and Divination
Chapter 9. Hunting as a Way of Regulating the Relations
Chapter 10. Hunting Ban: Struggling in the Native Land
Conclusion
References
Index