Eric Thrift: Field recordings from Selenge collection
Metadata
identifier
a4bcc6b8-c813-4787-8e27-600da9857f93
creator
Eric Thrift
type
Collection
coverage
Mongolia
Selenge aimag
description
The video field recordings in this collection were produced in Selenge aimag, Mongolia in 2012 as part of Eric Thrift’s research on “Adaptive Capacity of Pastoral Resource Users in Mongolia”. This research project, supported by a Doctoral Research Award from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, aimed to: (1) Identify the practices and conditions contributing to adaptability among nomadic pastoralists in Mongolia, with a focus on concrete responses to change and uncertainty; (2) Describe how various pastoralists make economic (subsistence) decisions involving resource use, specifically with attention to the shared decisions and actions that arise from relationships among households or individuals; and (3) Determine how adaptive practices may be affected by development policies and interventions, particularly those concerning land and resource use or the marketing of pastoral commodities.
As part of this project we produced audiovisual field recordings with a small sample of pastoralists in two sites, one in Selenge and the other in Dornogovi. Each recording session was organized with participants so as to document a single activity in a continuous, uninterrupted recording produced with a handheld video camera. These field recordings were conceived as video-recorded conversations in natural settings, in which participants were invited to describe and discuss everyday practices as they were being performed. This data collection strategy was intended to be simultaneously communicative and observational, providing raw accounts of various pastoral activities – such as moving, taking livestock to pasture, producing various commodities, or organizing a feast – as they occurred, in their “normal” place and social context.
publisher
Culture and Development Research Centre
source
Original work
rights
The digital records provided here may be used freely for purposes of research and study, subject to the terms of the Open Ethnography License.
http://mcdrc.org/docs/open-ethnography-license
subject
Mongolia
Ethnographic videos
Everyday life
date
2012
language
Mongolian
Items
Batjargal's winter camp, Yeröö
Thrift, Eric
In this video clip, Batjargal presents his winter camp.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Winter Camp, Yeroo Sheep, Batjargal
Yeröö breed rams at a well
Thrift, Eric
This video recording documents rams of the Yeröö breed being watered at a well.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Yeroo Sheep-Rams, Watering Livestock
Yeröö sheep morning husbandry activities
Thrift, Eric
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Yeroo Sheep, Morning Activities
Feeding pigs and a newborn foal
Thrift, Eric
These two short clips were taken at Tasag in Yeröö. In the first clip, Gerlee and her son Nyamdorj feed their pigs, as Sookoo looks on. The second clip shows Bat-Erdene’s newborn foal.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Feeding Pigs, Newborn Foal, Gerlee-Nyamdorj
Milking cattle and collecting dung at Sainsanaa's place in Yeröö
Thrift, Eric
This series of audiovisual recordings documents Sainsanaa and his wife milking cattle, sending cows off to pasture, and gathering dung.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Milking Cattle, Collecting Dung, Sainsanaa
Visit with Mendee and his brothers - Yeröö
Thrift, Eric
This series of audiovisual recordings documents activities at Tasag in Yeröö sum, Selenge aimag.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Feeding Pigs, Feeding Chickens, Fetching Water, Combing Goats, Evening Activities, Mendee-Bat-Erdene-Batsaikhan
Tsagaan's cattle, Yeröö sum
Thrift, Eric
Tsagaan, a retiree who lives in Yeröö sum centre, shows off the cattle he keeps in his yard. The cows are milked once a day, in the morning.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Milking Cattle, Tsagaan
Harvesting wild strawberries in Yeröö
Thrift, Eric
The recordings in this series depict wild strawberry harvesting by families from Yeröö sum, Selenge aimag.
Gerlee making strawberry jam
Thrift, Eric
The recordings in this series were taken in Tasag, Yeröö sum, Selenge aimag on the day following a strawberry-picking expedition.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Making Strawberry Jam, Gerlee
Dolgorsüren distilling milk liquor (shimiin arkhi)
Thrift, Eric
The recordings in this series depict Dolgorsüren distilling milk liquor, while her daughter-in-law prepares jars for strawberry jam making.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Distilling Milk Liquor, Making Strawberry Jam, Dolgorsuren
Visit to Bat-Erdene's home in Yeröö
Thrift, Eric
The recordings in this series depict a visit to Buryat herder Bat-Erdene’s home in Tasag, Yeroo sum, Selenge aimag.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Farm Livestock, Separating Cream, Goat Birth, Bat-Erdene
Gerlee cooking and milking her cow
Thrift, Eric
This series of audiovisual recordings documents Gerlee’s work in the home.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Making Boortsog, Making Khailmag, Making Khuushuur, Milking Cattle, Gerlee-Nyamdorj
Dolgorsüren and family milking cows and making aaruul
Thrift, Eric
The recordings in this series depict Dolgorsüren and her grandchildren milking cattle and making aaruul.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Milking Cattle, Making Aaruul, Dologorsuren
Feltmaking at Khandgait, Yeroo sum, Selenge aimag (part I)
Thrift, Eric
This series of videos documents feltmaking at Purevjav’s place in Khandgait, Yeroo, over two days in late summer.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Felt Making, Beating Wool, Milking Cattle, Purevjav
Feltmaking at Khandgait, Yeroo sum, Selenge aimag (part II)
Thrift, Eric
This series of videos documents feltmaking at Purevjav’s place in Khandgait, Yeroo, over two days in late summer.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Felt Making, Slaughtering Sheep Goat, Driven Well, Race Horses, Purevjav
Haymaking at Khandgait, Yeröö sum, Selenge aimag
Thrift, Eric
The recordings in this series depict the gathering and transportation of hay by herders in Yeröö.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Hay Making
Horse branding celebration in Yeröö
Thrift, Eric
This series of recordings documents a branding ceremony for the foals belonging to a wealthy businessman from Nalaikh.
subject: Pastoralism Videos, Horse Branding Ritual