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Telling the story of the author's time living with a Kazakh family in a small village in western Mongolia, this book contextualizes the family’s personal stories within the broader history of the region. It looks at the position of the Kazakh over time in relation to Tsarist Russian, Soviet, Chinese and Mongolian rule and influence. These are stories of migration across generations, bride kidnappings and marriage, domestic violence and alcoholism, adoption and family, and how people have coped in the face of political and economic crisis, poverty and loss, and, perhaps most enduringly, how love and family persist through all of this.
“What starts as an account of cultural encounters unfolds as a highly informative, entertaining, self-reflexive narrative told with a great measure of empathy and humanism that demonstrates the ultimate unity of humanity.” • Ildikó Bellér-Hann, University of Copenhagen
“I very much enjoyed reading this book. It is both insightful and touching to follow the story of one extended family over the years, and well into the past. In my view, this adds a significant piece of knowledge and reflection on a very little-known part of the world, to which the author had a unique access.” • Peter Finke, University of Zurich
List of Illustrations
Notes on Transliteration
Family Tree
Map of Central and Inner Asia Today
Part I: First Introductions
Chapter 1. Beginnings
Chapter 2. Relations
Chapter 3. Ölgii Town
Chapter 4. Drive to Soghakh
Chapter 5. First Days with the Family
Chapter 6. Two Horsemen
Chapter 7. Nighttime and Morning Rituals
Part II: Transitions
Chapter 8. The Young Accountant
Chapter 9. The Letter
Chapter 10. The First House in the First Street
Chapter 11. Thinking about the Past
Chapter 12. The Age of the Market
Chapter 13. Thick as Cream
Chapter 14. Saving Graces
Part III: Decisions
Chapter 15. Living Arrangements
Chapter 16. The People Who Move
Chapter 17. The Winter Slaughter
Chapter 18. Silver Flower
Chapter 19. French Extraordinaires
Chapter 20. Daughters-in-Law
Chapter 21. The Young Uncle
Part IV: Into the Past
Chapter 22. The Shaman’s Son
Chapter 23. The Closure of the Steppe
Chapter 24. The Mongols of the West
Chapter 25. New Year’s Eve
Chapter 26. Kazakhs and Western Mongols
Chapter 27. Night-time Walk
Chapter 28. Cossack Warriors and Settler Pioneers
Chapter 29. A People Frozen in Time
Chapter 30. Four Brothers
Part V: New Futures
Chapter 31. Across the Border
Chapter 32. A Scar Necklace
Chapter 33. A New Homeland
Chapter 34. Family Ties
Chapter 35. Kazakh Rebel Fighters of the Altai
Chapter 36. One Hundred Percent Kazakh
Chapter 37. The Red Terror
Chapter 38. Kurban Ait
Chapter 39. Mongolia’s Rich Cradle
Part VI: Broken Ties
Chapter 40. Stuck
Chapter 41.The Strong-Willed Girl
Chapter 42. Dimpled Bakhytbek
Chapter 43. A Short Break
Chapter 44. Broken Crown
Chapter 45. The Visitor
Chapter 46. Journey to Kazakhstan
Part VII: New Worlds, Old Ties
Chapter 47. Two Worlds
Chapter 48. Brave New World
Chapter 49. A First Wedding
Chapter 50. Elnara’s Journey
Chapter 51. An Autumn Wedding
Conclusion: A Magpie’s Tale
Bibliography
Index