Preface Introduction Maps 1. Pages of History: From Medieval Oirats to contemporary Kalmyks 2. Deportation as a collective trauma: 13 years, 13 days 3. Diaspora and Identity 4. Language and ethnolinguistic situation 5. Household economy and dwellings 6. Family and gender stereotypes 7. Life cycle rituals 8. Food, Dress and Ornament 9. Folk crafts and decorative arts 10. Religion, calendar and festivals 11. Folklore and Epic mythology 12. The Leader of the Nation and the idea of Nationhood Conclusions: Metamorphoses in Kalmyk ethnicity in a period of transformations Notes Glossary Bibliography
Biography
Elza-Bair Gouchinova is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
David C. Lewis is a Research Associate of the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit, University of Cambridge.
"Guchinova (Institute of Ethnography and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences) and Lewis (Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit, U. of Cambridge, UK) present a historical-cultural introduction to the Kalmyk people of southern Russia, who combine a heritage of Mahayana Buddhism and a historical past rooted in the Mongolian Khanates. Aside from the beginning discussion of the Kalmyks' origins, the material generally focuses on their experiences and way of life during the Soviet and contemporary eras. Opening chapters describe their experiences with forced deportation in the 1940s and 1950s and explore more recent issues of diaspora and identity. Later chapters are devoted to language and ethno-linguistics; traditional economy and dwelling; family and gender stereotypes; life cycle rites; food and dress; handicrafts and decorative-applied arts; religion, the calendar, and festivals; folk arts and epics; and folk consciousness and national identity." -- Book News, 2007
