Place Names and Kazakh Song Making in the Western Mongolian Steppes

Ethnobiology through Song

“…Despite the many important contributions that music can make to our understanding of human-nature interrelations, the majority of research on the ethnobiological contexts in which songs are performed and transmitted comes from the field of ethnomusicology (e.g., Post 2019; Turpin et al 2017). Ethnomusicologists have long recognized the important role that music plays in building cultural identities (Balzer 2016; Bracknell 2015; Koch 2013), ensuring the continuance of distinct epistemic traditions (Nyota and Mapara 2008; Seeger 2016; Silvers 2015), and fostering a deep sense of place amongst many Indigenous Peoples and local communities (Richards 2007; Roseman 1998).…”

“…Because of this, songs are also an important repository of language (Crate this issue; Grant 2012a; Turpin and Stebbins 2010). Traditional songs can, thus, be understood as rich systems of embedded knowledge and a powerful expression of local cultural values and worldviews (Post 2019; Thornton et al this issue; Walker 2003).…”

“…Traditional music holds a significant place in the ways in which many cultural groups proclaim their collective history, which is often passed down over generations through oral transmission (Post 2007, 2019; Xu et al 2005). Because traditional songs reflect a depth of embodied experience about intimate, long-term relationships with landscapes, animals, plants, and other non-human beings, they are carriers of biocultural memory (Harris 2004; Post 2007, 2019; Ranspot this issue). Because of this, traditional songs often provide information on historical relationships with the land and its resources that might not be recorded in other ways (Roseman 1998; Turner et al 2013b).…”

“…However, these song maps rarely entered colonial or postcolonial discourses on land ownership or rights. This is surprising, as many traditional songs not only evoke images of places of cultural attachment, but also feature place names that have social, political, and historical significance (Feld 1990; Post 2019; Walsh et al 2013).…”

“…Despite the many important contributions that music can make to our understanding of human-nature interrelations, the majority of research on the ethnobiological contexts in which songs are performed and transmitted comes from the field of ethnomusicology (e.g., Post 2019;Turpin et al 2017). Ethnomusicologists have long recognized the important role that music plays in building cultural identities (Balzer 2016;Bracknell 2015; flow.…”