Nomadic herders of Mongolia raise what they call the 'five muzzles' (camels, horses, cattle, sheep and goats) in a steppe, desert or mountain environment, and carry out seasonal movements, the frequency of which varies according to environmental, political, social, economic and individual parameters. While pastoral mobility has been the subject of studies that shed light on the logic and diversity of these practices, the mobility of animals between herders remains curiously absent from studies on Mongolian pastoralism. We thus have little information on livestock circulation practices, and in particular on the ways in which herders build up and maintain their herds.
Based on fieldwork conducted between 2018 and 2023 in Central Mongolia, this presentation will explore the circulation practices - purchase, sale, exchange, gift - of livestock, focusing in particular on the networks the herders rely on and selection criteria. In a pastoral society where most live animals are purchased directly from other herders and not through markets or dealers, this paper will look at the places of origin and destination of the animals, and their possible links with nomadic mobility as well as kinship and other networks.
Finally, particular attention will be paid to the herders’ strategies in a context of increasing climatic events that weaken the herds, but also of economic difficulties and increasing potential for physical and virtual exchanges through the development of transport infrastructures and the evolution of communication networks and means.
