FID Central Asia & Siberia: Book Publications
Muliethnic Societies in Central Asia and Siberia Represented in Indigenous Oral and Written Literature - The Role of Private Collections, Archives and Libraries.
Merle Schatz (Editor)
ISBN: 978-3-86395-554-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2022-2038
Central Asia and Siberia are characterized by multiethnic societies formed by a patchwork of often small ethnic groups. At the same time large parts of them have been dominated by state languages, especially Russian and Chinese. On a local level the languages of the autochthonous people often play a role parallel to the central national language. The contributions of this conference proceeding follow up on topics such as: What was or is collected and how can it be used under changed conditions in the research landscape, how does it help local ethnic communities to understand and preserve their own culture and language? Do the spatially dispersed but often networked collections support research on the ground? What contribution do these collections make to the local languages and cultures against the backdrop of dwindling attention to endangered groups? These and other questions are discussed against the background of the important role libraries and private collections play for multiethnic societies in often remote regions that are difficult to reach.
Flying Deer and Sun Gods
Authors: Johannes Reckel; Merle Schatz
Nünnerich-Asmus: 1. Edition (17. March 2022)
English, German
ISBN-10: 3961761833
ISBN-13: 978-3961761838
A flock of deer flies towards the sky nestled close together; a herd of camels with their driver sitting on the lead animal; an old dignified man with a beard and a chalice in front of his navel looks at us with wide eyes; an army of armored mounted warriors and people whose heads are surrounded by a halo of rays - these are just some of the impressive images carved in stone that we encounter in Central Asia. This volume takes us to places that were previously known only to specialists or locals. Whether in the high mountains, which are only a few weeks a year without ice, or in the ranges of hills of the glowing hot Kazakh and Mongolian steppes, we find the stone images that are more than five millennia old. For the locals, these places are sacred. This book offers an expert introduction to the area of rock art and provides a fascinating insight into a world unknown to us. Informative explanations of numerous photographs taken during travels through Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan immerse readers in the life of prehistoric societies in Central Asia.
Ancient Texts and Languages of Ethnic Groups along the Silk Road
Editors: Johannes Reckel and Merle Schatz
In: Universitätsdrucke Göttingen
Published: 2021
ISBN: 978-3-86395-489-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2021-1589
Central Asia has been dominated by Mongolian and Turkic speaking nations for the past 1300 years. Uyghurs and Uzbeks were the most important traders on the Central Asian Silk Roads. Earlier Sogdians and Tokharians and other ethnic groups speaking Indo-Germanic (Indo-Iranian) languages were active on these ancient trade routes. In the 18th and 19th century a Tungus language, Manchu, became important for Sinkiang, Mongolia and the whole of China. Expansion policy of different realms, comprehensive commercial activities and the spread of religious ideas facilitated the exchange of (cultural) knowledge along the Silk Road. Texts and scripts tell us not only about the different groups that were in contact, but also reflect details of diplomatic, religious, and economic ambitions and the languages that were used for these different forms of communication. Several examples of contact induced language change or specific linguistic influence as a result of contacts along the Silk Road invite us to understand more about the frequency, intensity and intention of contacts that took place in very different regions connected by the Silk Road.
Oirat and Kalmyk Identity in the 20th and 21st Century
Editors: Johannes Reckel and Merle Schatz
In: Universitätsdrucke Göttingen
Published: 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2020-1334
Oirat-Kalmyk are Western Mongols that since the late 14th century stand in opposition to the Eastern Mongols like Khalka, Tümed, Buryat etc. They dominated for hundreds of years the western Central Asian steppes often in a fighting competition with Khazaks, Nogai and other Turkic nomadic tribes. The Dzungar Khanat of the Oirat was destroyed by Manchu China in 1757, but the death throes for the Oirat and Kalmyk community came in the middle 20th century when the limitless steppes became divided between socialist states with closed or at least fixed borders. Different groups of the Oirat-Kalmyk today live in four different states in a diaspora that threatens their common ethnic identity. In recent years borders that had been closed for decades opened again for mutual contacts and the Oirat again are looking for a common identity across borders, an identity that focuses on a common language, script and religion. The Oirat-Kalmyk are embedded in multi-ethnic social structures in which they have developed a great deal of adaptability to the environment as much as a conception of the own identity. This book presents various topics discussed at the international conference on Oirat and Kalmyk Identity in the 20th and 21st century at the Göttingen State- and University Library. The authors investigate Oirat cultural and linguistic heritage from different perspectives such as youth culture, internet language, dances and songs, as well as history, literature, linguistics and religion. The book contributes to the latest research trends in Mongolian and Central Asian Studies and their related disciplines.
Korean Diaspora – Central Asia, Siberia and Beyond
Editors: Johannes Reckel and Merle Schatz
In: Universitätsdrucke Göttingen
Published: 2020
ISBN: 978-86395-451-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2020-1307
In this book, scholars from disciplines like anthropology, history, linguistics and philology engage with the subject of how Koreans who live outside Korea had to (re-)define their own distinct cultural life in a foreign environment. Most Koreans in the diaspora define themselves through their ancestry, their language and their religion. Language serves as a strong argument for defining one´s own identity within a multi ethnic society. Ethnic Koreans in the diaspora tend to cultivate their own very special dialects. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union and the opening of China, most ethnic Koreans in Central Asia, Manchuria and Siberia came again into close contact with Koreans especially from South Korea. There is a certain desire amongst many ethnic Koreans to learn the standard Korean language instead of sticking to their own dialects. This volume investigates constructions of Korean diasporic identity from a variety of temporal and spatial contexts.
Central Asian Sources and Central Asian Research
In October 2014 about thirty scholars from Asia and Europe came together for a conference to discuss different kinds of sources for the research on Central Asia. From museum collections and ancient manuscripts to modern newspapers and pulp fiction and the wind horses flying against the blue sky of Mongolia there was a wide range of topics. Modern data processing and data management and the problems of handling five different languages and scripts for a dictionary project were leading us into the modern digital age. The dominating theme of the whole conference was the importance of collections of source material found in libraries and archives, their preservation and expansion for future generations of scholars.
Reckel, Johannes (Hrsg.)
In: Göttinger Bibliotheksschriften; 39
Erschienen: 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17875/gup2016-990
In preparation
- „Multiethnic Societies of Central Asia and Siberia Represented in Indigenous Oral and Written Literature – The Role of Private Collections, Archives and Libraries“.