Tuvans of Mongolia: Modern Specifics of the Enclave Tradition

The article presents the results of field research conducted by the author among the Tuvan population of Mongolia in 2005, 2011, 2019, 2023, and 2024. The features of the Tuvan enclave tradition in modern Mongolia are shown. The Tuvan minority of Mongolia can be divided into three groups: cattle keepers of Northwestern Mongolia, reindeer herders of the Khovsgol region and migrants to Central Mongolia. The author characterizes current problems of internal migration of Tuvans from the Tsengel somon of the Bayan-Ulgii aimag to central Mongolia caused by various socio-economic problems. Based on field data, three waves have been identified in the migration processes of the Tuvan population. It is established that the move of Mongolian Tuvans to central Mongolia stems from the following factors: reduction of pasture lands in the places of their original residence in Tsengel somon of Bayan-Ulgii aimag and adjacent territories; unemployment issues; low cost of livestock products in Bayan-Ulgii aimag; Kazakh-language education in some subjects in secondary school, which causes Tuvan schoolchildren to lack proficiency in the state language; low accessibility to the center and lack of modern medical care. The article outlines the issues of the language situation among the Tuvan population, degree of distribution and functions of the native language in the Tuvan enclave, level of its preservation and its gradual loss in a foreign ethnic environment. Some of the Tuvan migrants in central Mongolia noted that nomadic life has recently been transforming, manifesting in the transition to a settled way of life and farming.