Matchmaking Ceremony of Mongolia’s Tuvans: Analyzing Authors’ Field Data

Abstract

Introduction. The article examines the authors’ field data for an insight into a key wedding element — the matchmaking ceremony practiced by Tuvans inhabiting Bayan-Ölgii and Khovd provinces of Mongolia. It is due to the latter’s isolation that their material and spiritual culture — and specifically life-cycle rites — still retain somewhat unique features to be identified with the aid of comparative analysis. Goals. The paper aims to investigate the matchmaking ceremony of Tuvans from Bayan-Ölgii and Khovd provinces of Mongolia and, thus, shed light on most ancient beliefs and cults, customs and rituals, clarify questions of ethnogenetic and ethnocultural ties with the core ethnic community — Tuvans of the Tyva Republic (Russia). Methods. The work employs contemporary interdisciplinary research methods that facilitate a comprehensive approach involving methodological principles of related scientific disciplines, such as source studies and ethnography. Investigation of objective reality at the nexus of several related humanities fields shall yield a wider picture of ethnic specificities inherent to the examined culture and its functioning principles in the Tuvan ethnos at large. Results. The article considers archival and newly obtained field data on the matchmaking ceremony practiced by Tuvans of Khovd and Bayan-Ölgii aimags of Mongolia. Conclusions. Thus, the work presents a comparative ethnographic analysis of ritual matchmaking practices observed among Tuvans of Mongolia.