Ethnic identity of indigenous small ethnic groups of Western Mongolia

The article provides the results of an empirical study of cognitive and emotional aspects of ethnic identity in indigenous small ethnic groups of Western Mongolia: Oirats, Oold, Torgud, Minggad, Khoton and Uriankhai. It provides a brief overview of sources on identity issues, including ethnicity, as well as the identity of Mongolian ethnic groups, the main approaches to their study. The article also substantiates the representativeness of the conducted research and its main methodological foundations. The results demonstrated that the majority of respondents share traditional patriarchal views on the conduct of genealogy, inter-ethnic marriages, attitudes toward other ethnoses. The respondents showed a good knowledge of the history and folklore of their ethnic group. This largely predetermined the fact that more than half of the respondents correctly chose the two most famous representatives of their ethnic group, legends and epic works. At the same time, new phenomena have appeared in the life of Western Mongols: changes in the structure of religious preferences, as well as the increasing number of Internet users. Internet news, social networks, communication with other people, professional information, history of Mongolia, housekeeping (cooking, caring for animals, plants, embroidering, repairing houses, etc.) were of the greatest interest for the respondents. In all the changes taking place in modern Mongolia, the authors noted both positive moments leading to democratization and tolerance in interethnic relations and some threats to the preservation of ethnic identity. In conclusion, the authors draw attention to the fact that the traditional relations of small ethnic groups of Western Mongolia still exist, while interests in religious life, in the information sphere are beginning to change, which will gradually influence the changes in more conservative social relations. In the context of intensified intercultural dialogue, due to the concentration of the population in cities, especially in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, there is an ever-increasing unification in the language and culture of different ethnic groups, the formation of a single common Mongol community, the Mongolian people. This is also facilitated by the consolidation of the Mongols in the post-socialist period around the common history and the national leader - Genghis Khan. At the same time, there are interests in the local history, culture, and religion of individual ethnic groups, which requires special attention, since in the context of globalization and unification these interests may be the basis for interethnic conflicts.

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