Abstract

The literature that formed the basis of Mongolia's revolutionary writing was based upon the traditional shamanic nomadic herding culture of the steppe and upon the vajrayāna Buddhism that the population had practiced since the late sixteenth century. The themes that occupied these pre-revolutionary writers – social relationships, love, religious observance, the impact of the weather on livestock – were later adapted to fit with socialist ideology. In this way, the prayers and humor, the observations of how Mongolian society was changing, and the lyrics inspired by traditional Indo-Tibetan literature reveal both the thematic and stylistic contexts that would influence writers’ responses to the new society and the expectations of their readers.

Keywords: traditional literature, Buddhism, nomadic livestock herding, pre-revolutionary culture, D. Bodoo, Zawa Damdin

Hishigt and Dambadorj made fun of him mercilessly, saying that there was no way he was going to get an education, he being a half-witted creature. The monk Tseren thought that Anvaan could become a good herder, but he was concerned about the boy's situation and kept on at him. It was not that Anvaan's mother Dulam wanted her son to be taught how to read and write, but she had no intention of sending him to work, herding the horses and such like.