Abstract

This paper examines competing claims concerning the distribution, origin, and ownership of khöömei (throat-singing) in Mongolia. Historically, the practice was transmitted through close apprenticeship with senior practitioners. Learning involved assisting masters, observing, imitating, and engaging in sustained repetition, through which apprentices acquired not only technical skills but also embodied and socially embedded knowledge. Although khöömei is practiced across Turko-Mongolic communities in Mongolia and neighboring regions and is widely recognized as a shared cultural form, its historical origins and geographical boundaries remain contested. Competing narratives of emergence underpin rival claims to cultural ownership, authenticity, and authority. I argue that debates about authenticity are closely linked to shifts in the transmission and performance contexts of khöömei. Claims to cultural authority are grounded in ideas of inherited belonging, legitimate lineage, and proximity to locally rooted modes of learning, which differentiate between more and less “authentic” bearers of the tradition within the post-socialist heritage landscape. At the same time, the distribution of khöömei cannot be explained solely by ecological conditions or pastoral nomadic lifeways but must be understood in relation to long-term historical interactions and cultural exchange across the Altai-Sayan region and Western Mongolia. Since 1990, these debates have intensified with the growing institutionalization of khöömei and expanding international discussions about its origins and ownership.

This paper draws on published materials and on ethnographic research conducted over several years of fieldwork in Khovd Province in western Mongolia.