Paper short abstract:

The aim of this paper is to point out that modern Mongols do not look for urban areas one way but their choices of residential place include both rural and urban areas. They adapted to changing society by going and coming between rural and urban areas seasonally and circumstantially.

Paper long abstract:

Since the 20th century, population of Mongolia has centralized to urban settlement areas such as the capital city Ulaanbaatar, while rural pastoral population is decreasing. Does it suggest the end of nomadism?

The aim of this paper is to point out that modern Mongols do not look for urban areas one way but their choices of residence include both rural and urban areas, going and coming between these areas. I analyzed short-term, personal life courses of them from the anthropological micro point of view, and also analyzed their family history from the long-term point of view. It was clarified that their life courses and family histories crossed urban and rural areas. In other words, Modern Mongols had gone and come between them seasonally and circumstantially.

I made a research on residences of 26 persons in the 4 generations of an extended family from Bulgan Prefecture, Mongolia. All the generations and all persons had lived their lives both in rural and urban areas. The clues of move were enrollment in schools, employment in and retirement from jobs.

In conclusion, Mongols have choices of variable ways of life such as to be engaged in animal husbandry in rural areas, to be employed as wageworkers in cities, and to study or work abroad. They possess many technical, social channels for life based on multi-layered experiences in variable spaces. It may be said that they adapt to changing society by using variable channels according to the situation.