Social and economic aspects of the uses of animal wool and hair in western Mongolia

This article considers social and economic aspects of the uses of wool and hair derived from domestic animals (sheep, goats, cows, yaks or crossbreeds, horses and camels) amongst the Kazakh population living in the western-most Mongolian province, Bayan-Ölgii. This province is mainly populated by Kazakhs, who form the country’s largest minority and are concentrated in the western provinces. The article begins by contextualising Kazakh households’ economic and domestic practices in the context of the recent past. It briefly outlines the framework for economic activity during the period leading up to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It goes on to look at domestic uses of wool and hair today, and the social life around such uses and production routines in a small village in Bayan-Ölgii. The article thus explores how the uses of wool and hair from domestic animals are practices which reflect the economic and social situation of the household as well as wider societal processes.