The Horse-head Fiddle and the Cosmopolitan Reimagination of Tradition in Mongolia

This book examines the processes of cultural modernization in Mongolia, using as its focus the folk instrument known as the ‘horse-head fiddle’ ( morin khuur ). In telling the story of this folk fiddle, Peter Marsh traces its development from a popular nomadic folk instrument to a powerful icon of Mongolian national identity. The fiddle provides a key example of the integration of rural Mongolian traditions with urban and professional life in the Soviet and post-Soviet eras.