Chandman’ and Beyond

Since the 1990s, khöömii has become one of Mongolia’s most recognized musical practices performed globally for its distinctive and unusual sound. Its status as a Mongolian cultural heritage product exists alongside cultural markers such as yurts, blue skies, green steppes, Chinggis Khan, and nomadic culture. Yet before the 1950s, few people outside of various small communities in western or northern Mongolia even knew of the vocal practice. It has taken seventy years for this transformation to occur and during this time one particular district called Chandman’ in Khovd province became renown in Mongolia as “the birth-place of khöömii” in light of the significant role of its community members in popularizing, professionalizing, and promoting the vocal practice locally, nationally, and internationally. In this chapter, I address the growth of khöömii in Mongolia from a local to a national tradition and discuss the specific role that one community, Chandman’, played in the process. I explore the musical and performative characteristics of khöömii and introduce some of its practitioners; then I illustrate how khöömii became the centerpiece of Mongolia’s important cultural heritage through various stages, such as institutionalization and international recognition during and after the socialist era. My findings point clearly to the central role that Chandman’ and its community played in its growing popularity in Mongolia and globally.