The milk food of the Mongolian-Speaking nomads of Eurasia in a historical and cultural perspective

Abstract

For the nomads of the Eurasian steppes, milk and its derivatives such as cream, skim, buttermilk, cheese, curds, arkhi (an alcoholic beverage distilled from whey) and koumiss (slightly alcoholic fermented mare’s milk) are not simply a food but also part of their nourishment system and of their whole culture. Milk and milk products are consumed by nomads mostly in the the summer-autumn season when consumption of meat is rare, because animals begin to fatten only after the end of spring. It is in summer and autumn that Mongols celebrate a series of festivals of all-national, clan and family scale. These rituals demonstrate the special importance of everything connected with milk and known in the palette of their culture as tsagaan idee , i.e. “white food”. This food possesses a sacred meaning in various ritual situations. Freshly obtained milk was rarely consumed but it served as a daily sacrifice to spirits and deities of land, heaven and hearth. Milk used to be sprinkled behind the departing traveller, it was offered to an honoured guest or to the bride at the wedding when she arrived at the bridegroom’s house. Milk was also sprinkled on felt in its processing with the words “let your felt be soft and warm”. Milk was poured on the head of the winning horse in races or sprinkled on the head of foals and calves before castration. Koumiss with its sacred white colour served as a basic sacrifice in many rituals.