The Tamyrs: A Tale of Two Peoples

Abstract

Translator's Note Tamyrs (Die Tamyr) was published in 2002 in a German-language collection of short fiction called Dew and Grass (Tau und Gras). Written in oral narrative style, the story begins in 1922, after the Mongolian revolution and the overthrow?with the aid of the Soviets?of the Chinese occupation. Tribal warfare within Mongolia was intense. In the mountains separating China and Mongolia, two groups of refugees? Tuvans and Kazakhs, as the reader learns at the end of the story?engage each other in a battle. While the setting is historical, the story's theme is also topical: the relationship is precarious between the minority Tuvans and majority Kazakhs in the high Altai range of the western Mongolian province of Bayan-Olgiy, which is the traditional homeland of the Tuvans. The province borders on the Russian Federation to the north and the Peo ple's Republic of China to the south. As the chieftain of the Tuvans, Galsan Tschinag works tirelessly to pro mote interethnic understanding and foster economic opportunities for both the Tuvans and the Kazakhs.