Tserenhlam
Basic information
Interviewee ID: 990039
Name: Tserenhlam
Parent's name: Tsendjav
Ovog: Tsomo
Sex: m
Year of Birth: 1943
Ethnicity: Halh
Additional Information
Education: higher
Notes on education:
Work: retired
Belief: Buddhist
Born in: Tsetsen-Uul sum, Zavhan aimag
Lives in: Sühbaatar hot sum (or part of UB), Selenge aimag
Mother's profession: herder
Father's profession: herder
Themes for this interview are:
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education / cultural production
authority
democracy
work
collectivization
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Summary of Interview 080805A with Tserenhlam
In her childhood, Tserenlham played by constructing a ger out of stones and made a camel out of wood. She entered the sum school together with 30 other children.
Up until 1950, 5 year plans were adopted and it was a mandatory requirement to complete the 5 year plan for every household. It was hard for some herders to meet their meat and milk duties, so many people went to jail due to not completing them. At that time, goods were very rare and money was not used widely. In 1954-1955, the first meeting of best herders was organized and the situation changed a quite bit after that.
Choibalsan collective was the first one in Zavhan Aimag when the collective movement started in 1956. A person, whose name was Jügnii did not join the collective until 1970 and he was the only one at the aimag level. Pressure such as expelling his three daughters from school were put on him. In 1972 and 1978, they took away the excess livestock from households and gave them money.
Since 1960, goods became available and a salary was given to herders in money. Also, Tsagaan Sar started to be celebrated as a Collective’s holiday but it was not allowed to celebrate it in cities and towns.
The cultural campaign was organized in three stages in 1960, 1962 and 1966. Households did not have curtains, blankets and pastry boards and used a brazier to make a fire, and used the edge of their belt as a towel after washing their face and all these were changed during the cultural campaigns. People accepted it very positively.
Tserenhlam's grandfather’s brother Jaltsangomtseden, who was a lord, and his three sons were arrested and executed. At that time, they arrested mainly men. Also, in 1928, assets of repressed people were confiscated as the property of feudal’s and it continued until 1978.
In 1990, after the democratic revolution, privatization organized in the wrong way and it was also one type of repression. In 1990, a meeting to support democracy was organized in front of Altanbulag movie theatre in Selenge Aimag and it was led by Minj. Tserenlham participated in the establishment of a cooperative and was able to collect some livestock and purchase a car by getting a credit from the bank, so she did not have much difficulty during the coupon (rationing) period.
