Gurhlaajav
Basic information
Interviewee ID: 990457
Name: Gurhlaajav
Parent's name: Pürevjav
Ovog: Borjigon
Sex: f
Year of Birth: 1941
Ethnicity: Halh
Additional Information
Education: none
Notes on education:
Work: retired
Belief: none
Born in: Tsetserleg sum, Hövsgöl aimag
Lives in: Mörön sum (or part of UB), Hövsgöl aimag
Mother's profession: herder
Father's profession: herder
Themes for this interview are:
(Please click on a theme to see more interviews on that topic)
family
herding / livestock
collectivization
privatization
belief
Alternative keywords suggested by readers for this interview are: (Please click on a keyword to see more interviews, if any, on that topic)
To read a full interview with Gurhlaajav please click on the Interview ID below.
Summary of Interview 091056A with Gurhlaajav
I was born in 1941 at Middle White Water of Tseterleg sum, Hövsgöl aimag as the second son of Pürevjav’s family. I have only a little education. When I was supposed to enter school, my family moved, and so I missed going. I started working as a dairy-maid at the collective after I married. In order to be not late I got up at 5am in the morning and milked the cows. Also, we all did some exercise in the mornings. Some days I went hay cutting in between milkings. In the evenings, there music and dances, and I also taught script and we were very busy. We prepared fodder for livestock by hand and preserved them, but still only received a dairy-maid's salary. Also, I bred Merino sheep, whose lambs are born naked and needed a lot of care and attention. During the delivery of young animals, we would stay overnight near them without sleeping and keep watching and protecting them, so they wouldn't freeze. If we lost any lambs, wool and milk, we had to pay for it. If it happened, we did get any salary. At that time, cotton and silk for making a national dress called deel and material for belt were very rare and also it was hard to find shoes. In the summer we went barefoot, and our legs were chapped and bleeding because of it. In the winter we sewed Mongolian boots ourselves. I delivered 10 children, but only 3 survived, some of them died when they reach the age of 5. In that time, we milke the cows 3 days we gave birth, and went to work 45 days after childbirth, leaving our children behind us with or without a fire at home.
When I was small, my mother would light an offering lamp, but blow it out as soon as the dog started barking. It was strongly prohibited to invite monks when babies were sick. Some monks hid their religious teachings and books and left them in the mountains. Their items of worship were kept in chests. For some time, you couldn't celebrate Tsagaan sar because there was something like an inspection.
