water

Audio: Kalmykia

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, thanks to our backers on Patreon, we’ll be talking about Kalmykia, a republic and country of Russia located directly north of the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe, between Ukraine and Kazakhstan, only around 200 miles or 350km north of Georgia. The Kalmyks, of Mongol origin, migrated to the Caspian region in the 17th century from Central Asia. They were mainly nomadic cattle breeders. Kalmykiya was established in 1920 as an autonomous oblast (region); in 1936 it became a republic, which was abolished in 1944 when the Kalmyks were exiled for alleged collaboration with the Germans during WW2.

The territory of Kalmykia is unique in that it has been the home in successive periods to many major world religions and ideologies. Prehistoric paganism and shamanism gave way to Judaism amongst some of the Khazars (who included Muslims and Christians in equal or greater numbers as well). This was succeeded by Islam with the Alans while the Mongol hordes brought Tengriism, and the later Nogais were Muslims, before their replacement by the present-day Buddhist Oirats/Kalmyks. It now stands as the only Buddhist region in Europe.

The republic covers an area of around 76,000 square kilometres (or almost 30,000 square miles), making it a similar size to Panama, Czechia or the US state of South Carolina. With a population of about 275,000 residents Kalmykia ranks among the smallest of Russia’s federal districts in terms of population.

The Kalmyks benefit from their relatively high levels of education and strong international connections. Overseas communities are found today in many parts of Europe and in the United States. The head of the religious establishment in Kalmykia itself was born in Philadelphia before being recognized by the Dalai Lama as a reincarnation of a Buddhist saint.

The capital and largest city of the republic is Elista, which has gained a reputation for, of all things, international chess. And for you Star Wars fans, the Ewok language was based on Kalmyk, because George Lucas thought it sounded so odd.

Screenshot 2022-08-10 at 21.38.02 — Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Dublin, Ireland, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Galway, Ireland. Our theme music and other stings come from Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella.

As we mention in the episode, this finale to season 5 was voted on by our Patreon backers, and thanks as always to all of them for their support. You can sign up to Patreon to get a say in the episodes we cover in the seasons to come.

Some further reading for this episode:

Surviving in Isolation, Where the Steppe Has Turned to Sand – NY Times
Stupas and their Consecration in Contemporary Kalmykia – Valeria Gazizova
Early Herders of the Eurasian Steppe – Penn Museum
The Kalmyks – E.B. Guchinova
Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Project – University of Cambridge
A Brief Military History of the Kalmyk – Arltan Baskhaev
Kalmyks, Oirat Descendants in Russia : a Historical and Ethnographic Sketch, Bakaeva, Senri Ethnological Studies
Muammar Gaddafi finds he has a chess mate in Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – The Guardian
Desertification in Russia: Problems and solutions (an example in the Republic of Kalmykia-Khalmg Tangch) – I S Zonn

An excellent documentary from DW on Kalmykia

Music used in this episode:

Thanks to all our patrons who support the show. We really appreciate your continued backing of us. If you want to join them, more information is available at www.patreon.com/80dayspodcast

See you in Season 6!

S03E08 Lesotho Audio

In this episode of 80 Days: An Exploration Podcast, we’ll be talking about the Kingdom of Lesotho, previously the British Crown Colony of Basutoland. This small African country is entirely surrounded by South Africa, making it one of only three nations to be contained entirely within another country’s borders. Lesotho is also one of the highest countries in the world, standing an average of 1500 metres above sea level, making it the fifth highest nation in the world by average elevation. Lesotho has a population of around 2 million, and its capital and largest city is Maseru.

At around 30,000 square kilometres, the country is roughly the size of Belgium or the US state of Hawaii. Its combination of high altitude and a relatively cool climate results in it being free of tropical diseases. Rainfall is highly variable, farming is difficult and the country has few natural resources. Sesotho is the national language, but English is the language of business, government and education.

Your hosts, as always, are Luke Kelly @thelukejkelly in Hong Kong, Mark Boyle @markboyle86 in the UK, and Joe Byrne @anbeirneach in Switzerland . (Theme music by Thomas O’Boyle @thatthomasfella)

Above is the location of Lesotho, contained entirely within South Africa.

Here are a few things you may want to read/watch more about:

Lesotho is one of the very few places in Southern Africa that has its own ski resort. The Atlantic has written a profile about this resort, which is named Afriski.
SA History provides an exhaustive rundown of the rise of Shaka Zulu and his people, which countered the rise of Moshoeshoe in Lesotho.
Historical Dictionary of Lesotho by S. Rosenberg and R. F. Weisfelder
We spoke a lot about coups toward the end of this month’s episode. You can find the Wikipedia page we mentioned here.
Did you know that Lesotho was the inspiration for Black Panther‘s fictional nation of Wakanda? Director Ryan Coogler has spoken about how he took inspiration from the tiny mountain nation that resisted Boers and Zulus in an interview with Vulture.
“The History of the Basotho traditional blankets” and their influence on Black Panther (The Blanket Wrap website)
We spoke at length about the father of the nation, Moshoeshoe (and his uncanny resemblance to Morgan Freeman) in this episode. You can find out more about him on Brittanica.

Contrast this Western-style appearance with his description in “The Basutos: the mountaineers and their country” (Sir Godfrey Lagden, 1909)
The various Basotho-Free State wars are described here
“Basutoland: Its Legends and Customs” (Minnie Martin, 1903)
Contemporary accounts of Morosi’s rebellion
Toward the end of the episode we spoke about South Africa’s reliance on water from Lesotho. In fact, it Lesotho’s water has earned the nickname ‘white gold’ due to its importance to the economy. The BBC has written a piece about this ‘white gold’ and the crucial role it plays in Lesotho’s development.
Listen too to the NPR Planet Money podcast on Lesotho’s water resources
Power in Colonial Africa by Elizabeth A. Eldredge, which is quoted in this episode, is available for free online here.
Africa Past & Present Podcast episode “Development Dreams in in Lesotho” interviews Jonn-Arni Flessner
New York Times articles from 1994 and 1998 about various incidents of unrest in the country, the latter about the wisdom of the Mandela government’s intervention
The interview with ousted PM Thomas Thabane after the 2014 coup can be found here on YouTube.
The botched South African raid into Lesotho under the guise of peacekeeping was profiled in the Sept 27, 1998 edition of the New York Times, which can be found via their archives here.
If you, like us, are a fan of flags, you can find more info on how Lesotho’s flag came to be on Wikipedia.
Useful Sesotho phrases (from Omniglot)

Some nice music (and characteristic dancing, in some cases) we found:

Traditional Basotho song by Lesotho men
Basotho women performing a traditional song and dance
Mamello Rabochene – “Kajeno Re Batho” – “Today We Are People”: Gospel song
“Mahlanya le Mohoke” – Itsamaele
“Il Cammino della Musica” documentary series visits Lesotho and talks with musicians about instruments and styles used in the Kingdom
We also used a song from Lee Rosevere, available under creative commons license 3.0 by attribution

Thanks to Seán Lyons for his interview about his time working in Lesotho with Irish NGO Action Lesotho. A massive thanks too to all of our patrons on Patreon who are supporting season 3. If you’d like to join them and see what rewards are available for supporters, and get a peek behind the curtain check out www.patreon.com/80dayspodcast. We really appreciate the support and input!