Review of Fear and Fortune

Abstract

Mette High’s Fear and Fortune is an anthropological text which explores how Mongolians in Uyanga adapt to and navigate the artisanal mining (ninja mining) as a viable and preferred way of life to herding. Fraught with issues of pollution (as a social ordering concept) and morality, ninja mining and gold money carries with it great risk of misfortune. With an extended fieldwork spanning two-and-a-half years, High unpacks how the cosmoeconomy of the Mongolian gold rush in Uyanga challenges conventional ideas of economics, exchange, money, and morality.