The enduring Dukha, one of the last nomadic reindeer herders in Mongolia

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The four-wheel drive my pal and I have been on hit a bump, and for the briefest second, we have been airborne, earlier than gravity drew us down unceremoniously onto our seats. Shaken however not stirred, we buckled up for the journey to search out and spend a while with the Dukha, one of many previous couple of teams of nomadic reindeer herders on the earth.

The Dukha reside alongside reindeer within the northern Khövsgöl aimag of Mongolia. The aimag is additional break up into the East and West Taiga, with all the space characterised by an awe-inspiring mixture of infinite steppes, pine bushes, rolling hills, mountains, steep, rocky slopes, lakes and winding rivers of various depths.

Hundreds of years earlier than, the Dukha dwell in Tuva, a republic southwest of Russia. As a result of pressured collectivisation and worry of being drafted into the Soviet conflict they didn’t ask for, they moved nearer to Mongolia, ultimately gaining Mongolian citizenship. Their nomadic motion is restricted throughout the space now often known as the Tsaagan Nuur (”White Lake”).

Quick ahead a century, and a declining neighborhood of lower than 30 Dukha Tsaatan households now occupy West Taiga. As a result of its numerous topography, autos steer sensibly away from the world, usually traversed on horseback by the locals and more and more, on motorbikes.

Our private bouncy fortress (learn: the 4WD) might solely carry us so far as a Mongolian household’s camp situated on the fringe of the Tsaagan Nuur, the place we might lease horses from. A further horse information was wanted to information us by means of the following leg of our expedition and assist present translations. From there, it might take round one to 2 days to find a Dukha household.

After one and a half days of cantering by means of steepe and fields of wildflowers, crossing rivers and trotting up rocky slopes, we entered a dramatic and Lord-of-the-Ring-esque panorama.

It’s the beginning of summer time, however snow nonetheless strings the hills, whereas the close by lake hasn’t thawed. The climate can get chilly as a result of subarctic nature of the area however the relentless afternoon solar retains the climate at a cool 16-19 levels Celsius. Mongolia receives essentially the most rain throughout summer time, so travellers have to be ready for solar, rain or hail at a second’s discover.

It didn’t take lengthy for our guides to guide us to yurts, the telltale signal of a Dukha’s dwelling.

Earlier than lengthy, we discovered ourselves swept into the lifetime of the fashionable Dukha, who wrestle between preserving their traditions alive and adapting to the world that’s whizzing by them. Right here’s a bit perception.

A complete household in a single yurt

A complete family often occupies one yurt; on this camp, 5 households coexist peacefully. Pictured under, our host Magsar, his spouse Shinae and their daughters Nara and Sara make up the younger household who allowed us to remain of their yurt for the night time.

Nara and Sara, which suggests solar and moon respectively of their conventional tongue, behaved simply as their identify suggests. Nara (in yellow) is a vivid ray of sunshine who’s all the time within the centre of consideration—teasing, demanding, leaping into an image at any probability and laughing at something. Youthful Sara (in inexperienced) is extra shy and prefers taking part in with rocks quietly in a nook, hiding behind her sister and snuggling within the bosom of her father.

Curing reindeer meat on strings

The very first thing we noticed once we entered their yurt was meat being smoked and cured on strings. Historically, what set the Dukha aside from all the opposite reindeer-herding tradition on the earth was the truth that they don’t eat their meat as a result of the reindeer is seen as a part of the household, although the cover and leather-based may very well be used to craft garments, belts and boots. It’s a bit like refusing to eat your uncle and aunt, however being okay with carrying them.

Instances have modified since then, and meat is essential to outlive the -50 levels Celsius chilly Mongolian winter. Our 20-year-old information Shagai additionally knowledgeable us that Mongolians basically imagine in letting animals lead a full lifespan earlier than being slaughtered, a call prone to be influenced by their spiritual relationship with nature.

Using reindeer at a younger age, stirrups not wanted

It’s not tough to search out younger youngsters racing previous us on reindeer-back, shouting “Chu! Chu!” as they slap the reindeer’s hind to make them go quicker. Youthful toddlers are positioned behind their older siblings, and earlier than lengthy, they too will be capable to journey the reindeer confidently.

English classes for the youngsters

Supported by a authorities initiative, youngsters and teenagers get English classes from a trainer who lives close to their camp. Every single day, Granny helps among the youthful youngsters onto the reindeer earlier than they journey off to the trainer’s place, round one hour from their camp.

Protecting of their reindeer herds

We arrived simply after the calves have been simply born, and the interval throughout which mama reindeers are usually overprotective prevented us from getting too close to to the herd. Sneakily, we inch slowly in the direction of among the reindeer, just for the native teen to step in to guard us from them (or possibly it’s the opposite approach spherical).

The reindeer’s residence

Reindeer spend all the day grazing, roaming far until night when the lads chase after them on horses and herd them again to camp. Gone have been the times when every family owned tons of of reindeer, as pressured collectivization within the communism period in Tuva vastly decimated the reindeer’s inhabitants in every family.

The Mongolian authorities has stepped in to import reindeer from close by areas with a view to enhance the gene pool of the reindeer, and guarantee continuity of the reindeer-herding tradition, however these days it’s nonetheless exhausting to see any common Dukha family personal greater than 20 reindeer.

Carving out souvenirs created from reindeer antlers

To complement his revenue, our host carved statues out of reindeer antlers to promote to guests. Promoting handmade souvenirs helps the Dukha neighborhood earn additional money to assist their households to obtain further rations and gear that will ease the robust situation of life within the taiga. We understood from him that they obtain round 100 vacationers a 12 months, notably throughout summer time.

Neighbours coming over for a standard Mongolian card recreation

On the second day of our keep, neighbouring nomads arrived on horseback to play a standard card recreation which bears similarity to poker. The ladies sat round chatting whereas the lads smoked and performed playing cards.

The Dukha cherubs

One of the rewarding experiences, aside from gaining an perception into how the Dukha reside from each day, was mingling with the free-spirited youngsters of the taiga. They embody the resilience of a race that has survived hundreds of years in among the world’s remotest and coldest areas.

It’s exhausting to inform if the youngsters will proceed the Dukha’s lifestyle as too many from every era have given up the tough uncertainty of nomadic residing to assimilate into metropolis life.

However when certainly one of them pulled my hand in the direction of the reindeer, excitedly chattering to me in his native tongue, whereas one other handed me a fist filled with the stones she’s sharpened, I can not thank my fortunate stars sufficient that I’ve had an opportunity to be there, nonetheless transient, within the enduring lifetime of the Dukha.