#tsaatan

Восход над пастбищами малочисленного кочевого народа северной Монголии - Цаатанов (или Дукха). Фотограф Даниил Коржонов. Россия (Москва). Sunrise over the pastures of the Tsaatan (or Dukkha) nomadic people of northern Mongolia. Photographer Daniil Korzhonov. Russia (Moscow).

Tsaatan

Gli uomini renna della Mongolia, Les hommes renne de la Mongolie, The Reindeer Men of Mongolia

Federico Pistone,  Fotografie Federico Pistone, David Bellatalla

Periplo edizioni Les Cultures, Lecco 2000, 109 pagine,  paperback, sopracopertina illustrata a colori,  testo in italiano, inglese e francese, ISBN  9788886113052

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Gli Tsaatan, letteralmente uomini renna, sono nomadi sull’orlo dell’estinzione, fatalmente legati a tradizioni ancestrali. Sono ormai meno di duecento e sopravvivono in condizioni proibitive nel nord della Mongolia, al confine con la Siberia. Gli Tsaatan, che non sono mai entrati a contatto con la civiltà, sanno leggere e scrivere, e pongono l’istruzione al primo posto nella gerarchia dei valori sociali. Le renne sono il principale sostentamento (latte, carne, pelli) e anche per i bambini rappresenta l’unica occasione di svago: le cavalcano con consumata maestria lungo le vallate che si aprono intorno all’accampamento di urtz, le classiche tende. Gli Tsaatan mediano tradizioni mongole e turco-altaiche. Si affidano allo sciamano, venerano e temono gli spiriti del cielo e della terra e adottano antichi riti funebri. Questo volume narra del viaggio attraverso una terra aspra e sconfinata, la taiga, al fianco di uomini che custodiscono con commovente tenacia il valore della loro libertà.

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Extreme north of Mongolia, resides a tribe called the Tsaatan, or the Dukha people. Tsaatan means people of the Reindeer. True to the name, their life revolves around their Reindeers. 

They say that if the Reindeer dies, so will their culture along with them. 

These nomads move around based on the season and are in tight-nit communities. The Reindeers serve the purpose of The families I met during my cultural expedition of the forgotten tribes of Mongolia, were quite skeptical about how much longer their culture will remain, as the younger generations are all moving out to the cities for a better 'settled' life. 

The kids, I envied them, for they had the whole Taiga as their home, their playground, their school and also their work. 

They would wade in the flowing stream by their tents, walk the Reindeers to the mountains, run behind the two dogs that they had, feed the young ones of the Reindeer, and then settle down by sunset in their cozy warm tents. 

Definitely a tough life, to keep moving from place to place, and now with the younger lot moving to the cities, looks like another culture on the brink of dying out. Now that more and more people want to go meet them, I hope that their culture stays and the tourism takes care of their daily needs and resources. A catch-22 situation though. 

Following are some flora and butterflies and critters that I came across in that region. By the way, you should see the last one.. the size of the mosquitoes there I tell you!! 

Dukha people are a small community of Tuvan/Turkic reindeer herders living around Khövsgöl Aimag, Mongolia. Within the northern Mongolian snow forest, or taiga, the Dukha - whose population is estimated to be fewer than 300 - live as nomadic reindeer herders.

Often referred to as the Tsaatan in the Mongolian language, which literally means "reindeer people", the Dukha's lives are structured around their animals. They move between seasonal locations within the east and west taiga according to their herds' grazing needs and comfort.