Mongolia: witness the migration of the reindeers
This trip, I had dreamed several times and I had prepared in silence because I wanted the surprise was total, the words spoken too loudly can diminish the wildest dreams.
So, as of that morning seven years ago with the same guides and Genghis Khan, the white horse which had put flowers on his wild mane and I gently fed while approaching, made me believe that he was bored of my caresses , moved out of the taiga and mountains. Fear mingled with hope of arriving on time from a family Tsaatan to go with him and his reindeer towards the camp autumn. This foolish hope pounding my head. It is the quality of the grass, lichens and mosses to decide the number of migrations, and also the date of our arrival depended on reindeer. It was enough just that the reindeer were on our side!
An icy cold accompanied our exit from Tsangan Nur, the last village in the north west of the lake there Khösgöl, not far from Siberia. The wind pushed us towards the lake as to make us fall in with our horses. Snow flakes twirled in the sky almost inky, stopping on our Dell. A vicious gust of wind tore the wildflowers of the manes of Genghis Khan, but later the taiga would give her a golden mane and we would have shone in the sun. If the bad weather we froze at the point of having to stick to our horses to get some 'heat, then we had the chance, despite the season and area, to continue the following day under a bright sun. The silhouette of Drimmaa, good trip, it seemed now so far only a few hours since our caravan was set in motion towards the people of the reindeer. This trip, though interminable because of its difficulty and some of our pitiful knowledge of riding, it was still exciting and wonderful. Far from everything, light years from our habits, away from noise, in total harmony with nature, our bodies recover strength welding heavy against another healthier, more vibrant, more alert to our surroundings, more alert to all emotions that this world made of grass and stone was offering us a gift for our return to these lands just cozy.
And always the same anguish reindeer were on our side? My dream was coming true?
The shadows lengthen, the sun shyly turns red, the temperature decreases. A slight wind rises. The smell of the steppe inundate us of their flavors ... and come to camp that will move only when the reindeer will be decided and will leave for places where the grass is fatter, more abundant before the long and harsh winter that is prepared.
Have a good journey? We asked the elder of the family, after several hours watching our pace with his binoculars Mongolian.
Under the guys is fine, the horses are calm, reindeer waiting ... after a long ride, seated within the types, we rest and take advantage of the pleasant heat of the stove. Very simply, drinking salty tea with milk, we announce that tomorrow is tomorrow, the camp moves, the reindeer have decided so. Must climb higher on the mountain where moss is abundant and escape the heat of the valley, the only reindeer love the cold! We remain without voice! The night will be disturbed by a thousand questions a thousand doubts, we will be able to follow these mountains so steep?
By midmorning all things are spread out in an organized disorder. Since the dawn of time everything has its place, everything will be crated with detail on the eight reindeer chosen to carry all the miserable effects, but valuable because they are essential to nomadic life. A noise resonates strongly in the sky that has not yet decided its final color is the canvas type that is taken from her property look like a ship leaving his armor. This armature naked by a feeling of fragility. Consisting of a few logs of wood tied on top by carefully knotted rope is capable of bearing the heavy snow storms, violent winds, the harsh climate so moody summer and winter, nothing moves, nothing flies like giving safe haven to these forest dwellers. Under the URT where only the logs for use in the construction of types and the stove is hot, the whole family gathers to share one last cup of salty tea with milk. Sitting in a circle around the stove cools, make the Tsaatan to lend space. It is a total communion with each other and nature, which nothing else can share. Powerless but acutely aware of this majestic and mysterious when we can only participate in this moment so important to them before departure. Much more of a habit is a ritual that is inscribed in the mists of time and without which no departure may be. The intensity of this almost magical when you read on their faces, you notice their simple gestures repeated millions of times: we must begin by thanking the nature of what we got and delete all traces of its passage. Behind them building any wealth they earn! Their only thought is to transmit what they have inherited the same: the taiga, rivers of pure water, reindeer, nature and life.
Suddenly without us noticing, the baby of the family is put on the back well covered with reindeer that will have the difficult task of bringing safe and sound until the next camp. The caravan consists of about 20 deer and three adults will spend two days walk to the place chosen by the family. It struck the hour of departure ... just time to get our horses and the family is far away. The reindeer have foot safer for horses and walk faster. We will not be one with our horses and suffer with them to pursue the Tsaatan in the taiga on these ancestral paths written in memory of the reindeer, so much so that the paths do not reveal any trace of their passage. Cross swamps where our horses will struggle to keep from going, sometimes we fall on big slippery rocks almost insurmountable, on slabs of ice give way under the weight of our caravan, but follow Tsaatan in that silence gives us an indescribable joy. The needles of pines muffle the noise of hooves and they believed themselves to the world, playing hide and seek with the reindeer that appear to bend in a trail behind a clump of trees on top of a hill. The taiga in late September this is gold, the forest is covered with a yellow coat so bright, that the reindeer are illuminated as the undergrowth. Climbing mountains, overlooking the valley, looking towards Siberia, we could see the eternal snows ... intense show ... pure white reaching the blue sky so characteristic of the Mongolian ... majesty of the places inhabited by the spirits of which we heard a long time.
We finally arrive where the family has decided to mount a temporary camp. Already the whole family active catching, cutting the logs to fit the type, the stove will be the first to be lit and placed before the painting will be held the URT. While the sky darkens, the cold is felt, and during the night, surrounded by ice, the guys shudder. The flame becomes more alive, crackling fire, sitting by the fire we share a moment of rest before falling asleep under a starry sky that promised sun tomorrow.
What day is it? yesterday? ... today? ... tomorrow? ... I do not know anymore ... I'm several days with men who live reindeer, to try to understand what drives them to live a life that sometimes seems hard to bear . It is time for us to return to Tsangan Nur Tsaatan where children go to school in college, staying for long months away from their families and their reindeer. Although life is easier in the village, some children choose the nomadic life of their ancestors. The survival of the tribe is put into play by the continuity of this way of life and the hope of parents.
The descent from the mountain will be other paths that only our guides know Tsaatan home, drawing us once again to beautiful landscapes where the fear of falling from his horse in front of those shows will disappear instantly.
... And prancing proudly at the head of the caravan, Genghis Khan, after having teeth pulled with a flick of a blade of grass decided yet which emanated the scent of summer sun lavender and thyme entered the courtyard of our guest house where Drimmaa waiting for us as if he had never left his post before our departure was the end of our journey into the land of Tsaa.
Graziella www.terramongolia.com
For a trip from Tsaatan contact mejet69@yahoo.com (English) www.tsatantours.com
The driver can be contacted at www.mongoliatours.org or mejet69@yahoo.com (English)
• Dell: Mongolian traditional clothes
• Urt: synonym types of language Tsaatan
• Tsaa: deer in Mongolian