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Photos: Mongolia’s reindeer herders fear lost identity after hunting ban

The Dukha, a reindeer herding community of around 280 people has been living in the Mongolian Taiga for generations. Life in the Dukha’s nomadic camps revolves around taking care of the reindeer and hunting animals from the forest for food. A ban by the Mongolian government on illegal hunting in what were Dukha herding grounds puts them in a difficult situation. Since reindeer are not eaten and hunting is regulated, one half of their culture appears lost while the other seems at risk.

Updated on: May 24, 2018 12:55 PM IST

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1/10

Erdenebat Chuluu, a nomadic herder, shouts words of encouragement to the reindeer he is riding. “Chu!, Chu!,” he calls, urging the animal out of a cedar wood and onto a plain in the southern reaches of the Mongolian Taiga. Once in the open, they gingerly step over fallen trees and navigate creeks of melted snow, oblivious to the late winter chill. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Erdenebat Chuluu, a nomadic herder, shouts words of encouragement to the reindeer he is riding. “Chu!, Chu!,” he calls, urging the animal out of a cedar wood and onto a plain in the southern reaches of the Mongolian Taiga. Once in the open, they gingerly step over fallen trees and navigate creeks of melted snow, oblivious to the late winter chill. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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Chuluu has lived all his life in the centuries-old tradition of his Dukha ancestors, renowned for their reindeer-herding and hunter-gathering skills in the forests of the rugged Sayan Mountains straddling the Russian border. But the Dukha fear they are losing their identity in the face of a conservation order that bans unlicensed hunting on most of their traditional land. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Chuluu has lived all his life in the centuries-old tradition of his Dukha ancestors, renowned for their reindeer-herding and hunter-gathering skills in the forests of the rugged Sayan Mountains straddling the Russian border. But the Dukha fear they are losing their identity in the face of a conservation order that bans unlicensed hunting on most of their traditional land. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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A reindeer lies in the snow in the camp of herder Erdenebat Chuluu at daybreak. Outdoing horses in this steep and snowy terrain, reindeer have allowed the Dukha to evade many of the upheavals that have historically afflicted people in the lowlands, from Genghis Khan to Communism. The Dukha sense of community and activities are tied to the reindeer, which are rarely killed but rather reared for their milk. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

A reindeer lies in the snow in the camp of herder Erdenebat Chuluu at daybreak. Outdoing horses in this steep and snowy terrain, reindeer have allowed the Dukha to evade many of the upheavals that have historically afflicted people in the lowlands, from Genghis Khan to Communism. The Dukha sense of community and activities are tied to the reindeer, which are rarely killed but rather reared for their milk. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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Ethnic Dukha nomad Jargal Gombosed holds her grandchild outside her family's reindeer pen. The Dukha, around 280 of them, are spread out across 59 households. The meat in their diet comes from game hunted around the Taiga. In 2012, Mongolia’s government designated the majority of their traditional herding grounds as part of a national park in an attempt to protect a ravaged ecosystem. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Ethnic Dukha nomad Jargal Gombosed holds her grandchild outside her family's reindeer pen. The Dukha, around 280 of them, are spread out across 59 households. The meat in their diet comes from game hunted around the Taiga. In 2012, Mongolia’s government designated the majority of their traditional herding grounds as part of a national park in an attempt to protect a ravaged ecosystem. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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During recent decades, a Soviet-era quota system for hunting, which provided a living for people like the Dukha and maintained wildlife numbers, broke down. Aggressive hunting of animals like moose and red deer for the Chinese market depleted numbers. Now, the government pays the herders a monthly handout to compensate for the ban, but many Dukha feel they have lost half of their identity. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

During recent decades, a Soviet-era quota system for hunting, which provided a living for people like the Dukha and maintained wildlife numbers, broke down. Aggressive hunting of animals like moose and red deer for the Chinese market depleted numbers. Now, the government pays the herders a monthly handout to compensate for the ban, but many Dukha feel they have lost half of their identity. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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Local doctor Davaajav Nyamaa rides a reindeer to visit nomads in the forest. The hunting tradition has always defined a man in the Taiga, said Chuluu’s neighbour Naran-Erdene Bayar, “It feels like we’ve lost something because we can’t move to whichever area we like in this land, which has been handed down to us from our ancestors.” (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Local doctor Davaajav Nyamaa rides a reindeer to visit nomads in the forest. The hunting tradition has always defined a man in the Taiga, said Chuluu’s neighbour Naran-Erdene Bayar, “It feels like we’ve lost something because we can’t move to whichever area we like in this land, which has been handed down to us from our ancestors.” (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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Tsetse, six-year-old daughter of Dukha herder Erdenebat Chuluu, sits among her family's reindeer in a forest near the village of Tsagaannuur. A typical day in the life of the Dukha involves releasing the reindeer from their large wooden pens in the mornings after breakfast. After grazing till noon, the herders bring the reindeer back in, and the day’s chores are completed while the animals are tied. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Tsetse, six-year-old daughter of Dukha herder Erdenebat Chuluu, sits among her family's reindeer in a forest near the village of Tsagaannuur. A typical day in the life of the Dukha involves releasing the reindeer from their large wooden pens in the mornings after breakfast. After grazing till noon, the herders bring the reindeer back in, and the day’s chores are completed while the animals are tied. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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Reindeer lick the salt off the coat of a Dukha nomad in the camp of her family. A second grazing takes place after an afternoon nap and while the herd pours into the clearing, snouts nuzzling the snow-covered ground in search of moss, the women at the camp prepare supper or staples from reindeer milk yoghurt and cheese. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Reindeer lick the salt off the coat of a Dukha nomad in the camp of her family. A second grazing takes place after an afternoon nap and while the herd pours into the clearing, snouts nuzzling the snow-covered ground in search of moss, the women at the camp prepare supper or staples from reindeer milk yoghurt and cheese. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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Tsetse leads a reindeer by the leash as she brings in the herd before nightfall. “It’s our will to maintain the tradition of herding the reindeer in the same way as our ancestors did,” her father Chuluu told Reuters in April. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Tsetse leads a reindeer by the leash as she brings in the herd before nightfall. “It’s our will to maintain the tradition of herding the reindeer in the same way as our ancestors did,” her father Chuluu told Reuters in April. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

10/10

Smoke rises from the chimney of the family tent of Dukha herder Erdenebat Chuluu. The head ranger of the National Park, Tumursukh Jal, grew up in the area and knows the Dukha’s history well. Despite the Dukha’s concerns, he insisted they must follow the law. “It’s not about Dukha or Mongolian, it’s about people illegally hunting,” Jal said. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

Updated on May 24, 2018 12:55 PM

Smoke rises from the chimney of the family tent of Dukha herder Erdenebat Chuluu. The head ranger of the National Park, Tumursukh Jal, grew up in the area and knows the Dukha’s history well. Despite the Dukha’s concerns, he insisted they must follow the law. “It’s not about Dukha or Mongolian, it’s about people illegally hunting,” Jal said. (Thomas Peter / REUTERS)

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