On August 22, the family of Maria Suo, "the last female chief of China", issued an obituary: The elderly mother Maria Suo, because of her advanced age, gradually failed in various bodily functions. At 2:00 on August 20, 2022 27 cents passed away at the age of 101.
Maria Soo's daughter Dekesha Ho said that although her health is not good, her mother still wants to go up the mountain to see the reindeer she has raised all her life, and she just wants to go back to the reindeer.
In the end, the mother passed away peacefully at Hunter Point.
Pictured is Maria Saw.
"China's Last Female Chief"
Maria Suo was born in 1921, the Ewenki nationality. She is the prototype of the novel "The Right Bank of the Erguna River", which won the Mao Dun Literature Award. She is known as "the last female chief of China" by the world.
Maria Sobi and her clan lived in the mountains and forests at the southernmost tip of the taiga around the Arctic.
It is located at 52 degrees north latitude, at the intersection of Hulunbuir grassland and Daxinganling in my country. It is the habitat of the last Chinese deer tribe.
Pictured is Maria Saw.
When she was young, Maria Soo was tall, beautiful and neat. She was a good helper for her husband Rajimi. During the hunting period, she brought the reindeer home with her husband's prey.
Because her husband Rajimi often went out to hunt, Maria Soo was the master of the family and took on a lot of family affairs, gradually becoming the core of the family.
After Rajmi's death, Maria Soo became the female chief of the Ewenki deer tribe because of her skills in hunting and managing herds.
Pictured is Maria Saw.
The reindeer living in the Daxinganling area of Inner Mongolia are the reindeer population with the lowest geographical latitude and the southernmost in the world.
The Evenki hunters who live here have kept reindeer for generations, and Maria Saw has been dealing with reindeer all her life.
She used to say: "Reindeer are like my children and I love them so much."
Born and raised by the torrent river, Maria Saw, who was able to lead reindeer, went hunting with her parents and helped feed the deer.
"With reindeer, the Evenki people can live a stable life."
Pictured is Maria Saw.
When she got married, Maria Saw had 6 reindeer for her dowry.
In her 40s, she had the most deer, in Maria Saw's own words, "too many to catch."
China's last Shilu tribe
Historically, the Ewenki people were called "Sauron", "Tungus", "Yakutia", etc. In 1957, the national name was unified as "Ewenki", which means "people living in the mountains and forests".
"Aoluguya" is the Ewenki language, which means "a place with lush poplar forests". Aoluguya Ewenki is the only ethnic group in China that raises reindeer.
Pictured is Maria Saw with her beloved reindeer.
Mid-April to late May is the concentrated calving period for doe.
The women are very busy and tired in this season, but they are very happy. Every day they go into the mountains and forests to find deer cubs, some with flowers and black ones.
"This is my happiest moment." Maria Sozeng expressed in an interview with reporters that the newly born baby deer should not be touched, otherwise the deer mother will not want her child.
Pictured is Maria Saw with her beloved reindeer.
To find a deer, you have to follow the hoof prints. If you can't find the reindeer, the clansmen will not go back.
Lambling, looking for deer, moving house... Maria Suo has stuck to the mountains and forests and the national culture of reindeer all her life. When she was in her 90s, she still raised reindeer in the mountains, thinking of inheriting the unique reindeer culture in China.
In the mountains and forests, there is no need for a car, things are tied to the back of the deer, and the children follow behind, walking from one piece of wood to another, no matter whether it is raining or snowing.
Reindeer only eat moss. For the sake of the deer, the people of Maria Suohe kept looking for moss and kept moving...
Pictured is Maria Saw with her beloved reindeer.
Evenki people accompanied by reindeer
Before the establishment of Aoluguya Ewenki ethnic township, there were only 136 Aoluguya Ewenki hunters and only more than 400 reindeer.
In 2003, the ecological immigrants of Aoluguya Ewenki Ethnic Township relocated to the western suburbs of Genhe City. This ethnic group with a small population who used to live with reindeer on the mountains and hunted for a living has made great strides from a relatively primitive production and living state. , and gradually integrate into modern society.
"My mother lived in the mountains and forests all her life with the reindeer, leading the deer Ewenki from the primitive society to today's happy life." Dekesha Heru said.
The picture shows the oil painting portrait of Maria Thor and the reindeer.
Even so, Maria Suo is still accustomed to living with reindeer on the mountain, "Our ancestors have lived in the forest for generations, guarding the forest, being close to nature, and living our own lives, we don't need much money. , there is everything in nature."
In 2022, Aoluguya Ewenki Nationality Township will establish 14 hunter points, Aoluguya Ewenki hunters will increase to 340, and the reindeer population will increase from more than 400 to more than 1,200, a threefold increase.
Maria Saw is not only industrious, capable and versatile. In her hands, animal skins are sewn into gloves, hats, and clothes, and birch bark is woven into baskets and crates.
She has endless folk stories to tell, her beautiful singing often echoes in the forest, and the rhythm of the oral string qin conveys the long history of the Ewenki nation between her lips...
Note: The pictures are provided by the Propaganda Department of the Genhe Municipal Party Committee.
Reporter: Zhang Wei