China finally gave the deer tribe a new lease of life

Hulunbuir, 5 May (ZXS) -- China finally gave a new life to the deer tribe

China News Agency reporter Zhang Wei

Ding-dong... Through the dense forest, with the morning mist, the clear reindeer bell sounded in the silent forest.

From mid-April to late May, the reindeer are in the concentrated farrowing season, and with the delicate calls of small reindeer, Ao Luguya, who has lived in the Daxing'an Mountains of Inner Mongolia for generations and is accompanied by reindeer, makes the deer tribe usher in a new life that belongs to spring.

In mid-to-late April, Oluguya Evenk brought the deer tribe into the intensive reindeer feeding season, and Dalimma was tethering a newborn deer. (Photo courtesy of Genhe Rong Media Center)

Recently, the reporter walked into China's last deer tribe to visit their life in the mountains and forests.

In her sixties, Deksha is the daughter of Maria So, "China's last female chieftain," who has gone through the process of ecologically migrating the Lu Evenk people from the mountains to the mountains and now returning to the mountains.

"When I was a child, my best playmates were reindeer and hounds, and the most fun 'trip' was to follow my father to the woods to hunt for reindeer." Recalling his childhood, Deksha smiled.

Oluguya is an Evenki word meaning "place where poplars flourish". In the middle of the 17th century, the Evenks migrated from the Baikal basin to the Erguna River valley and gradually settled in the dense forests of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Reindeer are their means of production and transportation, as well as important family members.

In 1957, the local government established Evenk Township in Qiqian Township, Hulunbuir Erguna City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and in 2003, they migrated ecologically to Genhe City. During this period, Deksha and many other Deer Evenks went down to the mountains to settle, study, and work.

However, the survival of reindeer had such special requirements for water quality and food that they could not be grazing at the bottom of the mountain, so Maria Sou led a small group of people to stay on the mountain.

"For my mother, the forest and reindeer are her whole life and sustenance." In 2008, Deksha returned to the mountains and forests in order to accompany his mother. "That's when I really entered my mother's world - as long as there are tribal elders and reindeer in the mountains and forests, there will be an ancient reindeer civilization."

Today, my mother is gone, but Deksha still spends most of her time with more than 100 reindeer. What makes her even more gratified is that more and more young people are returning to the mountains and forests to reunite with reindeer.

In late spring, the snow in the depths of the Daxing'an Mountains in Inner Mongolia has not yet melted, but the tender grass is already swaying in the slowly thawing stream. The reporter drove 40 kilometers from the city of Genhe to the reindeer spot where the Lu Evenk Jule and his cousin Dalinma were found, and the hounds "welcomed" and led the way at the foot of the mountain early.

In order to give more than 70 reindeer fresh moss to eat, Kyok Lok and Dalinma moved to a new camp. They also prepared bean cakes in advance to replenish nutrition for the impending doe.

After the reindeer enclosure was built, the brothers returned to the old camp and took the three newborn reindeer and the mother deer to their "new home". In order to avoid the little reindeer and the mother deer being frightened in the car, Kyok Le and Dalinma decided to accompany the reindeer on foot, following the way the older generation made the deer Evenki.

On April 4, Kyok Le followed the method of the older generation of deer Evenks and accompanied the reindeer on foot. (Photo courtesy of Genhe Rong Media Center)

Kyaw Le is a "post-80s" who worked in hospitals in big cities for several years after graduating from medicine. However, Kyok Le always felt that the reindeer of his hometown were calling him.

"Where the reindeer are, home is." In 2015, Kyoraku returned to the mountains and forests to raise reindeer with her "post-90s" cousin Dalinma, who has never left the mountains.

In addition to inheriting the reindeer breeding skills and culture of the older generation of Evenki people, Jue Le also used his major to study scientific expansion with several young people in the tribe to expand the reindeer population in China.

What makes Kyokle particularly happy is that today, China's Evenki people are actively participating in the study of pan-Arctic culture, carrying out technical exchanges and cooperation with Mongolia, Russia and other countries.

For Dalinma, who has been guarding reindeer for more than 30 years, this persistence stems from "trying to make more people remember the Evenk culture." ”

According to official data from the government of Aoluguya Evenk Ethnic Township, before the establishment of the township, there were only 136 hunters in Aoluguya Evenk and more than 400 reindeer. Today, there are 216 Evenks in Oluguya (as of the end of 2022) and more than 14,1300 reindeer in <> reindeer sites.

From mid-April to late May, the reindeer are in full bloom, and the mother reindeer interacts closely with the baby deer. (Photo courtesy of Genhe Rong Media Center)

The reckless Daxing'an Ridge in Inner Mongolia welcomes the arrival of new life again and again, and the new generation of Linglu Evenk people still continue the bloodline of Linglu culture.

The "post-00s" who have been with reindeer since childhood enabled Nasta, a Evenki native of Deer, to learn Evenki folk songs, dances, and the harmonica of the ancient instrument. She has a clear plan for her future: "I want to major in veterinary medicine or dance. Veterinarians can guard the reindeer and contribute to the expansion of the reindeer population; Learning to dance can bring the Deer Evenk culture to the stage. (End)