Hulunbuir, 8 August (Zhongxinnet) -- Daughters recall "China's last female chieftain": Mother's life together with reindeer
China News Network reporter Zhang Wei
"Mom, this year the tribe has welcomed a lot of new life to reindeer, and these little ones are thriving."
"Mom, we miss you so much."
......
After autumn, the Daxing'anling forest area is much cooler, and Deksha walks in the forest with the deer, accompanied by copper bells, the reindeer are seriously looking for moss, and she is "reporting" to the heavenly mother about the situation of the deer tribe.
Deksha is the daughter of Maria So, "China's last female chieftain." On August 2022, 8, Maria Sow died at the age of 20 next to her favorite reindeer. "My mother spent the longest time with the reindeer, and I spent the longest time with my mother."
Infographic. The picture shows the "last female chief of China" raising reindeer in the mountains during her lifetime. Photo courtesy of the Publicity Department of the Genhe Municipal Party Committee
Maria So, born in 1921 in the Evenki ethnic group, lived with her people in the southernmost mountain forest of the taiga belt in the circumpolar Arctic region, and is known as "China's last female chief".
Located at 52 degrees north latitude and at the confluence of Hulunbuir Grassland and Daxing'an Ridge in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Aoluguya Evenk Ethnic Township is the habitat of China's last deer tribe, which is home to the world's lowest geographical latitude and southernmost reindeer population. The Oluguya Evenk are the only reindeer breeders in China, and Maria Soh has spent her entire life dealing with reindeer.
For as long as Deksha can remember, reindeer have been her playmates, "Actually, they are more like brothers and sisters, we get along and live together, it is a lifelong emotion." ”
The picture shows a reindeer living deep in the dense forests of the Daxing'an Mountains in Inner Mongolia. Photo by Wang Zhengyin
Maria Soh once told Deksha about her relationship with reindeer, "From the time she was able to lead the reindeer, my mother followed her parents out hunting and helping to feed the deer. ”
"My mother used to say that with reindeer, the Evenks can live steadily." Every time he remembers his mother's feelings for reindeer, Deksha always bursts into tears.
In 2003, the ecological migrants of Aoluguya Evenk Ethnic Township moved to the western suburbs of Genhe City, a small ethnic group that once lived with reindeer on the mountains and relied on hunting for a living, and strode from a more primitive state of production and life into modern society.
"The first time I went down the mountain was to go to school, and life in the city, although a little strange, also satisfied my thirst for knowledge." Deksha recounts, "From going to school, to work, to starting a family, I didn't expect to go up the mountain again. ”
The picture shows reindeer competing for bean cake. Photo by Wang Zhengyin
However, Maria So, who has lived in the mountains and forests with reindeer all her life, still thinks of her reindeer, "so I decided to accompany my mother up the mountain again." ”
Back in the mountains, Deksha came into contact with the reindeer after a long absence, and she truly entered her mother's world.
"I learned to see the forest and the reindeer through my mother's eyes, and that was the happiest thing." Texa's eyes sparkled.
In this way, Deksha stayed with his mother on the mountain for more than ten years, "occasionally going down the mountain to escape the cold, and my mother had to think about her reindeer." ”
Deksha recalls that since 2008, with the support of the local government, the production and living conditions of the hunter site on the mountain have been greatly improved, "solar panels have been installed, and each family has tractors, RVs and tents..."
At present, 14 hunting points have been established in Aoluguya Evenk Ethnic Township, and the number of hunters in Aoluguya Evenk has increased to nearly 350, and the reindeer population has increased from more than 400 to more than 1400.
The picture shows the expanding reindeer population. Photo by Wang Zhengyin
Although Maria Soh left her beloved reindeer and forest, her inner love was left to her daughter Deksha.
"The Evenki people are a people who only have language and no writing, and over the years, our various ethnic cultures have been inherited, and language cannot be broken." Deksha has set up an ethnic language group on its social account to teach everyone to learn Evenki.
The picture shows a medical graduate (first from left) returning to the mountains to raise reindeer with his "post-90s" cousin Dalinma (second from left). Photo by Wang Zhengyin
Moreover, more and more young people are returning to the mountains to raise reindeer, and they have also established the Reindeer Research Association to communicate with experts and scholars from circumpolar Arctic countries, jointly carry out academic research on the growth of reindeer populations, and develop pan-Arctic culture. What a good thing! Deksha said that this is what her mother wanted to see most when she was alive, and she hoped that China's deer culture would be noticed by the world.
Today, Deksha, who has passed the age of flower armor, still insists on the mountain, accompanying the more than 100 reindeer left to her by her mother. She always remembers her mother's words: "We have been guarding the mountains and forests for generations, we are close to nature, and the reindeer are like my children, and I love them very much." (End)