Meet the People -7/31

Today we visited a yak herder's family, and a reindeer herder, had a box lunch at a lakeside spot, and then hiked up into the hills by our camp for a better view.

Making yak milk alcohol in the yak herder's cabin

The family had already milked the yaks (5:30am!) by the time we arrived, so the beasts were long gone. The family situation seemed a bit odd compared to our other family visits. The mother was nowhere around, the dad made himself scarce most of the time, and most of the conversation came from the 11 year old twin daughters. The two other young women prepared food for us but didn't talk much. We eventually learned that the mom was in UB with an older daughter in the hospital because of a bad motorcycle accident and that the mom's two college-age sisters had come to help out. The twins were charming and answered most of our questions about their lives. They live in a single room log cabin instead of a ger and have about 30 yaks, a smallish herd. However, they had a large fenced in area with two small rentable cabins and a ger for the son as well as a house in the nearby town where the girls went to school. They served us yak milk tea (the aroma reminded me of cream of wheat), clotted yak cream and dried yak yogurt... not exactly my favorites... and demonstrated how to make yak milk alcohol and dried yak yogurt with the leftovers of that project.

Temporary reindeer encampment

Next, we drove a ways to the reindeer encampment, which loomed like a major commercial attraction. There must have been 15 minivans parked there, and tons of people clamoring for photos. It really looked depressing. Young reindeer were hobbled with a rope tied to the hind leg and muzzle. This allowed them to walk and graze,  but not to lift their heads. When we had a chance to talk to the herder, it changed our view somewhat.

There are only about 250 Tsaatan  (reindeer people) left north of the lake... 10 families... and another 250 elsewhere in Mongolia. The herd size is down to 10 beasts, and the herder and his 11 year old son come here for 6 weeks each summer to make money for his family. Their homeland is quite inaccessible in the northern taiga, and the higher altitude and latitude are much better for the reindeer which do not do well in temperatures as warm as those here ( high 60's). They are aware of and concerned about inbreeding. Their children go to school in boarding schools and they want them to get an education and have a better life. At this rate, their way of life will die out in a generation or two. They live in orts, which are identical to Native American teepees, historically covered in reindeer hides, but now using canvas. These are not as warm as gers and require a lot more wood to stay warm in the winter. The people live widely separated in the winter...maybe 50-100km apart, presumably to allow enough forage for the herds but gather in small villages in the summer.

Our lunch companions along the lake

While I can certainly understand the country' s mandatory education requirements and applaud the state providing boarding schools free to the children of nomads, it seems that the dissolution of nomadic life is a natural outcome as the children become accustomed to village life and are distanced from the daily activities of nomadic life.
We continued on to another section of the lake for a box lunch among a couple small yak herds, then drove back to camp.

Lake Khovsgal from our hiking vantage point.

Later in the afternoon,  we took a hike in the hills for a wonderful view of this large lake.