Reindeer People I SLICE I Full documentary

[Music] uh [Music] the dukkha live in hovsgal the land of blue water it's here in this mysterious heart of asia that buddhist guides claim is the home of the legendary kingdom of shambhala the atlantis of asia [Music] these nomadic hunters accompany their reindeer herds over a 17 000 square kilometer stretch of land in the northwest of mongolia east of the tiny russian republic of tuva which became part of the soviet union in 1921 the dukkha maintain a close relationship with their eternal companion a domesticated reindeer is much more precious than the meat it could provide [Music] these forest people are less than a thousand in number their existence is as fragile as the flame of a candle [Music] almost nothing is known of the dukkha's past although they are believed to be of turkish origin whose language they speak no one knows what prompted a tribe of horsemen 8 000 years ago to exchange their mouths for reindeer and penetrate this series of wooded valleys surrounded by wild spirit-dwelling mountains what's up in summer tsuyan the oldest of all the dukkha heads for higher pastures with her family the wind chases the mosquitoes away there instead of creating a living hell as they do down below other families arrive these gatherings are an excellent opportunity for new encounters which can sometimes end in marriage look [Music] arranged marriages couples are created out of love sometimes an admiring male suitor will prove his order by kidnapping his more than willing [Music] accomplice uh foreign foreign [Music] barely a meter and a half tall tsuyan embodies the sparkling and vivacious spirit of the forest a widow many times over she had four children one son and one daughter are still alive [Music] oh long ago when the dukkha's ancestors were forced to hunt and fish on foot a woman lost her husband in the forest [Music] her children were starving the woman invoked the spirit of the wild [Music] the spirit appeared to her with a reindeer he showed her how to collect the magic salt from the lakes when the reindeer tasted the salt from her hands he became addicted to it he allowed the woman to ride on his back and so a new kind of centaur was born half man half reindeer hmm [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] which are used up very quickly forcing the herds to change pastures every two weeks [Music] [Applause] [Music] the reindeer lead the dukkha onto trails which haven't changed since the bronze age [Music] throughout the centuries numerous ancestors have died on these paths their immortal souls accompany the living thus the inexorably linked reindeer and the dukkha live in a sort of circular time warp in which the past is constantly blending with the present the dukkha are never alone their ancestors in the other world accompany them step by step the dukkha also know that when their hour arrives they will enter a world filled with family members friends and reindeer without whom life in their impenetrable and magnificent land would be impossible throat singing began in this part of asia it's meant to echo the voice of nature that of the deer and heat the wind in the trees or rushing water [Music] the dukes sing to appease the spirits of the forest to calm down excited children or to [Music] meditate [Music] the singing opens the door to a parallel [Music] world [Music] the cord that attaches a youngster to an adult prevents the youngster from going astray it's also a link that unifies the family animal with the ancestors and the spirits of [Music] nature um [Music] foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Music] like all shamans tsuyun has a second soul the day her spirit leaves her body the back of her tent will be cut open to let her body out [Music] her remains will be hung on a tree nestled in a house for spirits her clothing and her instruments will be placed a little further on within reach of her immortal soul thus tsuyan's shaman spirit will continue to watch over her people [Applause] oh [Applause] at night the duke leave their reindeer in a sheltered enclosure to protect them from the cold the wind and from hungry wolves oh shhh [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] shamans are also healers before healing others they must first heal themselves to prove that they are true [Music] um [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] foreign in november when the reindeer haven't any more milk it's time to hunt for wild [Music] game yadam the master hunter and his companions must venture into lands haunted by demons juggertai is the most feared of them all no shaman is capable of pacifying this unpredictable demon oh sometimes he appears to tu yan in the form of a young child but she isn't fooled by this seemingly friendly and harmless figure she knows juggertai's great power tsuyan appeases the forces of nature by offering them tea she sprays the four cardinal points to keep the demons who can spring up anywhere away the most dangerous direction is the north the sun never warms it the cold wind is from the north and the door which opens onto the black sky of the dead is there as well yadam and his companions embark on a long and perilous journey that will take them far away for several weeks tu yan lost one of her sons on a similar expedition uh tea for the dukkha is a nutritious soup consisting of tea milk and butter it's spiced with ruggier a mixture of mineral salt which the reindeer can't resist foreign [Music] it's very cold the icy north wind lowers the temperature to minus 30 degrees celsius yadam and his men struggle at an altitude of more than 3 000 meters [Music] [Music] at the top of the pass the hunters gather in front of the hovel a pile of rocks carried one by one and which serves as an offering to the spirit of the mountains each man ties a ribbon on the hovel consisting of tufts of reindeer hair and burnt juniper the ribbon's not symbolizes the pact made with the spirit of the mountains who will allow them to return hey [Music] uh [Applause] uh [Music] behind the hunters the peaks of the agi mountains the realm of juggertai rise up [Music] you [Music] wild boar deer and animals with fur the animal has been wounded but it's too late in the day to go after him the hunt will begin again at dawn the hunters don't have enough time to set up camp and manage a makeshift bivouac on some pine branches wow [Music] they're used to make very warm hats a the men talk a lot and sleep very little their night lasts all of four hours as soon as they get up the hunters cut a few shavings from a brick of compressed and frozen tea and prepare their indispensable brew the snowfall has totally covered the trail yadam is perplexed the hunters have to choose between heading for the pass or going through the valley [Music] yadam seeks the oracle's help and gives him the shoulder blade of a charred lamb to study [Music] my [Music] so [Music] uh foreign the animal's bone has spoken now it must be destroyed before a demon can read the men's intentions and try to ambush them [Music] the oracle was right the moose is there um the hunters pray for the liberation of the animal's soul for it to lead in peace to the realm of the shadows if the hunters don't carry out this ritual the ghost of the moose will return and cast black tracks on their trail thus cursing the men with bad fortune [Music] foreign the liver spinal cord heart and kidneys are the hunter's rewards [Music] [Music] [Applause] the bone marrow alone is enough to feed a man for an entire day [Music] and the hunters are delighted [Music] [Music] the catch is a good one the moose will supply the duka with meat for three weeks after which the hunters will have to leave once again for several weeks on another expedition oh um yadam gets to keep the animal's skin which he will use to make a rug or some sacks for his reindeer um [Music] foreign the adults chainsmoke very mild and natural russian tobacco leaves which they buy in bulk during the waxing phase of the moon the door to the realm of shadows opens and the spirits of the ancestors penetrate the world of the living tsuyan invokes them the trance develops naturally as the ceremony progresses [Music] [Music] traditionally ancestors were symbolized by figurines but the soviet authorities severely condemned this practice the dukkha therefore resorted to abstraction ancestors are now represented by ribbons knotted together and hung in the northern part of the tent headdress is decorated with vulture feathers on her felt boots one can see the bones of her legs which died when she was very ill and then came back to life thus revealing tsuyan to be a true shaman tsuyan's dress is a suit of armor held together by pieces of metal in the form of an arrow you when all the stars are out it means that all the ancestors are present tsuyan straddles the drum her spirit leaves her body and joins the other spirits waiting for her above the tent [Music] tsuyan leaves with the spirits flying over the mountains valleys and forests of hovsgal communicating with the spirits of nature [Music] a piece of metal falls off tuyan's dress a demon has removed an arrow and tsuyan [Music] responds [Music] oh [Music] when suyan launches the drumstick at someone it means that the spirits have sent that person a message tsuyan whispers it to him sometimes what she says is incomprehensible or it's veiled in mysterious metaphors making the sense of it very complicated the trance is over tujan is exhausted [Music] wow [Music] once again the duka get ready to move their camp a few kilometers further on as dictated to them by their reindeer as long as the reindeer continue to lead the duka through their sacred forests the reindeer people will continue to resist the call of a dominant civilization you

Channel: SLICE

Views: 1,406,594

Keywords: documentary, documentaries, shortdoc, shortdocs, slice, slicedocs, dukhas, mongolia, nomad, nomads, nomadic, reindeer, reindeer people, mountains, migration, dukha

Id: Tv144ggxRGA

Length: 50min 57sec (3057 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 15 2021