The Reindeer People of Northern Mongolia | SLICE | FULL DOCUMENTARY

foreign [Music] there is a huge and Uncharted icy land where a surprising population of Nomads live that Satan [Music] they are known as the reindeer people [Music] there are only 200 of them and today their traditional lifestyle is disappearing [Music] [Music] finding them involves a long Expedition it starts in this old Russian off-road van from the 60s [Music] it will take me seven days of traveling foreign [Music] the capital to the far north of the country to the region of Lake kovskol just beside the border with Russia one thousand kilometers of roads and tracks often in desert areas [Music] the bridge you're not on the right track you have to go in that direction go that way [Music] in the north you have to cross frozen rivers three days in a van to get where there is no longer a road nor a path [Music] we delve into the taiga where only a few Mongolian Riders like my guide still managed to find their way around [Music] I had already made this trip four years ago I had met that Satan on my first trip to Mongolia [Music] I'd met a community of Nomads worried at seeing their Traditions disappearing I wanted to come back to film them before their way of life changed the tsatan told me to meet them here in the middle of nowhere alongside me a Mongolian translator able to understand that Satan language tuvan a rare language is still spoken by some communities in Siberia for allows of waiting two figures appear [Music] they come riding on reindeer the only animal able to cross the icy Paths of this mountainous region in the middle of winter [Music] they're exhausted I don't know what to do they can't travel the road ahead of the they're too tired they won't be oh we will have to spend the night here it is minus 10 degrees the nomads improvise a shelter with just a canvas sheet under which we will all sleep tightly packed together it looks like the snow is stopped yes it's snowing less it's good to let the reindeer rest I'm going to add more wood onto the fire [Music] the camp is a day's walk away I'm struck once again by the feeling of total isolation which had made such an impact on me during my first trip purple [Music] I find the family I befriended four years ago magsar the father is still dressed in his traditional blue tunic not very comfortable in front of my camera his wife Uchi she will do that and their youngest son get out of the way stay over there and I managed to catch it sugola nine years old I will live with them for a month it's the end of autumn a pivotal period which precedes the great winter seasonal migration these Nomads regularly change their Camp always looking for food for their reindeer we're always looking for lichen we follow the reindeer yes we follow them that's why we live in the Tiger so I have a hundred reindeer go to sleep now said that you can sleep I can't sleep anymore now because of me oh sorry it's filming you no [Music] other come on move the Titan's whole life revolves around their reindeer [Music] in the camp the animals roam around between the tents and sometimes this cohabitation is a bit turbulent why did you undo it even attached it's dangerous this morning one of the males is in heat and is particularly aggressive if they fight one another we'll escalate run run quickly come here the Satan live in one of the coldest and most inhospitable regions of Mongolia but to be able to follow their herd they live in simple canvas teepees which are easy to transport go and spill it on your feet it's hot I'll put it here afterwards but despite the lack of comfort I've never heard them complain I'm a very lucky man I live among such beautiful nature with fresh air is your choice I'm so happy with my life you're in the tiger we do what we want to we're free that Satan always surprised me they feel privileged neither to the extreme temperatures nor their isolation seem to affect them what is the hardest thing in your life the reindeer sometimes want to come inside the teepee that's the hardest thing [Applause] we don't want a different life staying here is enough for us foreign [Music] [Music] oh yeah [Music] the Saturn are used to gathering in small family groupings next to magsar's TP is his cousin who look he lives there with his wife Hulan and their son Gana I'm 25 years old and my wife is 26. we imagine foreign that's why we chose to live here that was two years ago I was born here this is my mother's land my family's land I was free to live elsewhere but I had to come back here I could never live anywhere else who learned Hulu's wife is not Satan she had never experienced Nomad life before and of course she had never lived in such a hostile environment I discovered a new world and that's what I liked [Music] Outsiders think it's hard to live here they tell me you live in such a hard and cold and snowy region I tell them it's so beautiful so beautiful that I never found it hard question at first I had to get used to the climate and to these temperatures now it's okay I'm totally acclimatized to it I'm so proud of my wife she's so strong she could live anywhere even on this difficult land she loves me and she can follow me anywhere [Music] all right [Music] at the age of one and a half Ghana is a real little tatan whilst temperatures fall well below zero degrees he walks around half naked when we were children our mothers dressed us like this without anything else [Music] and as an adult you don't need Walmart clothes that's why we dress Gana like this [Music] the first year was easy he spent his time sleeping and eating now it's more complicated he walks and he always wants to go outside and with the cold it's difficult to always protect him you're so cute come here so I can kiss your little cheeks and it's already posing stop he's not a star oh you saw the camera close he's curious he'd like to come closer but he doesn't dare oh at the camp little by little I lose the notion of time life trickles by simple and repetitive only the chores of wood Gathering and reindeer milking give Rhythm to the day the reindeer milk which they consume in large quantities is stored on these wooden trestles that function as a freezer [Applause] break sun already broke one don't you remember what the frozen milk when it's frozen it doesn't break I can break I'm fragile you're funny you throw fragile things and never solid ones I'm telling you that frozen milk doesn't break don't worry even if it breaks it doesn't spill if we had a meat grinder we'd already have finished cutting the meat oh cool you scare me why your hair is like a hedgehog I'll do my hair again then you're beautiful he says you're beautiful I look like a hedgehog [Applause] I have now been here for two weeks the two families are used to my camera and let me film their daily lives and intimacy and they even make fun of it if you look over there yeah no yeah show the camera your beautiful earrings no [Music] [Applause] look thinks I'm filming his wife a little too much but I only find this out once I get back to France and have their conversations translated under the pretext of filming he's checking out my wife I can't tell him he would take him badly if I tell him to stop do you think he'd be disappointed [Music] I filmed their daily lives which seemed to have gone almost completely unchanged for centuries [Music] hey what are you doing I'm taking it for myself in recent years the modern world has been catching up with them the Mongolian government requires all children in the country to attend school from the age of six now during the winter Saturn families have to split up children and their mothers go to the only Village in the region where the school is located whilst the men stay alone in the tiger with the reindeer [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] it depends on the age of the child the children are under six years old the family can stay together in Ortega during the winter when the child has to go to school they cannot be left alone in the village that is why their mothers stay there with them now our children have to go to school from the age of six so we can't stay in the tiger we have to go to the Village because we worry about them if you don't send your child to school no one will know not even the state we don't want that if the child does not go to school what will become of him he will not be able to read count or even write his first name he will not be able to have a good life would you rather stay here with your family or go to school stay here with the family yeah do you like school do you like school it's not interesting it's not interesting do you know anything do you know of any families who refuse to send their children to school because they don't want to be separated all the children go to school we're not Savages [Laughter] in front of me magsar and Uchi don't want to seem like bad parents but I know that they are torn between continuing the tradition or offering their child a different future in reality they allow themselves some liberties the school year started two months ago but they decided to keep sugarda with them until the beginning of winter this male is the leader of all our reindeer we made a stalk of wood in the forest yeah I'm going with him you stay here I want to go when I said to sugala that I wanted to interview him he immediately put on his best deal the traditional Nomad dress and I'm nine years old I'm a certain what I like is looking for the reindeer in the forest small school is hard I'm sad I must leave my dad it's gonna be so great living here with my family and the reindeer thank you I love you little brother I love you big brother the issue of school hasn't yet arisen Lun his parents don't seem to agree with this new law when the time comes I'll decide I can't say for the moment it's our choice we'll stay here in the tiger together it will be very difficult I can't imagine the separation initial it's like you here without your wife and children thank you [Music] in recent days the snow has started to fall heavily on the tiger winter is setting in the Lichen begin to run out we will have to leave the camp [Music] which where the school is located is a three-day walk away and soon the mountains will be impossible [Music] magsar thinks that it would be safer to make the journey with other tartans he decides to visit another family who lives half a day away by reindeer from their camp [Music] foreign [Music] six adults and six children live here foreign [Music] the families improvise a celebratory meal when it snows the reindeer gained weight when it snows a lot thank you you're too cute what is he eating it's pasta we should bring several families together and celebrate look you can slide all the way down we can remove the branches to slide better what sugar shall we try to slide here yes get out of the way I can slide faster inside the teepees the adults are already nostalgic the time to split up is coming no we have to live separately for several months [Music] the weather is unfavorable that Satan don't know when to leave it will clear up at some point where it's going it's not likely to improve until next year did you laugh but what will we do when it snows it's difficult it complicates the situation it will get very slippery thank you finally without my really understanding why the two families will not manage to agree on a departure date magsar and his family returned to their camp [Music] two days later the sky is clear [Music] it's not easy the luggage is well loaded this way attach it here that's good leave first I see their belongings spread out in a jumble on the ground their entire possessions fit onto the backs of their reindeer watch your head all right [Applause] goodbye my teepee goodbye to the place where I grew up goodbye to the place where I was born goodbye to the water I drink every day that's what we say every time we leave a camp we can't have him falling off on the journey with that he won't be cold the clan separates they won't see one another again until next summer travels every their son is still young who look and Hulan have no constraints they go deep into the tiger to set up their Winter Camp they are free as the tsatan have always been [Applause] [Music] magsar doesn't dismantle his teepee he will accompany Uchi and shugara to the village where their other children already live then he will come back here to round up his reindeer and take them further north [Applause] [Music] each other the journey will take several days give me the binoculars I want to see [Music] I sense that magsar is worried the snow that has fallen in recent days masks the crevices but the family doesn't have a choice they have to cross four passes at an altitude of over 2 000 meters [Music] [Music] [Laughter] they walk between 7 and 10 hours a day endurance impresses me [Music] at night we sleep under the stars on reindeer skins wrapped in simple blankets the parents worry about sugala tomorrow morning we'll have to make him Souls otherwise he will be cold his socks are torn and his shoes are not suitable I'm young I'm not cold tomorrow we will make you Souls magsar is relieved crossing the passes was the most dangerous part of the expedition the reindeer did well yes it was dangerous when they crossed it I wondered if they were going to slip they risk breaking their legs and falling to the bottom of the cliff [Music] [Music] at last after walking for three days we arrive at our destination [Music] foreign a huge frozen lake this is where we find Sagan Noor the only Village in this uninhabited region [Music] one thousand people live here [Music] half of them are nomads who have decided to settle down [Music] foreign [Music] a few kilometers from the village magsar built a log cabin two years ago to shelter his family during the school year the couple reunites with their three other children a girl and two boys the two eldest have completed their studies but they stay in the village to take care of their 13 year old sister who has been back in school since September put the dumplings in the water to cook where do I put the awful pot should I put it outside no leave it there otherwise it will spill maxar takes advantage of returning to the Village to try to better insulate the walls inside the hut for the first time I discover signs of the modern world that is inexorably catching up with them on the traditional wooden sideboard a small television powered by solar panels I wonder if they watch it and especially what does it tell them about our world [Music] like old Saturn magsa and his family are animists and practice shamanic rituals every morning I offer nature and Spirits the first tea of the day I throw it three times in eight directions for the sky nature mountains spirits everything around us it's been three days since we arrived still doesn't go to school and to my astonishment his parents say nothing to him I go to see this school that is shaking up the traditional Satan way of life it welcomes nearly 500 students aged 6 to 18 years a quarter of them are tatan please miss no you have not calculated correctly you have to multiply not divide 30 teachers and professors teach here full time the head teacher of the school is Satan herself I feel she is very invested in her mission it's hard to work here but I was born here in this region I lived and worked in this Village and around 10 years ago I moved to ulambatore there I worked as a teacher pedagogical manager and even Academy secretary then I decided to return to my place of birth to bring my contribution to develop this school thanks to my experience today almost all satan children go to school but some in a very irregular way this is the case for magsar's Elder Sons Bhaskar on the left went to school from 12 to 18 years old on the right from 9 to 15 years old I asked them about their future and about what they'd like to do later on in life I don't know ah it's a done like my father I have no idea I want to be a horse breeder I would like to take care of horses in the summer and follow the reindeer in the winter I love this area and keeping cattle that's why I didn't go to university I missed the reindeer too much they're so beautiful and especially so cute the choice of the two boys does not Delight the whole family yesterday the children brought back milk which is richer the reindeer or the cow reindeer of course Galia is 72 years old she is the children's grandmother she doesn't really understand them they want to leave school to live like Saturn yes if they really choose this life I think it's going to be hard for them will grow up and over time they're going to want to get married yeah but without knowing how to read or write it will be complicated to find a wife they will be forced to stay in the Tiger later they might regret it and blame us for it why didn't you send us to school obviously a child does not want to go to school it's up to the parents to force them [Music] days go by and sugara stays home [Applause] [Music] [Music] I sense that magsa is sad and nostalgic he will soon leave his family and head off to the tiger alone with his reindeer we have no choice reindeer need to eat like him and here they have nothing to eat magsar doesn't really want to talk I try to ask him about sugara who is still not going to school it's his choice and you always let your children decide yes and uh are you scared for your children's future I don't know I hope they will have happy lives the world is changing and what do you think of today's world it's going in the wrong direction [Music] foreign [Music] will manage to maintain this fragile balance between their tradition and this modernity that is gradually encroaching promise to come [Music] [Music] three years later I am back in Mongolia curious to know what has become of magsar and his family [Music] I head to the Tiger in the heart of Winter in this freezing cold the world of the Saturn seems even more inaccessible to me even more isolated [Music] who look and Hulan still look so in love Ghana is four years old he has a little sister I show them the images which I filmed [Laughter] magsa like every winter now had to leave his family I find him in the mountains where he joined a group of breeders yeah [Applause] his youngest son stayed in the village but maxar tells me half-heartedly that he still doesn't go to school or very infrequently sumia the youngest son is there this is the first time he's accompanied his father since he left school together they will carry out the great winter transhumans [Applause] they will take their herd of a hundred reindeer to the north of the country [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] the Saturn delve into the depths of the Tiger [Music] as their ancestors have done for centuries [Applause] it's between -25 and -35 degrees [Music] three days on reindeer back on a forced March fatigue and cold sometimes cause the Riders to fall [Music] what's up you have runny eyes can you see all right my eyes are full of tears I'm getting old teary eyes is not good it's a wind that's making me cry there's a lot of stones I almost fell it's really not your day [Music] the nomads only stop when they found an area that's rich in lichen [Applause] on the camp there's no more Children's laughter or female voices from now on it's a man's universe [Music] the Breeders will now live separated from their families until spring [Music] they will return to the Village each in turn a few days a month weather permitting when I'm here I think about my family who are in the village all the time when I go down there I think of my reindeer magsar resigned himself to spending the winter isolated far from his family but he wonders how much longer his children will endure living like this [Music] lost in the heart of the Tiger at minus 40 degrees under a simple TP [Music] honey foreign [Music]

Channel: SLICE

Views: 359,745

Keywords: documentary, documentaries, shortdoc, shortdocs, slice, slicedocs

Id: UE9I-FyBpZI

Length: 51min 6sec (3066 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 13 2023