Glasses for the hunters – Lost horses

Day: 252-254

Sunrise:
06:59/06:52

Sunset:
19:54/19:59

Total kilometers:
1341

Soil condition:
Ice, snow

Temperature – Day (maximum):
minus 3°C – minus 8°C

Temperature – day (minimum):
minus 8°C – minus 5°C

Temperature – Night:
minus 14°C – minus 20°C

Latitude:
51°33’337”

Longitude:
099°15’341”

Maximum height:
1981 m above sea level

The weather couldn’t be more changeable. Gusts of wind, driving snow, sunshine and thaw soon alternate on a daily basis. If Mongolia used to be the land of blue skies for us, it is now the land of storms. In front of our felt house, Ultsan burns the garbage that has accumulated over the winter. Tsaya and he used a primitive, home-made rake to rake small branches, bark, dry grass, paper, plastic and other undefinable items into a large pile and set fire to it. An impressive sight as the squalls blow the sparks across the taiga and into the pale blue sky. Thanks to the oxygen supply, the collected material burns for over 30 hours and bathes the forecourt in a ghostly light long after sunset. When I ask why they clean the site just before moving to the spring camp, Ultsan explains; “When we come back this winter we don’t want to live on garbage. We always clean our camp sites before we leave.”

To give the horses a chance to satisfy their hunger at night, Bilgee decides to stop coming into camp in the evening and spend the whole time outside in the high valley. I put up a tent with him so that he can protect himself from the cold and the squalls. Mogi is also sent to keep Bilgee company. This gives him more peace and quiet at night because, we hope, Mogi will warn him of any horse thieves with his barking. Bilgee immediately sets up a small bush kitchen by hanging a pot from a branch lying diagonally upwards on the forest floor, under which he lights a small fire. Mogi’s camp is located behind several dead, thin tree trunks that Bilgee has erected as a windbreak for him.

In the afternoon, Ultsan and Sansar ride their reindeer to hunt. They are wearing the glasses that UVEX sent to us at our request. When I gave them the glasses, they were extremely grateful, as the sun’s rays reflecting off the snow cause eye irritation and snow blindness, especially in spring. They laugh proudly into the camera and say goodbye. Thanks to UVEX’s generous gesture, we are able to give all the hunters we spent the winter with a pair of glasses. For the tribe, this gift is worth 1.7 million tugrik (€955).

Lost horses

20:00. Bilgee suddenly appears in the camp. “What’s going on? I hope nothing has happened?” we ask. “I had Tenger, Sar and Od tied up near my tent and when I went to get Sharga, Bor and Naraa from the pasture they were no longer there. I thought they might have run into camp?” he explains. “Why would they go to the Tuwa camp?” wonders Tanja. “They had been given the extra food here. They might have remembered it and worked up an appetite for dessert.” “Hm, they’re not here,” I say, whereupon Bilgee takes his leave without further ado and disappears back into the forest at night.

Tanja and I are just discussing whether we should follow him to help him look for the animals when the yurt door opens and Saintsetseg and Tsaya step over the threshold. “Saintsetseg can’t hold the shamanic ritual tonight. It’s only possible in the first half of the month,” explains Tsaya. “Why?”, I ask, as we agreed a ritual with the shaman just yesterday which is supposed to bring us luck and health for the journey ahead. “The spirits only come at this time. They stay away in the second half of the month.” “That’s a shame. Well, let’s postpone the ritual until next month,” I say. Saintsetseg seems relieved. As always, she chews tree resin as gum and as always, she puts it down somewhere while drinking her coffee. This time on my laptop. Before she leaves us again, she takes the hard tree resin bead from my notebook, puts it in her mouth and mumbles “Saihan dsuud dsuud leerei” (“Have nice dreams”)

As soon as Tsaya and Saintsetseg have left us, we set off to visit Bilgee’s tent camp in the clearing. In the beam of our headlamps, we grope through the dark forest over the lichen-covered ground. After 20 minutes we reach the strange-looking area between the mountain range and the forest. In the pale starlight, six black shadows stand out against the white islands of snow. “The horses are all here,” I murmur. “Yes, he found her again,” answers Tanja. As we approach the tent, Mogi starts to bark. The light from Bilgee’s head torch illuminates the inside of the tent. It doesn’t take long before Bilgee comes out of his dwelling only half-dressed and greets us with a laugh. “The horses were indeed on their way to the Tuwa camp,” he explains. “On the track used by the vehicles that come to the camp from time to time?” I ask. “Tijmee” (“Yes”), he replies. “Good, we were a little worried,” I say with a smile. “No need to worry Denis. We can’t lose the horses here,” he says. We exchange a few more sentences and then set off on our way back. Because of the dense forest and the darkness, we are once again unable to find the path that the reindeer use to get to the clearing. “It’s amazing how easy it is to get lost here,” says Tanja. “Even though we’ve been living here for four months,” I reply. “At night, every tree just looks the same,” she replies.

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