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Reindeer are saddled up and resting in a field of rhododendrons
in a spring camp, West taiga. |
With a population of 3.5 million people, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country in the world. About half of the people reside in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. The rest, numbering 600,000 to 700,000, live as nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists. Most herding families across Mongolia have two to or more types of animals (sheep, goats, yak, cows, horses, camels), but the Dukha of Huvsgol Province have only one, reindeer. Of the two dozen or so Indigenous reindeer herders worldwide, the Dukha are also the most southerly located.
Like all herding families in Mongolia, the Dukha move their animals to fresh grazing lands several times a year. As semi-nomadic herders, families too relocate cyclically from the towns to the taiga and back for various reasons (school, work, health care. etc.). In general, school aged children and some community members live in the sum (government center) during the school year while others stay in the taiga with the reindeer, periodically rotating as needed. Then, when school ends in June, most families reunite for a time altogether at the summer camp, living in urts (tepees) alongside the reindeer. The Dukha purchase food and other necessities for their taiga stay in the sum and can take the goods to the spring camp by horse, motorcycle or SUV. Once there, the reindeer are packed with the food and household goods (and literally the 'house') for migration to the high elevation summer camps where travel by vehicle is not possible.
See also Summer Migration in the Taiga
In town all types of fresh vegetables, canned meat, and other items like flour and rice are readily available. However, out in the taiga, when the Dukha's store bought fresh food supplies run low, they can rely on their traditional knowledge of plant foraging and products of their reindeer (mainly milk, sometimes meat). The benefit of the summer diet is that everything is fresh, natural, and high in vitamins and minerals. And as the children spend time with their extended families in close connection with their community, nature and the reindeer, they acquire cultural and traditional knowledge that has been passed on through the generations.
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| A field of wildflowers in July. At this time, the reindeer are grazing in the mountain area while the other animals are down on the steppe. These fields, left to grow untouched all summer, will be used for winter grazing. |
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| Children playing in the east taiga summer camp. |
While the research delves into the specifics of how the Dukha forage and use local plants, and the health benefits of their traditional diet, words alone cannot portray the colorful beauty and bounty of the taiga in full bloom. I hope the following few photos can serve as a 'companion piece' to the article, showing you a peak at summer in the Mongolian taiga.
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The red tips shown here at an autumn camp in late August is Sanguisorba officinalis (Great Burnett). Locally the plant is known as Sud Uvs. The flowers are dried and steeped in hot water and used as a decoction for children's stomachache. |
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This beautiful blue flower, Aquilegia glandulosa (Siberian Columbine) was photographed in late July close to the East taiga summer camp. Known locally as Zurkhen Tsetseg the dried petals are known to be "good for the heart." |
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This plant is the Rosa acicularis (Prickly Wild Rose). Locally it is called Nokhoin |
Khoshuu (Nose of dog). Dried and mixed with tea, it is good for fatigue.
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| Lonicera caerulea (Sweetberry Honeysuckle). Known locally as Chonin Eleg (wolf's liver), the berry is said to be good for the liver. |
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Dianthus superbus L. is known locally as Sogoon Sumon (uterus of a
female elk). It is dried and used as an infusion kidney and womb problems.
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Rhubarb is chopped, cooked, mixed with sugar and
spread on bread. It also has medicinal purposes. |
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Rhodiola rosea known locally as Altan Gaganuur. A decoction is
made from fresh flowers or dried root, used for broken
bones, arthritis, and joint pain.
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Bergenia crassifolia (commonly called Elephants ears),
known locally as Baagain Chikh. Used to make
tea and it is good for a stomachache.
 | Siberian chives, known locally as 'Manganei.'
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Flowers drying inside an urts. The yellow flowers petals in the pink sling are Potenilla fruiticosa, or Shrubby Cinquefoil. It is known locally as Tayanii Shar Tsetseg,translated as the'yellow flower of taya.' A decoction can be made from the dried flowers that is good fordiarrhea. It is also good for tooth pain, the kidneys, and heart disease.
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| Flower petals of the Shrubby Cinquefoil scattered in a cup of milk tea. |
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The Lilium martagon (Martagon Lily), known locally as Shar Tums or Zerleg Tums.
Also known as a 'wild potato,' it is good for a stomachache and for the bladder. |
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| Reindeer meat and flowers drying in a family urts. |
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Tsuivan (Mongolian Noodles with Meat and Vegetables). Handmade noodles are cooked over meat and vegetables (like the wild potato) for a one-pot meal.
This photo is from the east taiga summer camp and the tsuivan is made
with reindeer meat. |
See also When You Dine with Reindeer Herders
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Pine nuts are roasted, often by placing either inside
the edgeor on the family stove (see below) |
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| The wood stove is carried by the reindeer during migration. |
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| Milking reindeer. |
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Storing food outside on platforms to keep it safe from predators.
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*Hatcherson, J. (2024). Nose of dog, eye of elk, and wolf’s liver: exploring the interconnectedness of Indigenous health and foraging among the Dukha reindeer herders of Mongolia. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 83(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2024.2343454
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