Photo Palani Mohan.
Harsh wide desert expanses of Western Mongolia (Altai mountain range). In winter the temperature drops to -40 degrees. Take only the most persistent. These parts are burkachi – Kazakhs, who honor the centuries-old tradition of hunting on horseback with Golden eagles. There are only about 60 people.
Palani Mohan (Mohan Palani) was eager to document the culture of Falcon hunters, when he was 17 years old. Then he worked as a photographer’s assistant in the newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald and saw an interesting picture in one English edition. More than two decades later, Mohan was able to realize his dream to travel to Mongolia.
He visited her four times in five years. The book of the photographer “Hunting with eagles: in the realm of Mongolian Kazakhs” (Hunting With Eagles: In The Realm of The Mongolian Kazakhs), which was published in October, this is a rare and invaluable chronicle of a disappearing culture.
The greatest interest in eagle hunting the Mohan evoke the relationship between man and his bird. Hunt down the hunters, talked with them through an interpreter and learned a lot. Burkachi find 4 months Orlic, take it home and feed from the hand until they are ready to hunt. In 10-15 years, hunters allow them to return to the wild.
“My entire life has been more than 20 Orlic. Last year I released my last bird back to the mountains. The feeling is the same as if I left a family member. I think about what she’s doing; whether she can find food and build a nest. Whether or not it succeeded after? Sometimes I think about these things,” said Mohan legendary hunter, Arahan Suinsa.
Mohan knows that there is less time to document the culture of the eagle hunters. Although many Mongols to contain the eagles as Pets, very beautiful burkachi disappear. If they have children, few agree to continue the tradition and lead such a harsh life, when there is an opportunity to move to the city.
“This culture is dying before our eyes, and this is one reason why I return again and again to finish the project.”
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