Herding Family

 

Herding animals is a way of life in rural Mongolia. Because of the dry conditions and the long, bitter winters, grazing grounds may be far apart. As a result, herding families often have to move with their animals to better pasture lands. This movement usually takes place in the summer. A family may move several times in the summer season. When the family moves, they literally break down their house and rebuild it in the new location. Sometimes this movement is only a few miles, other times it is much further. In the winter, the family will settle in one spot. The winter home is usually a more permanent ger closer to a town. We visited the summer home of a family that herds over 400 heads of camel, sheep, and goat. They welcomed us into their ger where they shared a fermented camels milk and dry cheese curds with us. Whenever you visit someone’s home in Mongolia, it is standard to be offered a drink, usually Mongolian milk tea, and food. Even if you are not hungry or do not like what is offered, a visitor is expected to accept the hospitality by at least tasting what is offered. I will write more about the ger and how it is set up next week after we have a chance to help put up and break down a ger. After tasting the fermented camel's milk and cheese and the passing around of our host's snuff bottle (more on this in another posting), we headed outside to meet the herd. We had a chance to get up close and very personal with the camels.  Some of the camels were friendly, but others where obviously bothered by our presence. The young camels (are they called calves?) were particularly friendly and would even hold onto our arms with their mouths. Camels are used for transportation, but also for food. In summer, camels are milked and the milk is either consumed fresh or fermented into a traditional Mongolian drink. While the father of the herding family was responsible for the herding of the animals, the mother took charge of the milking. Even at a young age, the children begin to take on responsibilities with the herd. While the mother of the family we visited was milking one side of a line of goats, her son was milking the other side. I think this is how it works in farming families in America too; everyone in the family has to pitch in to make the farm a success. After we milked the camels and then the goats, it was time to head back to the school we were staying for the night. Before we left though, we all piled back into the ger for a last chance to enjoy the family’s hospitality. This time we enjoyed boiled camels’ milk from the camels we milked only an hour before. The milk was sweet and rich. The warm welcome we received and the opportunity to get a glimpse of the herding life was very special.