Saturday

One of the last remaining nomadic groups of reindeer herders has been tracked down and captured on camera in northern Mongolia

 Japanese photographer, Madoka Ikegami, visited the East Taiga region of the Khovsgol province last year in order to gain her amazing images of the Tsaatan family.

She said: “The Tsaatan people live in either East or West Taiga, and I only visited East Taiga.

“There were five families at the time of my visit as, unexpectedly, the rest of the community - mostly young ones - had moved to a further remote area just a few days before my arrival.”

The Tsaatan tribe is somewhat dependent on reindeers for transportation purposes and their antlers are used as handcrafting tools. The reindeers also provide the travellers with milk, a fundamental part of their diet.

Madoka was originally motivated to document the tribe when she saw an inspirational picture of a Tsaatan child resting her head on a beautiful white reindeer.


She said: “It was so fascinating to see the peaceful face of this little child, her deep trust in this animal, which is much larger than her. And the reindeer doesn't look to mind her either.

The Tsaatan tribe is said to have co-existed with reindeers for thousands of years and Madoka wanted her photography to emphasise their relationship as well as the incredible scenery that surrounds them












Responses to "Fascinating photos of the last remaining nomadic groups of reindeer herders"

  1. Anonymous says:

    Need to preserve their culture and territory by forbidding the wearing of Western clothing raising cattle or any other intrusion of Western culture such as hospitals medicine education and internet access so that more developed cultures and preservationists will have a place to go to on their vacations to appreciate the unspoiled people in their natural enviornment

  2. Unknown says:

    Suuret kiitokset hienoista kuvista!

  3. Unknown says:

    Absolutely facinating Did not know these people even existed. I hope their territory is never ruined

  4. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing this.

  5. Maija says:

    Here in Finland we also have reindeer herders in Lapland.

  6. Unknown says:

    Wonderful!

  7. Anonymous says:

    The Sami still live. This is not the only group of nomadic reindeer herders.

  8. Sacred land...
    Sacred medicine animals...
    Sacred peoples...

  9. June says:

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful insight into the Tsaatan family and their charges. May they remain peaceful and prosperous.

  10. Unknown says:

    Do not see them!! What happened ??

  11. Anonymous says:

    Yes, some Sami still live. We hope to keep them free of western (and elsewhere) aggression and greed, and preserve their pristine taiga and pristine way of life, sustain their very existence. May they thrive.

  12. Unknown says:

    we also have reindeer herds here in Alaska but they have gone wild to the cariboo

  13. GreyWolf says:

    May they prosper forever.

  14. Unknown says:

    They could teach us all a lot if we would just look and listen.

  15. flozie says:

    Beautiful!!!

  16. neache says:

    How beautiful the souls of human beings that co exist with their animals bless them keep them safe and far from the ills of the world around them... be safe God bless

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