Riders at the Rock In the golden light before sunset, tourists on camels work their way across a vast plateau with Uluru as their backdrop.
“Send us more camels!”
Last year when I was in Jordan, that was the exhortation of every second person I met, once they heard I was from Australia (see: Desert Rains and the Seven Pillars). Who knew we actually sell camels to the Middle East? I knew there were feral camels – at least 300,000 at last estimate – all across the outback, but I didn’t know we sold them back from whence they came!
Camels (Camelus dromedarius) aren’t native to Australia: they were introduced in the early 1800s by British explorers and settlers, and used as beasts of burden for the exploration and development of the arid interior.
The first major inland-Australian journey to use camels was the infamous Burke and Wills expedition of 1860. They aimed to cross the country from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north: roughly 3,250 kilometres (approximately 2,000 miles) of largely unknown terrain. At that time, much of Australia’s interior was unmapped by Europeans, who eschewed indigenous Aboriginal knowledge and still held hopes of a fertile inland sea. The ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition started out on 20 August 1860 with 19 men, 23 horses, 6 wagons, and 26 camels. In spite of numerous rescue parties, only one man – and none of the camels – survived the return trip back south to Melbourne.
That wasn’t the end of the camel’s story though. At least 15,000 camels are estimated to have come to Australia between 1870 and 1900 – mostly from India, but some from North Africa and Arabia. Private stud farms were set up in 1866 and a government camel stud was established in 1894.
It was recognised early on that the animals wouldn’t be much use without their handlers. At first, small groups of cameleers were shipped in and out of Australia at three-year intervals; over time, the cameleers began their own businesses, importing animals and running the camel trains themselves. Commonly referred to as “Afghans” or “Ghans”, these mainly Muslim men were predominantly from British India, although some were from Afghanistan, as well as Egypt and Turkey.
Camels continued to be used for inland exploration and for haulage through the early 1900s. But, the introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 and the White Australia policy made life more difficult for the cameleers, and the advent of motorised transport put the camels out of work. Rather than shoot their beasts, some cameleers released them into the wild, where subsequent generations have thrived. Although marginally less destructive than other introduced animals in Australia, camels are a severe challenge to the natural environment: they drink huge amounts of water, eat more than 80% of the plant species available, and destroy native animal habitats. They also wreck pipes, fences, and other modern infrastructure and have damaged culturally sensitive heritage sites.
But, rounding them up to be sold back to places like Jordan isn’t so easy!
Even with the Australian Feral Camel Management Project (AFCMP) running from 2009 until 2013, the camel population – and the financial, social, and environmental costs resulting from it – continue to grow.
The Pitjantjatjara people of the Central Australian desert have learnt camel-handling skills, and muster some animals for their own use. There are some Australian commercial operations producing milk and/or meat, and the country is reputedly the biggest exporter of camels in the world. But, the costs associated with live-mustering and handling are high, so live-exports accounts for only a very small proportion of the camel population. While small numbers are sent to the Middle East for breeding and racing purposes, large numbers are culled regularly.
Some animals are lucky enough to make it into the hospitality industry, where operators like Uluru Camel Tours – who I rode into the sunset with – have plans around animal welfare, environmental management, and community sustainability.
Join me and my mount Wally on an evening ride into the Red Centre:
Uluru Camel Farm A short shuttle ride from the Voyages Ayers Rock Resort, the rustic Camel Farm welcomes us.
Camel Farm The Uluru operation is home to 60 camels, mostly male, caught in the wild and trained to be working animals.
Dromedaries at the Farm All the camels here – like most of those in Australia – are one-humped dromedaries, which are suited to the hot desert. Two-humped bactrian camels are built for the cold climate of Central Asia.
Camels at the Ready The camels needed for the evening’s Sunset Tour are ready and waiting in their harnesses and saddles. According to the website, farm owner and experienced cameleer Chris Hill makes all the saddles and harnesses in the saddlery on site.
Camel Portrait To me, it always looks as though they are smiling – even though I know they are just chewing their cuds.
Camel Silhouettes Riding three metres above the ground, we make our way across the red sands …
Red Sands … climbing up the semi-arid dunes in search of a sunset.
Bella in the Sun Our guide and camel handler talks to us about the animals and the local environment as we ride up the dunes.
The Rock Every time I saw this magnificent monolith rising out of the desert plains, I felt a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. This UNESCO-listed living landscape is magic.
Camel Train Behind us, another camel train threads through the spiky hummocks of spinifex grass and the spindly, fledgeling desert oak trees.
Sun-Flares over Kata Tjuta The lowering sun is directly in our eyes as the camels cross in front of Kata Tjuta– the “Many Heads”.
Sun Flares over Bella and Kata Tjuta Bella keeps us entertained as we ride straight into the setting sun.
Lowering Light on Uluru As the sun continues to drop, the colours on the Uluru and the desert vegetation change constantly.
Riders in Evening Light Although it rained the week before I arrived here, the region had previously suffered a lengthy drought. The dry vegetation takes on a golden glow in the afternoon light.
Sunset on the Clouds From a vantage point at the top of a rise, we watch as the sun sets fire to the clouds over Kata Tjuta.
Kata Juta Skies We are lucky: in this usually dry environment, clear skies are the norm – making for much less interesting sunsets!
Desert Oak I fell in love with the desert oaks (allocasuarina decaisneana) even before I knew their story: these slow growing trees send down a tap-root that can be three times their height. The root can reach a depth of over 10 metres (33 ft), searching for any sub-surface water. Here at Yulara, the southern aquifer is generally between 17 and 26 metres, so these unique trees don’t have to work quite so hard.
In the Skies over Kata Tjuta Flies are a constant in the outback – but that’s not a fly in the darkening sky: it is a helicopter on its own sunset tour.
Uluru Darkening On one side of the plateau in front of us, Uluru falls into darkness; …
Kata Tjuta Sunset … and the skies over The Olgas show their last colours.
These days, there are always questions around the ethics of the use of companion animals, but in the case of the feral camels of the outback, they should be pretty happy to be taken into service at Uluru!
For me, riding camel-back across the Red Centre was a wonderful way to take in the beauty of the changing light over the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
[…] I could into the short time I had in the area, so I booked myself into a range of activities (see: A Camel Ride into the Red Centre and The Field of Light). On my second morning, I got up pre-dawn to join the SEIT Kata Tjuta tour, […]ReplyCancel
[…] resort, taking in a talk on bush tucker and other activities (Watch this space!), and went for a sunset camel ride. I watched the sunrise and walked into the Walpa Gorge in Kata Tjuta, and I planned to walked […]ReplyCancel
Boy on the Brink Initiation into manhood in tribal Hamar society involves a treacherous run over the backs of cows and steers. In preparation, the boy’s head is partially shaved, he is scrubbed with sand to wash away any sins, and he is smeared with dung to give him strength.
Every society that has been studied by history, anthropology, or sociology, celebrates the passage of its individuals from one social or religious status to another. The ceremonial events that mark these rites of passage can take very different and colourful forms. Many are private affairs, with elders initiating others into secrets that are not shared with outsiders. They often involve ritual marking (circumcision, scarring or tattooing), temporary social isolation, or physical challenges: anything that means that the transition from one group to another, or from one phase of life to another, will not be forgotten.
Sometimes these events are joyous occasions – think weddings or baby-namings – and outsiders are welcome. One of my happiest travel memories is of being dragged into part of an Indian wedding in Rajasthan. Others, while not particularly private, are still challenging for outsiders to comprehend.
Young men of the Hamar tribe in Southern Ethiopia’s Omo Valley participate in a cattle-jumping ceremony called Ukule Bulla. The men (or boys) must run naked, four times, across the backs of ten to fifteen cows and castrated bulls that are held together in a line. Once they have succeeded, they are considered to be adult or Maza (literally: an accomplished one) and can own their own cattle and marry.
So far, so good.
The young men might be understandably anxious about their ability to accomplish this feat, and they are amped up on a strong local coffee brew and local alcohol, but it is the women’s ceremony that is a real challenge for visitors. Before the cow-jumping, they too drink copious amounts, and take part in a noisy, jumping dancing frenzy. At some point during their dance, they insist that their adult male relatives (who are Maza, having already performed their cow jumping, but have not yet married) strike their bare backs with long, wooden whips. The men do not get away with a token ceremonial flagellation: the violent lashings leave open wounds on the backs of women. These become deep scars which the women wear with pride.
Enduring the pain, amid dancing and cheers, is seen as a sign of love and loyalty toward their male relatives. Indeed, the men are considered forever indebted to the women after the ceremony is over.
Once the cattle-jumper has finished his runs, he is draped in an animal skin, blessed, and sent off with the other Maza to have his head fully shaved. The noisy celebrations continue long into the night.
Hamar Lands After a morning spent with the Arbore people (see: Arbore Village Portraits) we were back in the high, open Hamar territory.
Young Hamar Woman Hamar women are easily distinguishable by their clay-and-butter decorated hairstyles, and the cowrie-shell decorated goatskin smocks they wear.
Tourist Trucks This village had a few boys who were going to be cow-jumping; clearly the tourists were also out in force! After a few minutes on the phone, Danny found us another event in a more remote location, and we headed off again.
In the Hamar Village In preparation for the cow jumping, the young man visits all the neighbouring villages to invite everyone to his initiation. As is common in this region, the men here all have their own stools.
Hamar Headband The men and women all love their colourful beaded jewellery and elaborate hairstyles.
Hamar Hat Colourfully woven hats, beaded headbands, and copper bracelets, are all part of the festival attire.
Dancing Group All wearing their traditional goatskins – elaborately decorated with beads and cowries – the female relatives of the initiate dance around in circles singing.
Women Dancing At regular intervals, they stop their circuits to jump up and blow curved horns. The noise is like being in the middle of an Asian traffic jam!
Smoke and Coffee In the lead-up to the cattle jumping, villagers have days of feasting and drinking traditional coffee, sorghum beer, and honey wine.
Dance Circle The jumping, dancing …
Women with Horns … and horn blowing continues.
Woman on the Sidelines The bells on the women’s legs contribute to the cacophony of the dance.
Leg Bells
“It Takes a Village” A cow-jumping is a great opportunity for families to get together. A proud uncle shows off his young niece.
Leaves in her Hair This young woman is a first wife, which we know from her burkule: the leather and metal necklace with its distinctive knob in the front.
Ritual Coffee The visitors share special coffee – or it might be sorghum mash.
Thatched Hamar Hut Some of the huts in the village are quite beautiful.
Hamar Woman in a Wreath
The Initiate This young lad was only eleven years old, and he seemed very small and scared surrounded by his tall elders. Usually the young men who are participating in their cow jumping are older than this, but he is the only son of an ailing father; he needs to be initiated before his father dies.
Men with a Switch The dancing women – who are at least partially intoxicated – call previously initiated male relatives, known as Maza, in to whip them with long, wooden switches.
Scarred Backs Women’s scars are a symbolic mark of their loyalty to their families, demonstrating how they are willing to suffer for their male relatives. The wounds are dressed with lye and dried cow dung, so that the welts will harden into raised and visible scars.
Fabulous Hair I loved checking out the different hair styles, and couldn’t help but wonder how long it takes to create some of the fabulous styles.
Guns Everywhere Automatic weapons are everywhere: these pastoralists need to protect their herds from raiding neighbours.
Steering the Cows Late in afternoon, the villagers gather up a number of cattle …
Holding the Cows by the Tail … and line them up in preparation for the jumping.
Coming! Leaping over the lineup of bulls takes courage and skill; he needs to make four complete passages to ‘pass’.
And Going! The young lad is naked and smeared with dung to give him strength. The strips of tree bark around his chest are a spiritual protection.
Hamar Girl in Sunnies After the jumping, the celebrations continue: the young women look for young men to dance with.
Man in a Feathered Hat Everyone is all smiles now that the jump has been successfully completed.
It was a fascinating, but challenging, afternoon visit.
It hard to know in what form these customs will continue into the future. Tourists, and the money they bring, have been making inroads into Hamar lands for 15+ years, and this is bound to change Hamar society.
Hopefully, they will be tho ones to choose the way in which any changes happen. As one Hamar woman put it:
[…] The Hamar practice scarification, much of which can be quite beautiful. What is alarming is the significations of some of these scars: men wear rows of pala or “hero scars” which relate directly to the number of tribal enemies they have personally killed. In addition to decorative scars, women proudly display ragged wounds on their backs, which they have received from a ritual (and distressing to most outsiders – including me) whipping that takes place as part of men’s ‘cattle jumping’ ceremony. This is a unique coming-of-age-initiation practice – which I’ll talk more about when I get to those pictures. (see: Coming of Age in a Hamar Village). […]ReplyCancel
Working Women Rebuilding after the devastation wrought on Patan’s Durbar Square by Nepal’s 25 April 2015 earthquake takes a lot of people-power. The task of unskilled labour is just as likely to go to the women.
Patan, or Lalitpur (ललितपुर), or Manigal, is an ancient Newari city of just over 200,000 people. It sits on the southern plateau of the Bagmati River, eight kilometers south of Kathmandu, and was – up until the conquest and unification in the late 1700s, under Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Gorkha Prince and future King of Nepal – it’s own kingdom.
The Malla Kings of Lalitpur, like those in the other two Newari kingdoms in the Kathmandu Valley: Bhaktapur (see: Joy among the Ruins and Living Heritage) and Kathmandu, focused their palace on a Durbar (Royal) Square comprising temples, shrines, open courts, water fountains, and private buildings. As I’ve noted before (see: City Of Devotion And Fine Arts), Patan was initially designed in the shape of the Buddhist Dharma-Chakra(Wheel of Righteousness). One of the oldest Buddhist cities in the world, it is also a center of Hinduism, and its collection of culturally meaningful and artistically beautiful buildings – as well as its reputation for fine craftsmanship – results in the city’s centre being a valued part of the Kathmandu ValleyUNESCO World Heritage-listing.
Most of the current architecture is from the 1600s, and this very antiquity probably contributed to the almost-complete destruction that Patan’s Durbar Square experienced during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015.
When I visited almost two years later, the earthquake damage was still manifest: rubble was everywhere where the ancient buildings used to be. But, Patan has rich artistic traditions, and the craftsmanship that went into the carved wood, the ornate metalwork, and the sculpted stone in the original buildings is still available for the reconstruction process.
Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, with over a quarter of the population defined as below poverty line, and a huge unskilled workforce. The up-side of this is that there is no shortage of unskilled labour to turn the brick piles recovered from precious temple ruins back into buildings.
And, people mostly do this with a smile.
Bird Woman For a small price, you can invest in bird food and good karma; …
Photographer Jack Kurtz and the Pigeons … visitors and locals alike take the opportunity to create goodwill.
Applying a Bindi People routinely stop into the temples around the square to make an offering, say a prayer, and apply a bindi.
Guardian Lions One of the reasons Patan is called “The City of Fine Arts” is the ornate craftsmanship decorating the buildings. The wood, stone, brick, and metalwork in this temple front is just one of countless examples around the square and beyond. A pair of guardian lions, believed to have mythic protective powers, flank the doorway.
Building Front Even the shophouses and residential buildings feature beautifully carved and freshly painted detailing.
Schoolgirl in the Street The city might be UNESCO-listed for its rich cultural history …
Students in the Street … but many of the people within it are youthful and forward-looking.
People in the Street The streets are busy with people going about their daily business.
Lions in the Shadows Another pair of guardian lions stand in front of the wreckage of Radha Krishna Temple, which collapsed in the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Swotha Krishna Mandir Right next to the ruins, the Swotha Krishna Mandir Temple stands without a mark …
Time Out – Swotha Krishna Mandir .. and life continues.
Temple Bell Contrasts are everywhere: a shiny new motorcycle sits parked in the laneway next to an ancient small shrine.
Scaffolding So many damaged buildings need propping up while they are being repaired.
Clay Tiles Bricks and tiles from earthquake-damaged buildings have been carefully removed and piled nearby.
Chyasi Deval Krishna Temple If you look one direction in Durbar Square, ancient temples stand tall. The Chyasi Deval Krishna Temple, behind the fountain here, is thought to date to 1723, under King Vishnu Malla. The eight-sided (Chyasim or Chyasing) structure was built in the Shikara style which is prominent in India, and is almost unscathed, …
Durbar Square Elephants … while other buildings nearby are in fenced-off ruins.
Men on the Stoop The Patan Palace itself has been repurposed as the Patan Museum, and the stoop outside seems to be a regular meeting place …
Men in their Dhaka Topi … for the local men, all in their colourful hand-spun cotton inlay-patterned Nepali hats.
Women Piling Bricks The painstaking labour-intensive work continues.
Woman and Cement Buckets Some of the women have been transporting cement buckets, using shoulder poles.
Laying Bricks Others are rebuilding old walls. While it might be impressive that these women are wearing hard-hats, you cannot see their feet – which are either shod in soft shoes or flip-flops.
Carrying Baskets of Bricks A common means of carrying things in Nepal is in woven wicker dokos (baskets) on head straps called namlo.
Working Women Once the baskets are empty, they are easily carried by hand or on ones shoulders.
Bricks and Bare Feet It takes many loads of bricks to rebuild an earthquake-ravaged city, so the women keep working.
It is back-breaking work, but there is a sense of pride in it: for these people are rebuilding their own precious heritage.
I hope to go back one day, and see the Square returned to its former glory.
Hikers on the Alevia Circular Route Overcast skies and misty rains can’t dampen my spirits when I am hiking on top of the world!
Sometimes Facebook ads get it right!
I am always looking for walks in interesting places. And, I had been wanting to study a language again.
But, I honestly can’t remember if I saw the ad in the corner of my consciousness before I decided on studying Spanish, or if I had decided on Spanish first…
Either way, at the most opportune time, pictures from a Spanish language school in the north of Spain (Peak Me) came through came through my Facebook feed. They were offering morning language classes, and afternoon walks walks in the Picos de Europa mountains through their partners (Canoe Adventure Trophy). It was a perfect combination! I was already planning a trip to England to visit family; once there, a week in Spain would be an easy side trip.
Of course, even in Europe (and even in the days before Covid-19), short flights between countries meant long drives to out-of-the-way airports and late-night or crack-of-dawn departures. The drives to and from Stansted Airport were much longer than the flight to and from Santander Airport in Cantabria. It was late, and I was travel-weary, when I finally reached my bed in Panes in Asturias.
On our first day of class I discovered that what little Spanish I thought I knew was either French or Italian! Never mind – they really do cater for beginners, and I wasn’t the only one.
Our first afternoon walk was around the Alevia Loop: just over seven kilometres, with an altitude gain of 334 metres. The beauty of this walk is that those who are faster and/or fitter can decide to hike to the top of Picu Paisana and back, at around the half-way mark. Clearly, that wasn’t for our group of jet-lagged folk; our guide Vivi made the decision to take it easy on us. Just as well, as sporadic rains slowed our pace further.
Join me for a delightful walk, high in the mountains of Northern Spain!
Iglesia de San Antonio The small chapel above the town of Alevia is as far as our transport can go: from here we walk up into the mountains.
Nuestro Guíe Vivi We had a delightful guide, who – although she was instructed to make us practice our Spanish – was fully conversant in English.
View over Alevia Just a short drive away from our base in Panes, the town of Alevia is pretty little place …
The Cares-Deva Valley … high enough to afford views over the Cares-Deva Valley.
Into the Woods The path starts out through the trees …
View from the Trail … but we soon have views of the peaks across the valley.
Marine Thistle – Eryngium Maritimum There is plenty of interesting vegetation to look at when you want to catch your breath.
Clambering up the Mountainside Sections of the trail are quite steep!
Lunch Break I don’t usually include photos of me, but how could I resist this one?
Well-Fed Cow The cattle in these alpine meadows are clearly finding enough grass!
Mountain Hut Ruins The meadow is littered with limestone rock and the ruins of old huts.
Cow and Calf The cows all watch us warily …
Rocks and Ruins … as we explore remnants of the past.
Abandoned Mine
Walkers on the Ridge As we circle around clockwise, …
Unquera Cantabria … we can see across Cantabria to the Bay of Biscay.
Horse in a Stony Corral
People on the Path The path winds down gently, rewarding us for our earlier hard work.
Village Below Soon enough, the red clay roofs of the village come into clear view …
Peak across the Valley … and we see that distinctive peak across the valley, shrouded in misty rain.
Alevia Street The streets of the village are clean and colourful.
From the Church Yard Back at the church, I again admire the view, …
Alcove … and check out the details around the chapel before returning to the van for the short drive home.
It was a wonderful introduction to some beautiful countryside – and I certainly slept well!
[…] you remember one of my previous posts from this area (see: Ruta Alevia), you’ve probably never heard of Panes, a tiny parish of 568 people in the Peñamellera […]ReplyCancel
Riding in the Footsteps of Genghis Khan They say that Kazakhs can ride before they can walk – so it is no surprise that most of the games at the Golden Eagle Festival take place on horseback.
The Kazakh people of Western Mongolia practically live on horseback.
For hundreds of years, Kazakh nomads had been roaming across the Altai Mountains – between what is now Mongolia and Kazakhstan – riding their small but hardy Kazakh horses (similar to Mongolian horses, but daintier), herding their fat-tailed sheep, horses, cattle, goats, Bactrian camels, and domestic yaks across long distances.
Communist control over Kazakhstan during the 1930s caused large numbers of Kazakhs to flee, and to settle more permanently in Bayan-Ölgii Aimag in the western corner of Mongolia. Once there, relative isolation allowed them to keep alive their Kazakh language, animist beliefs, Muslim religion, and rich cultural traditions.
The horse is central to Kazakh identity as a nomadic people, and features heavily in their rituals, language, art, and even their cuisine. Horses are loved and revered as providers of transportation, food, labour and companionship, and every Kazakh in the extended household has their favourite.
Today, most Kazakhs in Western Mongolia maintain a traditional lifestyle, typically moving their animals – and their gers: their round tents – three or four times a year to find new grazing pastures in this high, cold, and windy landscape with rocky soil and minimal rainfall. Warmth and colour in what is otherwise a harsh environment comes from richly embroidered clothing, tapestries, and blankets, sewn together from the lush furs of the hunted winter fox, felted from combed out camel under-coat, or cut and stitched, using the soft skins of sheep slaughtered for food and pelts. Social evenings are spent in blanket-lined gers, around fires of wood and manure, drinking airag (fermented mare’s milk), arkhi (cow’s milk vodka), or straight vodka, and singing songs accompanied by a two-string dombra (see: At Home with the Kazakhs).
Kazakh nomads are known for their skills as riders and horse-back hunters – skills that are demonstrated by the traditional horseback games on the programme at the annual autumn Golden Eagle Festival in Bayan-Ölgii Province. This festival signals the beginning of the hunting season, and is a chance to show off one’s traditional dress and one’s riding and hunting skills. It gives the community the chance to foster those skills amongst the young, and to promote them to outsiders to encourage tourist dollars. Perhaps most importantly, it allows people who have been wandering on distant plateaus with only their animals and immediate family for company, to come together and socialise.
The year I attended this colourful event, there were 98 eagle hunters participating: a small contingent of whom had crossed the border from Kazakhstan, and a few who were women. In addition, there were assorted camel riders, horse racers, and countless others in the entourages (see: It’s Not Just Birds).
But, like any good nomad, they all knew how to ride a horse!
“Port-A-Loo” The facilities at the festival grounds are rustic – to put it mildly! This is the ‘toilet block’: three wooden platforms with short-drop holes, enclosed on three sides by a shielding cloth.
Kids at the Fairgrounds At the ger camp, where the competitors and vendors are staying, pink-cheeked children watch me with curiosity.
Kiz Kuar – “Girl Chasing” Meanwhile, back in the ring, young men and women have entered the Kiz Kuar, …
Couple Racing … while I’ve seen Kiz Kuar translated as “girl chasing”, it is the young women who are doing the chasing.
Kazakh Couple Horseback The woman is meant to chase the man with her whip swinging, …
Whip Chase … and when she catches him, she is meant to ’embarrass him’ with a kiss.
Chasing your Man The fastest pair around the circuit win. The couples, who have already been judged on the merits of their traditional dress, are clearly having a blast!
Wild Rider Being female and wearing frills is no impediment to being able to ride like the wind! While men and women have differing ‘roles’ in society, it has been said that being on horseback is a great equaliser, and the women in Mongolia’s nomadic groups have always had a level of respect and autonomy not enjoyed by many of their neighbours.
Kazakh Horses When the winning couples have been declared, the horses are temporarily left aside …
Rich Costuming … and everyone rejoins in the middle for a dance party.
Dance Party Naturally, the eagles are invited …
Circling … and some of the horses join in, galloping around the perimeter.
Elder Couple Dancing This wonderful old couple has seen a few seasons dancing together!
Hunter and his Eagle The búrkitshy or berkutchi – as eagle hunters are called in the Kazakh language – and their búrkit, or golden eagles, …
Kazakh Hunter and his Golden Eagle … are everywhere, and are the stars of the festival.
Kokpar (Kuk-Bar) In the next contest, the headless body of a dead sheep is placed in the middle of the ring, …
Sheep Grab … a rider bends to pick the sheepskin up from the ground, …
Sheep-Chase … and tries to get it to a point in the arena without losing it to the other team.
Sheep-Fight The tug-of-war over the sheep …
Sheep-Tug … is dramatic …
Sheep-Grab … and vigorous.
Sheep Grab The contest over the sheepskin was repeated a number of times with different participants.
Refereeing the Kokpar I was never clear on the rules: sometimes one hunter had a head start with the sheep, other times a second rider was there to interfere. Clearly there are rules, however. With their whistles around their necks, referees keep a close watch on the action.
Tug-of-War
Sheep-Wrestle I continue to marvel at how these riders managed to stay on their horses! We left as the awards were being announced over an undecipherable sound system, in awe of the ability of all the riders.
Last Look at my Ger With the festival over, it’s time for a last sleep in my blanket-lined ger, …
Mountains Below … and a morning flight back to Ulaanbaatar over empty-looking mountains. (iPhone)
Somewhere down there, nomads are herding their animals, and hunting winter furs. In the words of a Kazakh proverb I’ve quoted before:
“A fast horse and a soaring eagle
are the wings of a nomad.”
- Performing the Ganga Aarti from Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi
- Buddha Head from Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
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I hope to go back one day, and see the Square returned to its former glory.
[…] I could into the short time I had in the area, so I booked myself into a range of activities (see: A Camel Ride into the Red Centre and The Field of Light). On my second morning, I got up pre-dawn to join the SEIT Kata Tjuta tour, […]
[…] resort, taking in a talk on bush tucker and other activities (Watch this space!), and went for a sunset camel ride. I watched the sunrise and walked into the Walpa Gorge in Kata Tjuta, and I planned to walked […]