Tradition

Without trying to sound disrespectful, I'm not sure that I've ever placed a high importance on tradition. Yes, I enjoy traditions for times of bringing people together or remembering history, but rarely do I equate the value of tradition as high as I do other values. Today, I was taught anew the beauty, value and wonder of tradition in a beautiful celebration of a piece of the Mongolian Kazak culture, the annual Eagle Festival.

The Eagle Festival takes place on the plains of Western Mongolia surrounded by breathtaking mountains and miles and miles of land. Eagle hunters from all over Mongolia and from Kazakhstan too come to this festival to compete in their sport. Eagle hunting has been a part of the culture for years upon years yet the festival only started about ten years ago. As the years have gone on, more and more tourists have flocked to this festival eager to photograph the experience or simply share in it.

We arrived mid morning to a barren wilderness transformed gently into a festival ground. Tour companies and visitors had parked their cars in a long line and local vendors had laid their goods on the earth to sell. A handful of culinary fiends had set up tents and were cooking up kebabs and hashads (fried hot pockets as described to us). Behind the food vendors stretched out a massive area where the events were set to take place. As we wandered around and gained our bearings, eagle hunters on horseback began appearing everywhere. The eagle hunters dress in their ethnic dress and its incredible. Each different ethnic group in Mongolia has such a different style of dress that each man was dressed differently. Some wore big furry hats, others colorful cloaks, and others darker colors and serious boots. At first, when we spotted one it was like a Disney character at Disney, but as the festival drew on they became normal to see.

The festival started with the presentation of the riders and their eagles. And then continued with the eagle hunters showing off their skills. Each rider left his eagle at the top of a mountain. The rider then waited below with us with a piece of fox tail or fox meat as bait. His eagle was then set free up above and the rider then tried to get his eagle back to his person as quickly as possible. Some eagles made a bee line to their riders proving their rider very proud and other eagles went rove making their rider gallop out of the area and into the parking lot to retrieve their eagles, not quite so good, but probably more entertaining. The three of us stood in amazement as we watched it all take place. It was incredible and unlike anything we had seen before

We ventured over to the vendors to buy some gifts and to eat lunch from one of the tents and managed to meet a lot of Leo's friends and fellow Peace Corps volunteer members while we were at it. Every where you looked, we saw Eagle Hunters and their horses and beautiful Mongolian and Kahzak goods.

We also got to ride a CAMEL! Dad, Leo, and I each took a turn riding on this beautiful camel and it was incredible. His humps were so furry and he walked with such a strange gait. It was so fun being up above everything and seeing it all go on and we all giggled and laughed as we maneuvered onto the animal and as it squealed when trying to get up. It was so fun seeing Dad on the camel. Pictures will come soon.

In the afternoon, we watched as the riders participated in a sport that involves riding a horse and swooping down from your saddle to pick up a coin while keeping going on your horse and coming back up to sitting position. It was quite scary to watch, but they were great!

Throughout the whole festival, there was a beautiful reverence for the history and tradition of the eagle hunters. The men and women wore their dress with pride posing for photos heads held high with their eagles by their side. The riders prepared diligently for this festival and some traveled for miles to get there. The air was filled with an excitement in part from those that had traveled miles to compete, but also from those who had traveled miles to see this piece of tradition in action. A shared reverence and admiration for this moment, for this day with all its colors and animals and people transcended us all. It was a day where tradition brought forth culture and bonded together a group of people from all over Mongolia and the world into a shared moment of awe. I'm glad we got to be a part of it.

Tomorrow, we finally head out to Leo's soum (village). I cannot wait to see him in his element. Its a 2.5 hour drive from Ulgi and starts our three day streak of no showering :) We're also not sure about our internet capabilities, but we'll do our best.

Love to all at home.