Blog #3 Traditions of Mongolia

Mongolia is located in Central Asia north of China. The steep lands and Altay Mountains are home to the Kazakh; a group of nomadic herders who still live the very traditional life styles of the ancestors. In Mongolia, homeland of conqueror Genghis Khan horses out number people and in the barren landscape you can walk for days without seeing another human face. The Kazakh people train golden eagles to catch their food, a one of their prized eagles can spot prey a mile away and shoot down like a missile to nab a rabbit darting out of it's hole. The Kazakh people depend on these eagles for food and the animal pelts they catch for warmth, they are valued members of the community. They have their own spot in the families' yurt, a portable tent that can all be loaded on to the back of a single camel. But they are also very respected animals, after the birds turn eight, they are released back into the wild to live free and make more eagles. This is remote culture is very unlike our own; while I've only lived in three different places in my life, moving for the Kazakh people is a semi-annual tradition. They also value animals in a very different manner than we do. They move everything they have four times a year to find new land to herd their goats, and release their eagles back into the wild after a good time of servitude. In our disposable society, we almost never come in to contact with the animals we eat before their plucked, skinned and processed. And we don't directly depend on any animals in our home for survival. These things lead to a decrease in the over all value of the animals in our society, much unlike the nomadic peoples of Mongolia.
Schmidt, Jeremy. "Hunting with Golden Eagles is Tradition Among the Kazakh People of Mongolia." National Geographic Kids Feb. & march 2009: 28-30.