Ewenkexunlu Customs
01 · Historical Records
The custom of the reindeer arose from the hunting life in which the Evenki lived alongside deer herds, accumulating over generations rather than being established all at once. The deer roamed and were herded in the forests, and people moved as the deer moved; clothing, food, dwelling, and even utensils all changed with the deer, and in this way a whole body of practices naturally grew up over more than three hundred years. Traces of the deer being put to human use are everywhere: rendering fat and grease, drinking reindeer milk, brewing alcoholic drinks, and the shaping of saddlery and handicrafts were all products that came naturally to hand. After the old days of making a living from the deer came to an end, this body of craft born of the deer did not lapse with them; it turned into a still-usable stock of old knowledge, kept in the mountain forests and among the villages.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Evenki people possess the only reindeer population in China and are the sole keepers of reindeer; historically they were known as the "deer-using tribe" (shilu bu). Over a history of more than three hundred years, the Aoluguya Evenki hunting people gradually formed their own distinctive reindeer culture, which includes the techniques of taming and breeding reindeer, the preparation and use of rendered deer fat and reindeer milk, brewing techniques and the craft of making reindeer saddlery, the processing of reindeer products, and the making of ethnic handicrafts. In the course of long-term development, the Aoluguya Evenki hunting people gradually moved beyond a single model of hunting and herding, learning to make rational use of and develop reindeer products and other wild resources so that they better serve the development and progress of the ethnic group.
The everyday of the herd in the forest
The deer graze loose and return at dusk, and every task of the day takes its cue from the sound of the herd.
Taking fat from the dressed hide
Fat is freed from the belly and sinews with a single cut, leaving both fat and hide usable.
Milking and keeping the milk
The short lactation means twice-daily milking before the calves feed, and vessels of horn or hide keep the milk.
Making the deer saddle and harness
Light but strong harness, cut from supple hide before autumn, carries a rider across the forest for miles.
The last hunting life of the deer
A knowledge of the forest rather than mere hunting: where water lies, where deer fatten and when to move on.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The circulation of this custom is concentrated in the area of the Aoluguya Ethnic Township, where the Aoluguya Evenki hunting people live in communities; the reindeer are herded in the forest meadows, and the daily rhythms of people and deer are offset from each other: when the deer go out into the forest, the people stay and keep watch; when the deer return, the people take the milk and render the fat. Within the community, transmission relies not on writing but on oral instruction and demonstration; an apprentice first follows the deer herd on several rounds, learning to tell which deer is fierce-tempered and which meadow has water, before he can even begin to try his hand. The locality also marks the weight of this custom with the description of the home of China's only reindeer-keeping people, and its ceremonial forms and artifacts remain largely within the mountain-forest production setting.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Aoluguya Evenki hunting people, now settled in the Aoluguya Ethnic Township of Genhe City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, historically made their living by hunting and raising reindeer; they lived year-round deep in the mountain forests and are known as "China's last hunting tribe." The Evenki reindeer custom integrates productive and everyday knowledge; in traditional skills of clothing, food, shelter, transport, medicine, and craft production, it embodies distinctive concepts of belief, aesthetics, values, and ecology, and it has a unique value for historical and cultural research.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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