Photo: © Palani Mohan. Courtesy of Merrell Publishers
The Altai Mountains in far western Mongolia, is a vast and brutal landscape where temperatures routinely drop close to -40F in the winter. It is here that the Kazakhs reside, the largest ethnic minority in the nation. Numbering around 100,000, the Kazakh nomads have been grazing livestock near the mountains for hundreds of years, and only became a part of Mongolia following the country’s 1921 revolution, when a permanent border was established partitioning it from China and Russia.
Hunting with Eagles: In the Realm of the Mongolian Kazakhs by Palani Mohan (Merrell) is a beautifully produced portrait of the Burkitshi, providing an incredible look at the people, their practice, and the landscape as it exists now, before it forever fades away. The photographs and stories collected here are a tremendous gift to the planet, reminding us of the deeply interconnected power of Nature and the beauty of living in harmony with the planet.
As Orazkhan Shuinshi, the oldest and wisest of the Burkitshi, spoke Mohan recorded his words, and reproduced them in the book’s introduction: “Golden eagles are like no other bird. They want to be with you. They love you. And they love to kill for you. When the time comes to let them go, it’s the hardest thing a man can ever do.”
© Palani Mohan. Courtesy of Merrell Publishers
Hunters search for eaglets of four years old that have lived in the wild and been on a hunt. Only females are taken, as they are more powerful than the males, with a wingspan of 8 feet, weighing up to 15 lbs. when fully grown. The eaglet is raised at the hunter’s home, hand-fed with pieces of horse, sheep, or yak. It is here that the bond between man and animal takes hold, and when the trust turns to love, the hunter takes the eagle out on a hunt.
As Mohan writes, “The birds are calm and exude confidence on the hunt. After the tomaga (hood) is lifted from its head and it sees the fox in the valley below, the eagle takes its time waiting for the right moment. Then, without warning, it will raise its wings and dive like a bullet, leaving a rush of air in its wake as the hunter makes a screeching sound, urging it on. Within moments the eagle reaches it prey, sinking its claws through the fur and skin. Fox meat makes a welcome winter meal for the hunter and his family, while the pelt is kept as a trophy or made into hats and other items of clothing.”
© Palani Mohan. Courtesy of Merrell Publishers
With a powerful understanding the cycle of life and death, the burkitshi grant their eagles freedom just after they peak at somewhere between 15-20 years of age. The eagles are released to live their remaining years free among their own kind, having served their masters in their prime. Hunting with Eagles is an exquisite revelation of a way of life that shows the triumph of the human spirit when it lives in accordance with the rules of Nature.
Miss Rosen is a New York-based writer, curator, and brand strategist. There is nothing she adores so much as photography and books. A small part of her wishes she had a proper library, like in the game of Clue. Then she could blaze and write soliloquies to her in and out of print loves.
