[ALTAI MOUNTAINS, MONGOLIA]
Amongst Mongolia’s western steppes the Kazakh-infused tradition of eagle hunting is making a renaissance. Hunting with golden eagles is a centuries old tradition with the mastery secrets passed down by fathers to their sons.
During a long return journey from the upper north west of Olgi province we stopped off at the family home of an elder statesmen amongst Eagle Hunters. Cauisan confessed to very much being a retired eagle hunter now that the reigns were passed to his two sons. However his bond with eagles and the joy of showing off he has lost none of the skill is unmistakable. A short horse ride onto the ridge line of some nearby crags enabled me to witness a hunt and see the old master at work.
It was very difficulty keeping pace with the old man and scrambling amongst the loose rocks to compose shots was fraught with danger but we both enjoyed putting our skills to the test.
ABOUT THE EAGLE HUNTERS
The rock-star of the Altai’s regional communities is a young girl who stars in the beautiful documentary, ‘The Eagle Huntress’. Aisholpan has become the catalyst to keeping the mastery of the Kazakh-infused eagle hunting culture alive. This modern-day revival and our collection of contemporary photographs celebrates the unique, depleted geo-culture.
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