Saalitai Enger: Life of Mongolian herdswoman

Story: Adilbish Magsar | Photos: Batbold Yondonrenchin

Nestled in the remote western region of Mongolia lie the Mongolian Altai Mountains, rising 2,000m above sea level and home to Mongolia's highest mountain, the Altai Tavan Bogd Khairkhan with a height of 4,354m. In the middle of this breathtaking landscape, in the village of Ulaan Khad in Altai Sum, Bayan-Olgii province, lives the remarkable Jargal Avirmed.

Jargal Avirmed is a member of the small Uriankhai community and like many of them she has spent most of her life in this rugged landscape, dedicated to tending to their valued livestock. Here in Bayan-Olgii, 1,800 km from Ulaanbaatar and near the border with China, 95% of the population are Kazakhs, 5% are Uriankhai, Tuva, Durvud, and Khalkh. Jargal started as a milkmaid at the age of 18, is now approaching 65 and still leads a life as a herdswoman, tending and caring for her animals with much love and attention. Despite being part of the province’s minority population, Jargal stands out as a symbol of resilience and dedication, an inspiring protagonist of the Altai Mountains.

While herding, Jargal wears a traditional Mongolian deel which is versatile, comfortable, and useful for all aspects of herding. The deel is easy to unbutton, allowing women to breastfeed. It has a loose hem, making it easier to milk animals and ride horses. The wide skirt helps to pick up dung. This special garment is permeated with the scent of milk, the Mongolian language has its own term for this: saalitai enger. This garment is not just useful, it is a symbol of the importance and variety of the many roles that women herders play in Mongolian rural society. Dedicated to the extraordinary strength and importance of these women, our story is called Saalitai Enger.

Women play a vital role in the local society, not only as herders but also as guardians of the livestock wisdom and national heritage transmitted by their ancestors. It is said that herdswomen here have a wide variety of different professions and roles. They are not just caretakers and educators of their children, but also herders of the national heritage, cooks who prepare food, tailors who process raw materials to make clothes, and even business owners. They live by the motto "except for the breath, everything of the livestock can be used". Women are the ones who create and produce everything. Women also use their animals' hair to make animal husbandry tools and produce home felt rugs, belt buckles, bedding, blankets, mattresses, and more.

Herdswomen in Mongolia have challenging life. While it may seem like a life dedicated to their own needs, they also have the often-underestimated responsibility of supplying meat and milk to the country's population.

Herdsmen and -woman have been an integral part of Mongolia's nomadic civilization for centuries, serving as creators of history and bearers of heritage and culture. With nearly 620,000 people or 19.4% of the population living in herder households, and 26.7% of the workforce being herders, they form a significant social and economic class. According to research by the National Statistics Committee, 40.2% of all herders, about 115,000 thousand of them, have loans, and the total monthly income of households with livestock was 1,150,000 MNT in 2018 (340 USD at current exchange rates). The Mongolian government is taking active steps to support herders in preserving nomadic cultural heritage and improving the productivity and gene pool of Mongolian livestock, enacting relevant legislation.

"A herdsperson lives in harmony with nature,” said Jargal. “When the weather is good, we feel calm and relaxed. When the weather is bad and catastrophic cold (zud) I am constantly worried, I worry about my grazing animals and have sleepless nights. I get depressed when animals die in winter,” she said, using the word zud, which refers to periodic disasters that threaten livestock from drought, famine, cold or other natural hardships. "Pure happiness for a herdsperson is when he or she overcomes winter, welcomes spring, and has healthy newborns of livestock grazing", said Jargal.

After completing 5th grade, Jargal began raising livestock to support her parents. “I am one of four siblings and started my career as a cooperative milkwoman. At the age of 22, I met my husband and we got married. He was a herdsman in the same association I worked in and I became a herdswoman. Together, we have raised eight children. After giving birth to my babies at Sum's hospital, I returned home and started doing daily tasks just seven days after birth. Being a herdsperson is especially challenging for a woman in postpartum. While the men take care of the animals, women must do all the work in the house, provide grass and salt for the animals to be fed, and in winter we drink melted snow, prepare food for our children, sew and embroider clothes. We also process the milk from the yaks into dairy delicacies. When my husband comes home from taking care of the animals, I clean and prepare the yard. In addition to herding all day, if it gets cold, I sew coverlets for the animals, collect dung, and prepare firewood. I also prepare fodder and mow hay. As a herdswoman, my day does not end with just preparing food. I work tirelessly from dawn till dusk.

In 1992, they received three yaks from the great privatization, to add to the 30 they already had. To commemorate their success in yak breeding, they built a statue of a yak bull that can be seen from quite far by people who visit their local area. Currently, 250 yaks are sold for meat each autumn, but the number of yaks is steadily increasing with 250 newborns each spring. They now own 3,000 yaks as well as about 200 horses, more than a thousand sheep and goats, and over 30 camels that are used for travel. In summer, 50 yaks are milked for a week on a rotating basis, and they produce only their own dairy products. Every year, 300 sheep are slaughtered for meat. Yak fiber is an expensive product, and they only buy fiber from two and three-year-old yaks, as each can produce 1 kg of row fiber. However, obtaining fiber from larger yaks is difficult as they are wild animals and six to seven people are needed to subdue them for combing. Combed wool is also expensive.

Herdsperson make the best use of every resource they have. The skin of yaks is worn and cut to make harnesses, halters, chaff, and all animal husbandry tools. Yak milk is thick and oily, and their meat is of high quality and perfect for drying. Even their droppings make quality firewood, which is important for cooking and heating in the harsh winter. Despite the many uses of animal raw materials, it is difficult to sell them, as the nearest centre for trading is 200 km away.

Even if life is difficult in the rural areas of Mongolia, Jargal and her family have everything they need. They love to live with the animals and the nature. Thanks to the work of women like Jargal, even the children are very satisfied that they are living a herdsperson's life. It is part of their culture and identity.

A gender study entitled "The Role of Women Herder in Mongolian Nomadic Animal Husbandry" was conducted for the first time in Mongolia, funded by the Swiss Development Agency. The study found that women in herding families work an average of 11.1 hours per day. This is mainly due to the fact that all tasks are done manually. Herdswomen usually work from 4 in the morning continuously until 12 noon.

This study highlighted the importance of women in Mongolian rural society, especially in animal husbandry. Despite the challenges they face, women play a crucial role in the survival and sustainability of their communities. They work hard to ensure that their families have enough food and resources, and they are the backbone of the local economy. It is essential to recognize and support their contributions to their society. It is clear that without the hard work and dedication of herdswomen like Jargal, the nomadic animal husbandry way of life in Mongolia would not be possible. Herdswomen are an essential part of Mongolian society.

Jargal's way of life conveys a message of empowerment, resilience, and strength of women in a traditional patriarchal society. It portrays women as capable and skilled contributors to their communities and the wider society, challenging gender stereotypes and highlighting the importance of gender equality.