WHERE RADIO AND MOTOR ARE UNKNOWN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3830, 9 August 1927, Page 73

WHERE RADIO AND MOTOR ARE UNKNOWN.

Tannu-Tuva, said to be the smallest republic in the world, still offers an unspoiled refuge from civilisation, one last spot where the telephone never- rings and the motor horn never honks. Such is the message one gathers from a recent bulletin of the National Geographic Society. For those who desire to flee thither at once, the writer of the bulletin adds that Tannu-Tuva is in the domain of Soviet Russia, and lies “ somewhere between the deep Siberian forests and the vast Mongolian desert,” in a valley just north of the Tannu Mountains and south-west of Irkutsk. There the Uriankhai or “ forest dwellers ” have long roamed "in peace, their very existence known only to a few Russian traders and Government agents. We read furtln. :

The Uriankhai resemble the round-faced, slant-eyed Mongolians to the south and east of them, but lack the aggressiveness of their Oriental neighbours. Hidden away in their valley domain, they eke out. a lazy day-to-day existence with their deer herds. The animals are tame, and require little attention. As a result the Uriankhai spends most of his time lounging about his teepee. Often as many as 600 deer will be seen around a tribal camp of 20 to 30 teepees. They graze all day, and at nightfall not only return to the camp, but to the teepee of their individual owners. Only the offspring has to be given special care, and the women do that.

One gathers that the docile deer is a regular meal-ticket to Mr and Mrs Uriankhai and all the little Uriankhais. Goodness only knows what these artless people would do without their fourfooted friends. Perhaps they would even be forced to go to work, and grow civilised, and conquer their neighbours. There seems to be but small chance of that, however, for the deer are content to stick around and save their human exploiters from the bother of making a living. What the date palm is to the Arab, the deer is to the Uriankhai, and then some. Thus':

Deer milk, deer meat, and tender roots are the principal foods of the Uriankhai, and for clothing they wear deerskins. When they go hunting they use the deei- for transportation, and. the fleet-footed animal is even “ charged ” with responsibility for Uriankhai intoxicating liquors. Spirits are crudely distilled-from fermented deer milk.

When the women are not bus; with the herd they dress hides. With the aid of deer milk and a wooden comb they work the skins until they become as soft and fine as if tanned by modern methods. The teepees are usually full of skins ready tb be made into clothing, and, other skins for mats, harness, and for trading. Modern “ flappers ” would envy the Uriankhai winter dress, when the tribesmen and women are entirely clothed in furs. Sable, lynx, and roe deer cover the Uriankhai’s body, while their boots are usually of roe Jeer or musk deer. . The cone-shaped hats of the natives are made of black astrakhan turned inside out, and covered with coloured cloth. A leather belt from which hang a Russian knife and a Chinese pipe complete the Uriankhai outfit. The young girls dress like the men. but the married women wear longer and looser rar-

ments. In the summer they don loose fitting garments of blue cloth acquired from Chinese traders. Perhaps few nomad tribes move as little as the Uriankhai. Only twice a year they roll up the bark teepee covers and seek newcamping grounds. Their wanderings are at the convenience of their reindeer herds. In the summer the ’ley forests become too hot, so the tribesmen seek higher ground. Unlike most nomad peoples, the Uriankhai have no enemies, because the natural difficulties of their valley have kept them almost untouched by outside influence. In the autumn, while the women break camp and move back into the valley, the men hunt for hides for the w-inter trading season. From the Russians and Chinese they get tea, sugar, wheat, flour, tobacco, snuff, and other luxuries. Sometimes a fewweeks of hunting will net enough marten, fox, roe deer, glutton, and snow leopard hides to buy a year’s ipply of luxuries and pay the tribute demanded by their chieftains and the Russian Government.

Even a jazzldss paradise, however, lias its serpent, and life is not all peace and joy in Tannu-Tuva. -Thus:

Although an Uriankhai would not exchange his valley home for the more civilised world, and appears to have all his heart desires with little effort on his part, his face is stamped with sadness and melancholy. Most of the tribesmen are Buddhists, but they still cling to the nature worship of their ancestors. They live in constant fear of the gods of the mountains, rivers, and forests. Explorers can not get an Uriankhai to accompany them on mountainclimbing expeditions, for they believe the mountain peaks are the abodes of certain spirits that they dare not molest. Throughout the valley are rudely cut stone images which the Uriankhai hold in veneration. They will tell nothing of their origin, but hint that the strange gods were made by a strange i-ce. Some of the images are brightly painted or wrapt in coloured cloth. The more fertile the fields or productive the forests, the more images are to be seen. They remind the stranger of scarecrows in a tobacco field. Occasionally an Uriankhai is seen undressed, bowing before an image and beating his forehead with the palms of his hands. In some camps small poles dangling w-ith white rags are placed at the doer of each teepee to scare away the demon of sickness. When an Uriankhai tribesman dies, his body is placed in an open field. The tribesmen know- of no form of burial. They believe a good man is devoured by the beasts and birds of prey, but bodies of sinners remain untouched. The cemetery is marked by a white flag, which is placed as a warning to strangers that a native of bad character may have recently been laid to rest there.

For music the Uriankhai sings aud plays a flute-like instrument. Instead of blowing into the instrument, sound is produced by drawing in the breath, and the result is a mournful tone. It sounds somewhat like a bagpipe, but perhaps the Scotchman would not appreciate the comparison. The witch doctor’s drum, trumpets, sometimes 10ft long, and a two-stringed violin make up the rest of the native orchestra. Wrestling is a favourite Uriankhai pastime.