| MANCHURIA HUNTING TRIBE The Ewenki’s Yagut subgroup was once a nomadic hunting tribe in the forest along the northeastern frontiers of China. Numbering less than 200 individual people, they are also the only ethnic group in China who raise reindeers. Within the last few decades, much of their lifestyle has changed and their cultural identity disappeared. CERS first visited the region of the Ewenki in 1983, followed by a video-documentation trip in 1988. This expedition also documented verbal history of their last Shaman, an old woman who practiced and understood fully the religious past of a little-known people. Much of their disappearing objects were collected and put on display now at the CERS Zhongdian Center. The Society has also amassed sufficient written material to support future research and preserving the history of this unique ethnic group. |