The Tsaatan People A photography project by Madoka Ikegami

Madoka Ikegami’s documentary series portrays the Tsaatan People, one of Mongolia’s last remaining groups of nomadic reindeer herders, whose millennia-old traditions are increasingly under threat.

The Tsaatan seasonally migrate within the forests of the Taiga in search of better weather conditions and food for their animals, who they depend on for milk and transportation.

Today, they icreasingly face challenges to their traditional way of life; recently introduced laws aimed at conservation limit their ability to freely hunt wild animals for food, and climate change has put their habitat under serious threat, whilst the changing weather also appears to be exposing the reindeer to new diseases.

Previously self-supporting, they now are partially dependent on government handouts and revenue from tourism which enables them to buy meat and other supplies.

– Discover more of Madoka’s work here

The Tsaatan people's ortz, the teepee-like tents, stand in the snow in East Taiga, Mongolia. © Madoka Ikegami
Ganbat (57), an elder of the Tsaatan community prepares firewood for the night. © Madoka Ikegami
Foraging. Shortly after sunrise reindeer forage for moss and other vegetation on a snow-covered forest near the Tsaatan community campsite. Their owner either ties them in a pair or ties their legs to limit their ability to run far from the campsite. © Madoka Ikegami
Milking Reindeer at Sunrise. Ganbat (43) milks her reindeer at sunrise before her husband takes them to a forest to forage for food. Reindeer milk makes up an important part of the Tsaatan diet and reindeer’s antlers are used to make handcrafts. © Madoka Ikegami
Reindeer Race. Bayandalai (11), right, his older brother Bayardalai (14), left, and his friend Batbayar (14), middle, race on reindeer in East Taiga. © Madoka Ikegami
Reindeer race. Bayandalai (11) races on his father’s reindeer with his friend. © Madoka Ikegami
The Life in Ortz. Lkhagvasuren (59), a Mongolian guide, chops down a tree for firewood to be used in a stove inside an ortz, the teepee-like tent used by the Tsaatan people. The firewood burns so well that it heats up the ortz quickly but it also burns fast, requiring a constant supply of firewood. © Madoka Ikegami
Reindeer Man. “Sometimes I feel like giving up when the snow is 2 meter deep and no matter how much I try, I can’t reach the wood that I need to chop for firewood.” Ganbat (45), a father of 5 children, describes his life. “But I love my reindeer which my ancestors raised for generations. Only thing keeping me here is my reindeer.” © Madoka Ikegami
Ganbat, far left, leaves the Tsaatan community in East Taiga, Mongolia, with his two sons and their friend to a car pickup point for a ride the rest of the way to their school in the nearest town in Tsagaan Nuur on September 20, 2015. The boys stay at the school’s dormitory during the week and return to the Tsaatan camp for weekends. © Madoka Ikegami
Ganbat (57), an elder of the Tsaatan community in East Taiga, second right, and his wife, Khurlee (58), right, discuss with tour guides, Lkhagvasuren (59), left, and Khaliun Bayartsogt (29), second from left, inside Ganbat’s ortz. © Madoka Ikegami
Lkhagvasuren (59), a guide, right, and Buyan-Ulzii (39), a driver, left, relax in an ortz, the teepee-like tent made of canvas and wooden staves, in East Taiga, Mongolia on September 19, 2015. © Madoka Ikegami
Reindeer at Sunrise. During sunrise domesticated reindeer wait at a Tsaatan campsite before being taken to a nearby forest to forage for food. © Madoka Ikegami
The Guide with an Ox. When the ox in this picture and a horse disappeared from the Tsaatan campsite in East Taiga, the guide, Lkhagvasuren (59), jumped on his other horse and embarked on a search. When asked how he managed to find them in this vast forested area, he replied “I look for their hoof prints. They always try to go home. They feel comfortable being with sheep and other animals that they see everyday”. © Madoka Ikegami
Tsaatan Woman with Reindeer. “My life is like ortz. I move a lot every year.” Saintsetseg (49), a member of the Tsaatan ethnic minority, describes her life. Ortz are the teepee-like tents which Tsaatan people use as homes. © Madoka Ikegami

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