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Hunters adapt to changing times
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THE Oroqens, a minority group in the Greater and Lesser Xing’an Mountain regions of northeast China, still retain many of their time-honored traditions, despite major changes which have influenced their lifestyles.
With a population of 8,659, most Oroqens live within the Oroqen Autonomous League, the Arong League and the Molidawadawoer Autonomous League in Inner Mongolia; as well as Huma, Tahe, Xunke and Jiayin in Heilongjiang Province.
Oroqen is the name the people call themselves. In the Oroqen language, it means “people who use reindeer.” As mentioned above, most members of the group live in compact communities in the forests around the Greater and Lesser Xing’an Mountains.
Throughout much of their history, the livelihood of the Oroqen relied predominantly on hunting. This changed in the 1950s, when the group shifted to a mix of hunting and agriculture with the government’s help. By 1996, when prohibitions against hunting were introduced, the Oroqen people had switched almost entirely to farming and agriculture.
It is said that before the mid-17th century, the Oroqens mostly lived east of the Baikal Lake and north of today’s Heilongjiang Province.
They were forced to migrate to the Greater and Lesser Hanggan Mountains near the Heilongjiang River in the 1640s, due to aggression from Tsarist Russia.
With no written script of their own, the Oroqens have a spoken language belonging to the Oroqen branch of the Manchu-Tungusic group in the Altaic language family. Most Oroqens use Chinese as their written language, while some use Mongolian.
The xierenzhu, or literally “wood-staff house,” is a kind of traditional Oroqen dwelling. It is usually a cone-shaped structure composed of about 30 poles and covered by birch skin or reed in summer and roe deer skins in winter.
A fire is always put in the center of a xierenzhu, with beds placed nearby. These beds often consist of dozens of roe deer skins, with hay arranged underneath. The xierenzhu was designed to be easy to build and disassemble, meeting the needs of hunters on the move.
Roe deer skins are also used to make the group’s traditional garments. The front and cuffs of these traditional garments are often edged with geometric shapes. Some are edged with fox or lynx fur. They are meant to be durable, soft, warm and convenient.
The roe-deer headgear is the most unique piece of traditional Oroqen dress. Such headgear was meant to keep the Oroqen warm and also camouflage them when hunting.
Roe deer skins are also used by the group to make boots, gloves, bags, belts as well as a variety of other accessories and objects.
The Oroqen women are skilled at embroidering patterns of bows and arrows, antlers, and wind-blown clouds on roe deer leather.
Roe deer, deer, moose and wild boar were among the major food sources for the Oroqen in the old days. Now, most have shifted to beef, mutton and pork as substitutes.
The Oroqens prepare their meat by baking, boiling and smoking. Meat boiled in birch-bark barrels is popular among the Oroqens.
In spring, the Oroqens — as well as other nearby ethnic groups like the Ewenkis and Daurs — collect wormwood buds.
The Oroqens practice Shamanism and worship nature, totems and their ancestors. Objects of worship are usually kept in birch-bark boxes hung high above the houses.
The religion of the Oroqen people lacks systemic doctrine and written scriptures. Instead, it has been passed down through the generations. During rituals, shamans teach prayers with spoken words, music and dance.
Influenced by the Han majority, the Oroqens also celebrate the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
They have family reunion dinners on New Year’s Eve, when they light bonfires that symbolize prosperity and then stay up to welcome the new year. The Oroqens eat dumplings and set off firecrackers on the first day of each new year.
The Oroqens maintain a custom of painting their faces black on the 16th day of the second month in the lunar calendar. This practice is intended to drive away the evil spirits and keep the family safe throughout the year.
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