January 20, 2025
THE WINTER YAK
The yak, referred to as Nor or wealth, is central to the nomad’s way of life. Over a millennium, the grassland’s seasonal cycles and the yak’s grazing patterns merged to create a balanced ecosystem, around which the nomad’s lives revolve. The yak grazes on seasonal alpine plants, many with medicinal properties. Its hoofs, burrowing into the rich soil, facilitate their germination, and its dung enhances their growth. The plants bring a unique richness to the yak’s milk, with properties that contribute to the nomad’s health and wellbeing.
In fall, the pasture goes from green to brown. The grass from summer pasture, which is the farthest, is exhausted, and yaks are moved to the fall pasture, closer to the village of Ritoma. The next phase, winter, is the most difficult, as the bare pasture will no longer be able to sustain the animals, who will have to wait until spring to graze to their content. In the past, and in some families today, the younger couple in a family would be tasked to take the yaks to higher pasture in winter, where they grazed on highly nourishing plants that sustained them through the coldest months. In the last forty years, with fewer and fewer families willing to do this, planting oats for winter feed has become popular, witnessed by the many fields near the winter settlements spread out several miles from the main village. The oats are harvested in October, and on completion, the animals are led from autumn to winter pasture, near the village. They rush to the empty fields, rich in the remnants of the harvested crops, and have their fill. After that, the village men perform the Chokhor ceremony, circling the area on horse, carrying volumes of religious texts as blessing, hoping for a winter free of extreme weather.
The yaks spend the coldest months near the winter settlements, grazing on the little that is left of the pasture, supplemented with the harvested oats. These are lean times, but the yaks are built for this, and will patiently wait for spring, giving birth to their calves in March. The pasture will gradually return to life, and the cycle will be complete.
The yaks spend the coldest months near the winter settlements, grazing on the little that is left of the pasture, supplemented with the harvested oats. These are lean times, but the yaks are built for this, and will patiently wait for spring, giving birth to their calves in March. The pasture will gradually return to life, and the cycle will be complete.