Manchu life goes on in a 'falcon' village
2014-08-08
In the small rural town of Ying Tun, Jilin province, a 55-year-old man is following in the steps of his ancestors by dedicating his life to training falcons, a tradition of the Manchu ethnic group that dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), cnn.com reported on July 22, 2013.
The practice was similar to hunting and horse racing–and was a form of leisure and entertainment for members of the royal family and is kept alive in the region as an admired practice, and a show of bravery.
Many of the men in Ying Tun, or "Falcon Village", which has about 300 families, are involved with it and it's not about making money because the bird trainers, or masters, are attached to their birds, which they catch in a local mountain forest. They then have to spend several days taming it, spending hours on end staring into the falcon's eyes, so that the bird grows tired, along with the master, and becomes docile.
There is also a Falcon Culture Festival annually, in January, where more than 80 masters show their skills and the bird's incredible skills in hunting on snowy fields.
