Erhai elves
What is an Osprey?
Ospreys, in fact, are cormorants, known as "water ducks" and "bird ghosts". Good at diving, able to fish in the water with a long hooked mouth. Since ancient times, fishermen have had a tradition of raising ospreys to catch fish, which seems to be everywhere, but the erhai trained osprey does not use ropes to tie their feet and completely let go of fishing, which is also rare in the world. The osprey here can follow the white language instructions issued by the owner, very skillfully fishing and handing it over to the owner, which is amazing.
Dali osprey fishing skills, there are more than 4,000 years of history of the bai ancient fishing technology. It has been included in the "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Yunnan Province". Polo Tao is an ancient fishing village with thousands of years of history and culture in Xizhou Ancient Town, and is the birthplace and inheritance of osprey culture.
It is an old fishing village with thousands of years of history and culture in Dali, and also the birthplace and inheritance of Erhai osprey culture. As early as the Dali Kingdom, there were special eagle trainers here who fished day and night for the king to enjoy. For thousands of years, fishermen and ospreys have lived side by side on the Erhai Sea, forming a beautiful picture of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
Bai fishermen near the Erhai Sea have a complete set of osprey selection, mating, hatching, breeding and domestication training processes, which have been continuously summarized and explored for thousands of years, although there is no written record, but it has formed oral secrets and been passed down from generation to generation.
Dali's Bai osprey fishing is not only a must in China, but also went to Japan to participate in the World Osprey Fishing Skills Competition, Dali Osprey with superb fishing skills and harmonious communication with people, conquered all the judges and audiences present, and finally won the World Osprey Fishing Skills Gold Award. Dali's Erhai Osprey is known for having "the vision of an eagle, the strangeness of a snake, and the speed of an arrow."
The feet of the Erhai osprey are free, and the communication between them and their owners is either through the use of eyes and the use of ancient language.
Erhai is one of the few lakes where ospreys live, according to research, the fishermen of the Erhai Sea began to domesticate ospreys from the heyday of sanxingdui civilization more than 4,000 years ago, and the osprey canes and bronze coffins of embossed ospreys unearthed in Xiangyun fully illustrate the long history of domesticating ospreys in the Erhai Sea.
For thousands of years, fishermen and ospreys have been accompanied by each other in the Erhai Sea, forming an indissoluble relationship. Over the course of thousands of years, not only the skills of osprey domestication have been handed down, but also the little affection and companionship between fishermen and ospreys. Ospreys can live up to 40 years and can fish for more than 10 years.
Different osprey households domesticate ospreys in different Bai languages. The master shouts "stationed", is to tell them to pick up the fish, shout "punch, punch", is to tell them to hand over the fish to the owner, do not swallow privately.
Some have short passwords, some cling to the action, and some have a long, depressing tone that sounds like a song.
This set of extremely precious eagle taming techniques is still in the oral tradition taught by the eagle tamers for generations, and no written record has been formed. For thousands of years, fishermen and ospreys have lived side by side in the Erhai Sea, forming a natural picture of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
The fishing boat sings in the evening, and the sunset and the lone bird fly together
Ospreys are the deadly predators of fish. Winters are low in water temperatures, fish are slow to move, females often carry a large number of eggs in their belly, and ospreys enter the best fishing period of the year.
The fiercest osprey will bite the fish to the surface of the water and then burrow into the deep sea to chase the next fish. The killer osprey can enter the water at a depth of 30 meters, does not show its head for 5 minutes, and lasts for two hours.
In winter, when the fish lurk in the deep waters, the ospreys in the Erhai Sea begin to get busy, and fishermen will use cormorants to catch fish. In the early morning, on the clear and clear Erhai Sea, ospreys stand majestically on the bow of the boat and accompany their owners to the sea to fish.
Every morning, fishermen start a full day of fishing in small boats inhabited by herds of ospreys. After the fishermen drove the ospreys off the boats from the lake, the ospreys plunged headlong into the water, swiftly and fiercely plunged into the water, and after only a moment of effort, they drilled out of the water, their throats were stuffed with fish, docked next to the side of the boat, the fishermen slapped their long throats with their hands, and shot the fish in their throats into the bamboo baskets, so they continued to repeat the work, and when the bamboo baskets were filled, the fishermen would hold their right hands into a cup shape and signal to the osprey that the work was over, and the ospreys fluttered around the side of the boat, waiting for the fishermen's rewards.
When evening came, the baskets were full of prey, and the fishermen held their right hands in the shape of cups and signaled to the ospreys that the work was over, which was probably the happiest time of the day for the ospreys, flapping around the boat, like a group of children from school, waiting to be taken home, and in return for a hard day's work, there would be a sumptuous dinner of fish, crabs, and tofu paste at home. In addition, the fishermen will reward the osprey that catches the fish - put the osprey in the pocket with the fish it holds in its mouth, raise it high, and at the same time emit a shout of praise, which is so loud that it resounds through the water and is very powerful. On the one hand, it encourages the osprey that catches the fish, and on the other hand, it encourages the morale of other ospreys.
From early morning to dusk, the whole process is a beautiful picture of natural harmony between man and nature. Such a picture has lasted for thousands of years.