The Story of the Weeping Camel – Moving Drama

It is a superb ethnographic documentary that Priya Raju picked up from the British Council library over the weekend. Directors Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni travelled to Mongolia to shoot this documentary about a family of camel herders , who are faced with a challenge – one of their camels has rejected its new born colt. They decide to perform the traditional “Hoos Ritual”  to help unite the mother and child. Does it work? See for yourself.
The Washington Post review says :

The most wrenching passages in “The Story of the Weeping Camel,” which rivals the melodramas of Douglas Sirk in its unapologetic plucking of heartstrings, feature the wobbly little creature bleating plaintively for his mother, who alternately attacks him and turns away from him with unheeding hauteur.

The Mongol Embassy website describes the Hoos Ritual thus:

In their many years of nomadic life, the Mongols have developed their own specific techniques of handling livestock.  One technique employs toig, a special coaxing word, which is uttered or rather sung when a ewe is being coaxed into accepting a rejected lamb. The word toig is used with sheep only; for goats, the word is choig; for camels, hoos. In the latter instance, the morin huur (horsehead fiddle) accompanies the singing.

If you are into understanding other cultures and/or love animals, this is a must-see.