THE HUNTER (amba)

The Hunter (Amba)

It was still a time when a Udege, looking at a deer, he thought he saw a deer-man (...) In those times all sort of things happened to people. Such things happened that nowadays do not.

Udege tale

Udege people have lived in the Boreal Jungle for hundreds of years. Due to their close contact with Nature, their beliefs are riddled with references to supernatural forces who shall be respected.

In 1997 a Russian poacher called Markov ran into the trail of a gigantic Amur tiger.Despite the risk, Markov saw the tiger ́s footprints as a promise for a better life. He shot the tiger, but was not able to kill it. Udege people believe that if someone attacks a tiger without a reason, Amba will hunt him down. Unexpectedly, Markov unleashed the Amba, the dark side of the tiger.

During the following 72 hours the animal tracked down Markov and killed him. Later investigations suggest that the tiger planned its movements with a rare mix of strategy and instinct and most importantly, with a chilling clarity of purpose: Amba was seeking for revenge.

This animistic belief constitutes the leitmotiv to experience the impact of Nature inthe Udege communities across one of the last remains of shamanism: the Russian Far East hunter ́s culture.

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Deer-man. “It was still a time when a Udege, looking at a deer, he thought he saw a deer-man (...) When he saw a tiger, he thought he saw a tiger-man. In those times all sort of things happened to people. Such things happened that nowadays do not”. Udege tale

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Heilongjiang: the black dragon. Amur River,s basin forms the border between Russian Far East and North Eastern China (Inner Manchuria).

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Vodka.Krasni Yar. 9 a.m. Alcoholism rates among the udege community are among the hightest in all Russia and often lead into violence episodes

© Alvaro Laiz - Kostya, the udegei hunter
i

Kostya, the udegei hunter

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Book of poems. Sikhoté- Alin Mountains. “There is only one path to eternal peace But, will you love me? Although in the casket I do not posses condemna- tion my corpse you shall lonvingly find beyond the coffin... yes? ... you will deceive me?”

© Alvaro Laiz - A guardian dog devours a deer skull near in the taiga
i

A guardian dog devours a deer skull near in the taiga

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Lev Jomenko, hunter and herbalist from Lesopil`noye. While on a hunting trip he spotted the tracks of a wounded tiger and decided to follow them. He didn ́t have far to go. Apparently, the tiger swatted Jomenko in the face with its paw, leaving hum unconscious in the ground. Then the tiger picked hum up in his jaws and shook him like a rag doll, so violently that it broke his wrist and both of his legs. Then the tiger walked away from there. That day the temperature was minus forty-five. When the loggers found him his body was rigid as an ice statue.

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Detail of a tiger´s paw. Adult, about 3 year´s old heading west throught the Bikin River. Probably following a female deer.

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Andrei, the hunter. "When I see a deer, an elk or a bear I have no doubts. There is only one answer for a hunter: to kill. But when I see a tiger my mind hesitates.. "

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Edvard Niekrasov was attacked by a tigress a decade ago. He shot and killed a tiger during a hunting trip but he did not realize there was a tigress as well. The tigress took a swipe on his face, deforming his face. "We were following the tracks of a deer when we realize a tiger was almost in front of us. I didn´t think twice and shoot and killed the animal. I was excited and ran towards the animal to check on it without realizing there was a female tiger hidden by its side. Then she leaped on me… I remember her eyes out of the socket staring at me when she took a swipe at my face. Luckily my nephew was able to chase the tigress away before she finished me. I should never did what I did and I paid a high price for it..."

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Siberian roe-deer. Hunting trips usually involve traveling long distances through the frozen taiga by ski. Animals like deers or wild hogs can weigh up to 400 kilos, so the hunter must dismember the prey and take it to his hunting cabin in several trips. In the meantime the hunter must hide his prey from other predators such us bears and, specially, tigers. Some udege hunters still hold a practice, in between of folklore and practical need, of giving away some parts of their prey, such us the head or visceras to the tiger to keep it away from the meat and avoiding unwanted encounters.

© Alvaro Laiz - Galina moans for her lost son in the taiga 4 years ago. "He went one day and never came back to me..."
i

Galina moans for her lost son in the taiga 4 years ago. "He went one day and never came back to me..."

© Alvaro Laiz - Claw from a rear paw of a siberian tiger
i

Claw from a rear paw of a siberian tiger

© Alvaro Laiz - Fresh track of an adult tiger, approximately 3 years old, on Bikin river.
i

Fresh track of an adult tiger, approximately 3 years old, on Bikin river.

© Alvaro Laiz - Ilegal poacher hunting in the taiga.
i

Ilegal poacher hunting in the taiga.

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

“A man came in the morning. He told (my husband) had been attacked by a tiger. I yelled at him: Why did you not brought him here? I thought he was alive... He asked quietly there was nothing left... The tiger took hum into the taiga and ate him. They only found one of his legs. Days after we put it into a coffin and buried him properly. It was december the 3rd of 1997... he has been gone for so long”

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

In 1997 a Russian poacher called Markov ran into the trail of a gigantic Amur tiger. Despite the risk, Markov saw the tiger ́s footprints as a promise for a better life. He shot the tiger, but was not able to kill it. Udege people believe that if someone attacks a tiger without a reason, Amba will hunt him down. Unexpectedly, Markov unleashed the Amba, the dark side of the tiger. During the following 72 hours the animal tracked down Markov and killed him. Later investigations suggest that the tiger planned its movements with a rare mix of strategy and instinct and most importantly, with a chilling clarity of purpose: Amba was seeking for revenge. Last picture of Vladimir Markov alive.

© Alvaro Laiz - Roe-deer man under the Orion (the Hunter) constellation
i

Roe-deer man under the Orion (the Hunter) constellation

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Yuri Trush, leader of the Conflict Tiger Patrol, responsible to relocate or hunt tigers out of control poses with the male responsible of Markov´s death alongside with his crew.

© Alvaro Laiz - Image from the THE HUNTER (amba) photography project
i

Misha, 73 years old udege hunter. “The day I am not able to hunt by myself I ́ll die. I rather die in the taiga than fading away in a village.”

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Stay in the loop


We will send you weekly news on contemporary photography. You can change your mind at any time. We will treat your data with respect. For more information please visit our privacy policy. By ticking here, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with them. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.