This narrative, ‘The Last Yak Shearers’, is part of a larger project showcasing the disappearing Tibetan culture and their rapidly changing communities in western Sichuan, China, caused by migration, modernisation and suppression. Each spring, after the local shaman has confirmed the dates with the gods, the Jiarong Tibetan yak-shepherds band together to assist one another with the yak shearing. For days they move through the higher plains on foot to gather their yak. At this cold and oxygen-poor elevation, a unique tradition of yak wrestling was developed to signify the start of the shearing season. But just as in all China’s countryside, farmers are moving away to the city and the young generation is unwilling to stay behind. As it is, the shepherds from Yaoji think that in a few years time not enough farmers will be left to complete the task.
