Living in harmony with nature, faith and oneself, honoring traditions, but not being afraid of change - all this is about the Yakuts, one of the most numerous northern peoples of Russia.
The Yakuts (self-name Sakha or Sakhalar) as a people appeared as a result of the mixing of the Turks with the peoples who lived along the middle reaches of the Lena. It is believed that the Yakuts as an ethnic community were formed by the 14th-15th centuries. However, even then the process was not completely completed: as a result of the nomadic lifestyle, these people were constantly moving, along the way infusing new blood into the nation, for example, Evenki.
The Yakuts belong to the North Asian type of the Mongoloid race. In many ways, their culture and traditions are similar to the customs of the Central Asian Turkic peoples, but there are still some differences. The Yakut language is part of the Altai family and belongs to the Turkic dialects.
Patience, perseverance and high efficiency are the national traits of the Yakuts: despite the extremely harsh climate and difficult living conditions, the Sakha from time immemorial managed to graze cattle and plow frozen, thankless lands. The climate also had a great influence on the national costume: even at weddings, Yakut girls wear fur coats.
The main industries of the Yakuts include horse breeding, hunting and fishing. Nowadays, it is problematic to earn a living through such activities, so many Yakuts are involved in the mining industry, because their region is rich in diamonds.
The Yakuts are traditionally nomadic people, so they use an easily disassembled yurt as a home.
But don’t rush to imagine a felt house similar to those built by the Mongols: the Yakut yurt is made of wood and has a steel roof, shaped like a cone.
The yurt has many windows, under each of which there are sleeping places. The loungers are separated by partitions that separate small “rooms” from each other; the heart of the yurt is a greased fireplace. In the hot season, short-lived birch bark yurts are built, which are called urasami. Not all Yakuts are comfortable in yurts, therefore, since the 20th century, many have preferred huts.
Traditional beliefs and holidays
Yakut beliefs are characterized by an appeal to nature as a mother, love and respect for it. At the same time, there is a relationship with environment and a certain “non-family” detachment: nature is perceived as an otherworldly force that cannot be completely controlled. According to the Sakha, everything that exists has a soul and powers. And the rituals of the Yakuts are designed to improve relations between numerous spirits and humanity.
Sakha has his own, rather curious, explanation of the origin of natural disasters: they arise to cleanse places affected by evil spirits.
Thus, a tree split or burned by lightning is pure from any filth and can even heal.
The goddess Aan, the patroness of all living things, is of great importance, helping people, plants and animals to grow and reproduce. The ritual with offerings for Aan takes place in the spring.
One of the most important spirits in the Yakut tradition is the owner of the road. They try to appease him with small offerings: horse hair, coins, pieces of fabric and buttons are placed at crossroads.
No less important is the owner of the water, to whom it is customary to offer gifts twice a year: in autumn and spring. They consist of a birch bark boat with an image of a person carved on it, and pieces of fabric, ribbons, etc. tied to it. You should not drop knives, needles or other sharp objects into the water: this may offend and offend the owner of the water.
The owner of fire is old and gray-haired, his purpose is to expel evil spirits. Fire, as a symbol of light and warmth, has always been revered by the Sakhas. They were afraid to extinguish it and transferred it to a new place in pots, because while the flame was smoldering, the family and home were protected.
Baai Bayanai - the spirit of the forest - is an assistant in everything related to hunting. Even in ancient times, the Yakuts chose some animals as sacred, closest to Baai, and therefore put a taboo on killing and eating them. Such animals included the goose, swan, and ermine. The eagle was considered the king of birds. The main among animals and the most revered among the Yakuts was the bear. And in our time, many believe in the miraculous power of amulets made from his claws or teeth.
The roots of Yakut holidays go back to ancient rituals, among which Ysyakh, celebrated at the beginning of summer, is considered the most important. During the festival, a hitching post is made around young birch trees in the clearing. Nowadays, such an action is associated with the friendship of all peoples living on the territory of Yakutia, but previously it symbolized the World Tree. Ysyakh is a family day and is celebrated by people of all ages.
An important part of the holiday is sprinkling the fire with kumys, and then turning to the Deities with a request to send blessings such as good luck, peace, etc. Yakuts put on traditional costume and cook National dishes, drink kumiss. During the meal, you must sit at the same table with your entire family, close or distant relatives. Ysyakh is a cheerful holiday with dancing, round dances, wrestling competitions, tug-of-war, and archery.
Family rituals and traditions
A modern Yakut family differs little from the average Russian one. But until the 19th century, polygamy was common among the Sakhas. According to the Yakut traditional family model, each of the wives lived separately, observing their own way of life, life, and household. Yakuts preferred to tie the knot at the age of 16-25. When the groom's family went to woo the bride's parents, it was customary to pay a bride price for the girl. If the groom is too poor, he could steal the bride and “work off” the money later.
To protect home and livestock from damage, the evil eye, and evil spirits, it is still accepted in some uluses whole line measures For a successful conspiracy, seemingly little things matter, such as patterns on clothes, “correct” jewelry, and special utensils. Conspiracies alone are not enough; special rituals are also necessary, with the help of which the Sakhas hope to get a good harvest, increase the number of livestock, give birth to healthy children, etc.
Old customs and traditions are of great importance. Women should not look at the magic stone Sat, which is found in the stomachs or livers of animals and birds, otherwise it will lose its power. Sat is wrapped in birch bark and horsehair and treasured like the apple of one’s eye, because with its help one can summon rain, wind, and snow. The first is especially important in case of dry weather, because soil fertility largely depends on timely watering.
Interesting facts about the Yakuts and Yakutia
The most famous component of Yakut folklore is the olonkho epic, which is considered a type of poetry, but sounds more like opera. Thanks to ancient art Olonkho, many Yakut folk tales have survived to this day. The contribution of olonkho to the folklore of the peoples of the world is so great that in 2005 it was included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list.
One of the popular Yakut dishes is stroganina: thinly sliced frozen fish.
The area of Yakutia is larger than the area of Argentina.
About a quarter of the world's diamond production comes from Yakutia.
More than forty percent of the territory of Yakutia is located beyond the Arctic Circle.
When the Sakha eat bear meat, they imitate the cry of a crow before starting the meal. In this way they protect themselves from the bear spirit by posing as birds.
Yakut horses graze on their own, without a shepherd looking after them.
Yakuts(from Evenki Yakolets), Sakha(self-name)- people in the Russian Federation, the indigenous population of Yakutia. The main groups of Yakuts are Amginsko-Lena (between the Lena, lower Aldan and Amga, as well as on the adjacent left bank of the Lena), Vilyui (in the Vilyui basin), Olekma (in the Olekma basin), northern (in the tundra zone of the Anabar, Olenyok, Kolyma river basins , Yana, Indigirka). They speak the Yakut language of the Turkic group of the Altai family, which has groups of dialects: Central, Vilyui, Northwestern, Taimyr. Believers - Orthodox.
Historical information
Both the Tungus population of taiga Siberia and the Turkic-Mongolian tribes that settled in Siberia in the 10th-13th centuries took part in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts. and assimilated the local population. The ethnogenesis of the Yakuts was completed by the 17th century.
In the northeast of Siberia, by the time the Russian Cossacks and industrialists arrived there, the most numerous people, occupying a prominent place among other peoples in terms of cultural development, were the Yakuts (Sakha).
The ancestors of the Yakuts lived much further south, in the Baikal region. According to Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences A.P. Derevianko, the movement of the ancestors of the Yakuts to the north apparently began in the 8th-9th centuries, when the legendary ancestors of the Yakuts - the Kurykans, Turkic-speaking peoples, information about which was preserved for us by runic Orkhon inscriptions, settled in the Baikal region. The exodus of the Yakuts, pushed to the north by their stronger neighbors, the Mongols - newcomers to the Lena River from the Trans-Baikal steppes, intensified in the 12th-13th centuries. and ended around the XIV-XV centuries.
According to legends recorded at the beginning of the 18th century. A member of the government expedition to study Siberia, Jacob Lindenau, a companion of academicians Miller and Gmelin, the last settlers from the south came to Lena at the end of the 16th century. led by Badzhey, the grandfather of the legendary tribal leader (toyon) Tygyn. A.P. Derevianko believes that with such a movement of tribes to the north, representatives of different nationalities, not only Turkic, but also Mongolian, also penetrated there. And over the course of centuries, there was a complex process of merging different cultures, which were also enriched locally with the skills and abilities of the indigenous Tungus and Yukaghir tribes. This is how the modern Yakut people gradually formed.
By the beginning of contacts with the Russians (1620s), the Yakuts were divided into 35-40 exogamous “tribes” (Dyon, Aymakh, Russian “volosts”), the largest - Kangalas and Namtsy on the left bank of the Lena, Megintsy, Borogontsy, Betuntsy, Baturustsy - between Lena and Amga, numbering up to 2000-5000 people.
The tribes often fought among themselves and were divided into smaller clan groups - “paternal clans” (aga-uusa) and “maternal clans” (ie-uusa), i.e., apparently, going back to different wives of the ancestor. There were customs of blood feud, usually replaced by ransom, military initiation of boys, collective fishing (in the north - catching geese), hospitality, and exchange of gifts (beleh). A military aristocracy emerged - the toyons, who ruled the clan with the help of elders and acted as military leaders. They owned slaves (kulut, bokan), 1-3, rarely up to 20 people in a family. Slaves had families, often lived in separate yurts, men often served in the military squad of the toyon. Professional traders appeared - the so-called gorodchiki (i.e. people who went to the city). Livestock was privately owned, hunting lands, pasture lands, hayfields, etc. were mostly communal property. The Russian administration sought to slow down the development of private land ownership. Under Russian rule, the Yakuts were divided into “clans” (aga-uusa), ruled by elected “princes” (kinees) and united into naslegs. The nasleg was headed by an elected “grand prince” (ulakhan kinees) and a “tribal administration” of tribal elders. Community members gathered for ancestral and inheritance gatherings (munnyakh). Naslegs were united into uluses, headed by an elected ulus head and a “foreign council”. These associations went back to other tribes: Meginsky, Borogonsky, Baturussky, Namsky, West - and East Kangalassky uluses, Betyunsky, Batulinsky, Ospetsky naslegs, etc.
Life and economy
The traditional culture is most fully represented by the Amga-Lena and Vilyui Yakuts. The northern Yakuts are close in culture to the Evenks and Yukagirs, the Olekminsky are strongly acculturated by the Russians.
Small family (kergen, yal). Until the 19th century Polygamy remained, with wives often living separately and each running their own household. Kalym usually consisted of livestock, part of it (kurum) was intended for the wedding feast. A dowry was given for the bride, the value of which was about half of the bride price - mainly items of clothing and utensils.
The main traditional occupations are horse breeding (in Russian documents of the 17th century, the Yakuts were called “horse people”) and cattle breeding. Men looked after horses, women looked after cattle. In the north, deer were bred. Cattle were kept on pasture in the summer and in barns (hotons) in the winter. Haymaking was known before the arrival of the Russians. Yakut cattle breeds were distinguished by their endurance, but were unproductive.
Fishing was also developed. We fished mainly in the summer, but also in the ice hole in the winter; In the fall, a collective seine was organized with the division of the spoils between all participants. For the poor people who did not have livestock, fishing was the main occupation (in documents of the 17th century, the term “fisherman” - balyksyt - is used in the meaning of “poor man”), some tribes also specialized in it - the so-called “foot Yakuts” - Osekui, Ontul, Kokui, Kirikians, Kyrgydais, Orgots and others.
Hunting was especially widespread in the north, constituting the main source of food here (arctic fox, hare, reindeer, elk, poultry). In the taiga, before the arrival of the Russians, both meat and fur hunting (bear, elk, squirrel, fox, hare, bird, etc.) were known; later, due to the decrease in the number of animals, its importance fell. Specific hunting techniques are characteristic: with a bull (the hunter sneaks up on the prey, hiding behind the bull), horseback pursuit of the animal along the trail, sometimes with dogs.
There was gathering - the collection of pine and larch sapwood (the inner layer of bark), which was stored in dried form for the winter, roots (saran, mint, etc.), greens (wild onions, horseradish, sorrel); raspberries, which were considered unclean, were not consumed from the berries.
Agriculture (barley, to a lesser extent wheat) was borrowed from the Russians at the end of the 17th century, before mid-19th V. was very poorly developed; its spread (especially in the Olekminsky district) was facilitated by Russian exiled settlers.
Wood processing was developed (artistic carving, painting with alder decoction), birch bark, fur, leather; dishes were made from leather, rugs were made from horse and cow skins sewn in a checkerboard pattern, blankets were made from hare fur, etc.; cords were hand-twisted from horsehair, woven, and embroidered. There was no spinning, weaving or felting of felt. The production of molded ceramics, which distinguished the Yakuts from other peoples of Siberia, has been preserved. The smelting and forging of iron, which had commercial value, as well as the smelting and minting of silver, copper, etc., were developed from the 19th century. – carving on mammoth bone.
They moved mainly on horseback, and carried loads in packs. There were skis lined with horse camus, sleighs (silis syarga, later - sleighs of the Russian wood type), usually harnessed to oxen, and in the north - straight-hoofed reindeer sledges; types of boats common with the Evenks - birch bark (tyy) or flat-bottomed from boards; sailing karbass ships were borrowed from the Russians.
Housing
Winter settlements (kystyk) were located near the meadows, consisting of 1-3 yurts, summer settlements - near pastures, numbering up to 10 yurts. The winter yurt (booth, diye) had sloping walls made of standing thin logs on a rectangular log frame and a low gable roof. The walls were coated on the outside with clay and manure, the roof was covered with bark and earth on top of the log flooring. The house was placed in the cardinal directions, the entrance was located in the east, the windows were in the south and west, the roof was oriented from north to south. To the right of the entrance, in the north-eastern corner, there was a fireplace (osoh) - a pipe made of poles coated with clay, going out through the roof. Plank bunks (oron) were arranged along the walls. The most honorable was the southwestern corner. The master's place was located near the western wall. The bunks to the left of the entrance were intended for male youth and workers, and to the right, by the fireplace, for women. A table (ostuol) and stools were placed in the front corner. On the northern side of the yurt a stable (khoton) was attached, often under the same roof as the living quarters; the door to it from the yurt was located behind the fireplace. A canopy or canopy was installed in front of the entrance to the yurt. The yurt was surrounded by a low embankment, often with a fence. A hitching post, often decorated with carvings, was placed near the house.
Summer yurts differed little from winter ones. Instead of a hoton, a stable for calves (titik), sheds, etc. were placed at a distance. There was a conical structure made of poles covered with birch bark (urasa), in the north - with turf (kalyman, holuman). From the end of the 18th century. polygonal log yurts with a pyramidal roof are known. From 2nd half of the XVIII V. Russian huts spread.
Cloth
Traditional men's and women's clothing- short leather trousers, fur belly, leather leggings, single-breasted caftan (sleep), in winter - fur, in summer - from horse or cow skin with the hair inside, for the rich - from fabric. Later, fabric shirts with a turn-down collar (yrbakhy) appeared. Men girded themselves with a leather belt with a knife and a flint; for the rich, with silver and copper plaques. A typical women's wedding fur caftan (sangiyah), embroidered with red and green cloth and gold braid; an elegant women's fur hat made of expensive fur, descending to the back and shoulders, with a high cloth, velvet or brocade top with a silver plaque (tuosakhta) and other decorations sewn onto it. Women's silver and gold jewelry is common. Shoes - winter high boots made of deer or horse skins with the hair facing out (eterbes), summer boots made of soft leather (saars) with a boot covered with cloth, for women - with appliqué, long fur stockings.
Food
The main food is dairy, especially in summer: from mare's milk - kumiss, from cow's milk - yogurt (suorat, sora), cream (kuerchekh), butter; they drank butter melted or with kumiss; suorat was prepared frozen for the winter (tar) with the addition of berries, roots, etc.; a stew (butugas) was prepared from it with the addition of water, flour, roots, pine sapwood, etc. Fish food played main role For the poor and in the northern regions where there were no livestock, meat was consumed mainly by the rich. Horsemeat was especially prized. In the 19th century Barley flour came into use: unleavened flatbreads, pancakes, and salamat stew were made from it. Vegetables were known in the Olekminsky district.
Religion
Orthodoxy spread in the 18th-19th centuries. The Christian cult was combined with belief in good and evil spirits, the spirits of deceased shamans, master spirits, etc. Elements of totemism were preserved: the clan had a patron animal, which was forbidden to kill, call by name, etc. The world consisted of several tiers, the head of the upper one was considered Yuryung ayi toyon, the lower one - Ala buurai toyon, etc. The cult of the female fertility deity Aiyysyt was important. Horses were sacrificed to the spirits living in the upper world, and cows in the lower world. The main holiday is the spring-summer koumiss festival (Ysyakh), accompanied by libations of koumiss from large wooden cups (choroon), games, sports competitions, etc.
Was developed. Shamanic drums (dyungyur) are close to Evenki ones.
Culture and education
In folklore, the heroic epic (olonkho) was developed, performed in recitative by special storytellers (olonkhosut) in front of a large crowd of people; historical legends, fairy tales, especially tales about animals, proverbs, songs. Traditional musical instruments – harp (khomus), violin (kyryimpa), percussion. Among the dances, round dance osuokhai, play dances, etc. are common.
Schooling has been carried out since the 18th century. in Russian. Writing in the Yakut language since the middle of the 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century. an intelligentsia is being formed.
Links
- V.N. Ivanov Yakuts // Peoples of Russia: website.
- Ancient history of the Yakuts // Dixon: website.
Municipal budgetary educational institution
"Secondary school No. 26"
Municipal entity "Mirninsky district"
Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
Research
Traditional culture of peoples
Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
Completed:
Kalacheva Rosalia
Share Alina
9th grade students "G"
Head Mayorova
Tamara Alexandrovna,
teacher
Russian language and literature
year 2012
Mirny
Relevance of the topic. Yakutia! You are covered with forests . Yakutia - in a necklace of stars.
Yakutia! Above you the sky is blue. The region is harsh, taiga
We love you to tears!
Modern Yakutia is a highly developed region. The main wealth of the republic is not only natural, but also people, whose work glorifies their small homeland.
More than 120 nationalities live on the Olonkho land. The indigenous inhabitants of Yakutia are the Yakuts, Evenks, Evens, Chukchi, Dolgans, and Yukaghirs. Each nationality has its own rituals and traditions.
Getting acquainted with the history of the republic, we learned that the Turkic-speaking people yuch - kurykany - ancestors of the Yakuts. The people appeared and existed from the 6th to the 11th centuries. Kurykany in the 6th-10th centuries they were the most numerous and powerful people of the Baikal region . Until the 13th century, their migration to the Lena took place; having arrived on the middle Lena, the ancestors of the Yakuts met the Evens, Evenks, Yukaghirs and other local tribes, partly forced them out, partly assimilated them.
That is why we became interested in the traditions and rituals of the peoples of Yakutia and set a goal for ourselves.
Target: studying the customs and traditions of the peoples of Yakutia, determining their role in modern life.
An object: customs and traditions of the peoples of Yakutia.
Item: origins and role customs and traditions in modern life.
Tasks:
- study literature on the chosen topic;
- interview people who know ancient rituals;
- systematize and summarize the collected material;
- present the results of the search work.
Methods: literature study, interviews, visualization, analysis and synthesis,
generalization and systematization
Hypothesis: If, in the process of searching on the topic, enough material is studied on the customs and traditions of the peoples of Yakutia, then we will determine the origins and their role in modern life.
Plan.
1. The culture of the peoples of Sakha in the modern world.
2. Customs and holidays (selected):
A. Yakutov;
B. Evenki:
V. Evenov;
G. Dolgan;
D. Chukchi.
3. The significance of the customs and traditions of the peoples of Yakutia, determining their role in modern life.
1. The culture of the peoples of Sakha in the modern world.
Many peoples live in Yakutia and they all have a similar culture, way of life, beliefs and way of life, which has changed over time and begins to change with the entry of Yakutia into the Russian state. The Russians are introducing legal norms, universal rules, yasak payment, and a new religion. The spread of Christianity leads to a change in the customs and lifestyle of the aborigines of Yakutia, the disappearance of the concepts of kinship and blood feud.
The Chukchi's main occupation remains reindeer herding and sea fishing. Culture and way of life do not undergo fundamental changes, but they appear Additional session, which is gradually becoming dominant - fur trade.
Among the Evens, reindeer herding, fishing and hunting continue to be the main activity, which becomes the second most important.
The Evens' clothing is changing, incorporating Russian style.
The main occupation of the Yukaghirs remains reindeer herding and dog breeding. Semi-nomadic lifestyle.
IMPORTANT: occupation affects
2.a. Customs And holidays Yakuts.
Yakuts (Sakhalar) are one of the most numerous peoples Siberia. They live in Evenkia, in the Irkutsk region, in the Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk territories, but mainly in Yakutia (Republic of Sakha), on whose territory the pole of cold of our planet is located. The Yakut language belongs to the Turkic languages that are part of the Altai language. language family. The traditional economic activities of the Yakuts are cattle breeding, horse breeding, hunting and fishing
Kumis holiday (Ysyakh). This holiday is celebrated at the end of spring under open air. People sing, dance, watch the fights of fighters, drink a delicious drink made from mare's milk - kumiss. The name of the holiday comes from the verb “sprinkle”, “sprinkle”. In the past the culmination of the holiday Ysyakh- a ritual during which shamans sprinkled kumiss on fire. This action was performed in honor of the “holy deities”, which among the Yakuts, pastoral peoples, included primarily the deities of fertility. This tradition is associated with another cult – the cult of the horse. Indeed, in the myths of the Yakut people, the first living creature on earth was a horse, from it came the half-horse - half-man, and only then did people appear. This holiday has survived to this day.
“The blacksmith and the shaman are from the same nest.” Libation of kumiss on the fire could only be done by a “light shaman” - "ayyy-oyuuna" Along with the “white shamans”, the Yakuts had “black shamans” - this is the name given to the intermediaries between people and the spirits of the “lower world”. All shamans were treated with respect and fear. The Yakuts had the same feelings towards blacksmiths. In the old days they said that “a blacksmith and a shaman come from the same nest.” Blacksmiths were considered sorcerers by many peoples of the world, including Siberia. This reflects the cult of fire: everyone associated with the flame has a special magical power. According to Yakut beliefs, a blacksmith, forging iron pendants for a shaman's costume, acquired special power over spirits. There was another belief: spirits are afraid of the sound of iron and the noise of blacksmiths’ bellows, spirits are afraid of blacksmiths, therefore, people need to treat them with respect and caution.
“Don’t forget to feed the fire.” This ritual has its roots going back a long way.
to the past, back to the ancient stone age. The flame was considered by the Yakuts to be the personification of purity. It was forbidden to throw dirty objects into the fire, and before starting any meal it was necessary to “treat” it. To do this, they put pieces of food into the fire and sprinkled milk on the fire. It was believed that this is how people express their respect to the owner of fire - Wat-ichchite
2.b. Customs And holidays Evenki
These people are called "Indians of Siberia." And indeed, these indigenous inhabitants of North Asia have much in common with the famous hunters from the Iroquois or Delaware tribes. How North American Indians, Evenks are hereditary hunters, artificial trackers, tireless travelers. Their number is just over 30 thousand people. But the Evenks are settled over a vast territory - from Western Siberia to Yakutia, Buryatia and Primorye. The Evenki language belongs to the Tungus-Manchu branch of the Altai language family. They used to be called Tungus.
How guests were received. This custom - hospitality - is known to all peoples of the world. The Evenks also have it. Many Evenki families had to wander around the taiga, separated from other families. Therefore, the arrival of guests was a great celebration. They were given gifts, seated in a place of honor in the tent (behind the hearth, opposite the entrance), and treated to the most delicious dishes, for example: finely chopped bear meat, seasoned with fried bear fat. In the warm season, in honor of the guests, he organized dances in the clearing, in which all the inhabitants of the camp, young and old, took part. The dances of this people are very temperamental. And in the evening the story of one of the guests or the owner began. This story was unusual: the narrator either spoke, then began to sing, and the listeners repeated the most important words. The heroes of the story were people and animals, powerful spirits. The stories could last all night, and if they did not end, the guests stayed for another night.
How peace was made. The Evenks valued the ability not only to fight, but also the ability to negotiate peace. A detachment led by a shaman approached the enemy camp and warned with a loud cry of its approach. The enemy sent out envoys - two elderly women. The straps of their high boots must be untied - this is a sign that the enemy is ready to negotiate. The same elderly women representing the hostile side entered into negotiations. The shaman pointedly rejected the proposals and ordered to prepare for battle. Then the defenders sent two elderly men with untied straps of their high boots. New negotiations began, led by the oldest men. But these negotiations did not bring success. Then a shaman from the defending camp arrived at the attacking camp. Both shamans sat with their backs to each other, on both sides of swords stuck crosswise into the ground, and spoke directly. This conversation ends with the conclusion of peace.. Such a ritual for concluding peace proved that this is an important, but difficult matter, that peace must be protected
2.c. Customs And holidays Evens
The Evens are a people closely related to the Evenks. They also hunt taiga animals and speak a language similar to the Evenks. But unlike the “Indians of Siberia,” the Evenks are not settled over such a vast territory. They live mainly in Yakutia, Khabarovsk Territory, Magadan and Kamchatka regions. The Evenks number about 17 thousand people. One of the ancient names of the Even tribes - “Lamut” - comes from the word “lamu”. Translated, it means “sea”. It is very likely that in ancient times Lake Baikal was called this in Siberia. In the Baikal region, as archaeological research has shown, the process of formation of the current Evenks began 2000 years ago.
The bride came to the house. The Even bride arrived at the groom's tent, usually riding on a deer. This significant event preceded by a number of others, also quite important events. At first, the young man’s parents decided what kind of family the bride should be from.
The next step is sending matchmakers. Their actions could end in failure. If, for example, among the Kamchatka Evens, the parents of a girl refused to smoke the pipe offered to them with the matchmakers, this meant that the bride had to be looked for in another house.
After the conclusion of the contract, the young man’s parents had to pay the bride price. And only after receiving the bride price, the bride was placed on a deer and, accompanied by numerous relatives, was taken to the groom.
Before crossing the threshold of her new house, the bride drove around it three times, and she had to go from left to right - in the direction of the sun. Entering the tent, the girl took out the cauldron she had brought with her and cooked venison. When the meat was ready, the wedding feast began.
“Help us, sun!” In the past, the Evens often turned to the sun for help, especially when someone fell ill. For them, the sun was a powerful deity to whom sacrifices needed to be made. Usually it was a deer. The animal was chosen at the direction of the shaman or as a result of fortune telling. And when they were guessing, they listened to the crackling of the hearth. The cult of the sun was associated with the cult of fire. The skin of a sacrificial deer was hung on a pole leaning against a tree, and two freshly cut young larches were placed on either side of the pole. The meat of the deer presented to the sun was eaten together and always on the same day when the ritual was performed.
Bear funeral. Another cult of the Evens was the cult of the bear. It was like that. Having killed the beast, the hunter greeted him and thanked him for coming. Since it was believed that the killed bear voluntarily came to visit people. When dividing the bear carcass, Nimat was observed: the bear's meat was distributed to all the inhabitants of the camp, and the head was boiled separately, and cooked by men. Women were not only not allowed to cook, but also to eat the head. After a meal, the bear bones were buried like this: the skeleton was laid in strict anatomical order on a wooden platform, which was installed on reinforced piles.
The Evenks also buried their fellow tribesmen on stilts. This continued until the 19th century.
2.g. Customs and holidays of Dolgan
Nowadays, there are more than 7 thousand Dolgan people. They live mainly in Taimyr, as well as in Yakutia and Evenkia. The Dolgan language is very close to the Yakut language. The Dolgans became an independent people in the 18th and 19th centuries as a result of the merger of individual Evenki and Yakut clans, as well as the Russian old-timer population of Taimyr - tundra peasants. The Dolgans are engaged in reindeer husbandry, hunt wild deer, extract furs, and fish. Their folk art is very developed: singing, playing the musical instrument- Jew's harp. Women embroider beautifully with beads and silk threads, while men master the ancient art of carving mammoth ivory.
“The Dolgans have such a custom...” The famous Dolgan poetess Ogdo Aksenova wrote the following lines: “The Dolgans have a custom of sharing the first spoils. Remember, boy! In former times, the Dolgans always gave part of their catch - deer meat and caught fish - to relatives and neighbors. But the furs were not subject to division. It was a valuable commodity, in exchange for which one could exchange guns, gunpowder, tea, flour, sugar from visiting merchants.
Arctic fox traps – “Easter traps” – were the personal property of each hunter. Only the owner could take the loot. There was one more rule associated with hunting Arctic foxes. If you decide to set your traps to the south of those set by another hunter, you do not need his permission to do so. But if you set them to the north, you must definitely ask the consent of their owner. This is explained by the fact that arctic foxes come to the land of the Dolgans from the north, and hunters who set traps to the north have a greater chance of success in the hunt.
The little mistress of the big tent. Almost until the 19th century, the Dolgans retained the remnants of matriarchy - the primacy of women. Women maintained the fire, “fed” it, and were in charge of all household shrines. In winter, as a rule, several Dolgan families united, built and lived in a large tent. They chose a common hostess. Often it was an elderly woman, tired from work. The mistress's word was law for everyone, even for the proud and warlike Dolgan men.
Icchi, saitaans and other spirits. Dolgans were considered Christians . They performed many Orthodox rituals, but at the same time retained their ancient beliefs.
Deities and spirits, the Dolgans believed, are divided into three categories:
1 – “ichchi”- incorporeal, invisible creatures, “souls”, capable of inhabiting inanimate things and “revitalizing” them;
2 – malicious “abaas”, bringing diseases and misfortunes that plagued the earth and the underworld, they sought to steal the soul from a person and take it underground. And then penetrate his body. The person who was possessed abaasy, became seriously ill, and, according to Dolgan beliefs, only a shaman could help him.
3 – "saitans"- any object into which the shaman infused a soul - “ichchi”. It could be the stone of the unusual Thomas, the horn of a wild deer... Saitaans possessed powerful power and were in the eyes of the Dolgans a kind of amulet that brought good luck in hunting and in household chores.
2.d. Customs and holidays of the Chukchi
The number of this people today is more than 15 thousand people inhabiting the extreme northeast of Russia, Chukotka. The name of this distant Arctic region means “land of the Chukchi”. The Russian word "Chukchi" comes from the Chukchi "chouchu"- “rich in deer.” Their distant ancestors came to the Arctic from the central regions of Siberia, when in place of the Bering Strait there was a vast isthmus connecting Asia with America. Some residents of Northeast Asia crossed the Bering Bridge to Alaska. In the traditional culture of the Chukchi, traditions are similar to the Indian peoples of North America.
Kayak holiday. According to the ancient ideas of the Chukchi, everything that surrounds a person has a soul. The sea has a soul, and the canoe has a soul - a boat covered with walrus skin, on which today sea hunters fearlessly go out into the ocean. Before going to sea in the spring, hunters held a holiday. The boat was ceremoniously removed from the pillars made of bowhead whale jaw bones, on which it had been stored all winter. Then they made a sacrifice to the sea: pieces of boiled meat were thrown into the sea. The boat was carried to the yaranga. All participants in the holiday solemnly walked around the yaranga. The oldest woman in the family went first, then the owner of the canoe, the helmsman, the rowers and all the other participants in the holiday. The next day the boat was carried to the seashore, the sacrifice was made again, and only after that the canoe was launched into the water.
Whale Festival. This holiday took place at the end of the fishing season. It was based on a ritual of reconciliation between hunters and killed animals. Lydia, dressed in festive clothes, including waterproof raincoats made of walrus intestines, asked for forgiveness from whales, seals, and walruses. “It wasn’t the hunters who killed you, the stones rolled down the mountain and killed you,” the Chukchi sang. The men staged wrestling matches and performed dances that reflected dangerous scenes of hunting sea animals.
At the whale festival, sacrifices were required Keretkunu – master of all sea animals. After all, the residents believed that success in hunting depended on him. Even his sculpture was carved from wood. The culmination of the holiday was the lowering of whale bones into the sea. IN sea water, the Chukchi believed, the bones would turn into new animals, and the next year whales would appear off the coast of Chukotka again.
Festival of the Young Deer (Kilvey). This was done in the spring when the reindeer were calving. The shepherds drove the flock to the yarangas, and the women laid out a sacred fire. Fire for such a fire was produced only by friction. Deer were greeted with shouts, shots, and beatings on tambourines to scare away evil spirits. She invited guests - Chukchi living on the seashore. People exchanged gifts; venison was valuable because it was a delicacy. The festival not only had fun, but also separated young deer from the main herd to graze them on abundant pastures. At this time, old deer were also slaughtered to provide meat for future use for women, the elderly, and children. After all, they remained in winter camps, where they fished and picked berries and mushrooms. And the men set off with the reindeer herds on long journeys to summer camps. The journey with the herd was a long, difficult and dangerous undertaking. Therefore, the holiday of a young deer is also a farewell before a long separation.
3. The meaning of the customs and traditions of the peoples of Yakutia, determining their role in modern life.
Conclusion. Having studied different literary sources, having interviewed experts in the rituals and traditions of the peoples of Yakutia, we can put forward our own hypothesis about the origin of the customs and holidays of the peoples of Yakutia:
We believe that these people, being illiterate, believed in the forces of nature. Therefore, they deified fire, the sun, the sea, the bear, the horse,...
The faith was passed down from generation to generation, and has survived to this day. traditional holidays, but already changed by modern life.
Our work confirmed the hypothesis put forward.
The material collected as a result of the research can be used:
- on classroom hours At school,
- as a result of search activities at the Research and Production Complex “Step into the Future”,
- during implementation sample program“Culture of the peoples of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).”
The Yakuts (pronunciation with an emphasis on the last syllable is common among the local population) are the indigenous population of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Self-name: “sakha”, plural “sakhalar”.
According to the results of the 2010 population census, 478 thousand Yakuts lived in Russia, mainly in Yakutia (466.5 thousand), as well as in the Irkutsk, Magadan regions, Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk territories. The Yakuts are the largest (almost 50% of the population) people in Yakutia and the largest of the indigenous peoples of Siberia within the borders of Russia.
Anthropological appearance
Purebred Yakuts are more similar in appearance to the Kyrgyz than to the Mongols.
They have an oval face shape, not high, but a wide and smooth forehead with black, rather large eyes and slightly sloping eyelids, moderately pronounced cheekbones. A characteristic feature of the Yakut face is the disproportionate development of the middle facial part to the detriment of the forehead and chin. The complexion is dark, has a yellow-gray or bronze tint. The nose is straight, often with a hump. The mouth is large, the teeth are large and yellowish in color. The hair is black, straight, coarse; there is no hair growth on the face or other parts of the body.
The height is short, 160-165 centimeters. The Yakuts are no different in muscle strength. They have long and thin arms, short and crooked legs.
Their movements are slow and heavy.
Of the sense organs, the organ of hearing is the best developed. The Yakuts do not at all distinguish certain colors from one another (for example, shades of blue: violet, blue, blue), for which their language does not even have special designations.
Language
The Yakut language belongs to the Turkic group of the Altai family, which has groups of dialects: Central, Vilyui, Northwestern, Taimyr. There are many words in the Yakut language Mongolian origin(about 30% of words), there are also about 10% of words of unknown origin that have no analogues in other languages.
Based on its lexical-phonetic features and grammatical structure, the Yakut language can be classified as one of the ancient Turkic dialects. According to S.E. Malov, the Yakut language is considered pre-literate in its construction. Consequently, either the basis of the Yakut language was not originally Turkic, or it separated from the Turkic language proper in ancient times, when the latter experienced a period of enormous linguistic influence of the Indo-Iranian tribes and subsequently developed separately.
At the same time, the Yakut language clearly demonstrates its similarity with the languages of the Turkic-Tatar peoples. For the Tatars and Bashkirs, exiled to the Yakut region, a few months were enough to learn the language, while the Russians needed years for this. The main difficulty is that Yakut phonetics are completely different from Russian. There are sounds that the European ear begins to distinguish only after a long period of adaptation, and the European larynx is not able to reproduce them completely correctly (for example, the sound “ng”).
Learning the Yakut language is difficult a large number synonymous expressions and uncertainty of grammatical forms: for example, there are no genders for nouns and adjectives do not agree with them.
Origin
The origin of the Yakuts can be reliably traced only from about the middle of the 2nd millennium AD. It is not possible to establish exactly who the ancestors of the Yakuts were, nor is it yet possible to establish the time of their settlement in the country where they are now the predominant race, or their location before the resettlement. The origin of the Yakuts can be traced only on the basis linguistic analysis and the similarity of details of everyday life and religious traditions.
The ethnogenesis of the Yakuts should, apparently, begin with the era of the early nomads, when cultures of the Scythian-Siberian type developed in the west of Central Asia and Southern Siberia. Some of the prerequisites for this transformation in the territory of Southern Siberia go back to the 2nd millennium BC. The origins of the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts can be most clearly traced in the Pazyryk culture of the Altai Mountains. Its bearers were close to the Sakas of Central Asia and Kazakhstan. This pre-Turkic substrate in the culture of the peoples of Sayan-Altai and the Yakuts is manifested in their economy, in things developed during the period of early nomadism, such as iron adzes, wire earrings, copper and silver hryvnias, leather shoes, wooden chorona cups. These ancient origins can also be traced in the decorative and applied arts of the Altaians, Tuvans and Yakuts, who retained the influence of the “animal style”.
Ancient Altai substrate is also found among the Yakuts in funeral rites. This is primarily the personification of a horse with death, the custom of installing on a grave wooden post- a symbol of the “tree of life”, as well as the presence of kibes - special people involved in burials, who, like the Zoroastrian “servants of the dead”, were kept outside the settlements. This complex includes the cult of the horse and a dualistic concept - the opposition of the deities aiyy, personifying good creative principles, and abaay, evil demons.
These materials are consistent with immunogenetic data. Thus, in the blood of 29% of the Yakuts examined by V.V. Fefelova in different regions of the republic, the HLA-AI antigen, found only in Caucasian populations, was found. Among the Yakuts, it is often found in combination with another antigen HLA-BI7, which can be traced in the blood of only two peoples - the Yakuts and Hindi Indians. All this leads to the idea that some ancient Turkic groups took part in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts, perhaps not directly Pazyryk people, but certainly associated with the Pazyryk people of Altai, whose physical type differed from the surrounding Caucasian population with a more noticeable Mongoloid admixture.
The Scythian-Hunnic origins in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts subsequently developed in two directions. The first can conventionally be called “Western” or South Siberian; it was based on origins developed under the influence of Indo-Iranian ethnoculture. The second is “Eastern” or “Central Asian”. It is represented, although not numerous, by Yakut-Hunnic parallels in culture. This “Central Asian” tradition can be traced in the anthropology of the Yakuts and in religious ideas associated with the kumys holiday yyyakh and the remnants of the cult of the sky - tanara.
The ancient Turkic era, which began in the 6th century, was in no way inferior to the previous period in terms of its territorial scope and the magnitude of its cultural and political resonance. The formation of the Turkic foundations of the Yakut language and culture is associated with this period, which gave rise to a generally unified culture. A comparison of the Yakut culture with the ancient Turkic culture showed that in the Yakut pantheon and mythology precisely those aspects of the ancient Turkic religion that developed under the influence of the previous Scythian-Siberian era were more consistently preserved. The Yakuts retained much in their beliefs and funeral rites; in particular, by analogy with the ancient Turkic balbal stones, the Yakuts erected wooden poles.
But if among the ancient Turks the number of stones on the grave of the deceased depended on the people killed by him in the war, then among the Yakuts the number of columns installed depended on the number of horses buried with the deceased and eaten at his funeral feast. The yurt where the person died was torn down to the ground and a quadrangular earthen fence was created, similar to the ancient Turkic fences surrounding the grave. In the place where the deceased lay, the Yakuts placed a balbal idol. In the ancient Turkic era, new cultural standards were developed that transformed the traditions of the early nomads. The same patterns characterize the material culture of the Yakuts, which, thus, can be considered generally Turkic.
The Turkic ancestors of the Yakuts can be classified in a broader sense among the “Gaogyu Dinlins” - Teles tribes, among which one of the main places belonged to the ancient Uyghurs. In Yakut culture, many parallels have been preserved that indicate this: cult rituals, the use of a horse for collusion in marriages, some terms associated with beliefs. The Teles tribes of the Baikal region also included the tribes of the Kurykan group, which also included the Merkits, who played famous role in the formation of Lena pastoralists. The origin of the Kurykans involved local, in all likelihood, Mongol-speaking pastoralists associated with the slab grave culture or the Shiweis and, possibly, the ancient Tungus. But still, in this process, the leading importance belonged to the alien Turkic-speaking tribes related to the ancient Uighurs and Kyrgyz. The Kurykan culture developed in close contact with the Krasnoyarsk-Minusinsk region. Under the influence of the local Mongolian-speaking substrate, the Turkic nomadic economy took shape into semi-sedentary cattle breeding. Subsequently, the Yakuts, through their Baikal ancestors, spread cattle breeding, some household items, forms of housing, clay vessels to the Middle Lena and, probably, inherited their basic physical type.
In the 10th-11th centuries, Mongol-speaking tribes appeared in the Baikal region, on the Upper Lena. They began living together with the descendants of the Kurykans. Subsequently, part of this population (descendants of the Kurykans and other Turkic-speaking groups who experienced strong linguistic influence from the Mongols) descended down the Lena and became the core in the formation of the Yakuts.
In the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts, the participation of a second Turkic-speaking group with Kipchak heritage can also be traced. This is confirmed by the presence of several hundred Yakut-Kypchak lexical parallels in the Yakut language. The Kipchak heritage appears to be manifested through the ethnonyms Khanalas and Sakha. The first of them had a probable connection with the ancient ethnonym Khanly, the bearers of which later became part of many medieval Turkic peoples; their role was especially great in the origin of the Kazakhs. This should explain the presence of a number of common Yakut-Kazakh ethnonyms: odai - adai, argin - argyn, meyerem suppu - meiram sopy, eras kuel - orazkeldy, tuer tugul - gortuur. The link connecting the Yakuts with the Kipchaks is the ethnonym Saka, with many phonetic variants found among the Turkic peoples: Soki, Saklar, Sakoo, Sekler, Sakal, Saktar, Sakha. Initially, this ethnonym apparently belonged to the circle of Teles tribes. Among them, along with the Uighurs and Kurykans, Chinese sources also place the Seike tribe.
The kinship of the Yakuts with the Kipchaks is determined by the presence of cultural elements common to them - the burial ritual with the skeleton of a horse, the making of a stuffed horse, wooden cult anthropomorphic pillars, jewelry items fundamentally associated with the Pazyryk culture (earrings in the form of a question mark, a hryvnia), common ornamental motifs . Thus, the ancient South Siberian direction in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts in the Middle Ages was continued by the Kipchaks.
These conclusions were mainly confirmed on the basis of a comparative study of the traditional culture of the Yakuts and the cultures of the Turkic peoples of Sayan-Altai. In general, these cultural ties fall into two main layers - ancient Turkic and medieval Kipchak. In a more conventional context, the Yakuts are close in the first layer through the Oguz-Uyghur “linguistic component” with the Sagai, Beltir groups of the Khakass, with the Tuvans and some tribes of the North Altaians. All these peoples, in addition to the main pastoral culture, also have a mountain-taiga culture, which is associated with fishing and hunting skills and techniques, and the construction of stationary dwellings. According to the “Kipchak layer”, the Yakuts are closer to the southern Altaians, Tobolsk, Baraba and Chulym Tatars, Kumandins, Teleuts, Kachin and Kyzyl groups of Khakass. Apparently, elements of Samoyed origin penetrate into the Yakut language along this line, and borrowings from Finno-Ugric and Samoyed languages into Turkic languages are quite frequent to denote a number of tree and shrub species. Consequently, these contacts are mainly associated with forest “gathering” culture.
According to available data, the penetration of the first pastoral groups into the Middle Lena basin, which became the basis in the formation Yakut people, began in the 14th century (possibly at the end of the 13th century). In the general appearance of the material culture, some local origins associated with the early Iron Age can be traced, with the dominant role of the southern foundations.
The newcomers, mastering Central Yakutia, made fundamental changes in the economic life of the region - they brought cows and horses with them, and organized hay and pasture farming. Materials from archaeological monuments of the 17th-18th centuries have recorded a continuous connection with the culture of the Kulun-Atakh people. The artifact complex from Yakut burials and settlements of the 17th-18th centuries finds its closest analogues in Southern Siberia, mainly covering the regions of Altai and Upper Yenisei within the 10th-14th centuries. The parallels observed between the Kurykan and Kulun-Atakh cultures seemed to be obscured at this time. But Kipchak-Yakut connections are revealed by the similarity of features of material culture and funeral rites.
The influence of the Mongol-speaking environment in the archaeological monuments of the 14th-18th centuries is practically not traced. But it manifests itself in linguistic material, and in the economy it forms an independent powerful layer.
From this point of view, settled cattle breeding, combined with fishing and hunting, dwellings and household buildings, clothing, shoes, ornamental art, religious and mythological views of the Yakuts are based on the South Siberian, Turkic platform. And oral folk art and folk knowledge were finally formed in the Middle Lena basin under the influence of the Mongol-speaking component.
The historical legends of the Yakuts, in full agreement with the data of archeology and ethnography, connect the origin of the people with the process of resettlement. According to these data, it is visiting groups, led by Omogoy, Elley and Uluu-Khoro, formed the main backbone of the Yakut people. In the person of Omogoy one can see the descendants of the Kurykans, who by language belonged to the Oghuz group. But their language, apparently, was influenced by the ancient Baikal and alien medieval Mongol-speaking environment. Elley personified the South Siberian Kipchak group, represented mainly by the Kangalas. Kipchak words in the Yakut language, according to G.V. Popov’s definition, are mainly represented by rarely used words. It follows from this that this group did not have a noticeable impact on the phonetic and grammatical structure of the language of the Old Turkic core of the Yakuts. Legends about Uluu-Khoro reflected the arrival of Mongol groups in the Middle Lena. This is consistent with the assumption of linguists about the residence of the Mongol-speaking population on the territory of the modern “Ak” regions of Central Yakutia.
According to available data, the formation of the modern physical appearance of the Yakuts was completed no earlier than the middle of the 2nd millennium AD. in the Middle Lena based on a mixture of newcomers and aboriginal groups. In the anthropological image of the Yakuts, it is possible to distinguish two types - a rather powerful Central Asian, represented by the Baikal core, which was influenced by the Mongolian tribes, and the South Siberian anthropological type with the ancient Caucasian gene pool. Subsequently, these two types merged into one, forming the southern backbone of the modern Yakuts. At the same time, thanks to the participation of the Khorin people, the Central Asian type becomes predominant.
Life and economy
The traditional culture is most fully represented by the Amga-Lena and Vilyui Yakuts. The northern Yakuts are close in culture to the Evenks and Yukagirs, the Olekminskys are strongly acculturated by the Russians.
The main traditional occupations are horse breeding (in Russian documents of the 17th century, the Yakuts were called “horse people”) and cattle breeding. Men looked after horses, women looked after cattle. In the north, deer were bred. Cattle were kept on pasture in the summer and in barns (hotons) in the winter. Yakut cattle breeds were distinguished by their endurance, but were unproductive. Haymaking was known even before the arrival of the Russians.
Fishing was also developed. They fished mainly in the summer, in the winter they caught fish in an ice hole, and in the fall they organized a collective seine with the division of the catch among all participants. For the poor people who did not have livestock, fishing was the main occupation (in documents of the 17th century, the term “fisherman” - balyksyt - is used in the meaning of “poor man”), some tribes also specialized in it - the so-called “foot Yakuts” - Osekui, Ontuly, Kokui , Kirikians, Kyrgydians, Orgots and others.
Hunting was especially widespread in the north, constituting the main source of food here (arctic fox, hare, reindeer, elk, poultry). In the taiga, before the arrival of the Russians, both meat and fur hunting (bear, elk, squirrel, fox, hare) were known; later, due to the decrease in the number of animals, its importance fell. Specific hunting techniques are characteristic: with a bull (the hunter sneaks up on the prey, hiding behind the bull), horse chasing the animal along the trail, sometimes with dogs.
There was also gathering - the collection of pine and larch sapwood (the inner layer of bark), stored for the winter in dried form, roots (saran, mint, etc.), greens (wild onions, horseradish, sorrel); the only berries that were not consumed were raspberries, which were considered unclean.
Agriculture (barley, to a lesser extent wheat) was borrowed from the Russians at the end of the 17th century and was very poorly developed until the middle of the 19th century. Its spread (especially in the Olekminsky district) was facilitated by Russian exiled settlers.
Wood processing was developed (artistic carving, painting with alder decoction), birch bark, fur, leather; dishes were made from leather, rugs were made from horse and cow skins sewn in a checkerboard pattern, blankets were made from hare fur, etc.; cords were hand-twisted from horsehair, woven, and embroidered. There was no spinning, weaving or felting of felt. The production of molded ceramics, which distinguished the Yakuts from other peoples of Siberia, has been preserved. The smelting and forging of iron, which had commercial value, was developed, as well as the smelting and minting of silver, copper, and, from the 19th century, mammoth ivory carving.
They moved mainly on horseback, and carried loads in packs. There were known skis lined with horse camus, sleighs (silis syarga, later - sleighs of the Russian wood type), usually harnessed to oxen, and in the north - straight-hoofed reindeer sledges. The boats, like those of the Evenki, were made of birch bark (tyy) or flat-bottomed from boards; later, sailing karbass ships were borrowed from the Russians.
Housing
Winter settlements (kystyk) were located near the meadows, consisting of 1-3 yurts, summer settlements - near pastures, numbering up to 10 yurts. The winter yurt (booth, diie) had sloping walls made of standing thin logs on a rectangular log frame and a low gable roof. The walls were coated on the outside with clay and manure, the roof was covered with bark and earth on top of the log flooring. The house was placed in the cardinal directions, the entrance was located in the east, the windows were in the south and west, the roof was oriented from north to south. To the right of the entrance, in the north-eastern corner, there was a fireplace (osoh) - a pipe made of poles coated with clay, going out through the roof. Plank bunks (oron) were arranged along the walls. The most honorable was the southwestern corner. The master's place was located near the western wall. The bunks to the left of the entrance were intended for male youth, workers, and to the right, by the fireplace, for women. A table (ostuol) and stools were placed in the front corner. On the northern side of the yurt, a stable (khoton) was attached, often under the same roof as the dwelling; the door to it from the yurt was located behind the fireplace. A canopy or canopy was installed in front of the entrance to the yurt. The yurt was surrounded by a low embankment, often with a fence. A hitching post, often decorated with carvings, was placed near the house.
Summer yurts differed little from winter ones. Instead of a hoton, a stable for calves (titik), sheds, etc. were placed at a distance. There was a conical structure made of poles covered with birch bark (urasa), and in the north - with turf (kalyman, holuman). Since the end of the 18th century, polygonal log yurts with a pyramidal roof have been known. From the 2nd half of the 18th century, Russian huts spread.
Cloth
Traditional men's and women's clothing - short leather trousers, fur belly, leather leggings, single-breasted caftan (sleep), in winter - fur, in summer - from horse or cow hide with the hair inside, for the rich - from fabric. Later, fabric shirts with a turn-down collar (yrbakhy) appeared. Men girded themselves with a leather belt with a knife and a flint; for the rich, with silver and copper plaques. A typical women's wedding fur caftan (sangiyakh), embroidered with red and green cloth and gold braid; an elegant women's fur hat made of expensive fur, descending to the back and shoulders, with a high cloth, velvet or brocade top with a silver plaque (tuosakhta) and other decorations sewn onto it. Women's silver and gold jewelry is common. Footwear - winter high boots made of reindeer or horse skins with the hair facing out (eterbes), summer boots made of soft leather (saars) with a boot covered with cloth, for women - with appliqué, long fur stockings.
Food
The main food is dairy, especially in summer: from mare's milk - kumys, from cow's milk - yogurt (suorat, sora), cream (kuerchekh), butter; they drank butter melted or with kumiss; suorat was prepared frozen for the winter (tar) with the addition of berries, roots, etc.; from it, with the addition of water, flour, roots, pine sapwood, etc., a stew (butugas) was prepared. Fish food played a major role for the poor, and in the northern regions, where there were no livestock, meat was consumed mainly by the rich. Horsemeat was especially prized. In the 19th century, barley flour came into use: unleavened flatbreads, pancakes, and salamat stew were made from it. Vegetables were known in the Olekminsky district.
Religion
Traditional beliefs were based on shamanism. The world consisted of several tiers, the head of the upper one was considered to be Yuryung ayi toyon, the lower one - Ala buurai toyon, etc. The cult of the female fertility deity Aiyysyt was important. Horses were sacrificed to the spirits living in the upper world, and cows to the spirits living in the lower world. The main holiday is the spring-summer koumiss festival (Ysyakh), accompanied by libations of koumiss from large wooden cups (choroon), games, sports competitions, etc.
Orthodoxy spread to XVIII-XIX centuries. But the Christian cult was combined with belief in good and evil spirits, the spirits of dead shamans, and master spirits. Elements of totemism were also preserved: the clan had a patron animal, which was forbidden to kill or call by name.
For Yakut folk tradition Characterized by the veneration of sacred objects that existed in each locality and each territorial group.
First of all, these are hitching posts (serge), which were used both for their intended purpose and for ritual purposes. The shape of the hitching post is a pole; As a rule, a hitching post has a certain profile - it has thickenings and grooves. A hitching post can be decorated with carvings and drawings, and its composition can include sculptures. In some cases, the top of the pillar contains branches, which makes the serge look like a tree. Hitching posts were installed during the construction of a house, during weddings, at the birth of a child, next to the grave during burial, at the kumiss festival of Ysyakh (on the days of the summer solstice), during shamanic rituals. Often the installation of a ritual hitching post suggests that spirits can tie their horses to them or possess them.
In all parts of Yakutia, sacred trees were and are revered. According to the traditional beliefs of the Sakha people, the mistress of the land, Aan Dar Khan Khotun, lives in such a tree. In the spring, rituals dedicated to the spirit-mistress of the earth were held near the sacred trees; the tree was decorated with ribbons and sprinkled with kumys, while asking the spirit-mistress of the area, as well as other good deities of the pagan pantheon, to send wealth and prosperity.
In mythology, reflected in the Yakut heroic epic, the hitching post and the world tree are identified and form a world vertical. According to legends, in the country of the first ancestor of the Yakuts, located in the very center of the Middle World, the Aal Luuk Mae tree grows, the top of which has sprouted into the Upper World, and the roots reach the Lower World. The top of the world tree is the hitching post of the heavenly god Dzhesegoy Aiyy Toyon - the giver of horses; the roots of the same tree are used as hooks in the underground house of the deities - the givers of cattle.
The connection between the ritual hitching post serge and the idea of the world tree can be traced in the manufacture of some serge from old dried trees. Such hitching posts have several tops; one of serge of this type preserved in the area of Bulgunnyakhtaakh, Tattinsky district. It contains carved figures of a man, a horse, a cow and an eagle, depicting the deities of the Yakut pagan pantheon.
Among the Yakuts, the graves of shamans were considered sacred. In the 1920s, ethnographer G.V. Ksenofontov described a shaman’s burial as follows: The famous shaman is not buried in the ground, but after death is placed in a special structure - an arangas. Then (when the arangas rots and falls over time) the shaman’s bones are “raised” three times successively over the course of centuries by three, six or nine shamans.
The grave of a shaman was considered dangerous for strangers and inspired fear in those who were not related to the deceased, but the deceased could protect his descendants. According to legend, when Prince Dellamay took the mowing from the son of a deceased shaman, he ran to his father’s burial, began to knock on it with a stick and beg for help. A thunderstorm immediately began, and lightning struck the prince’s hut. He survived, but went crazy and after death became an evil spirit.
Yakut folklore knows the mention of natural objects endowed with supernatural properties. These are passes (aartyk), as well as river cliffs and wooded hills, designated by the word tumul.
When passing through mountain passes and upper rivers, the Yakuts made obligatory sacrifices to their host spirits. From an ethnographic text from the beginning of the 20th century: When climbing the steep Verkhoyansk ridge, where the slightest carelessness can cause you to fall into a cliff, both Lamuts and Yakuts avoid speaking loudly so as not to anger the “spirit of the mountains” and not to invite a terrible blizzard in such a case... At the top of the ridge there is a cross, all hung with skeins of horse hair, partridge wings, etc. The lips of the icon of the Mother of God embedded in the cross are thickly greased with lard. This is a sacrifice to the owner of the place. Copper and silver money are poured between the stones to the base of the cross.
According to the spell texts and heroic epic, aartyk passes are associated with the bright heavenly deities Aiyy (that is, the creators) that are favorable to humans. It is through the Aiyy passes that they send happiness to people - the souls of children, the offspring of livestock and wild animals for hunting.
The Yakuts consider the east and south to be favorable directions - that is, the directions of the rising and midday sun. It is on these sides that the Lena basin is surrounded by mountains - therefore, to the south and east in these directions the land seems to rise to the sky.
Ethnographers recorded Yakut custom drive white horses into the mountains as a gift to the deity Yuryung Aiy Toyon (the head of the pagan pantheon).
Among the sacred objects on the territory of Yakutia are places associated with receiving shamanic initiation. G.V. Xenophonton wrote: There is, they say, a special mountain range where one ascends from Mount Jokuo along the Chongcheydyokh Anyaga pass. The shaman candidate must ascend there together with the teaching shaman. The teacher goes in front and the candidate goes behind. During this journey, the teacher instructs the candidate and shows him the junctions of the roads leading to various barren capes, where the sources of human diseases are located. It is in these places that during initiation, which the future shaman, as well as an excursion through the mountains, experiences in his visions, the spirits scatter his body: When the shaman lies unconscious, the blood and body are scattered in the form of sacrifices to all troubles - sources of death and disease and on all climbs. It was believed that if the body did not reach some place or spirit that sent the disease, the shaman could not go to this place, and therefore could not treat the corresponding diseases.
The spirits mentioned in the above passage (who are the owners of river capes and certain mountain tracts - passes and ascents) are, as a rule, hostile to humans. These are the Yuyors, that is, the souls of suicides or deceased shamans, and in one of these texts, the head of the spirits living on the tops of the mountains is named Uluu Toyon, the powerful head of the upper demons of Abaapa. That is why the future shaman (in reality and in his visions) visits the places of initiation not alone, but together with his otherworldly mentor, the soul of the deceased shaman.
Of course, at the beginning of the 21st century, traditional pagan beliefs among the peoples of Yakutia are not as widespread as before. However, those who go to the countryside, showing perseverance and tact, can discover ancient sacred objects that were and are revered.
In addition, in recent years, with the growing self-awareness of the peoples of Sakha, there has been a revival of traditional beliefs. Sanctuaries associated with the veneration of ancient gods and forces of nature are being built, and rituals are being resumed. So, on June 22, on the day of the summer solstice, Ysyakh is widely celebrated - an ancient holiday associated with fertility, pastoral cults, and the summer sun.