Before the discovery of Deering-Yuryakh, all of humanity was considered to have spread to the entire planet through migrations from the only Olduvai center in Africa. Deering, one might say, put an end to the version of supposedly general relocations. Now the North, which was considered a deserted desert, will be considered one of the most ancient cradles of the origin of humanity and the foremother of the most ancient foundations of cultures and languages. In this direction, hopefully, over time, the Nostraticism (all-planetarity) of ethnonyms and toponyms based on the Ugric-Samoyedic and Maya-Paleo-Asian languages, published in this work, will go hand in hand with Dearing. Who and how created such a planetary diversity of ancient ethnonyms and toponyms is a mystery. The key to that riddle may be the fact that the Maya-Mayaats spoke Samodi, and the Yukaghir Oduls have a language from the Ugro group, very close to the Mansi language. However, solving that riddle is the task of humanists of the coming centuries. The author is glad that the Yakut Deering and Ugro-Samodi-Mayaat Nostraticism will stand at a turning point in revising the origin of all humanity. This will be much more prestigious and honorable than all previous supposedly resettlement versions, because in any empires of ancient and modern times the role of the less populous was equally modest.
A heifer born as a heifer will not turn into a horse, and those born as Xiongnu-Hunhuz and Turks will not become a new ethnic group. This is the cleverly disguised essence of the “axeomatic” resettlement theory about the Yakuts - the theory of the “scientific” annulment of the Sakha as a self-born independent people and their transformation into degenerate vagabond refugees. To strengthen the picture of degeneration, that theory does not highlight the heroic labor at the cold pole, but, under the guise of sympathy, one-sidedly highlights the poverty, backwardness and “primitiveness” of the Sakhas. To transfer the original successes of the Deering culture to more “smart” neighbors, that resettlement theory even came up with some “cultural heroes” from the “settlers” who supposedly taught the Deering people how to live at the cold pole and permafrost. There they portray the people of Omogoy as absolute savages who have not even invented the most basic vessels made of birch bark and the simplest pagan rituals. There are many sympathizers to this theoretical destruction of Sakha and its transformation into a degraded outgrowth of completely alien neighbors to this day. And all this is due to the transition of Sakha in the past to the imperial language of the Khaganates and Khanates. According to toponyms, Yakutia has changed at least a dozen languages in the past. Those tongues came and went without changing bodies. Turkic language is just another replacement of the dozen languages that came and went. Today, an impressive group of Yakuts have switched to the Russian language, and there are no Yakuts left who cannot speak Russian. However, because of this, they do not say anything about the origin of the Sakha from the Russians.
The entire conscious life of the author of these lines was spent on clarifying the above-mentioned natural and artificial complexities of the Sakha ethnogenesis. He worked on the proposed monograph for almost half a century. And the fact that he was in no hurry to present his conclusions almost ruined his entire long-term research: he had to write this monograph telegram-like, concisely - after losing his sight. Labor also had to be reduced due to economic limitations. But each chapter of the work turned into original theses of a future independent monograph. The author gives them to his future followers in the 21st and subsequent centuries. There are different emotions surrounding the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts. The author did not find it possible to focus on them in his monograph, because the results and fate of humanitarian research carried out to order by passions are well known.
Yakuts (self-name Sakha; pl. h. sugar) - Turkic-speaking people, the indigenous population of Yakutia. The Yakut language belongs to the Turkic group of languages. According to the results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, 478.1 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 most numerous (49.9% of the population) people in Yakutia and the largest of the indigenous peoples of Siberia within the borders of the Russian Federation.
Distribution area
The distribution of Yakuts across the territory of the republic is extremely uneven. About nine of them are concentrated in the central regions - in the former Yakut and Vilyui districts. These are the two main groups Yakut people: the first of them is slightly larger in number than the second. The “Yakut” (or Amga-Lena) Yakuts occupy the quadrangle between the Lena, lower Aldan and Amga, the taiga plateau, as well as the adjacent left bank of the Lena. The “Vilyui” Yakuts occupy the Vilyui basin. In these indigenous Yakut regions, the most typical, purely Yakut way of life developed; here, at the same time, especially on the Amga-Lena Plateau, it is best studied. The third, much smaller group of Yakuts is settled in the Olekminsk region. The Yakuts of this group became more Russified; in their way of life (but not in language) they became closer to the Russians. And finally, the last, smallest, but widely dispersed group of Yakuts is the population of the northern regions of Yakutia, i.e., the river basins. Kolyma, Indigirka, Yana, Olenek, Anabar.
The Northern Yakuts are distinguished by a completely unique cultural and everyday way of life: in relation to it, they are more like the hunting and fishing small peoples of the North, the Tungus, the Yukagirs, than their southern fellow tribesmen. These northern Yakuts are even called “Tungus” in some places (for example, in the upper reaches of Olenek and Anabara), although by language they are Yakuts and call themselves Sakha.
History and origin
According to a common hypothesis, the ancestors of modern Yakuts are the nomadic tribe of Kurykans, who lived in Transbaikalia until the 14th century. In turn, the Kurykans came to the Lake Baikal area from across the Yenisei River.
Most scientists believe that in the XII-XIV centuries AD. e. The Yakuts migrated in several waves from the area of Lake Baikal to the basin of the Lena, Aldan and Vilyuy, where they partially assimilated and partially displaced the Evenks (Tungus) and Yukagirs (Oduls) who had lived here earlier. The Yakuts have traditionally been engaged in cattle breeding (Yakut cow), having gained unique experience in breeding cattle in conditions of a sharply continental climate in northern latitudes, horse breeding (Yakut horse), fishing, hunting, developed trade, blacksmithing and military affairs.
According to Yakut legends, the ancestors of the Yakuts rafted down the Lena River with livestock, household belongings and people until they discovered the Tuymaada Valley, suitable for raising cattle. Now this place is where modern Yakutsk is located. According to the same legends, the ancestors of the Yakuts were led by two leaders Elley Bootur and Omogoi Baai.
According to archaeological and ethnographic data, the Yakuts were formed as a result of the absorption of local tribes from the middle reaches of the Lena by southern Turkic-speaking settlers. It is believed that the last wave of the southern ancestors of the Yakuts penetrated the Middle Lena in the 14th–15th centuries. Racially, the Yakuts belong to the Central Asian anthropological type North Asian race. Compared to other Turkic-speaking peoples of Siberia, they are characterized by the strongest manifestation of the Mongoloid complex, the final formation of which took place in the middle of the second millennium AD already on the Lena.
It is assumed that some groups of Yakuts, for example, reindeer herders of the north-west, arose relatively recently as a result of the mixing of individual groups of Evenks with Yakuts, immigrants from the central regions of Yakutia. In the process of relocating to Eastern Siberia, the Yakuts mastered the basins of the northern rivers Anabar, Olenka, Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma. The Yakuts modified the Tungus reindeer herding and created the Tungus-Yakut type of harness reindeer herding.
The inclusion of the Yakuts into the Russian state in the 1620s–1630s accelerated their socio-economic and cultural development. In the 17th–19th centuries, the main occupation of the Yakuts was cattle breeding (breeding cattle and horses), from the second half of the 19th century centuries, a significant part began to engage in agriculture; hunting and fishing played a supporting role. The main type of dwelling was a log booth, in summer - a urasa made of poles. Clothes were made from skins and fur. In the second half of the 18th century, most of the Yakuts were converted to Christianity, but traditional beliefs were also preserved.
Under Russian influence, Christian onomastics spread among the Yakuts, almost completely replacing pre-Christian Yakut names. Currently, Yakuts bear both names of Greek and Latin origin (Christian) and Yakut names.
Yakuts and Russians
Accurate historical information about the Yakuts is available only from the time of their first contact with the Russians, i.e. from the 1620s, and their annexation to the Russian state. The Yakuts did not constitute a single political whole at that time, but were divided into a number of tribes independent from each other. However, tribal relations were already disintegrating, and there was a rather sharp class stratification. The tsarist governors and servicemen used inter-tribal strife to break the resistance of part of the Yakut population; They also took advantage of the class contradictions within it, pursuing a policy of systematic support for the dominant aristocratic layer - the princes (toyons), whom they turned into their agents for governing the Yakut region. From that time on, class contradictions among the Yakuts began to become increasingly aggravated.
The situation of the mass of the Yakut population was difficult. The Yakuts paid yasak in sable and fox furs, and carried out a number of other duties, being subject to extortion from the tsar's servants, Russian merchants and their toyons. After unsuccessful attempts at uprisings (1634, 1636–1637, 1639–1640, 1642), after the Toyons went over to the side of the governors, the Yakut mass could react to oppression only with scattered, isolated attempts at resistance and flight from the indigenous uluses to the outskirts. By the end of the 18th century, as a result of the predatory management of the tsarist authorities, the depletion of the fur wealth of the Yakut region and its partial desolation were revealed. At the same time, the Yakut population, which for various reasons migrated from the Lena-Vilyui region, appeared on the outskirts of Yakutia, where it had not previously existed: on Kolyma, Indigirka, Olenek, Anabar, right up to the Lower Tunguska basin.
But even in those first decades, contact with the Russian people had a beneficial effect on the economy and culture of the Yakuts. The Russians brought with them a higher culture; already with mid-17th century V. farming appears on the Lena; Russian type of buildings, Russian clothing made of fabrics, new types of crafts, new furnishings and household items gradually began to penetrate the environment of the Yakut population.
It was extremely important that with the establishment of Russian power in Yakutia, inter-tribal wars and predatory raids of the Toyons, which had previously been a great disaster for the Yakut population, ceased. The willfulness of the Russian service people, who had often quarreled with each other and drawn the Yakuts into their feuds, was also suppressed. The order that had already been established in the Yakut land since the 1640s was better than the previous state of chronic anarchy and constant strife.
In the 18th century, in connection with the further advance of the Russians to the east (the annexation of Kamchatka, Chukotka, the Aleutian Islands, and Alaska), Yakutia played the role of a transit route and a base for new campaigns and the development of distant lands. The influx of the Russian peasant population (especially along the Lena River valley, in connection with the construction of the postal route in 1773) created conditions for the cultural mutual influence of Russian and Yakut elements. Already at the end of the 17th and 18th centuries. Agriculture begins to spread among the Yakuts, although very slowly at first, and Russian-style houses appear. However, the number of Russian settlers remained even in the 19th century. relatively small. Along with peasant colonization in the 19th century. The sending of exiled settlers to Yakutia was of great importance. Together with criminal exiles who had bad influence on the Yakuts, in the second half of the 19th century. In Yakutia, political exiles appeared, first populists, and in the 1890s, Marxists, who played a large role in the cultural and political development of the Yakut masses.
By the beginning of the 20th century. Great progress was observed in the economic development of Yakutia, at least its central regions (Yakutsky, Vilyuisky, Olekminsky districts). A domestic market was created. The growth of economic ties accelerated the development of national identity.
During the bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1917, the movement of the Yakut masses for their liberation developed deeper and wider. At first it was (especially in Yakutsk) under the predominant leadership of the Bolsheviks. But after the departure (in May 1917) of most of the political exiles to Russia in Yakutia, the counter-revolutionary forces of Toyonism, which entered into an alliance with the Socialist-Revolutionary-bourgeois part of the Russian urban population, gained the upper hand. The struggle for Soviet power in Yakutia dragged on for a long time. Only on June 30, 1918, the power of the soviets was first proclaimed in Yakutsk, and only in December 1919, after the liquidation of the Kolchak regime throughout Siberia, Soviet power was finally established in Yakutia.
Religion
Their life is connected with shamanism. Building a house, having children and many other aspects of life do not take place without the participation of a shaman. On the other hand, a significant part of the half-million Yakut population professes Orthodox Christianity or even adheres to agnostic beliefs.
This people have their own tradition; before joining the Russian state, they professed “Aar Aiyy”. This religion presupposes the belief that the Yakuts are the children of Tanar - God and Relatives of the Twelve White Aiyy. Even from conception, the child is surrounded by spirits or, as the Yakuts call them, “Ichchi,” and there are also celestial beings who also surround the newly born child. Religion is documented in the department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Yakutia. In the 18th century, Yakutia underwent universal Christianity, but the people approached this with the hope of certain religions from the Russian state.
Housing
The Yakuts trace their ancestry back to nomadic tribes. That's why they live in yurts. However, unlike the Mongolian felt yurts, the round dwelling of the Yakuts is built from the trunks of small trees with a cone-shaped steel roof. There are many windows in the walls, under which sun loungers are located at different heights. Partitions are installed between them, forming a semblance of rooms, and a smear hearth is tripled in the center. In the summer, temporary birch bark yurts - uras - can be erected. And since the 20th century, some Yakuts have been settling in huts.
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 on the east side, the windows were on 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), 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. 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.; from it, with the addition of water, flour, roots, pine sapwood, etc., a stew (butugas) was prepared. 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.
Trades
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 (khotons) 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 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, 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), horse chasing 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, and was very poorly developed until the mid-19th century; Its spread (especially in the Olekminsky district) was facilitated by Russian exiled settlers.
Wood processing was developed ( artistic carving, coloring 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, and from the 19th century, mammoth ivory carving was developed.
Yakut cuisine
She has some common features with the cuisine of the Buryats, Mongols, northern peoples (Evenki, Evens, Chukchi), as well as Russians. Methods of preparing dishes in Yakut cuisine are few: it is either boiling (meat, fish), or fermentation (kumys, suorat), or freezing (meat, fish).
Traditionally, horse meat, beef, venison, game birds, as well as offal and blood are consumed as food. Dishes made from Siberian fish (sturgeon, broad whitefish, omul, muksun, peled, nelma, taimen, grayling) are widespread.
A distinctive feature of Yakut cuisine is the fullest use of all components of the original product. A very typical example is the recipe for cooking crucian carp in Yakut style. Before cooking, the scales are cleaned off, the head is not cut off or thrown away, the fish is practically not gutted, a small side incision is made through which the gallbladder is carefully removed, part of the colon is cut off and the swim bladder is pierced. In this form, the fish is boiled or fried. A similar approach is used in relation to almost all other products: beef, horse meat, etc. Almost all by-products are actively used. In particular, giblet soups (is miine), blood delicacies (khaan), etc. are very popular. Obviously, such a thrifty attitude towards products is the result of the people's experience of surviving in harsh polar conditions.
Horse or beef ribs in Yakutia are known as oyogos. Stroganina is made from frozen meat and fish, which is eaten with a spicy seasoning of flask (wild garlic), spoon (similar to horseradish) and saranka (onion plant). Khaan, a Yakut blood sausage, is made from beef or horse blood.
The national drink is popular among many eastern peoples koumiss, as well as stronger koonnyoruu kymys(or koyuurgen). From cow's milk they prepare suorat (yogurt), kuerchekh (whipped cream), kober (butter churned with milk to form a thick cream), chokhoon (or case– butter churned with milk and berries), iedegey (cottage cheese), suumekh (cheese). The Yakuts cook a thick mass of salamat from flour and dairy products.
Interesting traditions and customs of the people of Yakutia
The customs and rituals of the Yakuts are closely related to folk beliefs. Even many Orthodox or agnostics follow them. The structure of beliefs is very similar to Shintoism - each manifestation of nature has its own spirit, and shamans communicate with them. The foundation of a yurt and the birth of a child, marriage and burial are not complete without rituals. It is noteworthy that until recently, Yakut families were polygamous, each wife of one husband had her own household and home. Apparently, under the influence of assimilation with the Russians, the Yakuts nevertheless switched to monogamous cells of society.
The holiday of kumis Ysyakh occupies an important place in the life of every Yakut. Various rituals are designed to appease the gods. Hunters glorify Baya-Bayanaya, women - Aiyysyt. The holiday is crowned by a general sun dance - osoukhai. All participants join hands and arrange a huge round dance. Fire has sacred properties at any time of the year. Therefore, every meal in a Yakut house begins with serving the fire - throwing food into the fire and sprinkling it with milk. Feeding the fire is one of the key moments of any holiday or business.
Most characteristic cultural phenomenon- poetic stories of olonkho, which can number up to 36 thousand rhymed lines. The epic is passed down from generation to generation between master performers, and most recently these narratives were included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Good memory and high life expectancy are some of the distinctive features of the Yakuts. In connection with this feature, a custom arose according to which a dying elderly person calls someone from the younger generation and tells him about all his social connections - friends, enemies. The Yakuts are distinguished by their social activity, even though their settlements consist of several yurts located at an impressive distance. The main social relations take place during major holidays, the main one of which is the holiday of kumis - Ysyakh.
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.
12 facts about the Yakuts
- It’s not as cold in Yakutia as everyone thinks. Almost throughout the entire territory of Yakutia, the minimum temperature is on average -40-45 degrees, which is not so bad, since the air is very dry. -20 degrees in St. Petersburg will be worse than -50 in Yakutsk.
- Yakuts eat raw meat - frozen foal, shavings or cut into cubes. The meat of adult horses is also eaten, but it is not as tasty. The meat is extremely tasty and healthy, rich in vitamins and other beneficial substances, in particular antioxidants.
- In Yakutia they also eat stroganina - meat cut into thick shavings. river fish, mainly broadleaf and omul, the most prized is stroganina from sturgeon and nelma (all these fish, with the exception of sturgeon, are from the whitefish family). All this splendor can be consumed by dipping the chips in salt and pepper. Some also make different sauces.
- Contrary to popular belief, in Yakutia the majority of the population has never seen deer. Deer are found mainly in the Far North of Yakutia and, oddly enough, in Southern Yakutia.
- The legend of crowbars becoming as fragile as glass severe frost- Truth. If at a temperature below 50-55 degrees you hit a hard object with a cast iron crowbar, the crowbar will fly into pieces.
- In Yakutia, almost all grains, vegetables and even some fruits ripen well over the summer. For example, not far from Yakutsk they grow beautiful, tasty, red, sweet watermelons.
- The Yakut language belongs to the Turkic group of languages. There are a lot of words in the Yakut language that begin with the letter “Y”.
- In Yakutia, even in 40-degree frost, children eat ice cream right on the street.
- When the Yakuts eat bear meat, before eating they make the sound “Hook” or imitate the cry of a raven, thereby, as if disguising themselves from the spirit of the bear - it is not we who eat your meat, but the crows.
- Yakut horses are a very ancient breed. They graze on their own all year round without any supervision.
- Yakuts are very hard working. In the summer, in the hayfield, they can easily work 18 hours a day without a break for lunch, and then have a good drink in the evening and, after 2 hours of sleep, go back to work. They can work for 24 hours and then plow 300 km behind the wheel and work there for another 10 hours.
- Yakuts do not like to be called Yakuts and prefer to be called “Sakha”.
The Yakuts are the indigenous population of the Republic of Yakutia (Sakha) and the largest of all the indigenous peoples of Siberia. The ancestors of the Yakuts were first mentioned in the 14th century. The ancestors of modern Yakuts are the nomadic tribe of Kurykans, who lived in Transbaikalia until the 14th century. They came there from across the Yenisei River. The Yakuts are divided into several main groups:
- Amginsko-Lena, live between the Lena River, on the adjacent left bank of the river, between the lower Aldan and Amga;
- Olekma, inhabit territories in the Olekma basin;
- Vilyuiskie, live in the Vilyui basin;
- northern, live in the tundra zone of the Kolyma, Olenyok, Anabar, Indigirka and Yana river basins.
The self-name of the people sounds like Sakha, in plural sugar. There is also an old self-name Uranhai, which is still written uraanhai And uraanghai. These names are still used today in ceremonial speeches, songs and olonkho. Among the Yakuts sakhalyars- mestizos, descendants of mixed marriages between Yakuts and representatives of the Caucasian race. This word should not be confused with the above sugar.
Where live
The main part of the Yakuts live in Yakutia, on the territory of Russia, some live in the Magadan, Irkutsk regions, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk territories, in Moscow, Buryatia, St. Petersburg and Kamchatka.
Number
As of 2018, the population of the Republic of Yakutia is 964,330 people. Almost half of the total number is in the central part of Yakutia.
Language
Yakut, along with Russian, is one of the official languages of the Republic of Yakutia. Yakut belongs to the Turkic group of languages, but differs significantly from them in vocabulary of unknown origin, which may be Paleo-Asian. There are many words in Yakut Mongolian origin, ancient borrowings and Russian words that appeared in the language after Yakutia became part of Russia.
The Yakut language is used mainly in the everyday life of the Yakuts and their social life. This language is spoken by the Evenks, Evens, Dolgans, Yukaghirs, and the Russian old-timer population: Lena peasants, Yakuts, Podchans and Russian Ustyins. This language is used in Yakutia for office work, cultural events are held in it, newspapers, magazines, books are published, radio and television programs are broadcast, and there are Internet resources in the Yakut language. Performances are staged on it in the city and rural areas. Yakut is the language of the ancient epic Olonkho.
Bilingualism is common among Yakuts; 65% speak Russian fluently. There are several groups of dialects in the Yakut language:
- Northwestern
- Vilyuiskaya
- Central
- Taimyrskaya
The Yakut language today uses an alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet, it contains all Russian letters and 5 additional ones, as well as 2 combinations Дь ь and Ннн, and 4 diphthongs are used. Long vowel sounds in writing are indicated by double vowels.
Character
Yakuts are very hardworking, hardy, organized and persistent people, they have a good ability to adapt to new living conditions, endure difficulties, hardships and hunger.
Appearance
The Yakuts of a pure race have an oval face shape, a wide and smooth, low forehead, black eyes with slightly sloping eyelids. The nose is straight, often with a hump, the mouth is large, the teeth are large, and the cheekbones are moderate. The complexion is dark, bronze or yellow-gray. The hair is straight and coarse, black.
Cloth
The national costume of the Yakuts combines the traditions of different peoples; it is perfectly adapted to the harsh climate in which these people live. This is reflected in the cut and design of clothes. The suit consists of a caftan with a belt, leather pants and fur socks. Yakuts wear a belt around their shirts. In winter they wear boots made of deerskin and fur.
The main ornament of clothing is the lily-syandana flower. The Yakuts try to combine all the colors of the year in their clothes. Black is a symbol of earth and spring, green is summer, brown and red are autumn, silver jewelry symbolizes snow, stars and winter. Yakut patterns always consist of branched continuous lines, which mean that the lineage should not stop. The more branches such a line has, the more children the person who owns the clothing has.
Various furs, jacquard silk, cloth, leather and rovduga are used in tailoring outerwear. The costume is decorated with beads, ornamental inserts, metal pendants and decorations.
The poor sewed underwear and summer clothes from thin suede leather, the rich wore shirts made from Chinese cotton fabric, which was expensive and could only be obtained through in-kind exchange.
Festive clothing of the Yakuts has a more complex cut. The waist is widened at the bottom, and the sleeves have a gathered edge. These sleeves are called buuktaah. Lightweight caftans had an asymmetrical fastener and were generously decorated with beaded embroidery, a narrow strip of expensive fur and metal elements. Only the wealthy wore such clothes.
One of the wardrobe items of the Yakuts are robe-like items, sewn from daba fabric with one-piece sleeves. Women wore it in the summer. The Yakut hat looks like a fireplace. A hole was usually made at the top so that the moon and sun could peer in. The ears on the hat represent a connection with the cosmos. Today they are usually decorated with beads.
Religion
Before Yakutia became part of Russia, the people professed the Aar Aiyy religion, which implied the belief that all Yakuts are the children of Tanar - a god and relative of the 12 White Aiyys. They believed that from the moment of conception the child was surrounded by icchi spirits and celestial beings, they believed in evil and good spirits, master spirits and the spirits of deceased shamans. Each clan had a patron animal that could not be called by name or killed.
The Yakuts believed that the world consists of several tiers, the upper one is Yuryung Aiyy Toyon, the lower one is Ala Buura Toyon. Horses were sacrificed to the spirits who live in the upper world, cows were sacrificed to those who live in the lower world. The cult of the female fertility deity Aiyysyt occupied an important place.
In the 18th century, Christianity came to Yakutia, and most of the indigenous population became Orthodox Christians. But mass Christianization for the most part was formal; the Yakuts often accepted it because of the benefits that they were entitled to in return, and for a long time they treated this religion superficially. Today, the majority of Yakuts are Christians, but traditional faith, pantheism, and agnosticism are also widespread. There are still shamans in Yakutia, although there are very few of them.
Housing
The Yakuts lived in uras and log booths, which were also called Yakut yurts. Since the 20th century, huts began to be built. The Yakut settlements consisted of several yurts, which were located at a great distance from each other.
Yurts were built from standing round logs. Only small trees were used for construction; cutting down large ones is a sin. The building site should be low and protected from the wind. Yakuts are always looking for a “happy place” and do not settle among large trees, because they believe that they have already taken all the power from the earth. When choosing a place to build a yurt, the Yakuts turned to a shaman. Dwellings were often built collapsible to make them easy to transport during a nomadic lifestyle.
The doors to the home are located on the east side, towards the sun. The roof was covered with birch bark, and many small windows were made for lighting in the yurt. Inside there is a fireplace covered with clay, along the walls there were wide sun loungers different shapes, separated from each other by partitions. The lowest one is located at the entrance. The owner of the home sleeps on a high lounger.
Life
The main occupations of the Yakuts were horse breeding and cattle breeding. The men looked after the horses, the women looked after the cattle. The Yakuts living in the north raised reindeer. Yakut cattle were unproductive, but very hardy. Haymaking has long been known among the Yakuts; even before the arrival of the Russians, fishing was also developed. Fish were caught mainly in the summer; in winter, holes were made in the ice. In the autumn, the Yakuts organized a collective seine hunt, and the spoils were divided among all participants. The poor people, who did not have livestock, lived mainly on fish. The foot Yakuts also specialized in this activity: Kokuls, Ontuis, Osekuis, Orgots, Krikians and Kyrgydais.
Hunting was especially common in the north and was the main source of food in these regions. The Yakuts hunted hare, arctic fox, poultry, elk and reindeer. With the arrival of the Russians, fur and meat hunting for bear, squirrel, and fox began to spread in the taiga, but later, due to a decrease in the number of animals, it became less popular. The Yakuts hunted with a bull, behind which they hid, sneaking up on the prey. They followed the trail of animals on horses, sometimes with dogs.
The Yakuts also engaged in gathering, collecting the inner layer of larch and pine bark and drying it for the winter. They collected minted and saran roots, greens: onions, sorrel and horseradish, and collected berries, but did not eat raspberries, since they considered them unclean.
The Yakuts borrowed agriculture from the Russians in the 17th century, and until the 19th century this area of the economy was very poorly developed. They grew barley, rarely wheat. Exiled Russian settlers contributed to the wide spread of agriculture among these people, especially in the Olemkinsky district.
Wood processing was well developed; the Yakuts were engaged in artistic carving and painted products with a decoction of alder. Birch bark, leather and fur were also processed. Dishes were made from leather, rugs were made from cow and horse skins, and blankets were made from hare fur. Horsehair was used in sewing, weaving and embroidery, and hand-twisted into cords. The Yakuts were engaged in molded ceramics, which distinguished them from other Siberian peoples. The people developed the smelting and forging of iron, smelting and minting of silver, copper and other metals. Since the 19th century, the Yakuts began to engage in bone carving.
The Yakuts moved mainly on horseback, and transported cargo in packs. They made skis, which were padded with horse skins, and sleighs, which were harnessed to bulls and deer. To travel on water, they made birch bark boats called tyy, made flat-bottomed boards, and sailing ships, karbass, which they borrowed from the Russians.
In ancient times, indigenous peoples living in the north of Yakutia developed the Yakut Laika dog breed. The breed of large Yakut courtyard dogs, which is distinguished by its unpretentiousness, is also widespread.
The Yakuts have a lot of hitching posts; since ancient times they have been the main components of the people; traditions, customs, beliefs and rituals are associated with them. All hitching posts have different heights, shapes, decorations and patterns. There are 3 groups of such structures:
- outhouse, it includes those hitching posts that are installed near the home. Horses are tied to them;
- pillars for religious ceremonies;
- hitching posts installed on the main holiday Ysyakh.
Food
The national cuisine of the Yakuts is slightly similar to the cuisine of the Mongols, Buryats, northern peoples and Russians. Dishes are prepared by boiling, fermenting and freezing. For meat, the Yakuts eat horse meat, venison and beef, game, blood and offal. The preparation of dishes from Siberian fish is widespread in the cuisine of this people: broadleaf, sturgeon, omul, muksun, peled, grayling, nelma and taimen.
The Yakuts make maximum use of all components of the original product. For example, when cooking crucian carp in Yakut style, the fish remains with the head and is practically not gutted. The scales are cleaned off, the gall bladder and part of the colon are removed through a small incision, and the swim bladder is pierced. The fish is fried or boiled.
All offal products are used quite actively; giblet soup, blood delicacies, horse and beef liver, which is filled with a mixture of blood and milk, are very popular. Meat from beef and horse ribs is called oyogos in Yakutia. Eat it frozen or raw. Stroganina is made from frozen fish and meat, which is eaten with spicy seasoning. Khaan blood sausage is made from horse and beef blood.
In traditional Yakut cuisine, vegetables, mushrooms and fruits are not used; only some berries are consumed. Drinks include kumys and the stronger koyuurgen; instead of tea, they drink hot fruit juice. From cow's milk they prepare yogurt suorat, whipped cream kerchekh, thick cream from butter churned with milk, which is called kober, chokhoon - milk and butter churned with berries, cottage cheese iedegey, cheese suumekh. A thick mass of salamat is cooked from a mixture of dairy products and flour. Burduk is made from a fermented solution of barley or rye flour.
Folklore
The ancient epic Olonkho is passed down from generation to generation and is similar in performance to opera. This is the oldest epic art of the Yakuts, which occupies the most important place in the folklore of the people. Olonkho denotes an epic tradition and serves as the name of individual tales. Poems 10,000-15,000 lines long are performed by folk storytellers, which not everyone can become. The narrator must have oratory and acting talent, and be able to improvise. Large olonkhos can take 7 nights to complete. The largest such work consists of 36,000 poetic characters. In 2005, Olonkho was declared by UNESCO “a masterpiece of the intangible and oral heritage of humanity.”
Folk singers The Yakuts use a type of throat singing called Dieretii Yrya. This is an unusual singing technique whose articulation is based in the larynx or pharynx.
The most famous of the Yakut musical instruments is the khomus - a Yakut type of harp and a bowed string instrument. They play it with their lips and tongue.
Traditions
The Yakuts have always strived to live in harmony with themselves, faith and nature; they honor traditions and are not afraid of change. This people has so many traditions and rituals that one could write a separate book about it.
The Yakuts protect their homes and livestock from evil spirits, using many conspiracies, and conduct rituals for the offspring of livestock, a good harvest and the birth of children. Before today The Yakuts have a blood feud, but it was gradually replaced by ransom.
Among these people, the Sat stone is considered magical; women cannot look at it, otherwise it will lose its power. These stones are found in the stomachs of birds and animals, wrapped in birch bark and wrapped in horsehair. It is believed that with the help of certain spells and this stone one can cause snow, rain and wind.
Yakuts are very hospitable people and love to give each other gifts. Their maternity rites are associated with the goddess Aiyysyt, who is considered the patroness of children. According to myths, Aiyy only accepts sacrifices of plant origin and dairy products. In household modern language The Yakuts have a word “anyyy”, the meaning of which is translated as “impossible”.
Yakuts marry from 16 to 25 years old; if the groom’s family is not rich and there is no bride price, you can steal the bride, and then help the wife’s family and thereby earn the bride price.
Until the 19th century, polygamy was common in Yakutia, but wives lived separately from their husbands, and each ran her own household. There was a dowry, which consisted of livestock. Part of the bride price - kurum - was intended for the wedding celebration. The bride had a dowry, which in its value was equal to half the bride price. These were mainly clothes and utensils. The modern bride price was replaced with money.
A mandatory traditional rite among the Yakuts is the Blessing of Aiyy at celebrations and holidays in nature. Blessings are prayers. The most important holiday is Ysyakh, the day of praise of the White Aiyy. When hunting and fishing, a ritual is performed to appease the spirit of hunting and good luck Bayanai.
The dead were subjected to an air burial ceremony, where the body was suspended in the air. The ritual meant surrendering the deceased to light, air, spirit and wood.
All Yakuts revere trees and believe that the spirit of the mistress of the land, Aan Darkhan Khotun, lives in them. When climbing the mountains, fish and animals were traditionally sacrificed to the forest spirits.
During the national holiday Ysyakh, national Yakut jumping and international games “Children of Asia” are held, which are divided into the following stages:
- Kylyy, 11 jumps without stopping, the jump begins on one leg, you need to land on both legs;
- Ystanga, 11 jumps in turn from foot to foot. You need to land on both feet;
- Kuobah, 11 jumps without stopping, while jumping from a place you need to push off with both feet at once or land with a run on both feet.
The national sport of the Yakuts is mas-wrestling, during which the opponent must snatch the stick from the opponent’s hands. This sport was introduced in 2003. Another sport is hapsagai, a very ancient form of wrestling among the Yakuts.
A wedding in Yakutia is a special phenomenon. With the birth of a girl in the family, parents, on sacred ancient tradition, they are looking for a groom for her and have been following his life, manners and behavior for many years. Usually a boy is chosen from a family where the fathers are distinguished by good health, endurance and strength, are good at working with their hands, building yurts, and getting food. If the boy's father does not pass on all his skills to him, he is no longer considered as a groom. Some parents are able to quickly find a groom for their daughter, while for others this process takes many years.
Matchmaking is one of the customs and traditions of the Yakuts. On the appointed day, the parents go to the house of the prospective groom, and the girl is not allowed to leave the house. The parents talk with the guy’s parents, describing their daughter and her merits in all colors. If the guy's parents are not against the wedding, the size of the bride price is discussed. The girl is prepared for the wedding by her mother, prepares her dowry, sews outfits. The bride chooses the time of the wedding.
Earlier Wedding Dress sewed only from natural materials. Today this is not necessary, it is only important that the outfit be snow-white and equipped with a tight belt. The bride should wear amulets for protection new family from disease and evil.
The bride and groom sit in different yurts, the shaman, mother of the groom or father of the bride fumigates them with smoke, cleansing them of everything bad. Only after this the bride and groom meet, they are declared husband and wife, and the celebration begins with a feast, dancing and songs. After marriage, a girl should walk only with her head covered, and only her husband should see her hair.
YAKUTS (self-name - Sakha), people in the Russian Federation (382 thousand people), indigenous population of Yakutia (365 thousand people). The Yakut language is a Uyghur group of Turkic languages. Believers are Orthodox.
Language
They speak the Yakut language of the Turkic group of the Altai family of languages. The dialects are united into the central, Vilyui, northwestern and Taimyr groups. 65% of Yakuts speak Russian.
Origin
The ethnogenesis of the Yakuts involved both local Tungus-speaking elements and Turkic-Mongolian tribes (Xiongnu, Tugu Turks, Kipchaks, Uyghurs, Khakass, Kurykans, Mongols, Buryats), who settled in Siberia in the 10th–13th centuries. and assimilated the local population. The ethnic group was finally formed by the 17th century. By the beginning of contacts with the Russians (1620s), the Yakuts lived in the Amga-Lena interfluve, on the Vilyui, at the mouth of the Olekma, in the upper reaches of the Yana. Traditional culture is most fully represented among the Amga-Lena and Vilyui Yakuts. The northern Yakuts are close in culture to the Evenks and Yukagirs, the Olekminsky are highly cultivated by the Russians.
Farm
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| Yakut hunters |
The main traditional occupation of the Yakuts is horse breeding and cattle breeding. In Russian sources of the 17th century. The Yakuts are called “horse people”. Men looked after horses, women looked after cattle. Cattle were kept on pasture in the summer and in barns (khotons) in the winter. Haymaking was known even before the Russians arrived. Special breeds of cows and horses were developed that were adapted to harsh climates. conditions of the North. Local cattle were distinguished by their endurance and unpretentiousness, but were unproductive and were milked only in the summer. Cattle occupies a special place in the Yakut culture; special rituals are dedicated to it. There are known burials of Yakuts with a horse. Her image plays an important role in the Yakut epic. The Northern Yakuts adopted reindeer husbandry from the Tungus peoples.
Hunting
Both meat hunting for large animals (elk, wild deer, bear, wild boar and others) and fur fishing (fox, arctic fox, sable, squirrel, ermine, muskrat, marten, wolverine and others) were developed. Specific hunting techniques are characteristic: with a bull (the hunter sneaks up on the prey, hiding behind the bull, which he drives in front of him), horseback chasing the animal along the trail, sometimes with dogs. Hunting tools - bow and arrows, spear. They used abatis, fences, trapping pits, snares, traps, crossbows (aya), grazes (sohso); from the 17th century - firearms. Subsequently, due to the decrease in the number of animals, the importance of hunting fell.
Fishing
Fishing was of great importance: river (fishing for sturgeon, broad whitefish, muksun, nelma, whitefish, grayling, tugun and others) and lake (minnow, crucian carp, pike and others). Fish were caught with tops, muzzles (tuu), a net (ilim), a horsehair seine (baady), and beaten with a spear (atara). Fishing was carried out mainly in the summer. In the fall, they organized a collective seine with the division of the spoils between the participants. In winter we fished in the ice hole. For the Yakuts, who did not have livestock, fishing was the main economic activity: in documents of the 17th century. the term “balysyt” (“fisherman”) was used in the meaning of “poor man.” Some tribes also specialized in fishing - the so-called “foot” Yakuts - Osekui, Ontul, Kokui, Kirikians, Kyrgydais, Orgots and others.
Gathering and farming
There was gathering: harvesting pine and deciduous sapwood, collecting roots (saran, mint and others), greens (wild onions, horseradish, sorrel), and, to a lesser extent, berries (raspberries were not consumed, they were considered unclean). Agriculture was borrowed from the Russians at the end of the 17th century. Before mid-19th V. it was poorly developed. The spread of agriculture (especially in the Amginsky and Olekminsky environs) was facilitated by Russian exiled settlers. They cultivated special varieties of wheat, rye, and barley, which managed to ripen during the short and hot summer, and grew garden crops.
During the years of Soviet power, the Yakuts formed new sectors of the economy: cage-based fur farming, small-scale livestock farming, and poultry farming. They moved mainly on horseback, and carried loads in packs.
Life
There were known skis lined with horse camus, sleighs (silis syarga) with runners made of wood with rhizomes that had a natural curvature; later - sleighs of the Russian wood-burning type, which were usually harnessed to oxen; among the northern Yakuts - straight-hoofed reindeer sledges. Water transport: raft (aal), dugout boats (onocho), shuttle (tyy), birch bark boat (tuos tyy), others. The Yakuts calculated time according to the lunisolar calendar. The year (year) was divided into 12 months of 30 days each: January - Tokhsunnu (ninth), February - Olunnu (tenth), March - Kulun Tutar (month of feeding foals), April - Muus Ustar (month of ice drift), May - Yam yya (month of cow milking), June - bes yya (month of harvesting pine sapwood), July - from yya (month of haymaking), August - atyrdyakh yya (month of hay baling), September - booth yya (month of migration from summer roads to winter roads), October – Altynnyi (sixth), November – Setinnyi (seventh), December – Ahsynnyi (eighth). New Year came in May. Weather forecasters (dylylyty) were in charge of the folk calendar.
Craft
Among the traditional crafts of the Yakuts are blacksmithing, jewelry making, processing of wood, birch bark, bone, leather, fur, and, unlike other peoples of Siberia, molded ceramics. They made dishes from leather, wove from horsehair, twisted cords, and used it for embroidery. Yakut blacksmiths (timir uuga) smelted iron in cheese furnaces. Since the beginning of the twentieth century. forged products from purchased iron. Blacksmithing also had commercial value. Yakut jewelers (kemus uuga) made women's jewelry, horse harness, dishes, religious objects and others from gold, silver (partially melting down Russian coins) and copper; they knew how to mint and blacken silver. Artistic wood carving (ornaments of serge hitching posts, choron koumiss cups, and others), embroidery, appliqué, horsehair weaving, and others were developed. In the 19th century Carving on mammoth bone became widespread. The ornamentation is dominated by curls, palmettes, and meanders. The two-horned motif on saddle cloths is characteristic.
Housing
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| Yakut |
The Yakuts had several seasonal settlements: winter (kystyk), summer (sayylyk) and autumn (otor). Winter settlements were located near meadows and consisted of 1–3 yurts, summer settlements (up to 10 yurts) were located near pastures. The winter dwelling (booth kypynny diee), where they lived from September to April, had sloping walls made of thin logs on a log frame and a low gable roof. The walls were coated with clay and manure, the roof was covered with bark and earth on top of the log flooring. Since the 18th century Polygonal log yurts with a pyramidal roof are also common. The entrance (aan) was made in the eastern wall, the windows (tyunyuk) were in the southern and western walls, and the roof was oriented from north to south. In the north-eastern corner, to the right of the entrance, a fireplace of the chuval type (opoh) was built, plank bunks (oron) were built along the walls, and the bunk running from the middle of the southern wall to the western corner was considered honorable. Together with the part of the western bunk adjacent to it, it formed an honorable corner. Further north was the owner's place. The bunks to the left of the entrance were intended for young men and workers, and to the right, by the fireplace, for women. A table (ostuol) and stools were placed in the front corner, and there were chests and drawers from other furnishings. On the northern side of the yurt, a barn (hoton) of the same design was attached. The entrance to it from the yurt was behind the fireplace. A canopy or canopy (kyuyule) was built in front of the entrance to the yurt. The yurt was surrounded by a low embankment, often with a fence. A hitching post was placed near the house, often decorated with rich carvings. From 2nd half of the XVIII V. Russian huts with a stove became common among the Yakuts as a winter home. The summer dwelling (uraga sayyngy diye), in which they lived from May to August, was a birch bark-covered cylindrical structure made of poles (on a frame of four poles fastened at the top with a square frame). In the North, frame buildings covered with turf (holuman) were known. The villages had outbuildings and structures: barns (ampaar), glaciers (buluus), cellars for storing dairy products (tar iine), smoking dugouts, mills. At a distance from the summer dwelling, they set up a barn for calves (titik), built sheds, and more.
Cloth
The national clothing of the Yakuts consists of a single-breasted caftan (son), in winter - fur, in summer - from cow or horse skin with the hair inside, for the rich - from fabric, it was sewn from 4 wedges with additional wedges at the waist and wide sleeves gathered at the shoulders; short leather pants (syaya), leather leggings (sotoro), fur socks (keenche). Later, fabric shirts with a turn-down collar (yrbakhy) appeared. Men wore a simple belt, the rich wore silver and copper plaques. Women's wedding fur coats (sangiyakh) - toe-length, widening at the bottom, with a yoke, with sewn-in sleeves with small puffs and a fur shawl collar. The sides, hem and sleeves were bordered by wide stripes of red and green cloth and braid. Fur coats were richly decorated with silver jewelry, beads, and fringe. They were valued very dearly and were passed down by inheritance, mainly in Toyon families. Women's wedding headdress (diabakka) was made from sable or beaver fur. It looked like a cap going down to the shoulders, with a high top made of red or black cloth, velvet or brocade, densely trimmed with beads, braid, plaques, and certainly with a large silver heart-shaped plaque (tuosakhta) above the forehead. The most ancient dabakka are decorated with a plume of bird feathers. Women's clothing was complemented by a belt (kur), breast (ilin kebikher), back (kelin kebikher), neck (mooi simege) decorations, earrings (ytarga), bracelets (begekh), braids (sukhuekh simege), rings (bihileh) made from silver, often gold, with engraving. Shoes - winter high boots made of deer or horse skins with fur on the outside (eterbes), summer boots made of suede (saara) with tops covered with cloth, for women - with appliqué.
The reference books write that the area of Yakutia is more than three million square kilometers. It immediately becomes clear that the Yakuts live on a vast territory. You can easily verify this by looking at the map of Russia, where the republics of our country are indicated.
Yakutia. Republic of Sakha on the map
Yakutia is many times larger in area than any European power. It is only slightly smaller than the entire European part of Russia.
On the huge spot denoting Yakutia, it is written in large letters - Sakha, and below in brackets - Yakutia. Everything is correct; Yakut is a Russian word. They say it was borrowed from the Tungus. They called the Yakuts “eco”. This is where the word “Ekot” arose, and not far from it is “Yakut”. The indigenous inhabitants of Yakutia themselves call themselves the people of Sakha. Perhaps this word came from the Turkic language, in which yakha means “edge”, “outskirts”. Other scholars argue that "sakha" comes from the Indo-Iranian aka - "deer". Still others say that its roots must be sought in the Manchu language, in which this word in the old days meant “hunting.”
Each of the options can claim to be true. Indeed, Yakutia-Sakha lies in the North, as if on the edge of the earth. Almost half of its territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle. Huge areas are occupied. On this outskirts of the land, the trees become smaller, the birches become knee-high... It is no coincidence that one of the Yakut proverbs says: “Even grass and trees come in different heights.” Behind the tundra begins the Arctic desert. Its border with the Arctic Ocean stretches for four and a half thousand kilometers.
About the Yakuts
The Yakuts are excellent cattle breeders. They have long been able to handle horses and reindeer. Already in the 17th century, it was believed that the Yakuts were the northernmost horse breeders in the world. They bred their own breed of horses - with a large head, hardy, overgrown with long hair in winter and capable of feeding themselves by literally beating food out from under the snow with their hooves.
How else? After all, it is in Yakutia that the famous Pole of Cold is located. Here, in the Oymyakonsky district, in January the temperature drops below -60 °C.
In the old days, horses were the measure of wealth for many Yakuts. Moreover, they were counted not by their heads, but by the number of herds, each of which was led by a seasoned stallion. Almost every Yakut yurt had a wooden post serge, to which horses were tied. On the one hand, it was an ordinary hitching post. With another - sacred symbol that the earth has an owner. Three grooves were cut out on the serge. It was believed that the celestial gods tied their horses to the first, people tied their horses to the second, and the bridles of the horses of the underworld were attached to the third. Serge could have been placed, but he could not be knocked down. The sacred pillar itself must have fallen from old age.
Finally, the Yakuts have always been and remain excellent hunters and fishermen. Sables are found in the taiga forests of the Sakha Republic, and the Yakuts are excellent at hunting this animal, whose fur is sometimes compared to gold. It is no coincidence that the ancient coat of arms of Yakutsk depicts an eagle grasping a sable with its claws. On the modern coat of arms of the capital of the Republic of Sakha, fur-bearing animals are represented by a squirrel.
The rivers of Yakutia are rich in fish, but fishing is difficult in winter. Therefore, long before the invention of canned food, in fact, back in Neolithic times, the Yakuts came up with a unique method for obtaining long-lasting fish paste. It's called sima. The containers are holes dug in the ground and lined with birch bark. They contain fish cleaned of bones and entrails.
In winter, the resulting paste can be added to various dishes. There are many delicious traditional dishes in the Yakut cuisine. These include large darkhan dumplings, marinated meat oigos with red currants, and the drink salamat, which is prepared on the basis of cream and sour cream.
History, customs and epic of Olonkho
Probably, on the territory of modern Yakutia, the tribes of the Sakha people first appeared in the 12th century. They came here from the shores of Lake Baikal. Judge about ancient history Yakuts are difficult. Their first written documents appeared late, at the end of the 19th century. This is largely the merit of Semyon Andreevich Novgorodov, a Yakut by origin.
Since childhood, he showed excellent learning abilities. In 1913 he came to St. Petersburg and entered the oriental faculty of St. Petersburg University. The study of various writing systems helped him create the alphabet of the Yakut language. Soon after the revolution of 1917, Yakutia appeared its first primer. Now Yakut fonts and texts occupy a worthy place on the Internet.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Sakha people accumulated and passed on their knowledge orally. As a result of this, large poems arose - olonkho. The masters of their performance not only had a tenacious memory, which allowed them to talk about gods and heroes for days on end. They were also skilled improvisers, artists and writers all rolled into one.
The Yakut epic Olonkho can be compared with the famous Karelian “Kalevala” and even with the ancient Greek “Iliad”.
It tells about three worlds - heavenly, earthly and underground. In the Olonkho poems, noble heroes fight the forces of evil. The international organization UNESCO has ranked Olonkho among the masterpieces of the cultural heritage of mankind. Surely, based on the plots of this epic, a large-scale blockbuster like “The Lord of the Rings” can be made.
The Osuokhai round dance is mentioned in the Olonkho epic. It takes place in the summer, during the festival of abundance. And these days, osuokhai gathers relatives who symbolically unite in a circle. The feeling of comradeship and unity with their clan gives the Yakuts a kind of “energy boost” for the whole next year.
The carefully preserved ancient customs of the Yakuts make a strong impression on Europeans. Modern Yakut clothing using traditional cut and ornaments looks great on the catwalks of the world's leading powers. People admire Yakut bone carvers. Many figures are made from mammoth tusks. The land of Yakutia has preserved many remains of these giants. It is no coincidence that Yakutia has the only Mammoth Museum in the world.
On international festivals ethnic music, the Yakut khomus sounds mysterious and bewitching. This small musical instrument fits in the palm of your hand. However, it can be used to express many feelings and moods. In the hands of the master, the khomus begins to tell about the soul of the Yakut people and the vastness of their land.
This land is extremely rich. Literally. Everyone in the world knows about Yakut diamonds.
The mining company ALROSA (Diamonds of Russia-Sakha) is the second largest in the world in their production.
The headquarters of this corporation is located in the Yakut city of Mirny. Yakutia has the world's largest reserves of uranium ore. The treasures of the subsoil and the beauty of untouched nature open up great prospects for the Republic of Sakha. In general, as the old Yakut proverb says: “Happiness awaits a young man on four sides.”