Famous Yakuts. The people of Yakutia: culture, traditions and customs

Reference books say that the area of ​​Yakutia is more than three million square kilometers. It immediately becomes clear that the Yakuts live on a vast territory. This can be easily seen 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 a huge spot denoting Yakutia, it is written in large letters - Sakha, and below in brackets - Yakutia. Everything is right; Yakut is a Russian word. They say it was borrowed from the Tungus. They called the Yakuts "eco". From here the word "ekot" arose, and from it not far from "Yakut". The indigenous inhabitants of Yakutia themselves call themselves the people of Sakha. Perhaps this word came from the Turkic language, in which yaha 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, trees become smaller, birches become knee-deep in height ... It is no coincidence that one of the Yakut proverbs says: "Even grasses and trees come in different heights." Beyond the tundra begins the arctic desert. Its border with the Arctic Ocean stretches for four and a half thousand kilometers.

About Yakuts

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 able to feed themselves, literally knocking out food from under the snow with their hooves.

How else? After all, it is in Yakutia that the famous pole of cold is located. Here, on the territory of 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 serge post, to which the horses were tied. On the one hand, it was an ordinary hitching post. On the other hand, it is a sacred symbol that the earth has an owner. Three grooves were cut on the serge. It was believed that the celestial gods tied their horses to the first, people to the second, and the bridles of the horses of the underworld were attached to the third. Serge could be placed, but it was impossible to bring 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 Republic of Sakha, 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 grabbing a sable with its claws. On the modern coat of arms of the capital of the Republic of Sakha, fur 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 the Neolithic times, the Yakuts came up with a unique method for obtaining long-term stored fish paste. It's called Sima. The containers are pits dug in the ground and lined with birch bark. They contain fish cleaned of bones and entrails.
In winter, the resulting pasta can be added to various dishes. There are many delicious traditional dishes in Yakut cuisine. These are large darkhan dumplings, marinated oygos meat with red currants, and salamat drink, which is prepared on the basis of cream and sour cream.

History, customs and epic 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. It is difficult to judge the ancient history of the Yakuts. The first written documents appeared among them late, at the end of the 19th century. In many ways, this is the merit of a Yakut by origin, Semyon Andreyevich Novgorodov.
From 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. Shortly after the revolution of 1917, the first primer appeared in Yakutia. Now Yakut fonts and texts occupy a worthy place on the Internet.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the people of Sakha accumulated and transmitted their knowledge orally. As a result of this, great poems appeared - olonkho. The masters of their performance possessed not only a tenacious memory, which allowed them to talk about gods and heroes for days on end. They were also skilled improvisers, artists and writers 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 against 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, you can shoot a large-scale blockbuster like The Lord of the Rings.
The olonkho epic mentions the round dance osuokhai. It is arranged in the summer, during the festival of abundance. And today, osuokhai gathers relatives who symbolically unite in a circle. The feeling of an elbow, unity with one's family gives the Yakuts a kind of "energy recharge" for the whole next year.

Carefully preserved ancient customs of the Yakuts make a strong impression on Europeans. Modern Yakut clothing with traditional cut and ornaments looks great on the catwalks of the world's leading powers. People admire Yakut bone carvers. Many figurines are made of mammoth tusks. The land of Yakutia has preserved many remains of these giants. It is no coincidence that in Yakutia there is the only mammoth Museum in the world.
At international festivals of ethnic music, the Yakut khomus sounds mysteriously and bewitchingly. 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 expanses of their land.
This land is extremely rich. Literally. Everyone in the world knows about Yakut diamonds.
Mining company ALROSA (Diamonds of Russia-Sakha) is the second largest mining company in the world.
The headquarters of this corporation is located in the Yakutsk city of Mirny. Yakutia has the world's largest reserves of uranium ores. The treasures of the subsoil and the beauty of untouched nature open up great prospects for the Republic of Sakha. In general, as an old Yakut proverb says: “Happiness awaits a young man from four sides.”

Yakutia, the Republic of Sakha is a small, remote and rather cold region of the Russian Federation. That's all that, as a rule, the vast majority of the population of our country knows about this area. Meanwhile, the Yakuts are amazing people.

Briefly about the region

A few centuries ago, the Yakutsk district, the predecessor of the modern region, was located on the territory of modern Yakutia. The current Republic of Sakha was formed in April 1922 - at first as the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1990, it was transformed into the Yakut-Sakha SSR, and it received its modern name a year later.

Yakutia is part of the Far Eastern Federal District and covers an area of ​​more than three million square kilometers. At the same time, the population of the entire district barely reaches a million. The main city of Yakutia is Yakutsk, which grew out of the Yakut prison on the right bank of the Lena. One of the features of the region is that two state languages ​​officially coexist on its territory - Russian and Sakha.

Where did the Yakuts come from

There are legends about the origin of the Yakuts. One of them, for example, claims that this people is the fundamental principle of all mankind, since Adam and Eve, from whom all people on Earth descended, were northerners. Another version speaks of the existence in antiquity of a certain Tygyn, from whom the Yakuts allegedly originate. There is also an opinion that the Yakuts are the Tatar tribes of the times of the Horde, that they are the descendants of the ancient Europeans, that the Evenks are genetically close to them and many, many others. Nevertheless, archaeologists' research revealed that people began to live on the territory of the future Yakutia already in the Paleolithic times. In the first millennium of our era, the ancestors of the Evenks and Evens came here, the Turkic-speaking tribes continued to populate the area of ​​the region until the fifteenth century. According to historians, the Yakuts were formed as a result of a mixture of Turkic-speaking and local tribes. Also in the blood of the Yakuts there may be genes of alien Tungus.

Features of the Yakuts

In appearance, the Yakut is easy to recognize. They tend to have an oval face with a broad forehead, slightly slanted eyelids, and large, black eyes. The mouth is also large, the enamel of the teeth is yellowish, the nose is usually humped, but it can also be straight. The color of the skin gives off a grayish yellow or is swarthy. The hair is black, coarse, not curly. Growth is usually small. Yakuts have a rather high life expectancy.

This nation has a well-developed hearing, vision, on the contrary, is not very good. They do not differ in speed of movement, everything is done slowly. There are no super-strong athletes among the Yakuts either. The nation is highly productive. Since ancient times, horse breeding, cattle breeding, fishing, and fur hunting have been considered their main occupations. The Yakuts also processed wood, dressed skins, sewed carpets, clothes, blankets.

Religion occupies a huge place in the life of the Yakuts. Now they are Orthodox, but since ancient times their life has been closely connected with shamanism (in some places this has remained to this day).

Yakut dwelling

Since the ancestors of the Yakuts were nomadic people, the current Sakhalars (this is their self-name) live in yurts (of course, not all, this does not apply to the inhabitants of cities). Their settlements are a collection of several houses. The dwelling of the Yakuts differs from the Mongolian yurts in that it is built from round logs, and not from felt. In this case, only small trees are used. Cutting high, large for them is a sin - this is one of the traditions and customs of the Yakuts.

The roof is made cone-shaped, and the door is located from the east. In addition, Yakut yurts have many small windows, along which there are a variety of sunbeds - low and high, wide and narrow, fenced off from each other so that small rooms are obtained. The highest sunbed is intended for the owner, the lowest is located near the entrance to the house.

As a rule, yurts are placed in the lowlands so that they are not blown by the wind. Often houses are made collapsible - if the tribe leads a nomadic lifestyle. The choice of a place to build a dwelling is very important for the Yakuts - it should bring happiness.

National Costume

The Yakut costume directly depends on temperature conditions - the climate in the Republic of Sakha is not hot, which is why clothes are often sewn using horse or cow skin (and not just fabric). For winter attire, fur is taken.

The costume itself is a caftan with wide sleeves and a belt, combined with leather pants and fur socks. In addition, Yakuts wear fabric shirts, belted with a belt. The material, in addition to fur and leather, is used the most diverse - and silk, and cloth, and rovduga. In ancient times, suede suits were often sewn. The festive costume is more flared down, with puff sleeves and turn-down collars.

Yakut wedding

A wedding among the Yakuts is a special phenomenon. There is an ancient sacred tradition, according to which the parents of a baby, almost from the very moment of birth, must find her a future life partner. They choose a boy and for many years observe his life, character, habits, demeanor - after all, it is very important not to make a mistake in the game for your daughter. As a rule, first of all, they pay attention to those boys whose fathers are in good health, strong, hardy, able to work with their hands - make yurts, get food, and so on. This means that such a man will transfer all his skills and abilities to his son. Otherwise, the boy is not considered as a potential "groom". Some parents of daughters manage to choose a future husband for their baby quickly, for some this process takes quite a long time.

Matchmaking also refers to the traditions and customs of the Yakuts and goes as follows. The girl is forbidden to leave the house on this day, and the parents go to the house of the candidate for her hand and heart. They do not talk with the guy himself, but with his parents, painting them in colors all the virtues of their daughter - here it is very important to try to make the future daughter-in-law like them in absentia. If the guy’s parents don’t mind, then they call the size of the bride price - before, bride money was given in deer (this is still preserved in some places), now it is money. When the parents shake hands, solemn preparations for the wedding begin. The mother prepares the girl for the ceremony. She must also give her daughter a dowry, which certainly includes richly decorated outfits - this shows that the bride is not from the poor.

The wedding attire of the Yakuts used to be sewn only from natural materials, now it is not so necessary. Only one thing is important: a dazzling white color, it means purity and purity. Also, the dress must have a tight belt.

The time of the wedding is chosen by the girl. At first, the bride and groom are in different yurts. The shaman (instead of him there may be the father of the bride or the mother of the groom) fumigates them with birch bark smoke - it is believed that this cleanses the newlyweds from various slanders and everything bad. Only after this ceremony are they allowed to see each other and make a traditional circle around their future home (important: until this moment, the bride and groom do not meet eye to eye, there should always be someone next to them). Then they are declared legal husband and wife and a meal begins, during which the girl must have amulets - they protect the newly-made family from evil and disease. Traditional dishes at the Yakut wedding are venison, beef, fish, foal. From drinks - koumiss and wine.

Before the wedding, Yakut girls can walk with their heads uncovered; after getting married, the young wife must henceforth hide her hair from everyone except her husband.

Yakut art

Yakut songs are also special. First of all, we are talking about olonkho - local epic folklore, which is considered to be a type of poetry. It is performed like an opera. This is the oldest type of Yakut art, which is now considered a UNESCO heritage.

Olonkho can be of any size - the maximum reached thirty-six thousand (!) Lines. They include all the traditional legends and legends of the Yakuts. Far from everyone can perform Yakut songs - for this it is necessary to have an oratorical gift and the ability to improvise, as well as be able to give your voice different intonations and colors. Olonkho is recited without interruption - up to seven nights in a row, so the performer must also have a good memory (however, this is a hallmark of all Yakuts).

The Yakuts also have their own national musical instrument. It looks like a jew's harp, some consider it just a variety of a jew's harp. This instrument is called khomus. The art of the Yakuts also includes throat singing, for which they are very famous.

Traditions and customs

Some traditions and customs of the Yakuts have long remained unchanged. So, even today they greatly revere nature, believing that it is alive. They believe in the existence of good and evil spirits and that nature helps to fight the latter. So, for example, lightning, thunder, thunderstorm, according to their beliefs, pursue evil spirits. The wind also has its own spirits - they guard peace on earth. The Yakuts especially revere water, they bring offerings to it - boats made of birch bark. Do not put anything sharp into the water - it can injure her. Fire among the Yakuts is considered the patron saint of the hearth, before it was not extinguished, but moving from place to place, they took it with them in special pots. The Yakuts pay special respect to the spirit of the forest, which helps them in their hunting. The sacred animal for this people is the bear, whose claws they wear as amulets and talismans.

Their numerous holidays are closely connected with the traditions and customs of the Yakuts. For example, Ysyakh, which takes place at the beginning of summer. This is a family holiday, symbolizing the friendship of peoples, it is considered the most important among the Yakuts. Its other name is “Kumiss Feast”. At its end, it is imperative to perform a special round dance in honor of the sun - in this way the luminary is thanked for the warmth.

Blood feud also belongs to the traditions and customs of the Yakuts. There are also many birth rituals. And at death, you need to call one of the youth to yourself and leave all your connections to him - tell him both about friends and enemies.

1. Yakutia is the only region in our country where three time zones operate at once (the difference with Moscow is 6, 7 and 8 hours).
2. Almost half of the territory of Yakutia is located beyond the Arctic Circle.
3. Yakutia has the first place in the Russian Federation in terms of the total amount of reserves of all natural resources.
4. In addition to the two state languages, the Evenki, Even, Dolgan and Yukaghir dialects are widespread in the Republic of Sakha.
5. Yakuts do not grow body hair.
6. Almost every Yakut family has special national knives with an asymmetrical blade.
7. The Yakut legend says that the stone Sat, which is taken from the stomachs of birds and animals, is considered magical, but it will lose its power if a woman looks at it.
8. Sakhalar is the self-name of the Yakuts, and Sakhalyar is a person born from the marriage of a Yakut and a European.

This is not all the features and customs of the Yakuts. Such an interesting nation needs to be studied for a long time and carefully in order to be fully imbued with their spirit - however, like any other nationality on Earth.

Yakuts (self-name Sakha; pl. h. Sakhalar) is a 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 the 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 of the Yakut people: the first of them is somewhat larger in number than the second. "Yakut" (or Amga-Lena) Yakuts occupy the quadrangle between the Lena, the lower Aldan and the Amga, the taiga plateau, as well as the adjacent left bank of the Lena. "Vilyui" Yakuts occupy the Vilyui basin. In these indigenous Yakut regions, the most typical, purely Yakut way of life has developed; here, at the same time, especially on the Amga-Lena plateau, it is best studied. The third, much smaller group of Yakuts settled in the region of Olekminsk. 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 settled group of Yakuts is the population of the northern regions of Yakutia, i.e., the basins of the river. 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 hunting and fishing small peoples of the North, like the Tungus, Yukagirs, than like their southern tribesmen. These northern Yakuts are sometimes even called "Tungus" (for example, in the upper reaches of the Olenek and Anabar), although they are Yakuts in their language and call themselves Sakha.

History and origins

According to a widespread hypothesis, the ancestors of modern Yakuts are the nomadic tribe of Kurykans, who lived until the 14th century in Transbaikalia. In turn, the Kurykans came to the region of Lake Baikal because of the Yenisei River.

Most scientists believe that in the XII-XIV centuries AD. e. The Yakuts migrated in several waves from the region of Lake Baikal to the Lena, Aldan and Vilyui basins, where they partly assimilated and partly displaced the Evenks (Tungus) and Yukaghirs (Oduls) who lived here earlier. The Yakuts were traditionally engaged in cattle breeding (Yakut cow), having gained a unique experience in breeding cattle in a sharply continental climate in the northern latitudes, horse breeding (Yakut horse), fishing, hunting, developed trade, blacksmithing and military affairs.

According to Yakut legends, the ancestors of the Yakuts floated down the Lena on rafts with livestock, household goods and people until they found the Tuymaada valley - suitable for cattle breeding. Now this place is modern Yakutsk. According to the same legends, the ancestors of the Yakuts were headed 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 of the middle reaches of the Lena by the southern Turkic-speaking settlers. It is believed that the last wave of the southern ancestors of the Yakuts penetrated the Middle Lena in the XIV-XV centuries. Racially, the Yakuts belong to the Central Asian anthropological type of the North Asian race. In comparison with 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 northwest, arose relatively recently as a result of mixing of individual groups of Evenks with Yakuts, immigrants from the central regions of Yakutia. In the process of resettlement in Eastern Siberia, the Yakuts mastered the basins of the northern rivers Anabar, Olenka, Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma. The Yakuts modified the reindeer husbandry of the Tungus, created the Tungus-Yakut type of draft reindeer husbandry.

The inclusion of the Yakuts into the Russian state in the 1620s–1630s accelerated their socioeconomic and cultural development. In the 17th-19th centuries, the main occupation of the Yakuts was cattle breeding (breeding of cattle and horses), from the second half of the 19th century, a significant part began to engage in agriculture; hunting and fishing played a secondary role. The main type of dwelling was a log booth, in summer - a urasa made of poles. Clothes were made from hides and furs. 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 the pre-Christian Yakut names. At present, the 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, that is, from the 1620s, and joining the Russian state. The Yakuts did not constitute a single political entity at that time, but were divided into a number of tribes independent of each other. However, tribal relations were already disintegrating, and there was a rather sharp class stratification. The tsarist governors and servicemen used tribal strife to break the resistance of part of the Yakut population; they also used the class contradictions within it, pursuing a policy of systematic support for the ruling aristocratic stratum - the princes (toyons), whom they turned into their agents for managing the Yakut region. Since that time, class contradictions among the Yakuts began to become more and more aggravated.

The position of the mass of the Yakut population was difficult. The Yakuts paid yasak with sable and fox furs, carried out a number of other duties, being extorted by the tsarist servants, Russian merchants and their toyons. After unsuccessful attempts at uprisings (1634, 1636-1637, 1639-1640, 1642), after the transition of the toyons to the side of the governors, the Yakut masses could only respond to oppression with scattered, isolated attempts of 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 Yakutsk region and its partial desolation was 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 been: in Kolyma, Indigirka, Olenek, Anabar, up to the Lower Tunguska basin.

But already 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; since the middle of the 17th century. an agricultural economy appears on the Lena; the Russian type of buildings, Russian clothing made of fabrics, new types of crafts, new furnishings and household items gradually began to penetrate into the environment of the Yakut population.

It was extremely important that with the establishment of Russian power in Yakutia, intertribal wars and predatory raids of the Toyons stopped, which used to be a great disaster for the Yakut population. The self-will of the Russian servicemen, who had been at war with each other more than once and drawn the Yakuts into their strife, 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, 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 valley of the Lena River, in connection with the arrangement of the postal route in 1773) created the conditions for the cultural mutual influence of the Russian and Yakut elements. As early as the end of the 17th and 18th centuries among the Yakuts, agriculture begins to spread, although at first very slowly, houses of the Russian type appear. However, the number of Russian settlers remained even in the 19th century. relatively small. Along with peasant colonization in the XIX century. sending exiled settlers to Yakutia was of great importance. Together with the criminal exiles, who had a negative influence on the Yakuts, in the second half of the 19th century. political exiles appeared in Yakutia, first populists, and in the 1890s also Marxists, who played a big role in the cultural and political development of the Yakut masses.

By the beginning of the XX century. in the economic development of Yakutia, at least in its central regions (Yakutsky, Vilyuisky, Olekminsky districts), great successes were observed. An internal 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 unfolded deeper and wider. At first it was (especially in the city of Yakutsk) under the predominant leadership of the Bolsheviks. But after the departure (in May 1917) of the majority of the political exiles to Russia in Yakutia, the counter-revolutionary forces of the toionism gained the upper hand, which entered into an alliance with the Socialist-Revolutionary-bourgeois part of the Russian urban population. The struggle for Soviet power in Yakutia dragged on for a long time. Only on June 30, 1918, the power of the Soviets was proclaimed for the first time in Yakutsk, and only in December 1919, after the liquidation of Kolchakism in all of Siberia, was Soviet power finally established in Yakutia.

Religion

Their life is connected with shamanism. The construction of a house, the birth of children and many other aspects of life do not pass without the participation of a shaman. On the other hand, a significant part of the half-million population of Yakuts professes Orthodox Christianity or even adheres to agnostic beliefs.

This people has its own tradition, before joining the state of Russia, they professed "Aar Aiyy". This religion assumes 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 celestials who are also surrounded by the still born child. Religion is documented in the administration of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Yakutia. In the 18th century, Yakutia was subjected to universal Christianity, but the people treat this with the hope of certain religions from the state of Russia.

Housing

The Yakuts are descended from nomadic tribes. That is why they live in yurts. However, in contrast to the Mongolian felt yurts, the round dwelling of the Yakuts is built from the trunks of small trees with a cone-shaped roof. Many windows are arranged in the walls, under which sunbeds are located at different heights. Partitions are installed between them, forming a semblance of rooms, and a smeared hearth is tripled in the center. Temporary birch bark yurts - urases - can be erected for the summer. And since the 20th century, some Yakuts have settled in huts.

Winter settlements (kystyk) were located near mowing fields, consisted of 1-3 yurts, summer ones - near pastures, numbered 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 plastered on the outside with clay and manure, the roof over the log flooring was covered with bark and earth. The house was placed on the cardinal points, the entrance was arranged in the east side, the windows - in the south and west, the roof was oriented from north to south. To the right of the entrance, in the northeast corner, a hearth (oosh) was arranged - a pipe made of poles coated with clay, which went out through the roof. Plank bunks (oron) were arranged along the walls. The most honorable was the southwestern corner. At the western wall there was a master's place. The bunks to the left of the entrance were intended for male youth, workers, on the right, at the hearth, for women. A table (ostuol) and stools were placed in the front corner. On the north side, a barn (khoton) was attached to the yurt, often under the same roof with housing, the door to it from the yurt was behind the hearth. In front of the entrance to the yurt, a canopy or canopy was arranged. The yurt was surrounded by a low mound, often with a fence. A hitching post was placed near the house, often decorated with carvings. Summer yurts differed little from winter ones. Instead of a hoton, a barn for calves (titik), sheds, etc. were set up at a distance. 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.

clothing

Traditional men's and women's clothing - short leather pants, a fur underbelly, leather legs, a single-breasted caftan (sleep), in winter - fur, in summer - from horse or cow skin with wool inside, for the rich - from fabric. Later, fabric shirts with a turn-down collar (yrbakhs) appeared. Men girded themselves with a leather belt with a knife and flint, the rich - with silver and copper plaques. Characteristic is a women's wedding fur long caftan (sangyah), embroidered with red and green cloth and a gold braid; an elegant women's fur hat made of expensive fur that goes down to the back and shoulders, with a high cloth, velvet or brocade top with a silver plaque (tuosakhta) and other decorations sewn on it. Women's silver and gold jewelry is widespread. Shoes - winter high boots made of deer or horse skins with wool outside (eterbes), summer boots made of soft leather (saary) with a top covered with cloth, for women - with appliqué, long fur stockings.

Food

The main food is dairy, especially in summer: from mare's milk - koumiss, from cow's - yogurt (suorat, sora), cream (kuercheh), butter; oil was drunk melted or with koumiss; suorat was prepared for the winter in a frozen form (tar) with the addition of berries, roots, etc.; stew (butugas) was prepared from it with the addition of water, flour, roots, pine sapwood, etc. 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. Horse meat was especially valued. In the 19th century, barley flour came into use: it was used to make unleavened cakes, pancakes, salamat stew. Vegetables were known in the Olekminsk district.

crafts

The main traditional occupations are horse breeding (in Russian documents of the 17th century, the Yakuts were called “horse people”) and cattle breeding. The men took care of the horses, the women took care of the cattle. Deer were bred in the north. Cattle were kept in the summer on grazing, in the winter in barns (hotons). Haymaking was known before the arrival of the Russians. The Yakut breeds of cattle were distinguished by endurance, but were unproductive.

Fishing was also developed. They fished mainly in the summer, but also in the winter in the hole; in the fall, a collective seine fishing was organized with the division of prey between all participants. For the poor who did not have livestock, fishing was the main occupation (in the documents of the 17th century, the term "fisherman" - balyksyt - is used in the meaning of "poor"), some tribes also specialized in it - the so-called "foot Yakuts" - osekui, ontuly, kokui , Kirikians, Kyrgydais, Orgoths and others.

Hunting was especially widespread in the north, being the main source of food here (arctic fox, hare, reindeer, elk, bird). In the taiga, by the arrival of the Russians, both meat and fur hunting (bear, elk, squirrel, fox, hare, bird, etc.) was known, but later, due to a 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 chasing the beast along the trail, sometimes with dogs.

There was gathering - the collection of pine and larch sapwood (the inner layer of the bark), harvested for the winter in dried form, roots (saran, coinage, etc.), greens (wild onions, horseradish, sorrel), raspberries, which were considered unclean, were not used from berries.

Agriculture (barley, to a lesser extent wheat) was borrowed from the Russians at the end of the 17th century, until the middle of the 19th century it was very poorly developed; its spread (especially in the Olekminsk district) was facilitated by Russian exiled settlers.

The processing of wood (artistic carving, coloring with alder broth), birch bark, fur, and leather was developed; 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 twisted from horse hair with hands, weaved, embroidered. Spinning, weaving and felting of felt were absent. The production of stucco ceramics, which distinguished the Yakuts from other peoples of Siberia, has been preserved. The smelting and forging of iron, which had a commercial value, the smelting and chasing of silver, copper, etc., were developed, from the 19th century - carving on mammoth ivory.

Yakut cuisine

It has some common features with the cuisine of the Buryats, Mongols, northern peoples (Evenks, Evens, Chukchi), as well as Russians. Methods of cooking in the Yakut cuisine are few: it is either boiling (meat, fish), or fermentation (koumiss, suorat), or freezing (meat, fish).

From meat, horse meat, beef, venison, game birds, as well as offal and blood are traditionally used. Dishes from Siberian fish are widespread (sturgeon, broad whitefish, omul, muksun, peled, nelma, taimen, grayling).

A distinctive feature of the Yakut cuisine is the fullest possible use of all components of the original product. A very typical example is the recipe for cooking carp in Yakut. Before cooking, the scales are peeled off, the head is not cut off or thrown away, the fish is practically not gutted, a small lateral incision is made, through which the gallbladder is carefully removed, a part of the large intestine 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, and so on. 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 to food is the result of people's experience of survival 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 from a flask (ramson), spoon (like horseradish) and saranka (onion plant). From beef or horse blood, khaan is obtained - Yakut black pudding.

The national drink is koumiss, popular among many eastern peoples, as well as a stronger koonnyoruu kymys(or koiuurgen). Suorat (curdled milk), kuerchekh (whipped cream), kober (butter churned with milk to form a thick cream), chokhoon (or chehon- butter churned with milk and berries), iedegey (cottage cheese), suumeh (cheese). From flour and dairy products, the Yakuts cook a thick mass of salamat.

Interesting traditions and customs of the people of Yakutia

The customs and rituals of the Yakuts are closely connected with 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 laying of a yurt and the birth of a child, marriage and burial are not complete without rites. It is noteworthy that until recently, Yakut families were polygamous, each wife of one husband had her own household and dwelling. Apparently, under the influence of assimilation with the Russians, the Yakuts nevertheless switched to monogamous cells of society.

An important place in the life of every Yakut is occupied by the holiday of koumiss Ysyakh. Various rituals are designed to appease the gods. Hunters glorify Bai-Bayanai, women praise Aiyysyt. The holiday is crowned by the universal dance of the sun - 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 home begins with treating the fire - throwing food into the fire and irrigating it with milk. Feeding the fire is one of the key moments of any holiday and business.

The most characteristic cultural phenomenon is the olonkho poetic stories, which can have up to 36 thousand rhymed lines. The epic is passed down from generation to generation between master performers, and most recently these stories were included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Good memory and high life expectancy are one of the distinguishing 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 to him and tells him about all his social ties - friends, enemies. The Yakuts are distinguished by social activity, even though their settlements are several yurts located at an impressive distance. The main social relations take place during major holidays, the main of which is the holiday of koumiss - 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 Yukaghirs, the Olyokma are strongly acculturated by Russians.

12 facts about the Yakuts

1. It is not so cold in Yakutia as everyone thinks. Almost throughout the territory of Yakutia, the minimum temperature is on average -40-45 degrees, which are not so terrible, since the air is very dry. -20 degrees in St. Petersburg will be worse than -50 in Yakutsk.
2. The Yakuts eat raw meat - frozen foal meat, sliced ​​\u200b\u200band shavings or cut into cubes. The meat of adult horses is also eaten, but it is not so tasty. Meat is extremely tasty and healthy, rich in vitamins and other useful substances, in particular, antioxidants.
3. Stroganina is also eaten in Yakutia - the meat of river fish, mainly whitefish and omul, trimmed with thick chips, stroganina from sturgeon and nelma is most valued (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.
4. Contrary to popular belief, most people in Yakutia have never seen deer. Deer are found mainly in the Far North of Yakutia and, oddly enough, in South Yakutia.
5. The legend of crowbars becoming brittle like glass in severe frost is true. If, at a temperature below 50-55 degrees, you hit a solid object with a cast-iron crowbar, the crowbar will shatter into pieces.
6. In Yakutia, almost all grains, vegetables and even some fruits ripen perfectly during the summer. For example, beautiful, tasty, red, sweet watermelons are grown not far from Yakutsk.
7. 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".
8. In Yakutia, even in 40-degree frost, children eat ice cream right on the street.
9. When the Yakuts eat bear meat, they make the sound "Hook" before eating or imitate the cry of a raven, thereby, as it were, disguising themselves from the spirit of the bear - it's not we who eat your meat, but crows.
10. Yakut horses are a very ancient breed. They graze all year round on their own without any supervision.
11. Yakuts are very hardworking. In summer, haymaking 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, back to work. They can work 24 hours and then plow 300 km behind the wheel and work there for another 10 hours.
12. The Yakuts do not like being called Yakuts and prefer to be called "Sakha".

YAKUTS (self-name - Sakha), people in the Russian Federation (382 thousand people), the indigenous population of Yakutia (365 thousand people). The Yakut language is the Uighur group of Turkic languages. Believers are Orthodox.

Language

They speak the Yakut language of the Turkic group of the Altaic family of languages. The dialects are combined 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, Uighurs, Khakass, Kurykans, Mongols, Buryats), who settled in Siberia in the 10th-13th centuries. and assimilated the local population. The ethnos 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. The traditional culture is most fully represented among the Amga-Lena and Vilyui Yakuts. The northern Yakuts are close in culture to the Evenks and Yukaghirs, the Olyokma are strongly cultivated by the Russians.

economy

Yakut hunters

The main traditional occupation of the Yakuts is horse breeding and cattle breeding. In Russian sources of the XVII century. Yakuts are called "horse people". The men took care of the horses, the women took care of the cattle. Cattle were kept in the summer on grazing, in the winter - in barns (hotons). Haymaking was known even before the arrival of the Russians. They brought out special breeds of cows and horses, adapted to the harsh climate. conditions of the North. The local cattle was notable for its endurance and unpretentiousness, but it was unproductive, being milked only in summer. Cattle occupies a special place in the culture of the Yakuts; special rituals are dedicated to it. Burials of Yakuts with a horse are known. 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 a large animal (elk, wild deer, bear, wild boar and others) and fur trade (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 prey, hiding behind a bull, which he chases in front of him), horse chasing the beast along the trail, sometimes with dogs. Hunting tools - bow with arrows, spear. Notches, fences, hunting pits, snares, traps, crossbows (aya), pastures (sokhso) were used; from the 17th century - firearms. In the future, due to a decrease in the number of animals, the importance of hunting fell.

Fishing

Fishing was of great importance: river (fishing for sturgeon, whitefish, muksun, nelma, whitefish, grayling, tugun and others) and lake (minnow, crucian carp, pike and others). Fish were caught with tops, snouts (tuu), nets (ilim), horsehair nets (baady), speared (atara). Fishing was done mainly in the summer. In autumn, they organized a collective seine with the division of prey between the participants. In winter they fished in the hole. For the Yakuts, who did not have livestock, fishing was the main economic activity: in the 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, Ontuly, Kokui, Kirikians, Kyrgydais, Orgots and others.

Gathering and farming

There was gathering: harvesting pine and deciduous sapwood, collecting roots (saran, coinage and others), herbs (wild onions, horseradish, sorrel), 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. Until the middle of the XIX century. it was underdeveloped. The spread of agriculture (especially in the Amga and Olekminsk regions) was facilitated by Russian exiled settlers. Cultivated special varieties of wheat, rye, barley, which had time to ripen in a short and hot summer, grew garden crops.

During the years of Soviet power, the Yakuts have formed new branches of the economy: cage fur farming, small livestock farming, and poultry farming. They traveled mainly on horseback, transporting goods in packs.

Life

There were known skis lined with horse skins, sledges (silis syarga) with runners made of wood with a rhizome that had a natural curvature; later - sledges of the Russian wood type, which were usually harnessed by bulls, among the northern Yakuts - straight-legged reindeer sleds. Water transport: raft (aal), boats - dugout (onocho), shuttle (tyy), birch bark boat (tuos tyy), others. The Yakuts counted time according to the lunisolar calendar. The year (syl) was divided into 12 months of 30 days each: January - tokhsunnu (ninth), February - olunnu (tenth), March - kulun tutar (month of feeding foals), April - muus obstar (month of ice drift), May - yam yya (the month of milking cows), June - bes yya (the month of harvesting pine sapwood), July - from yya (the month of haymaking), August - atyrdyakh yya (the month of haystacking), September - balagan yya (the month of migration from summer camps to winter roads), October - altynny (sixth), November - setinny (seventh), December - ahsynny (eighth). The New Year came in May. Weather forecasters (dylyty) were in charge of the folk calendar.

Craft

Among the traditional crafts of the Yakuts are blacksmithing, jewelry, woodworking, birch bark, bones, leather, furs, unlike other peoples of Siberia - stucco ceramics. Dishes were made from leather, horsehair was woven, cords were twisted, they were embroidered. Yakut blacksmiths (timir uuga) smelted iron in cheese-blowing furnaces. Since the beginning of the twentieth century. forged products from purchased iron. Blacksmithing was also of commercial importance. Yakut jewelers (kemus uuga) made women's jewelry, horse harness, dishes, cult objects and others from gold, silver (partially melting down Russian coins) and copper, they knew chasing, blackening of silver. Artistic woodcarving was developed (ornaments of serge hitching posts, cups for choron koumiss, and others), embroidery, appliqué, horsehair weaving, and others. In the 19th century mammoth bone carving became widespread. The ornamentation is dominated by curls, palmettes, meanders. A two-horned motif on saddles is characteristic.

dwelling

Yakut

The Yakuts had several seasonal settlements: winter (kystyk), summer (sayylyk) and autumn (otor). Winter settlements were located near the meadows, consisted of 1–3 yurts, summer (up to 10 yurts) - near pastures. The winter dwelling (booth kypynny die), 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 plastered with clay and manure, the roof over the log flooring was covered with bark and earth. 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 (tyunnyuk) were made in the southern and western walls, the roof was oriented from north to south. In the northeast corner, to the right of the entrance, a chuval-type hearth (opoh) was arranged, plank bunks (oron) were built along the walls, and a bunk running from the middle of the southern wall to the western corner was considered honorary. Together with the adjoining part of the western nara, it formed an honorable corner. Further north was the host's place. The bunks to the left of the entrance were intended for young men and workers, to the right, by the hearth, for women. A table (ostuol) and stools were placed in the front corner, chests and boxes were from another setting. On the north side, a barn (hoton) of the same design was attached to the yurt. The entrance to it from the yurt was behind the hearth. In front of the entrance to the yurt, a canopy or canopy (kyule) was built. The yurt was surrounded by a low mound, often with a fence. A hitching post, often decorated with rich carvings, was placed near the house. From the 2nd half of the XVIII century. As a winter dwelling among the Yakuts, Russian huts with a stove spread. The summer dwelling (uraga saiyngy die), in which they lived from May to August, was a cylindrical-conical structure covered with birch bark 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. In the villages there were outbuildings and structures: barns (ampaar), glaciers (buluus), cellars for storing dairy products (tar iine), smoking dugouts, mills. Away from the summer dwelling, a calf shed (titic) was set up, sheds were built, and more.

clothing

The national clothing of the Yakuts consists of a single-breasted caftan (sleep), in winter - fur, in summer - from cow or horse skin with wool 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 (yrbakhs) appeared. Men girded themselves with a simple belt, the rich - with silver and copper plaques. Women's wedding coats (sangyah) are toe-length, widening downwards, on 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, a lace. Fur coats were richly decorated with silver jewelry, beads, fringes. They were valued very dearly and passed down by inheritance, mainly in Toyon families. Women's wedding headdress (diabacca) was sewn from sable or beaver fur. It looked like a cap descending on the shoulders, with a high top made of red or black cloth, velvet or brocade, thickly trimmed with beads, braid, plaques, and certainly with a large silver heart-shaped plaque (tuosakhta) above the forehead. The oldest diabaccas are decorated with plumes of bird feathers. Women's clothing was complemented by a belt (kur), chest (ilin kebiher), back (kelin kebiher), neck (mooi simege) jewelry, earrings (ytarga), bracelets (begeh), braids (suhuyoh simege), rings (bihileh) made of silver, often gold, engraved. Shoes - winter high boots made of deer or horse skins with fur outside (eterbes), summer boots made of suede (saary) with tops covered with cloth, for women - with appliqué.

Yakuts(from Evenki rings), Sakha(self-name)- people in the Russian Federation, the indigenous population of Yakutia. The main groups of the Yakuts are Amga-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 participated in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts. and assimilated the local population. The ethnogenesis of the Yakuts was completed by the 17th century.

In the north-east of Siberia, by the time the Russian Cossacks and industrialists arrived there, the Yakuts (Sakha) were the most numerous people who occupied a prominent place among other peoples in terms of the level of cultural development.

The ancestors of the Yakuts lived much further south, in the Baikal region. According to Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences A.P. Derevyanko, the movement of the ancestors of the Yakuts to the north began, apparently, in the 8th-9th centuries, when the legendary ancestors of the Yakuts settled in the Baikal region - the Kurykans, Turkic-speaking peoples, information about which was preserved for us by runic Orkhon inscriptions. The exodus of the Yakuts, pushed northward by stronger neighbors the Mongols - newcomers to the Lena 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. Yakov Lindenau, a member of the government expedition to study Siberia, 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 tribal leader (toyon) Tygyn, well-known in the legends. A.P. Derevyanko believes that with such a movement of tribes to the north, representatives of various nationalities also penetrated there, not only Turkic, but also Mongolian. And for centuries there was a complex process of merging different cultures, which, moreover, were enriched on the spot with the skills and abilities of the indigenous Tungus and Yukagir 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" (Dion, Aimakh, Russian "volosts"), the largest - Kangalas and Namtsy on the left bank of the Lena, Megins, Borogons, Betuns, Baturus - between Lena and Amga, numbering up to 2000-5000 people.

The tribes were often at enmity with each other, divided into smaller tribal groups - "paternal clans" (aga-uusa) and "maternal clans" (iye-uusa), i.e., apparently ascending to different wives of the progenitor. There were customs of blood feud, usually replaced by a ransom, military initiation of boys, collective fishing (in the north - catching geese), hospitality, exchanging gifts (belakh). A military aristocracy stood out - 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 a family, often lived in separate yurts, men often served in the military squad of the toyon. Professional merchants appeared - the so-called townspeople (i.e. people who traveled to the city). Livestock was in private ownership, hunting, pasture land, hayfields, etc. - mainly in the community. The Russian administration sought to slow down the development of private ownership of land. Under Russian rule, the Yakuts were divided into "kinds" (aga-uusa), ruled by elected "princes" (kines) and united in naslegs. At the head of the nasleg were the elected "grand prince" (ulakhan kines) and the "tribal administration" of the tribal foremen. Community members gathered for tribal and hereditary gatherings (munni). Naslegs united in uluses headed by an elected ulus head and "foreign council". These associations ascended 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 Yukaghirs, the Olyokma are strongly acculturated by Russians.

Small family (kergen, yal). Until the 19th century polygamy was preserved, and the wives often lived separately and each ran their own household. Kalym usually consisted of cattle, part of it (kurum) was intended for a wedding feast. For the bride, a dowry was given, the value of which was about half of the kalym, 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. The men took care of the horses, the women took care of the cattle. Deer were bred in the north. Cattle were kept in the summer on grazing, in the winter in barns (hotons). Haymaking was known before the arrival of the Russians. The Yakut breeds of cattle were distinguished by endurance, but were unproductive.

Fishing was also developed. They fished mainly in the summer, but also in the winter in the hole; in the fall, a collective seine fishing was organized with the division of prey between all participants. For the poor who did not have livestock, fishing was the main occupation (in the documents of the 17th century, the term "fisherman" - balyksyt - is used in the meaning of "poor"), some tribes also specialized in it - the so-called "foot Yakuts" - osekui, ontuly, kokui, kirikians, kyrgydais, orgoths and others.

Hunting was especially widespread in the north, being the main source of food here (arctic fox, hare, reindeer, elk, bird). In the taiga, by the arrival of the Russians, both meat and fur hunting (bear, elk, squirrel, fox, hare, bird, etc.) was known, but later, due to a 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 chasing the beast along the trail, sometimes with dogs.

There was gathering - the collection of pine and larch sapwood (the inner layer of the bark), harvested for the winter in dried form, roots (saran, coinage, etc.), greens (wild onions, horseradish, sorrel), raspberries, which were considered unclean, were not used from berries.

Agriculture (barley, to a lesser extent wheat) was borrowed from the Russians at the end of the 17th century, until the middle of the 19th century. was developed very poorly; its spread (especially in the Olekminsk district) was facilitated by Russian exiled settlers.

The processing of wood (artistic carving, coloring with alder broth), birch bark, fur, and leather was developed; 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 twisted from horse hair with hands, weaved, embroidered. Spinning, weaving and felting of felt were absent. The production of stucco ceramics, which distinguished the Yakuts from other peoples of Siberia, has been preserved. The smelting and forging of iron, which had a commercial value, the smelting and chasing of silver, copper, etc., were developed, from the 19th century. - carving on mammoth bone.

They traveled mainly on horseback, transporting goods in packs. There were known skis lined with horse kamus, sledges (silis syarga, later - sledges like Russian wood firewood), usually harnessed to bulls, in the north - straight-dust reindeer sleds; types of boats common with Evenks - birch bark (tyy) or flat-bottomed from boards; sailing ships-karbasy borrowed from the Russians.

dwelling

Winter settlements (kystyk) were located near mowing fields, consisted of 1-3 yurts, summer ones - near pastures, numbered 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 plastered on the outside with clay and manure, the roof over the log flooring was covered with bark and earth. The house was placed on the cardinal points, the entrance was arranged in the east side, the windows - in the south and west, the roof was oriented from north to south. To the right of the entrance, in the northeast corner, a hearth (oosh) was arranged - a pipe made of poles coated with clay, which went out through the roof. Plank bunks (oron) were arranged along the walls. The most honorable was the southwestern corner. At the western wall there was a master's place. The bunks to the left of the entrance were intended for male youth, workers, on the right, at the hearth, for women. A table (ostuol) and stools were placed in the front corner. On the north side, a barn (khoton) was attached to the yurt, often under the same roof with housing, the door to it from the yurt was behind the hearth. In front of the entrance to the yurt, a canopy or canopy was arranged. The yurt was surrounded by a low mound, often with a fence. A hitching post was placed near the house, often decorated with carvings.

Summer yurts differed little from winter ones. Instead of a hoton, a barn for calves (titik), sheds, etc. were set up at a distance. From the end of the XVIII century. polygonal log yurts with a pyramidal roof are known. From the 2nd half of the XVIII century. Russian huts spread.

clothing

Traditional men's and women's clothing - short leather pants, a fur underbelly, leather legs, a single-breasted caftan (sleep), in winter - fur, in summer - from horse or cow skin with wool inside, for the rich - from fabric. Later, fabric shirts with a turn-down collar (yrbakhs) appeared. Men girded themselves with a leather belt with a knife and flint, the rich - with silver and copper plaques. Characteristic is a women's wedding fur long caftan (sangyah), embroidered with red and green cloth and a gold braid; an elegant women's fur hat made of expensive fur that goes down to the back and shoulders, with a high cloth, velvet or brocade top with a silver plaque (tuosakhta) and other decorations sewn on it. Women's silver and gold jewelry is widespread. Shoes - winter high boots made of deer or horse skins with wool outside (eterbes), summer boots made of soft leather (saary) with a top covered with cloth, for women - with appliqué, long fur stockings.

Food

The main food is dairy, especially in summer: from mare's milk - koumiss, from cow's - yogurt (suorat, sora), cream (kuercheh), butter; oil was drunk melted or with koumiss; suorat was prepared for the winter in a frozen form (tar) with the addition of berries, roots, etc.; stew (butugas) was prepared from it with the addition of water, flour, roots, pine sapwood, etc. 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. Horse meat was especially valued. In the 19th century barley flour is used: it was used to make unleavened cakes, pancakes, stew-salamat. Vegetables were known in the Olekminsk district.

Religion

Orthodoxy spread in the XVIII-XIX centuries. The Christian cult was combined with belief in good and evil spirits, the spirits of dead shamans, master spirits, etc. Elements of totemism were preserved: the clan had an animal patron who was forbidden to be killed, called by name, etc. The world consisted of several tiers, the head of the upper was considered Yuryung ayy toyon, lower - Ala buuray toyon, etc. The cult of the female deity of fertility Aiyysyt was important. Horses were sacrificed to the spirits living in the upper world, cows were sacrificed in the lower world. The main holiday is the spring-summer koumiss holiday (Ysyakh), accompanied by libations of koumiss from large wooden cups (choroon), games, sports competitions, etc.

Was developed. Shaman tambourines (dungur) are close to Evenk ones.

Culture and education

In folklore, the heroic epic (olonkho) was developed, performed in recitative by special storytellers (olonkhosut) with a large gathering of people; historical legends, fairy tales, especially fairy tales about animals, proverbs, songs. Traditional musical instruments are vargan (khomus), violin (kyryympa), percussion. Of the dances, the round dance osuokhay, game dances, etc. are common.

Schooling has been going on since the 18th century. in Russian. Writing in the Yakut language since the middle of the 19th century. At the beginning of the XX century. intelligence is formed.

Links

1. V.N. Ivanov Yakuts // Peoples of Russia: website.
2. Ancient history of the Yakuts // Dixon: website.