History of the Yakuts. Yakuts (general information)

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 a nomadic tribe of Kurykans, who until the 14th century lived in the territory of Transbaikalia. They came there because of the Yenisei River. Yakuts are divided into several main groups:

• Amga-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;
• Vilyui, live in the Vilyui basin;
• northern, live in the tundra zone of the basins of the Kolyma, Olenyok, Anabar, Indigirka and Yana rivers.

The self-name of the people sounds like Sakha, in plural Sakhalar. There is also an old self-name uranchai which is still written uraanhai and uraanghai. These names are still used today in solemn speeches, songs and olonkho. There are among the Yakuts sugars- mestizos, descendants of mixed marriages between the Yakuts and representatives of the Caucasian race. This word should not be confused with the above Sakhalar.

Where live

The main part of the Yakuts lives 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.

population

For 2018, the population of the Republic of Yakutia is 964,330 people. Almost half of the total population 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 terms of vocabulary of obscure origin, which may belong to Paleoasiatic. Yakut has many words of 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 life of the Yakuts and their public life. The Evenks, Evens, Dolgans, Yukaghirs, and the Russian old-timer population speak this language: Lena peasants, Yakutians, Pokhodchans and Russian Ustyans. This language is used on the territory of Yakutia in office work, cultural events are held on it, newspapers, magazines, books are published, radio and television programs are broadcast, there are Internet resources in the Yakut language. in the city and rural areas performances are staged on it. Yakut is the language of the ancient epic olonkho.

Bilingualism is common among the Yakuts, 65% are fluent in Russian. There are several groups of dialects in the Yakut language:

1. Northwestern
2. Vilyuyskaya
3. Central
4. Taimyrskaya

The Yakut language today uses an alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet, it has all the Russian letters and 5 more additional ones, as well as 2 combinations D d and N n n, 4 diphthongs are used. Long vowels in writing are indicated by double vowels.

Character

The Yakuts are very hardworking, hardy, organized and persistent people, they have a good ability to adapt to new living conditions, endure hardships, 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, the cheekbones are moderate. The complexion is swarthy, bronze or yellow-gray. The hair is straight and coarse, black in color.

clothing

Traditions are combined in the national costume of the Yakuts different peoples, it is perfectly adapted to the harsh climate in which this people lives. This is reflected in the cut and design of clothing. The costume consists of a caftan with a belt, leather pants and fur socks. Yakut shirts are belted with a strap. In winter, boots made of deerskin and fur are worn.

The main ornament of clothes is the lily-sandana flower. In clothes, the Yakuts try to combine all the colors of the year. 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 family should not stop. The more branches such a line has, the more children the person who owns the clothes has.

In tailoring outerwear mixed fur, jacquard silk, cloth, leather and rovduga were used. The costume is decorated with beads, ornamental inserts, metal pendants and ornaments.

The poor sewed underwear and summer clothes from thin suede leather, the rich wore shirts from Chinese cotton fabric, which was expensive and could only be obtained through barter.

Festive clothes of the Yakuts of a more complex cut. The camp is expanded to the bottom, the sleeves are assembled along the collar. These sleeves are called buuktaah. Lightweight caftans had an asymmetric clasp 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 dressing gowns, sewn from fabric in order with one-piece sleeves. Worn by women in summer period. The hat of the Yakuts is similar to a small fireplace. A hole was usually made at the top so that the moon and the sun could look in. The ears on the hat signify 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 assumed the belief that all Yakuts are the children of Tanar, the god and relative of the 12 White Aiyy. They believed that the child from the moment of conception is surrounded by the spirits of ichchi and celestials, they believed in evil and good spirits, master spirits and the spirits of dead shamans. Each clan had a patron animal, which could not be called by name and killed.

The Yakuts believed that the world consists of several tiers, in the upper head is Yuryung Aiyy Toyon, in the lower - Ala Buura Toyon. Horses were sacrificed to the spirits that live in the upper world, cows were sacrificed to those who live in the lower world. important place occupied the cult of the female deity of fertility Aiyysyt.

In the 18th century, Christianity came to Yakutia, and most of the indigenous population became Orthodox Christians. But mass Christianization was mostly formal, the Yakuts often accepted it because of the benefits that they were entitled to in return, and for a long time had a superficial attitude to this religion. Today, the majority of Yakuts are Christians, but the traditional faith, pantheism, and agnosticism are also widespread. Until now, there are shamans in Yakutia, however, there are very few of them.

dwelling

The Yakuts lived in urases and log booths, which were also called Yakut yurts. From the 20th century, huts began to be built. The settlements of the Yakuts consisted of several yurts, which were located from each other on long distance.

Yurts were built from standing round logs. Only small trees were used for construction, cutting large ones is a sin. The place for construction should be located low and protected from the wind. The Yakuts are always looking for a "happy place" and do not settle among large trees, as they believe that they have already taken all the strength from the earth. When choosing a place to build a yurt, the Yakuts turned to a shaman. Often dwellings were built collapsible so that it was easy to transport them with a nomadic lifestyle.

The doors to the dwelling are located on the east side, towards the sun. The roof was covered with birch bark, many small windows were made for lighting in the yurt. Inside there is a fireplace covered with clay, along the walls there were wide sunbeds of various shapes, separated from each other by partitions. At the entrance is the lowest. The owner of the dwelling sleeps on a high sunbed.

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 bred deer. Yakut cattle were unproductive, but very hardy. Haymaking has long been known among the Yakuts, and even before the arrival of the Russians, fishing was also developed. Fish were caught mainly in the summer, in winter they made holes in the ice. In the autumn period, the Yakuts arranged a collective seine fishing, the prey was divided among all participants. The poor, who did not have livestock, lived mainly on fish. The foot Yakuts also specialized in this activity: Kokul, Ontui, Osekui, Orgots, Krikians and Kyrgydais.

Hunting was especially widespread in the north and was the main source of food in these regions. The Yakuts hunted hare, arctic fox, bird, elk and reindeer. With the arrival of the Russians in the taiga, fur and meat hunting for bears, squirrels, and foxes began to spread, 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 their prey. On the trail of animals they chased on horses, sometimes with dogs.

The Yakuts were also engaged in gathering, collecting the inner layer of the bark of larch and pine, dried for the winter. They collected the roots of chakan and saran, greens: onions, sorrel and horseradish, picked berries, but did not use raspberries, as they considered them unclean.

The Yakuts borrowed agriculture from the Russians in the 17th century, and until the 19th century, this area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe economy was very poorly developed. They grew barley, rarely wheat. Exiled Russian settlers contributed to the wide spread of agriculture among this people, especially in the Olyomkinsky district.

Woodworking was well developed, the Yakuts were engaged in artistic carving, painted products with alder decoction. They also processed birch bark, leather and furs. Crockery was made from leather, rugs were made from the skins of cows and horses, blankets were sewn from hare fur. Horse hair was used in sewing, weaving and embroidery, twisted with hands into cords. The Yakuts were engaged in stucco ceramics, which distinguished them from other Siberian peoples. The smelting and forging of iron, the smelting and chasing of silver, copper and other metals were developed among the people. From the 19th century, the Yakuts began to engage in bone carving.

The Yakuts traveled mainly on horseback, and carried cargo in packs. They made skis that were lined with horse skins, and sledges that were harnessed to bulls and deer. To move on the water, they made birch bark boats called tyy, made flat-bottomed boards, sailing ships-karbass, which they borrowed from the Russians.

In ancient times, the indigenous peoples living in the north of Yakutia bred the Yakut Laika dog breed. The breed of large Yakut court dogs is also widespread, which is distinguished by its unpretentiousness.

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 ornaments. There are 3 groups of such structures:

• outdoor, it includes those hitching posts that are installed near the dwelling. Horses are tied to them;
• pillars for religious ceremonies;
• hitching posts installed on the main holiday of Ysyakh.

Food

The national cuisine of the Yakuts is a bit similar to the cuisine of the Mongols, Buryats, northern peoples and Russians. Dishes are prepared by boiling, fermenting and freezing. From 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: whitefish, sturgeon, omul, muksun, peled, grayling, nelma and taimen.

The Yakuts make the most of all the components of the original product. For example, when cooking crucian carp in the Yakut style, the fish remains with its head and is practically not gutted. The scales are peeled off, the gallbladder, part of the large intestine are removed through a small incision, and the swim bladder is pierced. The fish is fried or boiled.

All by-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. It is eaten frozen or raw. Stroganina is made from frozen fish and meat, which is eaten with spicy seasoning. Khaan black pudding is made from horse and beef blood.

In the traditional cuisine of the Yakuts, vegetables, mushrooms and fruits are not used, only some berries are used. From drinks they use koumiss and stronger koiuurgen, instead of tea they drink hot fruit drink. Curdled milk suorat, whipped cream kerchekh, thick cream of butter churned with milk, which is called kober, chokhoon - milk churned with berries and butter, cottage cheese iedegey, suumekh cheese are prepared from cow's milk. A thick mass of salamat is boiled from a mixture of dairy products and flour. A sourdough is made from a fermented solution of barley or rye flour.

Folklore

ancient epic olonkho is passed down from generation to generation and is similar in performance to an opera. This is the oldest epic art of the Yakuts, which occupies the most important place in the folklore of the people. Olonkho denotes the epic tradition and serves as the name of individual legends. Poems with a length of 10,000-15,000 lines are performed by folk storytellers, which not everyone can become. The narrator must have oratory and acting talent, be able to improvise. It may take 7 nights to perform large olonkho. The largest such work consists of 36,000 verse characters. In 2005, the olonkho was declared by UNESCO "a masterpiece of the intangible and oral heritage of mankind."

Folk singers of the Yakuts use the type of throat singing dieretii yrya. This is an unusual singing technique, the articulation of which is based in the larynx or pharynx.

The most famous of musical instruments Yakuts is khomus - a Yakut variety of harp and 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. There are so many traditions and rituals of this people that one can write a separate book about it.

The Yakuts protect their dwellings and livestock from evil spirits, using many conspiracies, they perform rituals for the offspring of livestock, a good harvest and the birth of children. Before today the Yakuts have blood feud, but it was gradually replaced by ransom.

Stone Sat among this people 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, you can cause snow, rain and wind.

Yakuts are very hospitable people and love to give gifts to each other. Their maternity rites are associated with the goddess Aiyysyt, who is considered the patroness of children. According to the myths, Aiyy only accepts plant sacrifices and dairy products. In the everyday modern language of the Yakuts there is the word "anyy", the meaning of which is translated as "impossible".

Yakuts enter into marriage 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 work off the bride price.

Until the 19th century, polygamy was widespread in Yakutia, but the wives lived separately from their husbands, and each ran her own household. There was a kalym, which consisted of cattle. Part of the kalym - kurum was intended for a wedding celebration. The bride had a dowry, which in value was equal to half the kalym. Basically it was clothes and utensils. Modern kalym was replaced with money.

An obligatory traditional rite among the Yakuts is the Blessing of Aiyy at celebrations and holidays in nature. Blessings are prayers. by the most important holiday is Ysyakh, the day of praise of the White Aiyy. When hunting and fishing, a ritual is carried out to appease the spirit of hunting and good luck Bayanay.

With the dead, an air burial ceremony was performed, the body was hung in the air. The rite meant the surrender of the deceased to light, air, spirit and wood.

All Yakuts revere trees, they believe that the spirit of the mistress of the earth Aan Darkhan Khotun lives in them. When climbing mountains, fish and animals were traditionally sacrificed to forest spirits.

During national holiday Ysyakh hosts national Yakut jumps, international games "Children of Asia", which are divided into the following stages:

1. Kylyy, 11 jumps without stopping, a jump starts on one leg, you need to land on both legs;
2. Ystanga, 11 jumps in turn from foot to foot. You need to land on both feet;
3. Kuobah, 11 non-stop jumps, while jumping from a place you need to push off with two legs at once or land with a running start on both legs.

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 launched in 2003. Another hapsagay sport is very ancient view struggle among the Yakuts.

A wedding in Yakutia is a special event. With the birth of a girl in the family, the parents, according to the sacred ancient tradition, look for her groom and for many years follow his life, manners and behavior. Usually a boy is chosen from a family where fathers are distinguished by good health, endurance and strength, are good at working with their hands, building yurts, and get food. If the boy's father does not pass on all his skills to him, he is no longer considered a groom. Some parents manage to quickly find a groom for their daughter, while for someone this process takes many years.

Matchmaking is one of the customs and traditions of the Yakuts. Parents on the appointed day go to the house of the prospective groom, and the girl is not allowed to leave the house. Parents talk with the guy's parents, describe their daughter and her virtues in all colors. If the guy's parents are not against the wedding, the size of the kalym is discussed. For the wedding, the girl is prepared by her mother, prepares her dowry, sews outfits. The bride chooses the time of the wedding.

Previously, a wedding dress was sewn only from natural materials. Today this is not necessary, it is only important that the outfit is snow-white and completed with a tight belt. The bride must have amulets to protect the new family from disease and evil.

The bride and groom sit in different yurts, the shaman, the groom's mother or the bride's father fumigate them with smoke, cleansing them of all evil. Only after this, the bride and groom meet, they are declared husband and wife, and the celebration begins with a feast, dances and songs. After marriage, a girl should only walk with her head covered; only her husband should see her hair.

The Yakuts are among the peoples with a complex ethnic formation, formed as a result of the interaction of two processes that took place "in continuous unity" - the differentiation of various ethnic cultures and their integration.
According to the material presented, the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts begins with the era of the early nomads, when cultures of the Scythian-Siberian type developed in the west of Central Asia and in southern Siberia, connected by their origin with the Iranian tribes. Separate prerequisites for this transformation on the territory of Southern Siberia go back to the depths of the 2nd millennium BC. The origins of the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts and other Turkic-speaking peoples of the Sayano-Altai can be traced most clearly in the Pazyryk culture. Gorny Altai. Its carriers were close to the Saks Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The Iranian-lingual nature of the Pazyryks is also confirmed by the data of the toponymy of the Altai and adjacent regions of Southern Siberia. This pre-Turkic substrate in the culture of the peoples of the Sayano-Altai and the Yakuts is manifested in their household, in things developed during the period of early nomadism, such as iron adzes, wire earrings, copper and silver hryvnias, leather shoes, wooden choron goblets. These ancient origins can also be traced in the arts and crafts of the Altaians, Tuvans, Yakuts, and the preserved influence of the "animal style".
The ancient Altai substrate is found among the Yakuts in the funeral rite. This is the personification of a horse with death, the custom is to install a wooden pillar on the grave - a symbol of the "tree of life", as well as kibes, special people who were engaged in burials. They, like the Zoroastrian "servants of the dead", were kept outside the settlements. This complex includes the cult of the horse and the dualistic concept - the opposition of the deities aiyy, personifying good creative principles and abaahy, evil demons.

The pre-Turkic complex in the spiritual culture is manifested in olonkho, mythology and the cult of the aiyy. At the head of the aiyy deities was Urun Aap-toyon "white sacred creator god". Its priests - white shamans, like the servants of Ahura Mazda, wore white robes and used a birch branch during prayer, like priests - a baresma, a bunch of thin branches. The Yakuts associated their "mythological beginning" with the deities aiyy. Therefore, in the epic they are called "aiyy aimaha" (literally: created by deities aiyy). In addition, the main names and terms associated with the aiyy cult and mythology have Indo-Iranian parallels, among which there are more coincidences with Indo-Aryan ones. This position, for example, is illustrated by the goddess of childbearing Aiyylisht, probably close to the image of the Vedic goddess Li, or by such words as the Yakut kyraman "curse" and the Indian karma "retribution". Parallels can also be traced in everyday vocabulary (for example, other ind. vis "clan", "tribe", yak. ​​biis in the same meaning, etc.). These materials are consistent with the data of immunogenetics. So, in the blood of 29.1% of the Yakuts, studied by V.V. Fefelova in different areas republic, the HLA-AI antigen, found only in Caucasian populations, was found. It is often found in Yakuts in combination with another antigen - HLA-BI7. And together they can be traced in the blood of two peoples - the Yakuts and the Hindi Indians. The presence of a hidden ancient Caucasoid gene pool in the Yakuts is also confirmed by the data of psychology: the discovery in them of the so-called. "interhemispheric type of thinking". All this leads to the idea that some ancient Turkic groups of Indo-Iranian origin took part in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts. Perhaps they were clans associated with the Pazyryks of Altai. The physical type of the latter differed from the surrounding Caucasoid population by a more noticeable Mongoloid admixture. In addition, the Saka mythology, which had a huge impact on the Pazyryks, is characterized by parallels to a greater extent with the Vedic.

The Scythian-Hunnic origins in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts further developed in two directions. The first is conditionally called by me "Western" or South Siberian. It was based on the origins developed under the influence of the Indo-Iranian ethnoculture. The second is "Eastern" or "Central Asian". It is represented by a few Yakut-Xiongnu parallels in culture. The Xiongnu environment was the bearer of the original Central Asian culture. This "Central Asian" tradition can be traced in the anthropology of the Yakuts and in religious ideas associated with the koumiss holiday yyakh and the remnants of the cult of the sky - tanara.

The western regions of Central Asia and Altai are considered places of formation of the Turkic tribes, therefore they absorbed many cultural attitudes of the Scythian-Saka nomads. In the 5th century the ancient Turks from the regions of Eastern Turkestan, inhabited by Iranian-speaking tribes, moved to the Southern Altai and included local tribes in their composition. The ancient Turkic era, which began in the 6th century, was in no way inferior to the previous period in terms of territorial scope and grandeur of its cultural and political resonance. New turns of ethnogenesis are usually associated with such epochal periods, which generally give rise to a single leveled culture, sometimes difficult to differentiate in a specific ethnic plan. Along with other formations in the ancient Turkic era, the formation of the Turkic foundations of the Yakut language and culture took place.

According to its lexical and phonetic features and grammatical structure, the Yakut language is classified among the ancient Turkic dialects. But already in the VI-VII centuries. the Turkic basis of the language differed significantly from the ancient Oguz: according to S.E. Malov, the Yakut language by its design is considered a pre-written language. Consequently, either the basis of the Yakut language was not originally Türkic, or it separated from Türkic in antiquity, when the latter experienced a period of enormous cultural and linguistic influence of the Indo-Iranian tribes and further developed separately. A comparison of the culture of the Yakuts with the ancient Turkic showed that in the Yakut pantheon and mythology, precisely those aspects of the ancient Turkic religion that developed under the influence of the previous Scythian-Siberian era were more consistently preserved. But at the same time, the Yakuts retained much of their beliefs and funeral rites. In particular, instead of the ancient Turkic stones-balbals, the Yakuts put wooden posts-poles.

But if the number of stones on the grave of the deceased depended on the number of stones on the grave of the deceased in the war, then among the Yakuts the number of columns installed depended on the number of horses buried with the deceased and eaten on his funeral feast. The yurt, where the person died, was torn down to the ground and a quadrangular earthen fence was obtained, similar to the ancient Turkic fences built on the side of the grave. In the place where the deceased lay, the Yakuts placed an idol-balbakh, a heavy frozen block of manure diluted with clay. In the ancient Turkic era, new cultural standards are being developed that transform the early nomadic traditions. The same patterns characterize the material culture of the Yakuts, which is considered to be Turkic.

The Turkic ancestors of the Yakuts are classified as "Gaogui Dinlins" - Teles tribes, among which one of the main places belonged to the ancient Uighurs. In the Yakut culture, some parallels associated with it have been preserved: religious rites, the use of a horse for conspiracy in marriages; some terms related to beliefs and ways of orienting in the area.
The Kurykans of the Baikal region, who played a certain role in the development of the pastoralists of the Lena, also belonged to the Teles tribes. The origin of the Kurykans was attended by local, in all likelihood, Mongolian-speaking pastoralists associated with the culture of slab graves or the Shiweis and, possibly, the ancient Tungus. But in this process leading value belonged to the newcomer Turkic-speaking tribes, related to the ancient Uighurs and Kyrgyz. The Kurykan culture developed in close contact with the Krasnoyarsk-Minusinsk region. Under the influence of the local Mongol-speaking substratum, the Turkic nomadic economy took shape in semi-sedentary cattle breeding with stall keeping of livestock. Subsequently, the Yakuts, through their Baikal ancestors, spread cattle breeding in the Middle Lena, some household items, forms of dwellings, clay vessels, and probably inherited their main physical type.

In the X-XI centuries. Mongol-speaking tribes appeared in the Baikal region, on the Upper Lena. They began to live together with the descendants of the Kurykans. Later, part of this population (the descendants of the Kurykans and other Turkic-speaking groups who experienced a strong linguistic influence of the Mongols) went down the Lena and became the nucleus in the formation of the Yakuts.

In the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts, the participation of the second Turkic-speaking group with a Kipchak heritage can be traced. This is confirmed by the presence in the Yakut language of several hundred Yakut-Kypchak lexical parallels. The Kipchak heritage, as it seems to us, is manifested through the ethnonyms Khanalas and Sakha. The first of them had a probable connection with the ancient ethnonym Khanly, whose carriers later became part of many medieval Turkic peoples. Their role in the origin of the Kazakhs is especially great. This should explain the presence of a number of common Yakut-Kazakh ethnonyms: odai - adai, argin - argyn, meirem suppu - meiram sopy, eras kuel - orazkeldy, tuer tugul - gortuur. In the XI century. Kangly-Pechenegs became part of the Kipchaks. The link connecting the Yakuts with the Kipchaks is the ethnonym Saka, with many phonetic variants found among the Turkic peoples: juices, saklar, sakoo, sekler, sakal, saktar, sakha. Initially, this ethnonym, apparently, was part of the circle of Teles tribes. Among them, along with the Uighurs, Kurykans, Chinese sources place the Seike tribe. Sirs also roamed among these tribes, who, according to S.G. Klyashtorny, from the VIII century. became known as kybchaks.
At the same time, one must agree with the opinion of S.M. Akhinzhanov that the southern slopes of the Sayaio-Altai mountains and steppes were the original place of residence of the Kipchaks. A small Syrian Khaganate in the 7th century. included the Yenisei Kirghiz in its composition. In the 8th century after the defeat of the Tugu and the Sirs, the surviving part of the Sirs retreated to the west and occupied the Northern Altai and the upper reaches of the Irtysh. With them, apparently, the carriers of the ethnonym Seike-Saka also departed. In the ninth century together with the Kimaks, the Kipchaks formed a new alliance. In the XI century. the Kipchaks included the Kangly and, in general, the Kipchak ethnographic complex was formed in the 11th-12th centuries.

The kinship of the Yakuts with the Kipchaks is determined by the presence of cultural elements common to them - the burial rite with the skeleton of a horse, the manufacture of a stuffed horse, wooden cult anthropomorphic pillars, jewelry items basically associated with the Pazyryk culture (earrings in the form of a question mark, hryvnia), common ornamental motifs . The ancient "western" (South Siberian) direction in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts in the Middle Ages was continued by the Kipchaks. And, finally, the same connections explain the plot parallels found in the dastans of the Volga Tatars and the Yakut cycle historical traditions"Elleyada", because the formation of the Tatars was greatly influenced by the medieval Polovtsians.

These conclusions were mainly confirmed on the basis of a comparative study of the traditional culture of the Yakuts and the cultures of the Turkic peoples of the Sayano-Altai. In general, these cultural ties fall into two main layers - the ancient Turkic and medieval Kypchak. In a more conventional context, the Yakuts converge along the first layer through the Oguz-Uigur "language component" with the Sagay, Beltir groups of the Khakas, with the Tuvans and some tribes of the North Altaians. All these peoples, except for the main cattle-breeding, also have a mountain-taiga culture, which is associated with fishing and hunting skills and techniques, the construction of stationary dwellings. Probably, few vocabulary similarities between the Yakut and Ket languages ​​are associated with this layer.

According to the "Kipchak layer" the Yakuts come close to the Southern Altaians, Tobolsk, Baraba and Chulym Tatars, Kumandins, Teleuts, Kachin and Kyzyl groups of Khakases. Apparently, small introductions of Samoyedic origin penetrate into the Yakut language along this line (for example, Yak. Oton "berry" - Samoyed: ode "berry"; Yak. Kytysh "juniper" - Finno-Ugric kataya "juniper"). Moreover, borrowings from the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic languages ​​​​into the Turkic are quite frequent to designate a number of tree and shrub species. Consequently, these contacts are connected mainly with the forest appropriating (“gathering”) culture.

According to our data, the penetration of the first pastoral groups into the basin of the Middle Lena, which became the basis for the formation of the Yakut people, began in the 14th century. (possibly at the end of the thirteenth century). In the general appearance of the material culture of the Kulun-Atakh people, some local sources associated with the early iron age, with the dominant rodi of the southern foundations.

The newcomers, mastering Central Yakutia, made fundamental changes in the economic life of the region - they brought cows and horses with them, organized hay and pasture farming. Materials from archaeological monuments of the XVII-XVIII centuries. recorded a successive connection with the culture of the Kulun-Atakh people. A clothing complex from Yakut burials and settlements of the 17th-18th centuries. finds its closest analogies in Southern Siberia, mainly covering the regions of Altai and the Upper Yenisei within the X-XTV centuries. The parallels observed between the Kurykan and Kulun-Atakh cultures seem to be obscured at this time. But the Kypchak-Yakut connections are revealed by the similarity of the features of material culture and the funeral rite.

The influence of the Mongolian-speaking environment in the archaeological sites of the XIV-XVIII centuries. practically invisible. But it manifests itself in the linguistic material, and in the economy it constitutes an independent powerful layer. At the same time, it is interesting that the Yakuts, like the Mongol-speaking Shiweis, rode sledges pulled by bulls and were engaged in ice fishing. As is known, ethnogenesis rests on three main components - historical-cultural, linguistic and anthropological. From this point of view, sedentary cattle breeding, combined with fishing and hunting, dwellings and household buildings, clothing, footwear, ornamental art, religious and mythological beliefs of the Yakuts have a South Siberian, basically Turkic platform. Oral folk art, folklore, customary law, having a Turkic-Mongolian basis, finally formed in the basin of the Middle Lena.

The historical legends of the Yakuts, in all agreement with the data of archeology and ethnography, the origin of the people is associated with the processes of resettlement. According to these data, it was the alien groups, headed by Omogoy, Elley and Uluu-Khoro, that formed the backbone of the Yakut people.
In the face of Omogoy, we can see the descendants of the Kurykans, who belonged to the Oguz group in terms of language. But their language, apparently, was influenced by the ancient Baikal and alien medieval Mongol-speaking environment. The descendants of Omogoy occupied the entire north of Central Yakutia (Namekni, Dyupsyuno-Borogonsky and Bayagantaysky, the so-called "groaning" uluses). It is interesting that, according to the materials of the hippologist I.P. Guryev, horses from the Nam region show the greatest similarity with the Mongolian and Akhal-Teke breeds.
Elley personified the South Siberian Kipchak group, represented mainly by the Kangalas. Kipchak words in the Yakut language, according to G.V. Popov, are mainly represented by rarely used words. From this it follows that this group did not have a tangible impact on the phonetic and grammatical structure of the language of the Old Turkic core of the Yakuts.
The legends about Uluu-Khoro reflected the arrival of Mongolian groups to the Middle Lena. This is consistent with the assumption of linguists about the residence of the Mongol-speaking population in the territory of the modern "akaya" regions of Central Yakutia. Thus, according to the grammatical structure, the Yakut language belongs to the Oghuz group, according to the vocabulary - to the Oguz-Uighur and partly Kypchak. It reveals an ancient "subterranean" layer of vocabulary of Indo-Iranian origin. Mongolian borrowings in the Yakut language apparently have two or three layers of origin. Relatively few words of the Evenki (Tungus-Manchurian) introduction.

According to our data, the formation of the modern physical type of the Yakuts was completed no earlier than the middle of the 2nd millennium AD. on the Middle Lena on the basis of a mixture of alien and aboriginal groups. Part of the Yakuts, figuratively called "Paleo-Asians in Central Asian masks", gradually merged into the composition of the people through the Tungus ("Baikal") substrate, because. southern newcomers could not find the Koryaks or other Paleo-Asiatics here. In the southern anthropological layer of the Yakuts, it is possible to distinguish two types - a rather powerful Central Asian, represented by the Baikal core, which was influenced by the Mongolian tribes, and the South Siberian anthropological type with an ancient Caucasoid gene pool. Subsequently, these two types merged into one, forming the southern backbone of modern Yakuts. At the same time, thanks to the participation of the Khori people, the Central Asian type becomes predominant.

Consequently, the economy, culture and anthropological type of the Yakuts were finally formed in the Middle Lena. The adaptation of the economy and culture of the southern newcomers to the new natural and climatic conditions of the north occurred due to the further improvement of their primordial traditions. But the evolution of culture, natural for the new conditions, has developed many specific features that are unique to the Yakut culture.

It is generally accepted that the completion of the process of ethnogenesis occurs at the moment of the appearance of a distinct ethnic self-consciousness, the external manifestation of which is a common self-name. In solemn speeches, especially in folklore rituals, the phrase "uraankhai-sakha" is used. Following G.V. Ksenofontov, one could see in Uraankhai the designation of the Tungus-speaking people who were part of the emerging Sakha. But most likely, in the old days they put the concept of "man" into this word - a man-Yakut (primordial Yakut), i.e. uraankhai-sakha.

Sakha dyono - "Yakut people" by the arrival of the Russians represented the "primary" or "post-tribal people" that arose in the conditions of an early class society directly on the basis of tribal relations. Therefore, the completion of ethnogenesis and the formation of the foundations of the traditional culture of the Yakuts occurred within the 16th century.

Fragment from the book of the researcher Gogolev A.I. - [Gogolev A.I. "Yakuts: problems of ethnogenesis and formation of culture". - Yakutsk: YSU Publishing House, 1993. - 200 p.]
Based on the materials of V.V. Fefelova, the combination of these antigens is also found in the Western Buryats, who are genetically related to the Yakuts. But their AI and BI7 haplotype frequencies are significantly lower than those of the Yakuts.
D.E. Eremeev suggests the Iranian origin of the ethnonym "Turk": the Iranian-speaking Turs "with fast horses" were assimilated by the Turkic-speaking tribes, but retained the former ethnonym (Tur > Türk > Türk). (See: Eremeev D.E. "Turk" - an ethnonym of Iranian origin? - P. 132).
Recent studies have shown a high genetic similarity between Yakut horses and southern steppe horses. (See Guriev I.P. Immunogenetic and craniological features of the ecotypes of the Yakut horse. Abstract of the candidate of diss. - M., 1990).
Horses from the Megino-Kangalas region, classified as part of the eastern group, are similar to the Kazakh horse of the Jabe type and partly to the Kyrgyz and horses of Fr. Jeju (Japan). (See: Guryev I.P. Decree. Op. P. 19).
In this regard, a separate position is occupied by most of the Vilyui Yakuts. They, despite genetic heterogeneity, are united in the group of Paleo-Siberian Mongoloids, i.e. this group (with the exception of the Suntar Yakuts, who belong to the representatives of the Yakut population of Central Yakutia) has an ancient Paleo-Siberian component in its composition. (See: Spitsyn V.A. Biochemical polymorphism. S. 115).
The ethnonym Uriankhai-Uriankhit as early as the 1st millennium AD. was widely distributed among the Altai-speaking, among the Paleo-Asians of the Yenisei, Samoyeds.

The origin of the Yakuts still causes controversy among scientists. There are features in the culture of the Yakuts southern peoples(cattle breeding, horse breeding skills, riding and pack saddles of the South Siberian type, leather utensils, butter and koumiss production) and northern, taiga features (forms of fishing and hunting economy and tools, types of portable dwellings, some customs). In all likelihood, the ancestors of the Yakuts were both local tribes living on the Lena River and ancient Turkic tribes who came from the south.

In the 11th-12th centuries, the Turkic tribes were pushed back to the north and northeast by the Mongol-speaking tribes and settled in the Lena River basin. Here, continuing to develop cattle breeding, they adopted from the Evenk tribes some skills of hunting, fishing, reindeer herding and other elements of northern culture.

The main occupations of the Yakuts were cattle breeding, hunting, fishing, in the north - reindeer breeding.

Cattle breeding the Yakuts had a primitive, pasture. They bred mostly horses. No wonder in Russian documents of the 17th century the Yakuts were called "horse people." The most heartfelt wish of the Yakuts was: “Let your stallion neigh; let the male bull always moo with you ... "

Horses were kept on pasture all year round, hay was stored only for young animals. Sometimes in very coldy horses in the pasture were covered with an ice crust. If the owner did not have time to clean the ice with an iron scraper, the horse died. The Yakut horse is short, strong, with shaggy hair, well adapted to local conditions.

The Hofburg in Austria is as much a must-see as the Louvre in Paris. The palace complex has retained its political significance to this day - today it is the residence of the President of the Republic of Austria. The old one is full of sights you can see here.

The developed branch of the Yakut economy was hunting . They hunted on horseback with bows and arrows for fur and hoofed animals and birds. A trap was set for the bear: bait was placed under a canopy of logs - a horse's head or dry meat. The canopy rested on a thin log. The bear touched the log, and the canopy pressed it down.

Fisheries employed by the poorest people. They said about the poor man: he is a fisherman. Fish were caught in rivers and lakes with horsehair nets, traps, nets, and fishing rods. Bright beads or shreds were tied to the bait as bait. In autumn, fish were caught collectively with a net, then it was divided among all participants.

Women gathered berries, sarana tubers, sorrel, wild onions, larch and pine sapwood. The sapwood was dried and harvested for the future. There was a saying: "Where the pine is, there are the Yakuts."

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

Language

They speak Yakut Turkic group 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

Gathering existed: harvesting pine and deciduous sapwood, collecting roots (saran, coinage and others), greenery (wild onion, horseradish, sorrel), lesser degree berries (raspberries were not consumed, they were considered unclean). Agriculture was borrowed from the Russians at the end of the 17th century. Before mid-nineteenth in. 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.

Over the years Soviet power the Yakuts formed new branches of the economy: cage fur farming, small livestock farming, 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). 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 north-eastern 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 2nd half of XVIII in. 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 fur coats (sangyah) are to the heel 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 sheathed 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.

Living in harmony with nature, faith and oneself, honoring traditions, but not being afraid of change - all this is about the Yakuts, one of the most numerous northern peoples of Russia.

The Yakuts (self-name Sakha or Sakhalar) as a people appeared as a result of the mixing of the Turks with the peoples who lived near the middle reaches of the Lena. It is believed that as ethnic community Yakuts were formed by the XIV-XV centuries. However, even then, the process was not completely completed: as a result nomadic image life, this people constantly moved, along the way pouring new blood into the nation, for example, Evenki.

The Yakuts belong to the North Asian type of the Mongoloid race. In many ways, their culture and traditions are similar to the customs of the Central Asian Turkic peoples, but there are still some differences. The Yakut language is part of the Altai family and belongs to the Turkic dialects.

Patience, perseverance and high performance - national traits Yakuts: despite the extremely harsh climate and difficult living conditions, the Sakha from time immemorial managed to graze cattle and plow cold ungrateful lands. The climate also had a big impact on National Costume: Even at the wedding, Yakut girls wear fur coats.

The main crafts of the Yakuts include horse breeding, hunting and fishing. Nowadays, it is problematic to feed on such activities, so many Yakuts are involved in the mining industry, because their region is rich in diamonds.

The Yakuts are traditionally a nomadic people, so they use an easily dismantled yurt as a dwelling.

But do not rush to imagine a felt house similar to those built by the Mongols: the Yakut yurt is made of wood and has a cone-shaped roof.

There are many windows in the yurt, under each of which sleeping places are arranged. The sun loungers are separated by partitions that separate small "rooms" from each other; the heart of the yurt is a smeared hearth. In the hot season, short-lived birch bark yurts are built, which are called urasami. Not all Yakuts are comfortable in yurts, therefore, starting from the 20th century, many prefer huts.

Traditional beliefs and holidays

The Yakut beliefs are characterized by an appeal to nature as a mother, love and respect for her. At the same time, in relations with environment and a certain "non-family" detachment: nature is perceived as an otherworldly force that cannot be fully controlled. Everything that exists, according to the Sakha, has a soul and strength. And the rituals of the Yakuts are designed to improve relations between numerous spirits and humanity.

The Sakha has its own, rather curious, explanation of the origin of natural disasters: they arise to cleanse places afflicted by evil spirits.

Thus, a tree split or burned by lightning is free from any filth and can even heal.

Of great importance is the goddess Aan, the patroness of all living things, helping people, plants and animals to grow and multiply. The offering ritual for Aan takes place in the spring.

One of the most important spirits in the Yakut tradition is the owner of the road. They try to appease him with small offerings: horse hair, coins, pieces of cloth and buttons are placed at the crossroads.

No less important is the owner of the water, to whom it is customary to bring gifts twice a year: in autumn and spring. They consist of a birch bark boat, on which the image of a person is carved, and pieces of fabric, ribbons, etc. tied to it. Do not drop knives, needles and other sharp objects into the water: this can offend and offend the owner of the water.

The owner of the fire is old and gray-haired, his mission is the expulsion of evil spirits. Fire, as a symbol of light and warmth, has always been revered by the Sakha. They were afraid to extinguish it and transferred it to a new place in pots, because while the flame is glimmering, the family and the hearth are protected.

Baai Baiyanai - the spirit of the forest - an assistant in everything related to hunting. Even in ancient times, the Yakuts chose some animals as sacred, closest to Baai, and therefore put a taboo on killing and eating them. Such animals included goose, swan, ermine. The eagle was considered the king of birds. The main among the animals and the most revered among the Yakuts was the bear. And in our time, many believe in the miraculous power of amulets from his claws or teeth.

The roots of the Yakut holidays go back to ancient rituals, among which Ysyakh, celebrated at the beginning of summer, is considered the most important. During the holiday, a hitching post is made around young birches in a clearing. Nowadays similar action associated with the friendship of all peoples living in the territory of Yakutia, earlier it symbolized the World Tree. Ysyakh is a family day and is celebrated by people of all ages.

An important part of the holiday is the sprinkling of fire with koumiss, and then turning to the Deities with a request to send down such blessings as good luck, peace, etc. Yakuts put on a traditional costume, prepare national dishes, drink koumiss. During the meal, it is imperative to sit at the same table with the whole family, relatives near or far. Ysyakh is a fun holiday with dances, round dances, competitions in wrestling, stick pulling, archery.

Family rituals and traditions

The modern Yakut family differs little from the average Russian one. But right up to the 19th century, polygamy was widespread among the Sakha. According to the Yakut traditional model families, each of the wives lived separately, observing their own way of life, life, household. The Yakuts preferred to tie the knot at the age of 16-25. When the groom's family went to woo the bride's parents, it was customary to pay bride price for the girl. If the groom is too poor, he could steal the bride and "work off" the money later.

To protect the house and livestock from damage, the evil eye, evil spirits, and is still accepted in some uluses whole line measures. For a successful conspiracy, such seemingly trifles as an ornament on clothes, “correct” jewelry, and special utensils matter. Conspiracies alone are not enough, it is also necessary to conduct special rites, with the help of which the Sakha hope to get a good harvest, increase the number of livestock, give birth to healthy children, etc.

Old customs and traditions are of great importance. Women should not look at the magic stone Sat, which is found in the stomachs or livers of animals and birds, otherwise it will lose its power. Sat is wrapped in birch bark and horse hair, cherished like the apple of an eye, because it can be used to summon rain, wind, snow. The first is especially important in the case of dry weather, because soil fertility largely depends on timely watering.

Interesting facts about the Yakuts and Yakutia

The most famous component of the Yakut folklore is the olonkho epic, which is considered a type of poetry, but sounding more like an opera. Thanks to the ancient art of olonkho, many Yakut folk tales have come down to our time. The contribution of olonkho to the folklore of the peoples of the world is so great that in 2005 it was included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list.

One of the popular Yakut dishes is stroganina: thinly sliced ​​frozen fish.

The area of ​​Yakutia is larger than the area of ​​Argentina.

Approximately a quarter of the world's diamond production comes from Yakutia.

More than forty percent of the territory of Yakutia is located beyond the Arctic Circle.

When the Sakhas eat bear meat, they imitate the cry of a crow before the meal begins. Thus, they protect themselves from the spirit of the bear, posing as birds.

Yakut horses graze on their own, they are not looked after by a shepherd.