Traditional beliefs of the Yakuts. The people of Yakutia: culture, traditions and customs

Faces of Russia. “Living together while remaining different”

The multimedia project “Faces of Russia” has existed since 2006, telling about Russian civilization, the most important feature of which is the ability to live together while remaining different - this motto is especially relevant for countries throughout the post-Soviet space. From 2006 to 2012, as part of the project, we created 60 documentaries about representatives of different Russian ethnic groups. Also, 2 cycles of radio programs “Music and Songs of the Peoples of Russia” were created - more than 40 programs. Illustrated almanacs were published to support the first series of films. Now we are halfway to creating a unique multimedia encyclopedia of the peoples of our country, a snapshot that will allow the residents of Russia to recognize themselves and leave a legacy for posterity with a picture of what they were like.

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"Faces of Russia". Yakuts. "Yakutia - Siberia of Siberia", 2011

YAK'UTS(from the Evenki Yakoltsy), Sakha (self-name), one of the northernmost Turkic peoples, a people in the Russian Federation (380.2 thousand people), the indigenous population of Yakutia (365.2 thousand people). According to the 2002 Census, the number of Yakuts living in Russia is 443 thousand 852 people; the 2010 census recorded more than 478 thousand 85 people speaking the Yakut language.

The Yakuts live in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), as well as in the Irkutsk and Magadan regions, Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk territories. In Taimyr and the Evenki Autonomous Okrug. Yakuts make up approximately 45 percent of the population of the Sakha Republic.

The main groups of Yakuts are Amginsky-Lena (between the Lena, lower Aldan and Amga, as well as on the adjacent left bank of the Lena), Vilyuisky (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 are Orthodox.
Both the Tungus population of taiga Siberia and the Turkic-Mongolian tribes that settled in Siberia in the 10th-13th centuries and assimilated the local population took part in the ethnogenesis of the Yakuts. The ethnogenesis of the Yakuts was completed by the 17th century.

By the beginning of contacts with the Russians (1620s), the Yakuts were divided into 35-40 exogamous “tribes” (Dyon, Aymakh, Russian “volosts”), the largest - Kangalas and Namtsy on the left bank of the Lena, Megintsy, Borogontsy, Betuntsy, Baturustsy - between Lena and Amga, numbering up to 2-5 thousand people.

According to archaeological and ethnographic data, the Yakuts were formed as a result of the absorption of local tribes from the middle reaches of the Lena River by southern Turkic-speaking settlers. It is believed that the last wave of the southern ancestors of the Yakuts penetrated the Middle Lena in the 14th-15th centuries. In the process of resettlement to Eastern Siberia, the Yakuts mastered the basins of the northern rivers Anabar, Olenka, Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma. The Yakuts modified the Tungus reindeer herding and created the Tungus-Yakut type of harness reindeer herding.

Series of audio lectures “Peoples of Russia” - Yakuts

The traditional culture is most fully represented by the Amga-Lena and Vilyui Yakuts. The northern Yakuts are close in culture to the Evenks and Yukagirs, the Olekminsky are strongly acculturated by the Russians.

The inclusion of the Yakuts into the Russian state in the 1620-1630s accelerated their socio-economic and cultural development. In the 17th-19th centuries, the main occupation of the Yakuts was cattle breeding (breeding cattle and horses); from the second half of the 19th century, a significant part began to engage in farming; hunting and fishing played a supporting role.

The main traditional occupations are horse breeding (in Russian documents of the 17th century the Yakuts were called “horse people”) and cattle breeding. Men looked after horses, women looked after cattle. In the north, deer were bred. Cattle were kept on pasture in the summer and in barns (khotons) in the winter. Haymaking was known before the arrival of the Russians. Yakut cattle breeds were distinguished by their endurance, but were unproductive.

Fishing was also developed. We fished mainly in the summer, but also in the ice hole in the winter; In the fall, a collective seine was organized with the division of the spoils between all participants. For poor people who did not have livestock, fishing was the main occupation (in documents of the 17th century, the term “fisherman” - balyksyt - is used in the meaning of “poor man”), some tribes also specialized in it - the so-called “foot Yakuts” - Osekui, Ontul, Kokui , Kirikians, Kyrgydians, Orgots and others.

Hunting was especially widespread in the north, constituting the main source of food here (arctic fox, hare, reindeer, elk, poultry). In the taiga, before the arrival of the Russians, both meat and fur hunting (bear, elk, squirrel, fox, hare, bird, etc.) were known; later, due to the decrease in the number of animals, its importance fell. Specific hunting techniques are characteristic: with a bull (the hunter sneaks up on the prey, hiding behind the bull), horse chasing the animal along the trail, sometimes with dogs.

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

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

Wood processing was developed (artistic carving, painting with alder decoction), birch bark, fur, leather; dishes were made from leather, rugs were made from horse and cow skins sewn in a checkerboard pattern, blankets were made from hare fur, etc.; cords were hand-twisted from horsehair, woven, and embroidered. There was no spinning, weaving or felting of felt. The production of molded ceramics, which distinguished the Yakuts from other peoples of Siberia, has been preserved. Melting and forging of iron, which had commercial value, smelting and minting of silver, copper, etc., were developed, and from the 19th century - carving on mammoth bone.

They moved mainly on horseback, and carried loads in packs. There were skis lined with horse camus, sleighs (silis syarga, later - sleighs of the Russian wood type), usually harnessed to oxen, and in the north - straight-hoofed reindeer sledges; types of boats are common with the Evenks - birch bark (tyy) or flat-bottomed from boards; sailing karbass ships were borrowed from the Russians.

Winter settlements (kystyk) were located near the meadows, consisting of 1-3 yurts, summer settlements - near pastures, numbering up to 10 yurts. The winter yurt (booth, diie) had sloping walls made of standing thin logs on a rectangular log frame and a low gable roof. The walls were coated on the outside with clay and manure, the roof was covered with bark and earth on top of the log flooring. The house was placed in the cardinal directions, the entrance was located in the east, the windows were in the south and west, the roof was oriented from north to south. To the right of the entrance, in the north-eastern corner, there was a fireplace (osoh) - a pipe made of poles coated with clay, going out through the roof. Plank bunks (oron) were arranged along the walls. The most honorable was the southwestern corner. The master's place was located near the western wall. The bunks to the left of the entrance were intended for male youth and workers, and to the right, by the hearth, for women. A table (ostuol) and stools were placed in the front corner. On the northern side of the yurt a stable (khoton) was attached, often under the same roof as the living quarters; the door to it from the yurt was located behind the fireplace. A canopy or canopy was installed in front of the entrance to the yurt. The yurt was surrounded by a low embankment, often with a fence. A hitching post was placed near the house, often decorated with carvings. Summer yurts differed little from winter ones. Instead of a hoton, a stable for calves (titik), sheds, etc. were placed at a distance. There was a conical structure made of poles covered with birch bark (urasa), and in the north - with turf (kalyman, holuman). Since the end of the 18th century, polygonal log yurts with a pyramidal roof have been known. From the 2nd half of the 18th century, Russian huts spread.

Traditional men's and women's clothing - short leather trousers, fur belly, leather leggings, single-breasted caftan (sleep), in winter - fur, in summer - from horse or cow hide with the hair inside, for the rich - from fabric. Later, fabric shirts with a turn-down collar (yrbakhy) appeared. Men girded themselves with a leather belt with a knife and a flint; for the rich, with silver and copper plaques. A typical women's wedding fur caftan (sangiyakh), embroidered with red and green cloth and gold braid; an elegant women's fur hat made of expensive fur, descending to the back and shoulders, with a high cloth, velvet or brocade top with a silver plaque (tuosakhta) and other decorations sewn onto it. Women's silver and gold jewelry is common. Footwear - winter high boots made of reindeer or horse skins with the hair facing out (eterbes), summer boots made of soft leather (saars) with a boot covered with cloth, for women - with appliqué, long fur stockings.

The main food is dairy, especially in summer: from mare's milk - kumiss, from cow's milk - yogurt (suorat, sora), cream (kuerchekh), butter; they drank butter melted or with kumiss; suorat was prepared frozen for the winter (tar) with the addition of berries, roots, etc.; from it, with the addition of water, flour, roots, pine sapwood, etc., a stew (butugas) was prepared. Fish food played a major role for the poor, and in the northern regions, where there were no livestock, meat was consumed mainly by the rich. Horsemeat was especially prized. In the 19th century, barley flour came into use: unleavened flatbreads, pancakes, and salamat stew were made from it. Vegetables were known in the Olekminsky district.

Small family (kergen, yal). Until the 19th century, polygamy persisted, with wives often living separately and each running their own household. Kalym usually consisted of livestock, part of it (kurum) was intended for the wedding feast. A dowry was given for the bride, the value of which was about half of the bride price - mainly items of clothing and utensils.

In the second half of the 18th century, most of the Yakuts were converted to Christianity, but shamanism also persisted.

In the life of the Yakuts, religion played a leading role. The Yakuts consider themselves children of the good spirit aiyy and believe that they can become spirits. In general, from the very conception, the Yakut is surrounded by spirits and gods, on whom he is dependent. Almost all Yakuts have an idea of ​​the pantheon of gods. A mandatory ritual is feeding the spirit of fire on special occasions or in the lap of nature. Sacred places, mountains, trees, rivers are revered. Blessings (algys) are often actual prayers. The Yakuts celebrate the religious holiday “Ysyakh” every year. The ancient epic “Olonkho”, passed down from generation to generation by storytellers, is included in the UNESCO World Intangible Heritage List. Another well-known original cultural phenomenon is the so-called Yakut knife. There are many regional variations of the Yakut knife, but in the classic version it is a blade with a length of 110 to 170 mm, mounted on a wooden handle made of birch burl with a leather sheath.

Orthodoxy spread in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Christian cult was combined with belief in good and evil spirits, the spirits of deceased shamans, master spirits, etc. Elements of totemism were preserved: the clan had a patron animal, which was forbidden to kill, call by name, etc. The world consisted of several tiers, the head of the upper one was considered Yuryung ayi toyon, the lower one - Ala buurai toyon, etc. The cult of the female fertility deity Aiyysyt was important. Horses were sacrificed to the spirits living in the upper world, and cows in the lower world. The main holiday is the spring-summer koumiss festival (Ysyakh), accompanied by libations of koumiss from large wooden cups (choroon), games, sports competitions, etc. Shamanism was developed. Shamanic drums (dyungyur) are close to Evenki ones. In folklore, the heroic epic (olonkho) was developed, performed in recitative by special storytellers (olonkhosut) in front of a large crowd of people; historical legends, fairy tales, especially tales about animals, proverbs, songs. Traditional musical instruments - jew's harp (khomus), violin (kyryimpa), percussion. Among the dances, round dance osuokhai, play dances, etc. are common.

School education has been conducted in Russian since the 18th century. Writing in the Yakut language since the mid-19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, the intelligentsia was formed.

In 1922 the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created, and since 1990 - the Republic of Sakha and Yakutia. Cities are growing in the country, industry and agriculture are developing, and in the 1930s and 40s the Yakuts were settled in new villages. A network of secondary and higher educational institutions emerged. Literature is published in the Yakut language, periodicals are published, and television programs are broadcast.

V.N. Ivanov

They speak an isolated Yukaghir language, the dialects are tundra and taiga. Writing since the 1970s on a Russian graphic basis. Russian (considered native by 46% of Yukaghirs), Yakut, Even and Chukchi languages ​​are also widespread. The believers are mostly Orthodox.

Most researchers see the Yukaghirs as the descendants of the ancient population of Eastern Siberia, who also took part in the formation of other Paleo-Asian peoples. The settlement of Tungus (Evenks and Evens) and Turkic (Yakuts) peoples in Eastern Siberia in the 1st-2nd millennia led to a reduction in the ethnic territory of the Yukaghirs and their partial assimilation. By the time the Russians arrived in the mid-17th century, the Yukaghirs occupied the territory from Indigirka to Anadyr, numbered 4.5-5 thousand people and made up several tribal groups (“clans”): Yandins (Yangins), Onondi, Kogime, Omoki, Alai (Alazei ), Shoromba, Olyubentsy, Khomoroi, Anauly, Khodyntsy, Chuvantsy, Omolontsy, etc. Inclusion in Russia, oppression of the Cossack administration (yasak, amanat), military clashes with the Yakuts, Evens, Koryaks, Chukchi, the devastating smallpox epidemics of 1669 and 1690 led to a sharp reduction in the number of Yukaghirs. By the end of the 17th century, the Yukaghirs numbered 2,535 people, in the 1st half of the 18th century - 1,400-1,500 people, in 1897 - 948 people, in 1926-27 - less than 400 people.

The main traditional occupations are semi-nomadic and nomadic hunting for wild deer (tundra Yukaghirs), elk, deer and mountain sheep (taiga Yukaghirs), among the taiga Yukaghirs there is also lake and river fishing, and among the tundra ones - transport reindeer herding. In summer they traveled on reindeer on horseback, in winter - on arc-hoofed sledges. Among the tundra Yukaghirs, straight-hoofed dog sleds were common. They moved on water on birch bark, dugout or plank boats, on snow - on skis lined with kamus, on ice crust - on ice caps.

The ancient dwellings of the Yukaghirs were half-dugout chandalas, the skeletons of which were preserved at the time of the arrival of the Russians, and in some places to the present day. Later, the taiga Yukaghirs lived in conical huts made of thin logs, covered with turf, or in tents covered with bark or rovdug. The chum was heated by a central hearth; one or two transverse poles were placed above it for hanging boilers, drying clothes, and drying fish and meat. Large log yurts, similar to the Yakut ones, were also known in the tundra regions - cylindrical-conical tents borrowed from the Evens. The outbuildings were barns and storage sheds on poles. Most modern Yukaghirs live in log houses in the villages of Andryushkino and Kolymskoye (Verkhnekolymsky region), Nelemnoye and Zyryanka (Nizhnekolymsky region), Markovo (Magadan region), etc.

Traditional clothing is close to Evenki and Even. The main clothing is a knee-length swing caftan with hems tied with ribbons and an internal fold on the back, made of rovduga in summer, and deer skins in winter. Long “tails” made of seal skins were sewn to the back: for men - forked at the back, for women - on the sides. Under the caftan they wore a bib and short trousers, leather in the summer, fur in the winter. Men wore a belt with a knife and pouch over their caftan. In winter, a long scarf of squirrel tails was worn on top. Winter clothing made from rovduga, similar in cut to the Chukchi kamleika and kukhlyanka, was widespread. Summer shoes are made of rovduga, with leggings tied with straps at the hip and ankle, in winter - high torsos made of reindeer camus, stockings made of deer or hare fur. Women's clothing was lighter, made from the multi-colored fur of young deer. Festive clothing was decorated with deer hair embroidery, beads, cloth trims, expensive fur, and appliqué. Silver, copper and iron jewelry - rings, plaques, etc. - were common; A typical decoration of women's bibs is the “chest sun” - a large silver plaque.

The main food is meat and fish - boiled, dried, frozen. The meat was prepared for future use - dried and then smoked and ground into powder. The fish was stored in the form of yukola, crushed into powder-porsa; in winter it was boiled with deer blood or pine sapwood (anil karile); boiled fish was pounded with berries and fat (kulibakha). Fish giblets and caviar were fried, and flat cakes were baked from the caviar. In the summer they ate fermented fish, wrapping it in talnik leaves for a day. They also consumed wild onions, sarana roots, and berries; unlike the Yakuts and Evens, they consumed mushrooms. They used fly agaric as a stimulant, smoked tobacco, thyme leaves, brewed tea and birch growths.

The family is large, mostly matrilocal, patrilineal inheritance. There were customs of levirate and avoidance (taboo on communication between a father and his married son and daughter-in-law, etc.). Since the end of the 19th century, the institution of dowry has spread.

Customs associated with fire played an important role: it was forbidden to transfer fire from the hearth to outsiders, to pass between the hearth and the head of the family, etc. Traditional beliefs - cults of master spirits, the supreme heavenly god Hoyle (merged with the Christian cult), game animals (especially elk), bear cult, fire cult, ancestral spirits. Ideas about dividing the universe into upper, middle and lower worlds ("lands"), connected by a river, and shamanism were developed. The bodies of deceased shamans were dismembered, and the skulls were kept in the house as a shrine. The main holidays are spring (Shahadzibe), weddings, successful hunts, military campaigns, etc. - accompanied by songs, dances, performance of legends, and shamanic rituals. Until the 20th century, pictographic writing on birch bark (tosy, shongar-shorile) was preserved. The main genres of folklore are legends, stories and fairy tales. The main dances are circular (longdol) and pair imitative dances - “Swan”. Christianity has been spreading since the 17th century.

Modern Yukaghirs are engaged in fur trading, fishing, and reindeer herding. The intelligentsia appeared. Tribal communities - "Chaila" ("Dawn") and "Yukaghir" - are being recreated, they are allocated territories traditional for the economic activities of the Yukaghirs, and financial support is provided.

In December 1992, the Council of Elders and the Foundation for the Revival of the Yukaghir People were created.

The origin of the Yakuts is still controversial among scientists. The culture of the Yakuts has features of the southern peoples (cattle breeding, horse breeding skills, South Siberian type riding and pack saddles, leather utensils, making butter and kumiss) and northern, taiga features (forms of fishing and hunting 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 that came from the south.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, Turkic tribes were pushed to the north and northeast by Mongol-speaking tribes and settled in the Lena River basin. Here, while continuing to develop cattle breeding, they adopted from the Evenki 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, and in the north - reindeer herding.

Cattle breeding among the Yakuts it was primitive, grazing. They bred mainly horses. It is not for nothing that 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; May your bull always moo..."

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

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A developed branch of the Yakut economy was hunting . They hunted on horseback with bows and arrows for fur-bearing and ungulate 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 was supported by a thin log. The bear touched a log, and the canopy crushed it.

Fishing the poorest population was engaged. 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 fishing rod as bait. In the fall, fish were caught collectively with a seine, then it was divided among all participants.

Women collected berries, saran tubers, sorrel, wild onions, larch and pine sapwood. The sapwood was dried and stored for future use. There was a saying: “Where there is pine, there are Yakuts.”

The Yakuts, who call themselves Sakha (Sakhalar) are a people that, according to archaeological and ethnographic research, was formed as a result of the mixing of Turkic tribes with the population in the region of the middle reaches of the Lena River. The process of formation of the nationality ended approximately in the 14th - 15th centuries. Some groups, for example, the Yakut reindeer herders, formed much later as a result of mixing with the Evenks in the north-west of the region.

The Sakha belong to the North Asian type of the Mongoloid race. The life and culture of the Yakuts are closely intertwined with the Central Asian peoples of Turkic origin, however, due to a number of factors, it differs significantly from them.

The Yakuts live in a region with a sharply continental climate, but at the same time they have managed to master cattle breeding and even agriculture. Harsh weather conditions also affected national clothing. Yakut brides even use fur coats as wedding attire.

Culture and life of the people of Yakutia

The Yakuts trace their ancestry back to nomadic tribes. That's why they live in yurts. However, unlike the Mongolian felt yurts, the round dwelling of the Yakuts is built from the trunks of small trees with a cone-shaped steel roof. There are many windows in the walls, under which sun loungers are located at different heights. Partitions are installed between them, forming a semblance of rooms, and a smear hearth is tripled in the center. Temporary birch bark yurts - uras - can be erected for the summer. And since the 20th century, some Yakuts have been settling in huts.

Their life is connected with shamanism. Building a house, having children and many other aspects of life do not take place without the participation of a shaman. On the other hand, a significant part of the half-million Yakut population professes Orthodox Christianity or even adheres to agnostic beliefs.

The most characteristic cultural phenomenon is the poetic stories of the olonkho, which can number up to 36 thousand rhymed lines. The epic is passed down from generation to generation between master performers, and most recently these narratives were included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Good memory and high life expectancy are some of the distinctive features of the Yakuts.

In connection with this feature, a custom arose according to which a dying elderly person calls someone from the younger generation and tells him about all his social connections - friends, enemies. The Yakuts are distinguished by their social activity, even though their settlements consist of several yurts located at an impressive distance. The main social relations take place during major holidays, the main one of which is the holiday of kumis - Ysyakh.

No less characteristic of Yakut culture is throat singing and playing music on the national instrument khomus, one of the variants of the mouth harp. Yakut knives with an asymmetrical blade deserve special attention. Almost every family has a similar knife.

Traditions and customs of the people of Yakutia

The customs and rituals of the Yakuts are closely related to folk beliefs. Even many Orthodox or agnostics follow them. The structure of beliefs is very similar to Shintoism - each manifestation of nature has its own spirit, and shamans communicate with them. The foundation of a yurt and the birth of a child, marriage and burial are not complete without rituals.

It is noteworthy that until recently, Yakut families were polygamous, each wife of one husband had her own household and home. Apparently, under the influence of assimilation with the Russians, the Yakuts nevertheless switched to monogamous cells of society.

The holiday of kumis Ysyakh occupies an important place in the life of every Yakut. Various rituals are designed to appease the gods. Hunters glorify Bay-Bayan, women - Aiyysyt. The holiday is crowned by a general sun dance - osoukhai. All participants join hands and arrange a huge round dance.

Fire has sacred properties at any time of the year. Therefore, every meal in a Yakut house begins with serving the fire - throwing food into the fire and sprinkling it with milk. Feeding the fire is one of the key moments of any holiday or business.

Yakuts- This is the indigenous population of Yakutia (Sakha Republic). Statistics from the latest census are as follows:
Number of people: 959,689 people.
Language – Turkic group of languages ​​(Yakut)
Religion: Orthodox and traditional faith.
Race - Mongoloid
Related peoples include Dolgans, Tuvinians, Kyrgyz, Altaians, Khakassians, Shors
Ethnicity – Dolgans
Descended from the Turkic-Mongolian people.

History: the origin of the Yakut people.

The first mentions of the ancestors of this people were found in the fourteenth century. In Transbaikalia lived a nomadic tribe of Kurykans. Scientists suggest that from the 12th-14th centuries the Yakuts migrated from Baikal to Lena, Aldan and Vailyuy, where they settled and displaced the Tungus and Oduls. The Yakut people were considered excellent cattle breeders from ancient times. Breeding cows and horses. Yakuts are hunters by nature. They were excellent at fishing, versed in military affairs, and were famous for their blacksmithing. Archaeologists believe that the Yakut people appeared as a result of the addition of trick-tongued settlers from the local tribes of the Lena basin to their settlement. In 1620, the Yakut people joined the Russian state - this accelerated the development of the people.

Religion

This people have their own tradition; before joining the Russian state, they professed “Aar Aiyy”. This religion presupposes the belief that the Yakuts are the children of Tanar - God and Relatives of the Twelve White Aiyy. Even from conception, the child is surrounded by spirits or, as the Yakuts call them, “Ichchi,” and there are also celestial beings who also surround the newly born child. Religion is documented in the department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Yakutia. In the 18th century, Yakutia underwent universal Christianity, but the people approached this with the hope of certain religions from the Russian state.
Sakhalyar
Sakhalyar is a mixture of races between Yakuts and European people. This term appeared after the annexation of Yakutia to Russia. The distinctive features of mestizos are their similarity to the Slavic race; sometimes you don’t even recognize their Yakut roots.

Traditions of the Yakut people

1. Mandatory traditional ritual - Blessing of Aiyy during celebrations, holidays and in nature. Blessings are prayers.
2. The ritual of air burial is the suspension of the body of a dead person in the air. The ritual of imparting air, spirit, light, wood to the deceased.
3. The holiday "Ysyakh", a day praising the White Aiyy, is the most important holiday.
4. “Bayanai” - the spirit of hunting and good luck. He is cajoled when hunting or fishing.
5. People get married from 16 to 25 years old. A bride price is paid for the bride. If the family is not rich, then the bride can be kidnapped, and then she can work for her by helping the future wife’s family.
6. Singing, which the Yakuts call “olonkho” and resembles opera singing since 2005, is considered a UNESCO heritage.
7. All Yakut people revere trees as the spirit of the mistress of the land Aan Dar-khan Khotun lives there.
8. When climbing through the mountains, the Yakuts traditionally sacrificed fish and animals to the forest spirits.

Yakut national jumps

a sport that is performed on the national holiday “Ysyakh”. The International Children of Asia Games are divided into:
“Kylyy” - eleven jumps without stopping, the jump starts on one leg, and the landing must be on both legs.
“Ystakha” - eleven alternate jumps from foot to foot and you need to land on both feet.
“Quobach” - eleven jumps without stopping, pushing off with two legs at once from a place or landing on two legs from a run.
It is important to know about the rules. Because if the third competition is not completed, the results are canceled.

Yakut cuisine

The traditions of the Yakut people are also connected with their cuisine. For example, cooking crucian carp. The fish is not gutted, only the scales are removed, a small incision is made on the side, part of the intestine is cut off, and the gall bladder is removed. In this form, the fish is boiled or fried. Potrash soup is popular among people. This waste-free preparation applies to all dishes. Be it beef or horse meat.

From the very beginning of the “origin of the Yakut people,” traditions have been accumulating. These northern rituals are interesting and mysterious and have accumulated over centuries of their history. For other peoples, their life is so inaccessible and incomprehensible, but for the Yakuts it is the memory of their ancestors, a small tribute in honor of their existence.

The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has registered an organization of believers in the traditional pantheon of gods of Yakutia - the “Religion of Aar Aiyy”. Thus, Russia officially recognized the ancient religion of the Yakut people, which was widespread in the region until the end of the 17th century, when the people of Yakutia began to be converted en masse to Orthodoxy. Today, followers of the ayyy are talking about restoring the traditions of their faith, the northern branch - the cult of the deified sky, reports the SmartNews portal.

According to the head of the organization "Religion Aar Aiyy" Augustina Yakovleva, the final registration took place in May of this year. “We don’t know how many people now believe in aiyy. Our religion is very ancient, but with the advent of Christianity in Yakutia, it lost many believers, but there have always been followers of ayyy among the people. Previously, we did not have a written language, and people passed all information from mouth to mouth. lips. And by the time writing appeared in Yakutia, Orthodoxy came here - in the middle of the 17th century," she told the portal.

In 2011, three religious groups were registered in Yakutia - in Yakutsk, the villages of Suntar and Khatyn-Sysy. In 2014, they united and became the founders of the centralized religious organization of the Republic of Sakha Aar Aiyy.

“The peculiarity of our religion is that we recognize higher powers, and the most important God, the creator of the world, is Yuryung Ayyy toyon. He has twelve assistant gods. Each of them has its own function. During prayer, we pay honor first to the highest gods, and then to the earthly good spirits. We turn to all earthly spirits through fire, because Yakutia is a cold region, and we could not live without fire. The most important good spirit of the earth is fire. Then come the spirits of all waters and lakes, taiga, the spirit of Yakutia and others. It is believed that our faith is the northern branch of Tengrism. But our religion does not fully correspond to any other. We pray to higher powers in the open air, we do not have temples," said Tamara Timofeeva, assistant to the head of the new religious organization.

The world, in the minds of the followers of ayyy, is divided into three parts: the underground world - Allaraa Doidu, where evil spirits live, the middle world - Orto Doidu, where people live, and the upper world - Yuhee Doidu, the place of residence of the gods. Such a universe is embodied in the Great Tree. Its crown is the upper world, its trunk is the middle, and its roots, accordingly, are the lower world. It is believed that the aiyy gods do not accept sacrifices and are given dairy products and plants.

The Supreme God - Yuryung Ayyy toyon, the creator of the world, people and demons inhabiting the lower world, animals and plants, embodies the sky. Jösögei Toyon is the patron god of horses, his image is closely associated with the sun. Shuge toyon is a god who pursues evil forces in heaven and earth, the master of thunder and lightning. Ayysyt is a goddess who patronizes childbirth and pregnant women. Ieyiehsit - goddess - patroness of happy people, mediator between gods and people. Bilge Khaan is the god of knowledge. Chyngys Khaan is the god of fate. Ulu Toyon is the god of death. There are also minor gods and spirits - forces of a lower order.

“The creation of the site is connected with the religion of the Sakha people, who not only preserved traditional rituals, but also their language. We expect that in the future the site will become the hallmark of the culture of the indigenous peoples of Yakutia, who maintain a spiritual connection with their ancestors,” a representative of the republican ministry said then for Entrepreneurship, Tourism Development and Employment, which initiated the creation of the site.

Tengrism is a system of religious beliefs of the ancient Mongols and Turks. The etymology of the word goes back to Tengri - the deified sky. Tengrism arose on the basis of a folk worldview that embodied early religious and mythological ideas associated with man’s relationship to the surrounding nature and its elemental forces. A unique and characteristic feature of this religion is the family connection of man with the surrounding world and nature.

“Tengrism was generated by the deification of nature and the veneration of the spirits of ancestors. The Turks and Mongols worshiped objects and phenomena of the surrounding world not out of fear of incomprehensible and formidable elemental forces, but out of a feeling of gratitude to nature for the fact that, despite the sudden outbursts of their unbridled anger, it more often she is affectionate and generous. They knew how to look at nature as an animated being,” noted a representative of the department.

According to him, some scientists who studied Tengrism came to the conclusion that by the 12th-13th centuries this doctrine had taken the form of a complete concept with ontology (the doctrine of a single deity), cosmology (the concept of three worlds with the possibility of mutual communication), mythology and demonology ( distinguishing ancestral spirits from nature spirits).

“Tengrism was so different from Buddhism, Islam and Christianity that spiritual contacts between representatives of these religions could not be possible. Monotheism, worship of the spirits of ancestors, pantheism (worship of the spirits of nature), magic, shamanism and even elements of totemism are intricately and surprisingly organically intertwined in it "The only religion with which Tengrism had much in common was the Japanese national religion - Shintoism," concluded the representative of the republican ministry.