Folk crafts of Yakutia: culture and business. Yakut arts and crafts

Khomus is a common musical instrument among the Turkic peoples. Many have preserved them to us.

More than 200 peoples of the world consider the khomus or jaw's harp to be their national musical instrument. It is played in Europe, America, Africa and Asia, on almost all continents. And they have the same name, only each nation has a different name. For example, kobuz - in Turkmen, kupos - in Chuvash, kubyz - in Tatar, Bashkir, etc. True, some peoples have lost the skills of making and playing over time. And Yakut masters and craftsmen, blacksmiths helped them in restoring age-old traditions. As Spiridon Shishigin said, at one time khomus was found in Japan. The Japanese themselves did not know its purpose and turned to the Yakuts. Only after consultations with folk craftsmen from distant Yakutia did the Japanese learn about the true purpose of the find. The same story happened to the Austrians. Yakut blacksmiths helped restore and manufacture a folk musical instrument. And in the ancient history of Rus' there was a place for the harp or zubanka.

Khomus (Jew's harp) is the most popular national musical instrument in Yakutia. Yakut khomus has a characteristic low, dense sound and is made of forged steel. The large size of the reed of this musical instrument makes it possible to achieve long notes, a loud sound, distinguishable from any jew's harp of other nations. It is believed that the long-term low vibrations of the khomus tongue are audible not only to the human ear, but also pave the way for the player to the world of spirits and earth.

Yakut khomus

Khomus is an instrument widely used throughout the world. U Yakut people,With From ancient times, a khomus has been preserved that fits in the palm of your hand, but has the ability to sing with the voice of living nature. Only in some countries it can be found only in museums, while in others its musical destiny continues, receiving a new modern sound, a new life, turning it into a beloved instrument by all.

Khomuses were made of wood, bone and iron. There are varieties of khomuses with one, two, three, and four reeds.

Khomus is a very simple instrument, but it has rich capabilities for conveying the emotional state of the performer. Only on the khomus can you play so that both the melody and the words of the song can be heard, and only on the khomus can you declare your love. At any time of the year, in his music you can hear the smells of flowers, the breath of spring, and the joyful singing of birds.

>. Our ancestors thought so, and so do modern musicologists.

The sound ideal of the intonation culture of the Yakuts is formed in such a way that the main musical instrument is considered to be the khomus - an arc metal jew's harp with a large round loop. There are several varieties of the Yakut harp: a flat thin beam made of larch tapering towards the end, a flat frame with a cut-out tongue made of bone, a metal harp with two tongues, etc. All varieties of the harp (more than 400) are collected in the museum of khomus (harp) of the peoples of the world in Yakutsk - the only one in Russia. According to tradition, the khomus was played mainly by women, > (articulating) speech statements or famous melodies. Several types of traditional music playing on the jew's harp have developed - >, >, >. Onomatopoeic melodies - >, >, > were very popular.

The magic of khomus music is also mysterious: it arises as a natural phenomenon of nature, but sometimes it does not arise, as if someone does not want it. And when, at the moment of playing the khomus, you feel that >, the khomus seems to be playing itself, succumbing to some supernatural commands. Khomus musical thought is unique, close to articulate speech. From time immemorial, it has been the case that the performer plays the khomus, as if to say, thereby >. - These words belong to Ivan Alekseev - President of the International Center for Khomus (Jew's harp) Music, Doctor philological sciences, a professor at YSU - a man who made a huge contribution to the formation of a concert-virtuoso style of playing the khomus.

Blacksmithing is a hereditary craft of the Yakuts.

Yakut blacksmithing is considered a hereditary craft. In one of the options epic tales about blacksmiths, it is said that the more blacksmith ancestors a blacksmith has, the more powerful he is. In the legend about Ellyai, his son Tosogor was also called a blacksmith. Typically, the secrets of metallurgical and forging production are inherited. In addition to technological issues, the connecting link between artisans different generations their common ideology stands out - the cult of the blacksmith. Any blacksmith must firmly remember: they received the gift of blacksmithing from their ancestral ancestor, who in turn received it from the almighty and beneficent ancestor of all blacksmiths - Kydai Bakhsy. The descendant of the blacksmith, through the shaman, must sacrifice black cattle to his mythical deity.

In metallurgical production, the smelting process is considered particularly complex. Only the master himself can skillfully control the progress of heat treatment of raw materials in the melting furnace. Experience is achieved purely empirically, many years of practice, exhausting and labor-intensive work. At the end of his life, the father-master passes on the most subtle production and technological secrets to his heir, the son of the smelter. If there is no direct heir or close capable relative, then he will die without telling anyone the secrets of witchcraft.

In general, blacksmithing is especially revered in its highly professional environment. Local metallurgists enjoyed special respect. They were known far beyond the borders of their ulus. The master blacksmith, who devoted all her talent, strength and energy to her craft, enjoyed no less honor than the metallurgist himself. Their products, in addition to economic and industrial purposes, also performed other functions.

A rich assortment of metal products showed the socio-economic status of a wealthy owner. In addition, hunting, labor and everyday tools forged in the forge of a professional blacksmith have always been objects of special pride. Particularly revered products of the blacksmith's craft, first of all, included: palm trees, knives, axes, especially rifled and screw guns. These included a rare musical instrument - the khomus.

Along with the sorcerer-blacksmith, the supreme deities also participated in the creation of the melodious instrument: they conjured the created khomus. Therefore, the sweet-sounding strings of khomus can brighten up long nights, extinguish sadness, dispel dark thoughts, in general, have magical property restore life to everyone: from lying lethargic, from inactivity to the weak, from malnutrition. This instrument was created by divine blacksmiths, great elders, to

Masters of khomus production continue the best traditions of technical achievements of the Yakut blacksmith craft. The more they begin to engage in in-depth metal processing, the more they become convinced of high skill, the universal capabilities of metallurgists - blacksmiths of bygone times. Along with technical secrets, they also begin to assimilate the religious views of ancient metallurgists. At least they feel their natural destiny, their special purpose, if not divine, then at least their protection.

Yakut master khomus maker Innokenty Nikitich Gotovtsev

Innokenty Nikitich Gotovtsev, teacher of the highest category, head of the author's school for making khomus at the Nam Pedagogical College, excellent student of education of the RSFSR, honored teacher of schools of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Innokenty Nikitich was born in 1942 in the Batagai nasleg of the Ust-Aldan region of Yakutia. In 1962 he graduated from Dyupsyun secondary school. From 1962 to 1965 served in the ranks of the Soviet Army. Since 1965 - primary school teacher. In 1972 he graduated from Yakutsk State University, received the qualification of a teacher of the Yakut language and literature. From 1970 to 1974 worked as a teacher at the Second Khomustakh Secondary School of the Namsky ulus. Since 1994 - teacher at Namsky Pedagogical College. He is qualified as a driver, tractor driver, welder, khomus maker, and teacher.

In 1994, a special republican council awarded the honorary title "People's Master" for the production of the Yakut folk musical instrument of jew's harp music - khomus. In 1980 he was awarded the badge "Excellence in Enlightenment of the RSFSR." Since 1991, teacher-methodologist. Innovator for agricultural machinery - certificate No. 5 - 1992, No. 7 - 1993 on behalf of the Ministry Agriculture Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Participant of the I and II congresses, diploma winner of the III World Congress of Jew's harp music. Author of the brochure "Khomus Gotovtseva".

In 1993, he was awarded the honorary title “Honored Teacher of Schools of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Grand Prix Winner republican competition masters of khomus manufacturers named after. S. Gogoleva - Amynnyky uus. In 1997 he became a laureate European festival Jew's harp, held in Oslo, Norway.

Innokenty Nikitich is a man of rare efficiency and determination. Active supporter healthy image life. Engaged in hardening the body and breathing exercises.

He has 38 years of teaching experience, of which 15 years he worked as a teacher of the Yakut language and literature. He and his wife Matryona Alekseevna raised a daughter and four sons and have 10 grandchildren.

The khomus of the Yakut master Innokenty Nikitich Gotovtsev is a jew's harp unique in its brightness and impressive sound. Many different sounds are born at the first hint; with intense blows and breathing, the instrument begins to produce an amazing range of cosmic overtones. The volume also varies widely, together with the “piercing” frequency range, this allows you not to be afraid that the music will be lost in an environment other than home. The danger of getting lost - in the capabilities of the instrument - lies in wait for the performer himself.

The design of Gotovtsev's khomus fully complies with Yakut standards - it is a monolithic massive (Jew's harp is one of the heaviest) frame of an unconventional shape with a flat base of a large area, allowing you to hold the instrument without tension either with just your fingers or with a grip “from yourself”. The wide tongue of medium hardness does not touch the deck under any circumstances, and the large (6 mm in diameter) ring at the end simply caresses the finger when struck in both directions. The special shape of the decks with an internal cavity leads to increased air consumption when playing with active breathing, i.e. you need to monitor the hydration of the oral cavity. Incredible responsiveness requires precision during fast two-way combat, the absence of which can lead to loss of control and the melody turning into mush. At low speeds, Gotovtsev’s khomus can be successfully used even by a person who has never played jew’s harps before.

I. N. Gotovtsev’s workshop is located in an extension to the house; it is quite small in size, but probably quite sufficient for one person to work on. In the middle is a round work table with a small vice and a small drill press. On the right, near the wall, there are machines, I will list them from left to right. Horizontal milling, with a narrow cutter for milling a groove for the tongue. Another drilling machine, an electric sharpener, an apparatus for resistance electric welding and an additional horizontal milling machine with a wider cutter for processing flat surfaces. On the left, a large number of tools are stored on stands and there are special devices.

The master spoke about the sequence of making his khomuses. First, the outline of the frame is cut out of sheet steel. A large central hole is drilled. Then a groove is made in the body for the tongue on a milling machine. Final form The frame is attached to it using an electric grinder. Next comes the turn of the tongue. Innokenty Nikitich experiments a lot with his material. He showed us a khomus tongue made of Damascus steel, but, unfortunately, this experiment failed. This type of steel delaminates too easily. The video shows the process of cutting out a tongue from a hacksaw blade for wood. A sheet of steel is clamped in the device, and a notch is made along the edge with a carbide chisel, then it is clamped in a vice and the tongue blank is broken off.

In the finished tongue you need to make a hole for fastening; the master uses the following ingenious device, on which a hole is cut. Through this hole, the tongue is attached to the body with a screw and is finally secured by electric spot welding.

In a separate room there is a forge in which knives and other necessary things are created. After the master class, Innokenty Nikitich invited the guests to drink tea. Tea, however, turned out to be a full-fledged get-together, at a table bursting with all sorts of delicious things. By the way, the owner is an ardent supporter of a healthy lifestyle and in his years has not drunk a single glass of alcohol or smoked a single cigarette. A lot has been said kind words and many good tunes were played on the khomus.

Innokenty Nikitich Gotovtsev is a representative of the original school of Yakut masters, his khomuses have a unique sound and listen very well to the performer. The special, bewitching timbre has won the hearts of many khomus lovers who play the Master’s instruments.

International center of khomus (harp) music.

Creators of the Khomus Museum.

ALEFSEEV I. E.

Initiator of the museum creation

ALEKSEEV Ivan Egorovich - khomus improviser, Doctor of Philology, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation and Sakha (Yakutia).

In 1988, at the festival of folk music of the peoples of North America, he met with famous researchers and performers of jew's harp music: M. Seeger, F. Crane, L. Fox. Upon returning to Yakutsk, Ivan Alekseev took the initiative to create the Khomus Museum. Ivan Yegorovich donated to the future museum a unique collection of jew's harps, collected over the years. As well as photographs, records, books, magazines and other materials dedicated to jew's harp music.

K. D. UTKIN - Ph.D. n. , d.f. n. , Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation

Museum enthusiasts K. D. UTKIN - PhD made a great contribution to the development and placement of exhibitions, work with other museums. n. , doctor philosophical sciences, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation and E. E. VARLAMOVA - khomus player-improviser, excellent student of culture of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

E. E. VARLAMOVA - improvisational khomus player, excellent. culture of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Director of the museum, S. V. IVANOV

The world's first specialized museum - the Museum of Khomus (Jew's harp) of the peoples of the world - opened on November 30, 1990. It was created on the basis of unique collections of khomuses (harps) from different countries by the famous khomus-improviser, Honored Worker of Culture of the Yakut-Sakha SSR, Ph.D. n. Ivan Egorovich Alekseevich, as well as products of the national master maker Zakharov Ivan Fedorovich - Kylyadya Uus and other masters.

The Khomus Museum is an amazing kingdom of ancient music, born in the Stone Age and surviving to this day, thanks to its enchanting sonority and democracy of the world's smallest musical instrument - the khomus (Jew's harp). It is made from bamboo, wood, bone and metal.

On the recommendation of the II International Congress of Jew's harp music "Jew's harp: traditions and modernity", by resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Sakha SSR dated December 19, 1991 No. 612, the International Center for Khomus (Jew's harp) music was organized on January 1, 1992. The previously created Khomus Museum of the Peoples of the World was transferred to the establishment of the International Center for Khomus (Jew's harp) music.

Since February 25, 1993, the Center and the Museum have been a collective member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) at UNESCO, reg. No. 19841. The main activities were included in the UNESCO ICOM program.

In order to promote and preserve the music of the khomus (harp's harp), the oldest musical instrument, the International Center for Khomus (harp's harp) music (President - I. E. Alekseev) with the Museum of the Khomus (harp's harp) of the peoples of the world (Vice - President of the Center, Director of the Museum Ivanov S. V.) conducts multifaceted work: seminars, creative laboratories, competitions and festivals of performers and master manufacturers, organizes traveling exhibitions, lectures. Schools for playing the khomus (jaw's harp) and improving the skills of manufacturers have been created; as well as khomus classes in art schools, music schools, conservatories, universities in Kyrgyzstan, Tyva, Bashkortostan, Yakutia, Austria. Jew's harp music festivals are held annually, specialized booklets, magazines, and anthologies are published in Germany, Austria, Japan, America, and Yakutia. Episodes from a multi-part video film have been released >. With the growing interest of doctors in the nature of music, traditional medicine of Yakutia has taken the first successful steps in using khomus in medical practice. The I All-Union Conference on the Problems of Jew's Harp Music (Yakutsk, 1988), the I, II, III International Congresses of Khomus (Jew's Jew's) Music (USA, 1984; Yakutia, 1991; Austria, 1998) were held. For the first time, children's republican international festivals> (Yakutsk, Pokrovsk, 1999), dedicated to the Year of Childhood and Children's Sports within the framework of the project > approved by the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) on December 9, 1998.

Currently, the museum’s collections contain about 600 khomuses from 43 countries.

Technique of playing the khomus.

Methods for fixing khomus.

When playing the khomus, you need to take the ring of the khomus body with your left hand and, opening your teeth slightly, making room for the vibration of the tongue, press the outer cheeks of the body to the teeth so that the vibrations of the tongue are not transmitted through the body to the teeth.

If at first this does not work, you can hold the khomus between your teeth. At first, it is better when the ends of the body are at the level of the middle teeth. And then you can move the khomus to the right.

Extracting sound. The khomus sounds due to the vibration of the reed, so throughout the entire game it is necessary to ensure that the vibration of the reed does not stop.

When extracting the main sound, the tongue is retracted back so as not to interfere with the vibration of the tongue, and the tongue is struck with the index finger by rotating the right hand around the joints towards the shoulder. The sound of the khomus will lengthen if you carefully and calmly inhale the air into yourself.

To enhance the sound, you need to close your lips so that they clasp the body of the khomus, but do not interfere with the vibration of the tongue.

Techniques for hitting the tongue. The main blow is performed by rotating the relaxed hand around the joint counterclockwise. The elbow does not move and is lowered down. The bent finger, making a rotational movement, touches the tongue in front.

If your finger touches the tongue when reverse movement, the blow is called reverse.

If these two techniques are used mixed, a variable blow is obtained.

Breathing methods. The main method is inhalation. You can and should inhale in different ways. If you take a long breath during one beat, the sound time increases significantly. During one blow you can inhale two, three or several times.

When playing fast, it is necessary to use the abdominal muscles and diaphragm when breathing. The force and speed of inhalation should coincide with the tongue’s own vibrations. Exhalation does not improve the sound of khomus, but when the right combination with inhalation, it increases the strength of vibration, which means the strength and time of sound.

To maximize the strength of the khomus sound, you need to breathe using your abdominal muscles. If > the air goes back and forth using the abdominals and diaphragm with great speed, then the sound of the khomus becomes larger and stronger.

Lip movement. If your lips are open while playing, it is difficult to pump air, which means it is difficult to use it when playing. If the lips are open, then the sound of the khomus is quieter, if they are closed, then the sound is stronger. This means that when inhaling, it is better to close your lips, but so that there is no interference with the movement of the tongue.

By combining different lip movements and types of breathing, you can produce a wide variety of sounds.

Changing the sound.

Reception of the game "Haastaty"

1,2,3,4 - places where the tip of the tongue touches when pronouncing the sounds l, l

Technique of the game "Queregadety" the arrows show the direction of movement of the tongue when repeatedly pronouncing the sound th or the syllables ya-ya, yo-yo, ye-ye, yu-yu

To change the sounds of khomus and create music with their help, you need to have good hearing and learn to listen to the sound.

Most low sound it will work out if you tune the speech organs and vocal cords to the pronunciation of the sound >, while the tongue goes back and the oral cavity expands as much as possible.

Imitating a lark has been a widespread technique since ancient times. Hold your tongue as if you were pronouncing > and move it back and forth at a fast pace, without touching the hard palate.

Imitating goose singing - also traditional reception. In this case, the tongue moves in approximately the same way as when imitating a lark, but this time the tip of the tongue moves, touching the palate and breaking away from it, i.e., forming the articulation of the syllable >.

To imitate the cuckoo, you tense the muscles of your pharynx, hold your tongue as if you were pronouncing a sound intermediate between > and >, and after hitting the tongue, move your tongue, silently pronouncing >.

You can stop the vibration of the tongue by sharply inhaling air into yourself, as well as by wrapping your lips around its end. The latter is more effective than the former and is convenient for gradually stopping the sound.

If you slow down the tongue with your lips, you can get a sound similar to spring drops. This sound is called >. This is a difficult technique and can hurt your lips. It’s easier to stop the tongue by pressing the finger of your left hand against it. With the help of short sounds you can imitate the clatter of hooves, a spring drop, the knocking of a woodpecker, drumming, etc.

Anyone can learn to play the khomus. To master all the playing techniques, you need systematic practice, perseverance, perseverance and great desire.

Techniques for playing the khomus.

There are external, articulatory and internal groups.

External methods of playing the khomus are those associated with various movements (strikes) of the fingers of the right hand on the tongues of the khomus and contributing to the generation of all other articulatory and internal techniques.

Technique > - one-sided blows are formed by slightly twitching the tip of the khomus tongue with the middle knee index finger. There are many varieties of one-sided strikes, depending on the rhythmicity and dynamism of the melodies or improvisations being performed.

Reception >-bilateral blows is formed by alternating bilateral (from oneself and towards oneself) blows on the tongue of the khomus. Compared to unilateral strikes, this technique is more diverse, richer, thanks to the reverse strike, which requires less effort than in accelerated unilateral strikes.

The technique > - variants of finger strikes appeared in the 70s, thanks to the work of the most talented khomus virtuosos S. Shishigin and A. Pakhomov. Variants of strikes are realized through combined movements of all fingers and the palm of the performer’s right hand when instantly striking the tongue of the khomus.

The technique > -staccato, first created by I. E. Alekseev, is formed by pressing the base of the khomus tongue with the thumb of the left hand and > vibrations of the instrument's tongue with the lips.

Articulatory are groups of khomus playing techniques formed with the obligatory participation of the performer’s articulating organs of speech (tongue, volume and parts of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, nasal cavity, pharynx).

Reception > - the main tone is formed with zero articulation of the speech organs, i.e., without the movement of air in the oral cavity, without the movement of all articulating speech organs. This technique used for tuning and searching for the desired khomus sound.

The technique > is based on the physical participation of the lips, mainly when performing melodies and improvisations with the labial sounds o, b, v, m.

Reception > - goose singing is traditional in a developed way game, the acoustic effect of which is perceived by the listener as an imitation of a goose singing. The articulatory base is instant and measured touches of the tip of the tongue to the alveoli or various parts of the hard (rarely soft) palate. This is a favorite technique of Yakut khomus players, which is used in the design of any improvisation or medley.

The technique > -singing of a lark is originally traditional and is formed by the rhythmic movement of the performer’s tongue across the oral cavity (horizontally, without touching the hard palate and the side walls of the mouth). The tip of the tongue should not come into contact with the oscillating tongue of the khomus. regadeetii>> is acoustically perceived as the continuous sound of a khomus in the form of a lark's trill.

Technique > - pharyngeal sound is formed by the instantaneous closing and opening of the performer’s throat. It is very common when improvising with accelerated tempered structures.

The technique > - cuckoo is an even more complex articulatory-acoustic modulation of the pharyngeal-pharyngeal area. The perceived sound e>> is achieved by expressing a speech segment like khah-kuuh through the indicated areas of the respiratory-speech cavity. The author of this is khomus player Alexander Pakhomov.

Technique > - moderate playing is a traditionally specific manner of playing the khomus, used in monologue narration and lyrical improvisation. The moderately measured tempo of the game is accompanied by background shades of double-voice, dynamic periods at the junction of musical phases.

Technique > - nasal sound is formed when the soft palate closes with the back wall of the tongue, in which air passes freely through the nasal cavity and sounds acquire a nasal connotation.

The internal group of khomus playing techniques includes th>> and >.

Reception > - laryngeal-pulmonary sound is formed as a result of raising the soft palate in the position of articulation of sounds, n, m and stopping breathing and tension of the walls of the pharynx and larynx. In this case, a single >-resonator is formed and the three-dimensional nature of the khomus sound is perceived acoustically.

Techniques > - varieties of breathing are formed with a variety of rhythmic variations in the inhalation and exhalation of the performer at the moment of playing the khomus. They can be divided into single inhalation-exhalation, double inhalation-exhalation, multiple inhalation-exhalation. Varieties of only inhalation and exhalation are also possible, i.e., the inhalation is divided by the performer into several rhythmic components. Exhalation can be adjusted in the same way.

About the educational repertoire. Playing the khomus is mainly of a thematically oriented improvisational nature. Lyrical singing is highly developed, always associated with phenomena of native nature and the state of the performer’s mental experiences. Particular attention in educational process is given to the uyuu>> style, which dominated the activities of the older generation of khomus players. uyuu>> differs from improvisation primarily in sound-producing techniques associated with speech articulation. At the same time, along with the melodic line, words about what is being sung are spoken synchronously. In this case, the vocal cords do not vibrate, and the acoustic effect of the chanting text is achieved through special articulation of the speech organs (tongue, soft palate, nasal cavity, lips, etc.).

At the initial stage of learning to play the khomus, traditional folk melodies-couplets >, yt-tya>>, uohai>> (without translation) are used.

The melody > consists of a repeated single word bee, which is accessible to every beginning khomus player.

Beep-beep-beep

Bee-bee-beedaa

Beep-beep-beep.

This melody is primarily used when teaching a beginner to extract the first sounds on the khomus, which simultaneously uses rhythmic beats, moderate breathing, and movement of all articulating organs.

Conclusion

Khomus is an instrument widely used throughout the world. Only in some countries it can be found only in museums, while in others its musical destiny continues, receiving a new modern sound, a new life, turning it into a beloved instrument by all.

Inconspicuous in appearance, khomus is fraught with extraordinary possibilities, for it is capable of extracting from itself all the diversity of natural sounds, as if born by Mother Nature herself.

However, khomus is not a self-sounding instrument. Without a person literally breathing life into it, it will not sound. Its mystery lies in the fact that it represents a single whole with the entire human respiratory and vocal apparatus. Therefore, when the khomus player merges with the khomus into a musical instrument and gets excited along with it, the magical music of the khomus can double human joy, disperse, dispel sadness, and heal from illnesses.

Folk craft enterprises in Yakutia are not only a way of preserving an original culture or centers of creativity, but also an entire branch of the economy that employs thousands of people.

The products of local craftsmen are not limited to the production of souvenirs for visiting tourists; they always find application in everyday life. Furniture, clothing, bladed weapons, musical instruments - this is not a complete list of what is in great demand among the local population. We managed to find out from the craftsmen themselves how and how the artisans live in Vilyuysk and Verkhnevilyuysk.

Innokenty and Sofya Akimov, Vilyuisk:

“We are both teachers by profession and somehow we thought that this was a great opportunity to realize ourselves and started our own business. At the very beginning, we sent our products for sale to Mirny and Yakutsk, and then we thought - why not sell locally and opened a store. It is worth saying that souvenirs, knives and khomuses alone do not bring the desired profit, and therefore they began to sell handicraft goods. In addition, hundreds of local craftsmen give us their products for sale.

Our workshop operates in the courtyard of the store, where there is a small forge and atelier. Among other things, we try to keep up with the times and, in addition to old, time-tested technologies, we use new ones - sometimes we use plastic in the production of souvenirs, this makes it possible to make budget souvenirs for the population. In addition to business, we are working to attract young people into the profession. For this purpose, we conduct optional classes for schoolchildren, we teach boys metal processing, and we teach girls embroidery skills.

Alexander and Alena Tomsky, Verkhnevilyuisk:

— We started doing carpentry more than 10 years ago, in 2004. The production was located in the old house where the head of the family grew up - it was converted into a workshop. Slowly we acquired equipment and developed. Over time, the number of orders has increased, but at the same time, competition in the form of furniture stores is not decreasing. Previously, they transported their products to exhibitions and fairs in Yakutsk, but due to high transportation prices they abandoned this.

By and large, we are now engaged in the manufacture of custom-made furniture for the population and children's institutions. We direct almost all the proceeds to the business, Lately We are thinking of investing well and opening a grocery store so that there is a source of constant income. The plan is that the store should help complete the construction of a large workshop, which will allow for a good expansion in terms of production and create new jobs here.

Stepan Sin-Khoy, Verkhnevilyuysk:

— I’ll start with the fact that I have 30 years of experience working at a sawmill, but I started making wood products gradually. We can say that need forced me to show my skills; in the 1980s I began family life and the house began to lack pieces of furniture. At that time, there was tension with this and just going and buying everything you needed in the store was, to put it mildly, not easy. Thus, I had to make the tables and chairs for the house myself. Over time, I had to make small items for sale, but the fact that I did not have my own equipment had a big impact. Five years ago, with the help of the state, I bought carpentry equipment and became an entrepreneur. Since then I have been making mainly knives and furniture. Relatively recently I went to study at famous master Yakut knives to Boris Neustroev - Mandar Uus. In addition, I make dishes, household items and souvenirs, in general, you can say that I do everything - maybe I haven’t found myself yet. I have three children, my eldest son is already 26 years old and it’s gratifying that he is ready to continue my business.

It is no secret that crafts are an integral part of the spiritual life and culture of any nation. Currently, crafts in Yakutia are labor-intensive, costly and very difficult, in some places even impossible to automate. If it is necessary to preserve the authenticity of products, then it is extremely difficult to supply them on a large scale. Many are sure that folk crafts can only be developed in places where there is a large tourist flow, but as Yakut craftsmen show, this is not a prerequisite.

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Kuyuur is one of the oldest traditional crafts of the Yakuts. This unique method of fishing is possible only in Yakutia. No one else has this type of fishing

As soon as the frosts subside, people begin to prepare for kuyuur. The fish, pressed by the growing ice from the severe frosts, gathered in large numbers to spend the winter in their favorite pools. Craftsmen begin to make kuyuur - a small net-sack attached to a hoop. The hoop is called “kuya” and is made of wood, but today’s craftsmen use modern materials made of plastic, and some even fit a metal bicycle rim. This round part of the net is attached in a clever way to a long shaft - mangki. The handle of the kuyuura net should be long enough to three meters, and it is made from durable wood. The most suitable for this is aspen - a strong, elastic and light wood.

Previously (and even now among some fishermen), the net of the net was made of braided horsehair, which was attached in the form of a bag to a hoop. Nowadays, fishermen use thread nets or monofilament fishing line nets. Moreover, the mesh mesh should not be less than 30 mm, then small fish passing through the mesh will not get caught in the net. Such a gentle attitude is completely justified - why scoop out the fish in the reservoir! But after a while you can return to the same lake, and it will again pay tribute to the fishermen.

Kuyuur begins with cutting a hole.

The hole must be large enough for the net attached to the mangki to fit freely into it.

The mangka should be so long that it can be used to reach the bottom of the lake. This pole is inserted into a hole made in the middle of the board, laakhyra. It serves to prevent the kuyuur net from dangling in the hole like a “pencil in a glass.” This is actually a stop board with a hole with a diameter of 7-10 centimeters in the middle, into which the handle of a net or mangka is passed.
The board is placed across the ice hole, its sharp end rests against the edge of the ice or snow, and the fisherman steps on the other end with his right foot, so the laakhyra is fixed motionless and the fisherman is to some extent protected from slipping near the ice hole and, accordingly, from falling into it. Having lowered the kuyuur to the bottom, with the help of a pole it is forced to describe measured circular movements with the net, neither slowly nor quickly. At the same time, all fishermen rotate the kuyuur clockwise, that is, following the movement of the sun. The people of Sakha are sun worshipers, so there are probably religious foundations in this.

The fish dozing at the bottom, blinded by the stirred up silt, falls into the center of the whirlpool, and when, according to the fisherman’s calculations, there are enough of them, then with a deft, peculiar movement of the kuyuur, it is captured in the net and pulled out. After cold winters, when the lakes freeze heavily, fish accumulate in the pools in such quantities that they are thrown up along with the water, which at first flows like a fountain.

Ice on lakes in spring reaches its maximum thickness from one to two meters. It depends on the frost and the thickness of the snow cover. To break through the ice you need good tool, which is the ice pick - annyy. Until recently, spears with a spear shape or in the form of a batyya - palm tree, on a wooden shaft were used. Modern Yakut blacksmith masters are improving the shape of the blade of their pawns. The shafts are now made from ordinary twenty-millimeter steel pipes, welding them to the tips, wrapping them with electrical tape or thin nylon ropes for better grip on the hands.
Such ice picks have sufficient weight and, one might say, cut the ice themselves; the fisherman only needs to lift it up and direct the movement of the ice pick.

Kuyuur is an amazing, unique way of fishing of the Yakut people. It is not forgotten, it is being reborn and will develop in the future, as favorite hobby for relaxation, a healthy lifestyle, as mass appearance sports

Ahead of everyone, both in terms of quantity and variety of objects made from it, is, of course, larch wood.

It is a heavy, dense, hard wood and is the cheapest around here. All bulky objects that are not afraid of splitting are made from it. Items that require significant elasticity are also prepared from it, such as: bows for crossbows, pitchforks, rake handles, axles for carts, poles of two-blade oars, shafts for sleighs, rocker arms for traps (for hares), handles for scythes, etc. P. From old larch stumps they make: mortars, stones for crushing wood sapwood and ears of grain; barrels for containers, casas; huge funnel-shaped shields for covering sheaves; troughs, trays - in general, everything that, when large, requires making from one piece. Huge cups and plates, 1 and 3/4 arshins in diameter, are made from larch wood influxes.

In the north, boards and everything that is made from them, tables, chairs, boxes, boats, etc., are made exclusively from larch. In the south, where there is pine, the latter, due to its lightness, softness in processing and less causticity, has replaced larch from plank production. There, even doors, shelves and internal partitions in huts are often made of pine boards, which is considered a kind of comfort. Birch takes second place after larch. All small household utensils: cups, spoons, goblets, boxes, drawers, etc. - made from birch wood. Handles for axes, hammers, pink salmon scythes, butts for rifles, handles for spears, spears, and knives are also made from it.

In the old days they made light hunting and military bows and arrows. Everything that requires greater durability and ductility of the material is made by the Yakuts from this wood. Everything is curved, cranked, subject to frequent shocks and blows - birch. Saddle bows, wheel hubs and hubs, runners and spears on sleds and sleds must be made of birch. The Yakuts, living near the borders of the forest, where the wood is of poor quality, pay for runners imported from the south from 3 to 5 rubles, and for parts of a saddle - up to 10 rubles in silver. Everything that should be distinguished by the fineness of its finishing, be figuratively sculptured, covered with drawings and patterns, is certainly birch. Birch is considered a lady-tree, and its “brush” (the well-known ugliness of the rhizome) is the highest beautiful example of woody material. The Yakuts make quite elegant snuff boxes, women's work boxes, tea storage boxes, knife handles, straws, etc. from brushes. It, especially raw, is easy to process, and its layers, dark and light, are sometimes combined into truly beautiful patterns. It is never used to make containers for liquids.

Among other types of wood, talnik is widely used. Its thin young shoots serve as bundles everywhere, exactly as in Europe. They are also used to weave baskets and tops. From thick ones they bend large links for sleighs and carts, bend arches, bend chairs, make hoops for barrels, etc. The wood of poplar, aspen, alder, fir, cedar, etc., growing here, is used for crafts by the Yakuts only by accident. From the first two in the north, in Kolyma, Olenek, Anabar, Pyasina and Khatanga, small shaving boats are made. I have not seen such shavings on Lena, Aldan, Yana, Alazeya, although poplar grows there. The Yakuts' wood processing techniques are the simplest. The main tools: axe, shugyo, knife, bysakh, and drill, burges. Recently they have been added to: a simple semicircular plane, a saw and a thick chisel.

In the north, where most household ware is made at home, it is all made using only these simple tools. In the south, where the crafts are more isolated, the carpenter also usually has a wide and narrow saw, planes, a brace, chisels, chisels, and sometimes even a rasp. But everywhere the ax plays the first role. The Yakuts wield an ax masterfully, and they are excellent carpenters. Most of the churches in the Yakut district and almost all the houses in the city of Yakutsk were built by Yakut carpenters.

When doing carpentry work, they use the same techniques, the same compass for trimming, the same pitched rope, plumb line, square and ruler, as the Russians. The senior carpenter in charge of the carpentry team is called in Russian - “ustavshchik”. But their main tools, axes and knives, retained their ancient form. They weigh from two to four pounds, no more, and cost from 50 kopecks. up to 1 ruble. The Yakuts amuse themselves with them smoothly, cleanly and quickly; They willingly cut even small things with an axe. Due to the lack of large longitudinal saws, the Yakuts rarely saw boards either; more often they hew them out one or two at a time from one thick log, splitting it in two. To do this, they choose selected trees with straight, untwisted layers, called quilmas. I've seen quite long boards finger thick, hewn completely smoothly and evenly. Such a board costs from 25 to 40 kopecks. It is usually 6 in width. The Yakuts connect them into large planes using dowels and glue. Tenons and grooves are little known to the Yakuts. Having knocked down and glued the boards, they level and trim them with a sharp ax. When they want to give such large planes a certain smoothness, then, in the absence of a planer and a planer, they slightly bend a thick, weakly-heated Yakut knife and with both hands plan the irregularities with thin shavings, pressing their palms firmly against the boards. The same more curved knife is used for selecting and smoothing out recesses in flat dishes.

To make deeper dishes, cups and goblets, the same knife is used again, only this time it is not the middle that is curved, but the end. Handicraftsmen, however, have special, variously curved steel blades for such crafts. The same knife is often used instead of a drill, instead of an internal saw, instead of an artistic chisel. After the axe, it most often appears in the hands of the Yakut artisan. They do not spare money and willingly pay a ruble and a half for a tolerable, sharp blade. Other Yakut tools, planes, plows, drills, chisels, chisels, etc. the same shape as the Russians, and the names are Russian. They are usually homemade and of poor quality. With the help of these tools, the Yakuts make their furniture, simple and patterned: round (Yakut) and rectangular tables, cabinets, chairs, drawers. What all this furniture was like before the 17th century, before the arrival of the Russians, is unknown; now it bears traces of strong Russian influence and is called in Russian. The Yakuts fasten the sides of boxes and boxes (boards) differently. They know the “lock” fastening, but they consider it Russian; They prefer to fasten with wooden nails and glue, and are even more willing to tie with straps, hair ropes, talinkas or flexible tree roots. Until recently, the Yakuts did not know the art of cooperage at all.

They call all the dishes made from staves and tied with hoops in Russian: ukhat (tub), hip (bucket), plyakhy (flask), etc. They made ancient barrels for containers, casas, and are still making them in many places from hollow larch stumps. To do this, they file them down, level them inside by burning and planing, and then insert the bottom. Sometimes they burn out a stump while still standing to enlarge its opening and make cutting it easier. The Yakuts apparently did not know hoops. On cracked kasas I often saw a belt twisted with a stick. The art of cooperage is currently widespread only among the suburban Yakuts. I often saw the same technique of making walls from one piece and a separately inserted bottom in small Yakut dishes: in small buckets for storing cream, in large patterned buckets in which kumys is served to women, as well as snuff boxes and boxes made from birch “brush.” ". Yakut wooden cups and cups for kumys are always made from one, well-dried, solid piece of birch. Judging by the decorations, the ability to prepare this dish goes back to ancient times among the Yakuts. It's all made by hand. I have never heard or seen about the lathes of the Yakuts, even about the crude similarity of them that is found among our village wheelwrights. Yakuts readily paint wooden products, but do not polish or varnish them.

The only exception is, perhaps, kumys wooden utensils, which are annually put into barns and stored for the winter, thickly coated with cream or butter on top, which, according to the Yakuts, protects them from cracking. Indeed, fat, absorbed into wood, reduces its sensitivity to moisture and makes the vessel stronger, harder, and at the same time its surface becomes smoother; This is what the Yakuts like. Of the large wooden objects, the Yakut boat, sleigh and cart bear in their form and work so many traces of various later influences that their original appearance and extraneous layers on them are extremely difficult to trace.

All of them are recent Yakut acquisitions. The cart is still unknown to them in many places. It was difficult for me to explain to the Kolyma Yakuts the idea of the wheel, and they did not find any difference in moving on the ground on a cart and a sleigh, on which they carry heavy loads in the summer. Even sleds in these remote northern areas are little used by the Yakuts, and even then exclusively for dog and reindeer riding. The use of a collar and a bow is unknown to them, and when, occasionally, for passing officials, they have to harness horses, they harness them to the same reindeer sledges, using the same reindeer strap, touching it behind the saddle. Then the driver sits on this horse or on another one in front of it. It is clear that both the horse and the person riding in the sleigh get terribly tired from the constant twitching and shaking. Sometimes instead of a strap they use shafts, which are also tied to the saddle. The origin of the ox sled and ox harness is not so clear. I haven't found any legend about this. This is such a crude and primitive device that, perhaps, the beginning of it can be sought in those two forests with curved roots, connected by a transverse thick bar, into which a bull is harnessed, like shafts, and on which seasoned Yakuts are still transported from the forest timber logs.

The bull yoke consists of two completely identical parts: the upper one - the ara, and the lower one - the bulgali. They are smoothly planed, curved and connected to each other and to the shafts using straps threaded through holes made at the ends. The macaw is attached tightly, and one end of the bulgali, usually the left, can slide freely on a loop along the shaft. Yakut Yarma are completely similar to Buryat and Mongolian ones.

Yakut sleighs are completely similar in shape, size, and workmanship to Russian logs; They serve exclusively for carrying heavy loads: hay, firewood, and the leader sits astride a bull. Even when they are empty, the rider prefers to sit astride. The use of long reins in bull harnesses did not take root, and the idea of reins is Russian in origin among the Yakuts, as evidenced by both legend and the name boji. In the old days, hay did not have to be transported, but the Yakuts carried the timber for fuel, most likely lassoing the timber behind the horse’s saddle, just as they now carry it over short distances on the road if necessary. However, Georgi says that the Yakuts carry their things “on small narrow sleighs, into which cattle are harnessed.” By the way, I will point out that only evil, devilish heroes ride on sleighs in olongo, that the harness, collar, yoke, shafts are used mainly by evil heroes hostile to the Yakut hero, who, according to all data, are foreigners.

Yakut heroes and heroines always ride horses and carry their wealth in packs. It really was like that. As a nomadic, equestrian people, the Yakuts learned to prepare a saddle before other means of transportation. The Yakut saddle, both pack and riding, is made almost entirely of wood. The pack consists of two planks connected at the ends by small wooden arches. In the middle, a cross is attached to these main boards, behind the protruding shoulders of which the ears of the packs are laid. A thick saddle pad is placed under the saddle and under the weights on the horse’s back and sides. A horse saddle is very similar in design to a pack saddle. The base also consists of two parallel planks, slightly curved and inclined towards each other at an angle, like the edges of a trough without a bottom or sides. At the ends they are connected by arches, but these arches are thick, high, appropriately cut and adapted, forming a high Asian bow and an equally high back. From the bow to the back, in the void left between the wooden frame described above, the seat belt is stretched. A pillow is placed on the top of the saddle. Stirrups are attached to the rings driven into the front ends of the parallel planks, and then behind them are three girths. Stirrups are often wooden, with a rim made of waist cloth, bent and inserted at the ends into the holes of the stirrup plate; All parts of the saddle are fastened with straps, which provides greater elasticity and greater resistance to bending.

The Yakut horse saddle, as mentioned above, comes close to the Yakut pack saddle, which in turn is similar in idea to the wooden frame used by Yakut pedestrians to carry loads: these are thin planks that help distribute the pressure of gravity more evenly across the entire back. Only the saddle has curved arches for obvious reasons. The Yakut saddle, especially the ancient one, is a less advanced device than, for example, the Mongolian or Buryat one. It is heavier than the latter, its bow is higher and rougher, it is uncomfortable to gallop and jump over obstacles in it, but it sits firmly on the horse and, thanks to its height, length and width of its base, it is comfortable to sit on it and you can load a lot on it under the rider. For Europeans, the breadth of the Yakut bow, while they get used to it, causes severe pain in the hips and groin. The back and legs get little tired in the Yakut saddle, even on long trips. The remaining parts of the Yakut riding and pack harness are made from hair, leather and dry grass. Let's move on to a description of the processing of these materials.

The Yakuts use leather mainly from cows and mare for all sorts of crafts. The Yakuts do not prepare suede from these skins, although this kind of dressing has a special name among them: sary, and a caftan covered with suede is called sary son. Currently, they buy suede from the Tungus or make it themselves exclusively from deer skin. They apparently learned the techniques of its preparation from the same Tungus and Yukagirs from whom they borrowed reindeer. The tools and techniques for tanning leather are identical everywhere. When dressing, the Yakuts first of all clean it from hair. The hair is preferably shaved or torn off together with the epidermis dry using different shapes scrapers. In the north, I saw that in order to loosen and cleanse the skin of wool, it was lightly moistened with water, then smeared with spoiled fish entrails and placed for a long time in a warm place, rolled up into a ball with the hair inward. After two days the fur came off freely. Having removed the hair, they begin to crumple. To do this, the dry skin is first pounded in the hands or using wooden machines and beaters, very similar to those used in Russia for washing and grinding hemp. Then the skin from the inner side is lubricated with oil, cream or soot, depending on the quality of the required material. For the worst varieties, they limit themselves to sora, without which no preparation can be done in the south. Sometimes a little flour is added to the sora. If softness is required, then the skin is patted a second time with cow butter, cream or cattle brain.

In the north, fish oil and fish liver replace oil. I also saw in the north that thin tanned leather intended for outer clothing was smoked. To do this, they build a small tent from several skins and build a weakly smoldering fire in it from damp resinous wood. Such leather acquires a beautiful olive color and is not so susceptible to the effects of dampness. Yakuts paint their skin with ocher, white clay, yurong buor, and various vegetable dyes in colors: black, orange, brown, yellow, white. The skins on which the hair should remain intact are crushed in the same way, using the same softening and loosening techniques. I don’t know that the Yakuts tanned leather, although they have a lot of excellent tanning materials, like pine willow bark, at hand. Only indirectly, when using a decoction of alder cones or talon bark as paints, some leathers are tanned from the surface with them - however, to a very weak extent.

To make belts, the leather, while still raw, is cut into a long narrow strip and, if the rope is to be double, it is immediately twisted and dried. Then they crush it using a device consisting of a heavy wooden block and a stick with two holes. The strap is passed several times through the holes in the middle of the stick and into the blockhead's ear; then the entire bunch is suspended from the ceiling. The blockhead pulls it down, and while moving the stick, he also forces the straps to evenly twist and unwind. The sharp edges of the holes, sliding along it, pierce the rope. In addition to dresses, shoes, belts, parts of Russian harness are made from leather, as well as saddle cushions, saddle aprons and saddle blankets, travel bags, bridles, wraps, girths, whips, etc. Finely cut leather is used in all kinds of bundles. Finally, it is used to make ancient travel utensils - simir. The largest specimen of this genus is the “kumys bag”. This is a leather wineskin, flat, prismatic, tapering at the top and ending in a very narrow neck. At home, a wooden, elegantly carved sleeve is inserted into this neck, hala. On the way, the bag is closed using two sticks tied at both ends - tylba. Exactly the same bags, only smaller in size, are used by the Yakuts in the summer to transport liquids, milk, litter, cream, and also butter, which easily melts in the sun and becomes spoiled. Small bags are called by a diminutive name - simirchakh.

They were once in great use, but are now gradually being replaced by less convenient, but cheaper Russian wooden flasks. The skin for simirs is taken mainly from mare, it is not crushed, but only cleaned of hair, soaked in oil or mare's fat and heavily smoked in smoke. This leather does not get wet. It is used to prepare large round koumiss vats, khollogos, as well as small buckets and milk pans used in the production of koumiss, tursuk, simir isit. The rest of the Yakut milk utensils, without exception, are made of birch bark. The work and shape of this utensil is almost no different from Russian birch bark utensils. Its production gradually stands out in cottage industry for those places where birch grows more freely.

Previously, all women were required to know how to sew it, but now in the south many have forgotten the proper preparation of birch bark and do not know how to fasten it firmly and well. Yakut birch bark dishes are not nearly as elegant as, for example, Tungus or Mangut, sometimes completely covered with embossed patterns, embroidered with beads and painted in a variety of colors. The method of fastening the edges is also different among these peoples; the Tungus and Manguts prefer to lock birch bark together, like our Belarusians; if they sew it together, the seam is usually hidden, it is ugly, and reindeer tendons are used for the threads. The Yakuts sew birch bark with horsehair twine; The seam is most often cross-shaped and constitutes the main and almost the only decoration of the dishes; The craftsmen try to ensure that it is even and that the white and black colors of the hair twines are pleasantly combined in it. They also make small dishes from birch bark: snuff boxes, boxes... and huge ones, hollogos, which can hold several buckets of liquid.

Birch bark, as mentioned above, was previously used for uras covers, for boats, for wrapping bodies and bedding for corpses, for covers for bows, spears, for quivers, even for extensions to cauldrons; in general, its use, apparently, was more extensive; now, with the improvement of tools, the isolation of crafts and the increase in trade, it is being replaced by more durable wooden utensils and replaced by fabric, iron, and copper. The bark of other trees is used only as a dye, and even poplar bark as an admixture to tobacco. The exception is larch bark. Its bark is used to cover the roofs of houses, to line shallow cellars, and is used to build forestry and fishing huts and to make rough boxes for coal, wood shavings, etc.

Processing hair and clay among the Yakuts

Along with tree bark and leather, horsehair is used in the Yakut economy. Nets, seines, ropes, girths, etc. are made from it; mosquito repellents, tibur are made from it, saddle cushions are stuffed with it, and its bundles are used as decoration for dishes on special occasions and as a sacrifice. In the old days, the outer dress was trimmed with a fringe of white or dyed horsehair.

Hair ropes, nets, are usually made of two-colored hair: black and white. Their thickness is very diverse, depending on the purpose. They are usually twisted from only two strands. From such twine, sewing them in one plane, they make beautiful strong reins, kentes, an inch wide, for the sides; girths for saddles, holun, in 1 1/2 and 2; hair mats and even thick winter stockings. The best hair is considered to be hair from the tail, the worst is from the mane, and even worse are the hairs from the mane and tail that come out during the molting of animals. For the sake of hair, the mane of mares and foals is cut in the fall. Stallions and working horses are not clipped, in the belief that this makes the animals weaker. The Yakuts do not know how to combine threads and ropes, both hair and any other, into one fabric using knitting needles, a hook or a loom, and, apparently, they never knew how; the spindle is also unfamiliar to them, and they twist the threads, even thick ropes, with their hands on their bare knees.

It is mainly women who do this, and some have reached high perfection: their threads, even and hard, are no worse than yarn. The Yakuts have no idea about beating wool or hair into felt or cloth. In the north, it happened that they asked me about these fabrications: “What kind of animal is this leather?” Even their knots for connecting ropes are not diverse; for the most part these are common two-syllable, cross-shaped ligatures. Obviously, in the past, the Yakuts used belts as a device for tightening and tying. For tying horses and animals in general, they have a very ingenious knot that is quickly untied and never retracts. Using it, you can make a permanent strong loop of any size anywhere in the rope, but you cannot tie two broken ends. To do this, the Yakuts use two knots, similar to the European ones: one is long, the other is a bow. They sew the belts.

The Yakut knot is a most ingenious invention. It is tied extremely quickly and simply, and it is extremely easy to learn how to do it mechanically and tie it without looking. You can tie it even with mittens, since individual fingers do not play a role in this work important role. It is untied even easier: by pulling the free end of rope A. It is close in type to the Bashkir knot, but surpasses it in speed of untying. It was undoubtedly invented by people for whom untying their horses as quickly as possible, galloping away or overtaking someone was often a matter of life and death. This knot, no matter how hard the horse struggles, will not untie itself and will not tighten tightly; frozen belts and ropes are tied into it just as well as thawed ones.

Clay processing among the Yakuts

Following leather, birch bark, and hair in terms of importance and quantity of use, clay should be ranked among the Yakuts; if we take into account the clay used to coat houses, which is done again every few years or even annually, and the coating of fireplaces, done once twice a month, then this amount will increase to enormous proportions. It is clearly evidenced by large pits located somewhere near every Yakut yurt. For coatings they use clay of the worst grade, with a large admixture of sand; it is greenish in color, scaly in build; its layers at greater or lesser depths occur almost everywhere in river valleys. On the plateau it is far from being so widespread, and I know in the north of the area where for dozens of miles around there is no clay, sand or stone on the surface anywhere, where everything is ice and peat or lake silt very rich in plant remains, unsuitable for any crafts.

In such areas, in order not to transport clay far, the Yakuts, by the way, try to build yurts not far from the few deposits of clay. This does not always coincide with other conveniences, such as the proximity of the catch, and I think shows the importance of this material in the Yakut economy. Nevertheless, Yakut ceramics are at a very low level. They never ferment the clay, do not wash it, they even crush it and crush it carelessly. In production, they distinguish two varieties of it: ordinary, buor, which also means soil in general, and potting clay - thuoi. However, they also distinguish refractory clay, but they call it the same as pottery clay - thuoi. The first type of clay is used exclusively for coating, and only bricks are made from it. For putties, it is diluted with water, kneaded with shovels, and to reduce cracking, grass, hay dust, and cow hair are mixed into it. Houses are coated with rather thick layers, but fireplaces are coated with thin layers, and to make the layers of clay dry faster, a fire is immediately lit in the same fireplace.

They have another technical rule in these cases: dilute the clay with boiling water, or at least warm water. Rich Yakuts mix rubbish into the clay intended for the outer layers of the fireplace, which gives greater strength, shine and a lighter color to the coating. The Yakuts sometimes make their fireplaces from the same clay; A hollow tree is placed inside “the place of the core, which is subsequently burned out.

The Yakuts borrowed brick production entirely from the Russians. The bricks, kirpis in Yakut, are made poorly, uneven and uneven, and fired even worse. In the north and south, in the outback, the Yakuts are completely unfamiliar with bricks and if they make them, it is only for stoves in churches and councils. Bricks are fired there very rarely, and there are no shortage of stove makers in the entire ulus. Pot production is much more widespread. The Yakuts carefully search for clay for pots in mountain valleys. They dig it shallowly, from the surface, no deeper than two or three arshins. In 1890, I visited such developments of pottery clay in the Khatshgarinsky nasleg of the Namsky ulus.

They were located about 15 versts from the ulus administration to the north-west, at the top of a small valley, of which there are many here among the high ledges of the ancient Lena banks. A stream flowed along the bottom of the ravine. Deposits reputed to be in the area good quality clay, represented by low blister-like mounds at the foot of the mountain slope. The development consisted in the fact that those who wanted to get clay dumped a small layer of soil on top and selected the amount of material they needed from the bottom of the pit and its walls. Thus, the hole inside the earth expanded until its earthen roof could not bear the weight and collapsed. Then we moved on to the next hillock. I saw many worked out holes and a few new ones. In one of them, a Yakut was working with me. With difficulty, he pulled out pieces of 10 - 15 pounds of viscous, dark, almost black clay from the depths of the hole and placed them on the edge of the hole. These pieces were subsequently fashioned into bricks weighing from three to ten pounds, which, when dried, were sold on sale under the name tuoi.

Ordinary Yakut pottery clay is always dark in color, oily, viscous, and heavy. In Yakutsk, there are also white clay pots on sale on the market, but these pots, I heard, are made in Russia. They are of a completely different shape and are made on a pottery machine. Usually, Yakuts do not buy pots), but buy clay (from 5 to 10 kopecks per pound) and give it to the craftsmen to remake it along with the fragments of old pots. They turn the fragments of old pots into powder and, depending on the type of tuoy, add more of it to the fat ones and less to the skinny ones. Tuoi is also crushed with a hammer on a stone slab, the powder is collected in a trough and diluted with warm water mixed with rubbish. Then the thick dough is kneaded with the blows of a wooden hammer until it becomes homogeneous and plastic, like wax. Then they make a roll out of it and sculpt the walls of the pot from it with their hands, adding, if necessary, fresh clay. When the pot has already received the desired desired shape, a semicircular or round smooth stone is inserted inside it and, supported by hand, the surface of the pot is leveled and smoothed by hitting the surface of the pot with a spatula from the outside.

The Yakuts do not use a pottery machine, and all production is done by hand. The Yakuts lightly heat their pots right there in the fireplace over coals. Rarely heated to red heat, more often limited to dark red. The pot heated to this temperature is watered. If you want to get more durable pots, then the water is filled with milk or litter. Then the pot is lightly heated again. Yakut pots are very weak and quickly become soggy from use: they rot, as the Yakuts say. Water must seep through the walls of the new pot until it “brews,” for which the best way is considered to be boiling milk. After each cooking, they must be cleaned and dried.

The liquid cannot stand in it for two or three days in a row without harming them. The Yakuts do not know pot glaze. The Yakuts always give the shape of their pots, even large ones - one and a half to two buckets in size - ovoid, elongated, with a small bottom and slightly curved edges. In form, workmanship, and decoration, Yakut pots are extremely close to Stone Age pots. The tools used to make them are also close to those found in the kitchen remains of these times. There are, however, areas where the Yakuts do not know pottery production, and in their household use exclusively iron and copper utensils. These should include all the uluses of the Verkhoyansk and Kolyma districts, the Zhigansky ulus and the Yakut settlements of Olenek, Khatanga, Anabar, etc.

Apparently, this was due to the absence or extreme rarity of deposits of pottery clay in these areas. I have never seen such deposits there; The Yakuts told me that they existed somewhere in the Tas-Khanyakhtas ridge, not far from the Kyurelyakh station, along the Verkhoyansk-Kolyma postal highway. Samples of it, delivered to me from there, turned out to be excellent white refractory clay with an admixture of coarse sand. The latter made it low-stringency and highly porous, which for Yakut potters, who did not know how to wash the clay, deprived it of any value. Such clays are used by the Yakuts only as melting crucibles. They are not strong and are sintered in a furnace. In the Yakutsk district, I also saw crucibles made from young, fine-grained clay of an ashy or white color from the local blacksmiths. They withstood the highest temperatures perfectly and, apparently, consisted of pure kaolin. I couldn’t find out the deposits: masters are reluctant to reveal such things to outsiders. Yakut blacksmiths are in the habit of immersing their crucibles, still red-hot, in cold water or milk after emptying them.

The Yakuts make forges from simple clay and coat them with fireproof only when they are used for smelting iron. The absence of pottery production in remote, less cultivated areas of the Yakut region, as well as the lack of indications in the literature that the Yakuts were familiar with it in the past, gave rise to the opinion that they became acquainted with pottery products relatively recently through the Russians. This opinion must be abandoned due to the signs of great antiquity of the Yakut pottery. Strahlenberg already writes that “they made the pots themselves.” The origin of this craft is undoubtedly independent, which is proven by the purely Turkic names of pots of different sizes and production tools. Ancient word kyuos means primarily “clay pot” and is strictly different from salyr, cauldron. It is also known where the Yakuts now do not know pottery, it is used in the sense of “cooking food” and serves to measure (road) distance. “One pot”, “two pots”, “a pot on foot, on horseback”, “an ox pot”, “part of a pot”, kyuos bysaga, means the distance that a person at that time can travel with a given method of transportation and along a known road, “ when the pot of meat of the average Yakut family has boiled down.”

This time is two hours, and the size of the road is from 7 to 10, even 1-2 miles. This method of measuring the road is not found among neighboring tribes, apparently, “it was taken out from the distant south and goes back to the times when the Yakuts owned flocks of sheep. It is possible that with the advent of metals and increased nomadism, the development of pottery among the Yakuts was temporarily delayed, even lost. Examples of such a fall have been noted in cultural history and in other places. But the knowledge of pottery production was obviously supported by folk traditions, and with the increase in settled life it quickly increased and improved. Let us at least point out the salt that the Yakuts now introduce into potting to give greater strength and reduce the wetness of their pots.

Quote from ANDREI-STOLIAR steel arms
Yakut knife
byychcha, byyah and hotokhon

The Yakut knife is a type of bladed weapon used by the indigenous inhabitants of Yakutia. Is one of the most famous cultural objects

Archaeological excavations carried out on the territory of modern Yakutia show that samples of knives recovered from various burial grounds and sites ancient man, have an undoubted resemblance to Yakut knives. Thus, the Yakut knife is a product polished over thousands of years of use in taiga and northern conditions, both by the autochthonous population of Yakutia and by visitors.

There are many regional variations of the Yakut knife, but in the classic version, the knife is a blade with a length of 110 to 170 mm mounted on a wooden handle made of birch burl with a leather sheath.

Blade
The blade of a Yakut knife is sharpened, has a blade on one side and a straight (or almost straight) spine. A feature of the Yakut knife is the asymmetric sharpening of the blade - noted by the first researchers of the life of the Yakuts. On one side, the knife blade is flat and has a fuller (if you look from the side of the butt, this is the right side of the blade). The opposite (left) side of the blade is curved. This is done so that when working with a knife, the knife does not “burrow” into the material. It is in this regard that knives differ for right-handed and left-handed people.

For left-handers, knives are made with mirror-inverted blade asymmetry.

Knives vary in blade length:

From 80 to 110 mm - small knife (bychychcha) - usually made for children or women
from 110 to 170 mm - knife (byhax) - the most common form
from 170 mm - a large knife (hotokhon) - practically a military weapon and therefore is rarely made

Lever

The knife handle is traditionally made from birch burl soaked in special oil. The handle of the knife in cross-section resembles an egg, the sharp end of the “egg” is directed towards the blade, it is devoid of any stops, the guard, etc. is a simple straight handle. The length of the handle is 130-150 mm, which is longer than the width of a man’s palm. The long handle is explained not only for reasons of convenience, but also because the knife should not sink in water. In addition to the birch burl, stacked birch bark handles are used (pieces of birch bark are placed on top of each other (they can be immediately put on the shank of the blade), coated with glue between the layers, allowed to dry under a press, and a handle is made from this piece). Knives with handles made of mammoth bone, plastic, etc. are souvenirs and are not used in everyday life.

Sheath

The sheath is also original in the Yakut knife. In the classic version, the sheath is made from a stockinged oxtail, inside of which there is a wooden liner that should not tightly wrap around the blade. The function of the liner is not to hold the knife, but to protect the blade from breaking. The holding function is performed by the leather part of the sheath - since the knife is recessed into the sheath 2/3 of the length of the handle, so that the sheath fits tightly to the handle of the knife. Options for making sheaths from ordinary embroidered leather or birch bark are also allowed. Wooden scabbards are extremely rare.

To carry a knife, a leather cord is usually attached to the sheath.

The knife is usually carried freely on the left side - with the blade to the left. A free suspension is needed so as not to interfere with the owner’s movements. When carrying a knife on the left, it is convenient to pull out the knife with one right hand, resting on the base of the sheath with your thumb.

In Soviet times, making and carrying a Yakut knife was prosecuted by law, although in fairness it should be noted that the persecution was largely formal. Nowadays, the production, sale, carrying and storage of the Yakut knife is regulated by a special act of the government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), according to which the Yakut knife is recognized as an integral part of the culture of the Sakha people and its use in everyday economic life is allowed on the territory of the republic.

The Yakut knife is widely used in the everyday household life of the residents of Yakutia: hunting, fishing, cooking, woodworking, etc.