Traditions of the Yakut people. Yakut people
The Yakut folk tradition is characterized by the veneration of sacred objects that were available in each locality and each territorial group.
First of all, these are hitching posts (serge), which were used as intended purpose and for ritual purposes. In form, the hitching post is a pole; as a rule, the hitching post has a certain profile - it has thickenings, gutters. The hitching post can be decorated with carvings and drawings; sculptures can be included in its composition. In some cases, branches are contained in the upper part of the pillar, which makes the serge look like a tree. Tethering posts were installed during the construction of a house, during weddings, at the birth of a child, next to the grave during burial, at the Ysyakh koumiss festival (on the days of the summer solstice), during shamanistic rituals. Often the installation of ritual hitching posts suggests that the spirits can tie their horses to them or move into them.
In all parts of Yakutia, sacred trees were and are revered. According to the traditional beliefs of the Sakha people, the spirit-master of the earth Aan Dar-khan Khotun lives in such a tree. In the spring, next to the sacred trees, rituals dedicated to the spirit-mistress of the earth were held, the tree was decorated with ribbons and sprinkled with koumiss, while asking the spirit-mistress of the area, as well as other good deities of the pagan pantheon, to send down wealth and prosperity.
In the mythology reflected in the Yakut heroic epic, the hitching post and the world tree are identified and form the world vertical. According to the legends, in the country of the ancestor of the Yakuts, located in the very center of the Middle World, the Aal Luuk Mae tree grows, the top of which sprouted into the Upper World, and the roots reach the Lower World. The top of the world tree is a hitching post for the heavenly god Dzhosegyoy Aiyy Toyon - the giver of horses; the roots of the same tree are used as hooks in the underground home of the cattle-giver deities.
The connection between the ritual tethering of the serge and the idea of the world tree can be traced in the manufacture of some serge from old withered trees. Such hitching posts have several tops; one of the serge of this type has been preserved in the Bulgunnyakhtaakh area of the Tatta region. On it are carved figures of a man, a horse, a cow and an eagle, depicting deities of the Yakut pagan pantheon.
The Yakuts considered the graves of shamans sacred. In the 1920s, the ethnographer G. V. Ksenofontov described the shaman burial in the following way: A famous shaman is not buried in the ground, but after death they are placed in a special structure - arangas. Then (when the arangas rots and falls from time to time) the bones of the shaman are "raised" three times in succession over the course of centuries, with the help of three, six or nine shamans.
The grave of a shaman was considered dangerous for strangers and inspired fear in those who were not related to the deceased, but the deceased could protect his descendants. According to legend, when Prince Dellemay took away the mowing from the son of the deceased shaman, he ran to the burial place of his father, began to knock on him with a stick and beg for help. A thunderstorm immediately began, and lightning struck the prince's hut. He survived, but went mad and after death became an evil spirit.
Yakut folklore knows the mention of natural objects endowed with supernatural properties. These are passes (aartyk), as well as river cliffs and wooded hills, denoted by the word tumul.
When passing through mountain passes and upper reaches of rivers, the Yakuts made obligatory sacrifices to the master spirits. From an ethnographic text from the beginning of the 20th century: When climbing the steep Verkhoyansk ridge, where the slightest negligence can lead to the fall, both Lamuts and Yakuts avoid speaking loudly so as not to anger the "spirit of the mountains" and not to invite a terrible snowstorm in such a case ... At the top of the ridge stands a cross, hung all over with coils of horsehair, partridge wings, etc. The lips of the icon of the Mother of God embedded in the cross are thickly greased. This is (a sacrifice to the owner of the place. Copper and silver money is poured between the stones to the base of the cross.
According to spell texts and heroic epic, aartyk passes are associated with the light celestial deities Aiyy (that is, the creators) favorable to man. It is through the Aiyy passes that happiness is sent to people - the souls of children, the offspring of livestock and wild animals for hunting.
Favorable directions for the Yakuts are east and south - that is, the direction of the rising and midday sun. It is from these sides that the Lena basin is surrounded by mountains - therefore, to the south and east in these directions, the earth, as it were, rises to the sky.
Ethnographers recorded the Yakut custom of driving white horses into the mountains as a gift to the deity Yuryung Aiyy Toion (the head of the pagan pantheon).
Among sacred objects on the territory of Yakutia are places associated with receiving shamanic initiation. G.V. Xenophonton wrote: There is, they say, a special mountain range, where they rise from Mount Jokuo along the passage Chengchoydёh Anyaga. A shaman candidate must go up there with a teaching shaman. The teacher goes in front and the candidate behind. The teacher during this journey instructs the candidate and shows him the junctions of the roads leading to various bare capes, where the sources of human diseases are located. It is in these places that during the initiation, which the future shaman, as well as a tour of the mountains, experiences in his visions, the spirits scatter his body: and for all climbs. It was believed that if at the same time the body did not reach some place or the spirit that sent the disease, the shaman could not go to this place, which means that he could not treat the corresponding diseases either.
The spirits mentioned in the above passage (which are the owners of river capes and certain mountain tracts - passes and ascents) are, as a rule, hostile to man. These are yuyors, that is, the souls of suicides or dead shamans, and in one of these texts, Uluu Toyon, the powerful head of the upper demons of abaapy, is named as the head of the spirits living on the tops of the mountains. That is why the future shaman (in reality and in his visions) visits the places of initiation not alone, but together with his otherworldly mentor, the soul of the deceased shaman.
Of course, in early XXI centuries, traditional pagan beliefs among the peoples of Yakutia are not as widespread as before. However, having gone to the countryside, showing perseverance and tact, he can discover ancient sacred objects that were and are revered.
In addition, in last years, with the growth of self-consciousness of the peoples of Sakha, there is a revival of traditional beliefs. Sanctuaries associated with the veneration of the ancient gods and the forces of nature are being built, rituals are being resumed. So, on June 22, on the day of the summer solstice, Ysyakh is widely celebrated - an ancient holiday associated with fertility, cattle breeding cults, and the summer sun.
Introduction
Chapter 1. Traditional culture of the peoples of Yakutia.
1.1. culture of the peoples of Yakutia in the XVII-XVIII centuries. and the spread of Christianity………………………………………………………………2
1.2. Yakuts………………………………………………………………………4
Chapter 2 Beliefs, culture, life.
2.1. Beliefs………………………………………………………………… 12
2.2. Holidays……………………………………………………………………17
2.3. Ornaments………………………………………………………………...18
2.4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………..19
2.5. Used literature……………………………………………...20
Traditional culture of the peoples of Yakutia inXVII- XVIIIcenturies
IN traditional culture peoples of Yakutia until the end of the 18th century. there were no significant changes. With this in mind, this section provides general characteristics Cultures of the Indigenous Peoples of the Region in the 17th – 18th Centuries.
The peoples of the entire Lena region are beginning to change their way of life and activities, there is a change in the language and traditional culture. The main event in this change was the collection of yasak. Most of the indigenous population are moving away from their main occupations and moving on to hunting for furs. The Yukagirs, Evens and Evenks are switching to fur trade, abandoning reindeer breeding. By the middle of the 17th century, the Yakuts began to pay Yasak, by the 80s. In the same century, the Evens, Evenks and Yukagirs began to pay yasak, the Chukchi began to pay taxes by the middle of the 18th century.
There is a change in everyday life, Russian-type houses (izba) appear, a livestock building becomes a separate building, buildings of economic importance appear (barns, pantries, a bathhouse), Yakut clothes change, which are made from Russian or foreign cloth.
The spread of Christianity.
Before the adoption of Christianity, the Yakuts were pagans, they believed in spirits and the presence different worlds.
With the advent of the Russians, the Yakuts began to gradually convert to Christianity. The first to begin to convert to the Orthodox faith were women who married Russians. Men who adopted a new religion, they received a gift of a rich caftan and were freed from yasak for several years.
In Yakutia, with the adoption of Christianity, the customs and mores of the Yakuts change, such concepts as blood feud disappear, family relations weaken. Yakuts receive names and surnames, literacy is spreading. Churches and monasteries become centers of education and printing.
Only in the XIX century. church books in the Yakut language and the first Yakut priests appear. The persecution of shamans and the persecution of supporters of shamanism begins. Shamans who did not accept Christianity were exiled away.
Yakuts.
The main occupation of the Yakuts was the breeding of horses and cattle, in the northern regions they were engaged in reindeer breeding. Cattle breeders made seasonal migrations, and for the winter they stored hay for livestock. Great importance preserved fishing and hunting. In general, a very peculiar specific economy was created - settled cattle breeding. Horse breeding occupied a large place in it. The developed cult of the horse, the Turkic terminology of horse breeding speaks for the fact that the horses were brought by the southern ancestors of the Sakha. In addition, studies conducted by I.P. Guryev, showed a high genetic similarity of Yakut horses with steppe horses - with the Mongolian and Akhal-Teke breeds, with the Kazakh horse of the Jabe type, partly with the Kyrgyz and, which is especially interesting, with Japanese horses from the island of Cherchzhu.
During the development of the Middle Lena basin by the South Siberian ancestors of the Yakuts, a particularly large economic importance had horses that have the ability to “tebenevat”, rake the snow with their hooves, break the ice crust with them, and feed themselves. Cattle are not suitable for long-distance migrations and usually appear during the period when a semi-sedentary (shepherd's) economy is established. As you know, the Yakuts did not roam, but moved from the winter road to the summer one. This was also consistent with the Yakut dwelling, tururbakh diie, a wooden stationary yurt.
According to written sources of the XVII-XVIII centuries. It is known that the Yakuts lived in yurts “sewn with earth” in winter, and in birch bark yurts in summer.
Interesting description compiled by the Japanese who visited Yakutia at the end of the 18th century: "A large hole was made in the middle of the ceiling, on which a thick ice board was placed, thanks to which it is very light inside the Yakut house."
Yakut settlements usually consisted of several dwellings located at a considerable distance from one another. Wooden yurts existed almost unchanged until the middle of the 20th century. “For me, the inside of the Yakut yurt,” V.L. Seroshevsky wrote in his book “Yakuts,” “especially at night, illuminated by a red flame of fire, made a slightly fantastic impression ... Its sides, made of round standing logs, seem striped from shaded grooves, and all of it with a ceiling ... with pillars at the corners, with a mass of wood gently falling from the roof to the ground, it seems to be some kind of oriental tent. Only light oriental fabric, due to circumstances, is replaced here by golden deciduous tree...".
The doors of the Yakut yurts were located on the east side, towards rising sun. In the XVII-XVIII centuries. fireplaces (camuluek ohoh) were not beaten with clay, but smeared with it, and greased all the time. Khotons were separated only by a low pole partition. Dwellings were built from small trees, because it was considered a sin to cut down a thick tree. The yurt had an odd number of windows. Orons-beds, running along the southern and western walls of the dwelling, were wide and lay down to sleep across. They had different heights. The lowest oron was placed on the right side, next to the entrance (уηа oron), and the higher one was the master's, "so that the happiness of the host would not be lower than the happiness of the guest." The orons on the western side were separated from each other by solid partitions, and in front they climbed upright upright, leaving only an opening for a small door, and were locked from the inside at night. The partitions between the orons of the southern side were not continuous. During the day they sat on them and called oron olokh "sitting". In this regard, the first eastern nara on the southern side of the yurt was called in the old days keηul oloh "free seat", the second - ortho oloh, "middle seat", the third nara near the same southern wall - tuspetiyer oloh or uluutuyar oloh, "powerful seat"; the first oron on the western side of the yurt was called kegul oloh, "sacred seat", the second oron - darkhan oloh, "honorary seat", the third one on the north side near the western wall - kencheeri oloh "children's seat". And the bunks on the northern side of the yurt were called kuerel olokh, couches for servants or "pupils".
For winter housing, a lower, inconspicuous place was chosen, somewhere at the bottom of the alas (elani) or near the edge of the forest, where it was better protected from cold winds. These were considered northern and westerly winds, therefore, they set up a yurt in the northern or western part of the clearing.
In general, it should be noted that when choosing a place for a dwelling, they tried to find a secluded happy corner. They did not settle among the old mighty trees, for the latter had already taken happiness, the strength of the earth. As in Chinese geomancy, the choice of a place to live was given exceptional importance. Therefore, cattle breeders in these cases often turned to the help of a shaman. They also turned to divination, for example, divination with a koumiss spoon.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries. large patriarchal families (kergen as a Roman "surname") were housed in several houses: urun die, " White House"was occupied by the owners, in the next - married sons lived and in the hara die" black, thin house "servants and slaves were housed.
In the summer, such a large rich family lived in a stationary (not collapsible) cone-shaped birch bark uras. It was very expensive and had a significant size. Back in the 18th century most of the summer dwellings of wealthy families consisted of such birch bark yurts. They were called "Us kurduulaah mogul urasa" (with three belts a large Mongolian urasa).
Uraces with smaller diameters were also common. So, a medium-sized urasa was called dalla urasa, low and wide in shape; khanas urasa, high urasa, but small in diameter. Among them, the largest was 10 m high and 8 m in diameter.
In the 17th century The Yakuts were a post-tribal people, i.e. a nationality determined in the conditions of an early class society on the basis of existing remnants of a tribal organization and without a formed state. In socio-economic terms, it developed on the basis of patriarchal-feudal relations. The Yakut society consisted, on the one hand, of a small nobility and economically independent ordinary community members, and on the other hand, of patriarchal slaves and bonded dependent (enslaved) people.
In the XVII - XVIII centuries. there were two forms of family - a small monogamous, consisting of parents and mostly minor children, and a large patriarchal family, an association of consanguineous families, headed by the patriarch-father. At the same time, the first variety of the family prevailed. S.A. Tokarev found the presence big family exclusively in Toyon farms. It was made up, in addition to the toyon himself, of his brothers, sons, nephews, sucklings, serfs (slaves) with their wives and children. Such a family was called aga-kergen, moreover, the word aga in literal translation is "senior in age". In this regard, aga-uusa, a patriarchal clan, could originally denote a large patriarchal family.
Patriarchal relations predetermined marriage with the payment of kalym (sulu) as the main condition for marriage. But marriage with the exchange of brides was rarely practiced. There was a custom of levirate, according to which, after the death of an older brother, his wife and children passed into the family of his younger brother.
In the period under study, the Sakha Dyono had a neighborly form of community, which usually arises in the era of the decomposition of the primitive system. It was a union of families on the principle of territorial-neighborly ties, partly with joint ownership of the means of production (pastures, hayfields, and commercial lands). S.V. Bakhrushin and S.A. Tokarev noted that hay mowing among the Yakuts in the 17th century. leased, inherited, sold. It was an object of private property and part of the fishing grounds. Several rural communities made up the so-called. "volost", which had a relatively constant number of farms. In 1640, judging by Russian documents, 35 Yakut volosts were established. S.A. Tokarev defined these volosts as tribal groups, and A. A. Borisov proposed to consider the early Yakut ulus as a territorial association consisting of clans or as an ethno-geographical province. The largest of them were Bologurskaya, Meginskaya, Namskaya, Borogonskaya, Betyunskaya, which numbered from 500 to 900 adult men. The total population in each of them ranged from 2 to 5 thousand people. But among them there were also those where the total population did not exceed 100 people.
Customs and religion of the Yakuts
The primary unit of the Yakut social system has long been a separate family (kergep or yal), consisting of a husband, wife and children, but often with the inclusion of other relatives living together. Married sons were usually allocated to a special household. The family was monogamous, but not so long ago, in early XIX century, among the wealthy part of the population there was also polygamy, although the number of wives usually did not exceed two or three. Wives in such cases often lived apart, each running their own household; The Yakuts explained this custom by the convenience of caring for livestock distributed among several wives.
Marriage was preceded, sometimes for a long time, by matchmaking. The remnants of exogamy (known from the documents of the 17th century) have been preserved: until modern times, they tried to take a wife in a foreign clan, and the rich, not limited to this, looked for brides, if possible, in someone else's place and even ulus. Having looked out for the bride, the groom, or his parents, sent their relatives as matchmakers. The latter, with special ceremonies and conditional language, persuaded the bride's parents about their consent and about the size of the kalym (halyym, or suluu). The consent of the bride herself in the old days was not asked at all. Kalym consisted of cattle, but its size varied greatly: from 1-2 to many tens of heads; the composition of kalym always included the meat of slaughtered cattle. IN late XIX V. the desire to transfer kalym to money intensified. Part of the kalym (kurum) was intended for treats during the wedding feast (in the documents of the 17th century, the word “kurum” sometimes means kalym in general). The payment of the bride price was considered obligatory, and the girl considered it dishonorable to marry without it. Relatives, sometimes even distant relatives, helped the groom in obtaining bride price: this was an old view of the wedding as a tribal affair. The relatives of the bride also participated in the distribution of the received bride price. For his part, the groom received a dowry (enne) for the bride - partly also in cattle and meat, but more in clothing and utensils; the value of the dowry was on average half the value of the kalym.
In the wedding ceremonies themselves, the clan also played an important role. In ancient weddings, many guests participated, relatives of the bride and groom, neighbors, etc. The celebrations lasted for several days and consisted of plentiful treats, various rituals, entertainment - games and dances of youth, etc. Neither the groom nor the bride not only did not occupy a central place in all these festivities, but almost did not participate in them.
Like wedding rites, the terminology of kinship also retains traces of earlier forms of marriage. The name of the son - wol - actually means "boy", "young man"; daughters - kyys - "girl", "girl"; father - ada (literally "senior"); the wife is oyoh, but in some places the wife is simply called dakhtar (“woman”), emehsin (“old woman”), etc.; husband - er; older brother - ubai (bai), younger - ini / older sister - ediy (agas), younger - balys. The last 4 terms also serve to designate some uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces and other relatives. In general, the Yakut kinship system is close to the kinship designation systems of a number of Turkic peoples.
The position of women in the family and in public life was underestimated. The husband - the head of the family - enjoyed despotic power, and the wife could not even complain about ill-treatment, which was a fairly common occurrence, if not from the side of the husband, then from the side of his relatives. A powerless and defenseless alien woman, who got into a new family, was burdened with hard work.
The position of the elderly, decrepit and unable to work, was also difficult. They were little cared for, poorly fed and clothed, sometimes even reduced to begging.
The situation of children, despite the love of the Yakuts for children noted by many observers, was also unenviable. The birth rate among the Yakuts was very high; in most families, from 5 to 10 children were born, often up to 20 or even more. However, due to the difficult living conditions, poor nutrition and care, infant mortality was also very high. In addition to their own children, many families, especially those with few children, often had adopted children, who were often simply bought from the poor.
Newborns were washed by the fire of a small fire and rubbed with cream; the last operation was performed and later quite often. The mother nursed the child for a long time, sometimes up to 4-5 years, but along with this, the child also received a horn with cow's milk. The Yakut cradle is an oblong box made of thin bent boards, where the wrapped child was placed, tied with straps, and left like that. for a long time, without taking out; the cradle is equipped with a chute for urine drainage.
Growing children usually crawled on the dirt floor along with the animals, half-naked or completely naked, left to their own devices, and their care was often limited to tying a long belt to a post so that the child would not fall into the fire. From an early age, the children of the poor were gradually accustomed to work, doing the work that was feasible for them: collecting brushwood in the forest, caring for small livestock, etc.: girls were taught to needlework and household chores. Toyon children received best care, they were spoiled and unlived.
The children had few toys. These were usually home-made, made by parents, and sometimes by the children themselves, wooden figurines of animals, small bows and arrows, small houses and various utensils, for girls - dolls and their small suits, blankets, pillows, etc. The games of Yakut children are simple and rather monotonous . Characterized by the absence of noisy mass games; in general, the children of the Yakut poor usually grew up quiet, inactive.
Religion
Even in the second half of the XVIII century. most ofYakuts was baptized, and in the X] X century. all Yakuts were already considered Orthodox. Although the transition to Orthodoxy was caused for the most part by material motives (various benefits and handouts for those being baptized), the new religion gradually entered everyday life. In the yurt, in the red corner, icons hung, the Yakuts wore crosses (large silver pectoral crosses for women are curious), went to church, many of them, especially the toyons, were zealous Christians. This is understandable, since Christianity, much better than shamanism, was adapted to satisfy the class interests of the rich. For all that, however, the old, pre-Christian religion did not disappear at all: the old beliefs, although somewhat modified by the influence of Christian ideas, continued to stubbornly hold on, the shamans - the servants of the old cult - still enjoyed authority, although they were forced to more or less hide their activities from the tsarist administration and the clergy. Shamanism and the animistic beliefs associated with it turned out to be perhaps the most stable part of the old Yakut religion.
Shamanism of the Yakuts was closest to the Tungus type. The Yakut shaman tambourine (wide-rimmed, oval) did not differ in any way from the Tungus, the costume was also of the Tungus type, with the exception that the Yakut shamans performed kamla with their heads uncovered. The similarity concerns not only this external side, but also more significant features of shamanic beliefs and rituals.
The Yakut shaman (oyuun) was considered a professional servant of the spirits. According to the Yakut ideas, anyone whom the spirits choose to serve themselves could become a shaman; but usually shamans came from the same surnames: “in a family where a shaman once showed up, he is no longer translated,” the Yakuts said. In addition to male shamans, there were also female shamans (udadan), who were considered even more powerful. A sign of readiness for the shamanic profession was usually a nervous illness, which was considered evidence of the "choice" of a person by the spirits; this was followed by a period of study under the guidance of an old shaman, and finally a public initiation rite.
It was believed that the spirit that chose the shaman became his patron spirit (emeget). They believed that this was the soul of one of the deceased great shamans. Its image is in the form of a copper flat human figure it was sewn along with other pendants on the chest of a shaman's costume; this image was also called emeget. The patron spirit gave the shaman power and knowledge: "The shaman sees and hears only through his emeget." In addition to this last, each shaman had his own animal counterpart (ye-kyyl - “mother-beast”) in the form of an invisible eagle, stallion, bull, bear, etc. Finally, in addition to these personal spirits, each shaman during the ritual entered into communication with a range of other spirits in animal or human form. Different categories of these spirits, one way or another connected with the activities of the shaman, had certain names.
The most important and numerous group of spirits were the abaans (or abaas), devouring spirits, whose action was attributed to various diseases. Treatment by a shaman of a patient in the view of the believing Yakuts consisted in finding out exactly which abaas caused the disease, to fight with them, or to make a sacrifice to them, to expel them from the patient. Abaas live, according to shamanistic ideas, with their own tribes and clans, with their own economy, partly in the “upper”, partly in the “lower” world, as well as in the “middle” world, on earth.
Horses were sacrificed to those living in the "upper" world, and cattle were sacrificed in the "lower" world. Uvr were also close to abaasy - evil spirits, for the most part small, representing the souls of people who died a premature and violent death, as well as the souls of deceased shamans and shamans, sorcerers, etc. The ability to cause illness to people was also attributed to these yuyor; but they live in the "middle" world (on and around the earth). Ideas about yuyor are very close to Russian old beliefs about "unclean" or "mortgaged" dead. The assistants of the shaman during the ritual, helping him to do various tricks, were considered small spirits of the kalena.
Of the great deities of the shamanic pantheon, the mighty and formidable Uluu-Toyon, the head of the spirits of the upper world, the patron of shamans, stood in the first place. “He created a shaman and taught him to deal with all these troubles; he gave people fire." Living in the upper world (on the western side of the third sky), Uluu-Toyon can also descend to earth, incarnating in large animals: a bear, an elk, a bull, a black stallion. Below Uluu-Toyon there are other more or less powerful deities of the shamanic pantheon, each of which had its own name and epithet, its place of residence and its specialty: abaasy, the creator of everything harmful and unpleasant, Aan Arbatyy Toyon (or Arkhah-Toyon) - causing consumption, etc.
The presence of images of great deities in the shamanic pantheon of the Yakuts distinguishes Yakut shamanism from Tunguska (the Tungus did not have a developed belief in great gods) and puts it close to the shamanism of the Altai-Sayan peoples: in general, this is a feature of a later stage in the development of shamanism.
The main functions of shamans were to "treat" sick people and animals, as well as to "prevent" all sorts of misfortunes. The methods of their activity were reduced to ritual (with singing, dancing, beating a tambourine, etc.), usually at night, during which the shaman drove himself into a frenzy and, according to the Yakuts, his soul flew to the spirits or these latter entered the body of the shaman; by way of the ritual, the shaman defeated and drove out hostile spirits, learned from the spirits about the necessary sacrifices and made them, etc. Along the way, during the ritual, the shaman acted as a fortuneteller, answering various questions from those present, and also performed various tricks that were supposed to increase authority shaman and fear of him.
For his services, the shaman received, especially in the event of a successful ritual, a certain fee: its value ranged from 1 p. up to 25 r. and more; moreover, the shaman always received treats and ate sacrificial meat, and sometimes took some of it home. Although the shamans usually had their own household, sometimes a considerable one, the payment for the ritual was a significant income item for them. Particularly difficult for the population was the requirement of shamans to make bloody sacrifices.
With almost the same superstitious fear as shamans, they sometimes treated blacksmiths, especially hereditary ones, to whom various mysterious abilities were attributed. The blacksmith was considered partly related to the shaman: "the blacksmith and the shaman from the same nest." Blacksmiths could heal, give advice, and even predict. The blacksmith forged iron pendants for the shaman's costume, and this alone inspired fear of him. The blacksmith had a special power over the spirits, because, according to the Yakuts, the spirits are afraid of the sound of iron and the noise of bellows.
In addition to shamanism, the Yakuts had another cult: fishing. The main deity of this cult is Bai-Bayanai, a forest spirit and patron of hunting and fishing. According to some ideas, there were 11 Bayanaev brothers. They gave good luck in fishing, and therefore the hunter before fishing turned to them with an invocation, and after a successful fishing, he sacrificed part of the prey to them, throwing pieces of fat into the fire or smearing blood on wooden battens - images of Bayanay.
Apparently, the idea of ichchi, the “owners” of various objects, was connected with the fishing economy. The Yakuts believed that all animals, trees, various natural phenomena have ichchi, as well as some household items, such as a knife, an ax. These ichchi are neither good nor evil in and of themselves. In order to appease the "masters" of mountains, cliffs, rivers, forests, etc., the Yakuts in dangerous places, on passes, crossings, etc., brought them small sacrifices in the form of pieces of meat, butter and other food, as well as rags of cloth, etc. The veneration of certain animals adjoined the same cult. A special superstitious reverence was enjoyed by the bear, which was avoided to be called by name, they were afraid to kill and considered a werewolf sorcerer. They also revered the eagle, whose name was toyon kyyl (“lord beast”), crow, falcon and some other birds and animals.
All these beliefs date back to the ancient fishing economy of the Yakuts. The pastoral economy also gave rise to its own range of ideas and rituals. This is the cult of the deities of fertility, which is weaker than other beliefs, preserved until modern times and therefore less known. It was to this circle of ideas that, obviously, belonged the belief in aiyy - beneficent beings, deities - givers of various blessings. The residence of the aiyy was supposed to be in the east.
The first place among these bright spirits belonged to Urun-Aiyy-Toyon (“white master creator”), he lived in the eighth heaven, was kind and did not interfere in the affairs of people, therefore, his cult, it seems, did not exist. The image of Aiyy-Toyon, however, strongly mixed with the features of the Christian god. According to some beliefs, Aar-Toyon, an inhabitant of the ninth heaven, stood even higher than Aiyy-Toyon. Below them followed a large number of other bright deities, more or less active and bringing various benefits. The most important figure of them was the female deity Aiyykyt (Aiyysyt), the giver of fertility, the patroness of women in childbirth, who gave children to mothers. In honor of Aiyysyt, a sacrifice was made during childbirth, and since it was believed that after childbirth the goddess stays in the house for 3 days, then after three days a special female ceremony was held (men were not allowed to attend it) of seeing off Aiyysyt.
The main honoring of the bright deities - the patrons of fertility was in the old days the koumiss holiday - ykyakh. Such holidays were held in the spring and in the middle of summer, when there was a lot of milk; they settled in the open air, in the meadow, with a large gathering of people; The main moment of Ysyakh was the solemn libation of koumiss in honor of the bright deities, prayers to these deities, the solemn drinking of koumiss from special large wooden goblets (choroon). After that, a feast was arranged, then various games, wrestling, etc. main role At these holidays, in the past, servants of bright deities, the so-called aiyy-oyuuna (in Russian, “white shamans”), played, which, however, have long since disappeared among the Yakuts in connection with the decline of this entire cult. At the end of the XIX century. only legends have survived about white shamans.
In these cults of both beneficent and formidable deities, the once military aristocracy, the toyons, played a role; the latter were usually organizers and Ysyakhs. In their legendary genealogies, the Toyons often derived their surnames from one or another of the great and powerful deities.
The ancient Ysyakhs also contained elements of a tribal cult: according to legend, in the old days they were arranged according to childbirth. The Yakuts also preserved other remnants of the tribal cult, but also only in the form of weak traces. So, they retained elements of totemism, noted even in the literature of the 18th century. (Stralenberg). Each clan once had its patron in the form of an animal; such totems of the clans were a raven, a swan, a falcon, an eagle, a squirrel, an ermine, a white-lipped stallion, etc. Members of this clan not only did not kill or eat their patron, but did not even call them by name.
The veneration of fire, preserved among the Yakuts, is also connected with the remnants of the tribal cult. Fire, according to the beliefs of the Yakuts, is the purest element, and it was forbidden to desecrate and insult it. Before starting any meal, in the old days they threw pieces of food into the fire, splashed milk, koumiss, etc. into it. All this was considered a sacrifice to the owner of the fire (Wat-ichchite). The latter was sometimes presented not in the singular, but in the form of 7 brothers. They didn't take pictures. The cult of ancestors among the Yakuts was poorly represented. Of the dead, shamans and various prominent people, whose spirits (yuyor) were afraid for some reason.
The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has registered an organization of believers in the traditional pantheon of the gods of Yakutia - "Aar Aiyy Religion". Thus, in Russia it is officially recognized ancient religion the Yakut people, which was widespread in the region until the end of the 17th century, when the people of Yakutia began to convert to Orthodoxy en masse. Today the followers of the aiyy are talking about the restoration of the traditions of their faith, the northern branch - the cult of the deified sky, according to the SmartNews portal.
According to the head of the organization "Religion Aar Aiyy" Augustina Yakovleva, the final registration took place in May 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 were always followers of aiyy among the people. Previously, we did not have a written language, and people transmitted all information from mouth to mouth. And by the time the letter 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 chief god, the creator of the world - Yuryung Aiyy toyon. He has twelve assistant gods. Each of them has its own function. During prayer, we give honors first to the highest gods, and then to earthly good spirits. We appeal 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 under open sky, we don't have churches," said Tamara Timofeeva, assistant to the head of the new religious organization.
The world in the view of the aiyy followers is divided into three parts: the underworld - Allaraa Doidu, where evil spirits live, the middle world - Orto Doidu, where people live, and the upper world - Yuhee Doidu, the place where the gods reside. Such a universe is embodied in the Great Tree. Its crown is the upper world, the trunk is the middle one, and the roots, respectively, are the lower world. It is believed that the aiyy gods do not accept sacrifices, and they are given dairy products and plants.
The supreme god - Yuryung Aiyy toyon, the creator of the world, people and demons inhabiting the lower world, animals and plants, embodies the sky. Dzhosegey toyon is the god - the patron of horses, his image is closely connected 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 - patron goddess happy people, an intermediary between gods and people. Bilge Khaan is the god of knowledge. Chyngys Khaan - the god of fate. Ulu toion 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 rites, but also the language. We expect that in the future the site will become calling card cultures of the indigenous peoples of Yakutia, who maintain a spiritual connection with their ancestors," said then a representative of the Republican Ministry for Entrepreneurship, Tourism Development and Employment, which initiated the creation of the site.
Tengrianism is a system of religious beliefs of the ancient Mongols and Turks. The etymology of the word goes back to Tengri - the deified sky. Tengrianism arose on the basis of the people's worldview, which embodied early religious and mythological ideas related to the attitude of a person to nature and her elemental powers. Peculiar and feature This religion is the relationship of man with the outside world, nature.
"Tengrianism was generated by the deification of nature and the veneration of the spirits of their 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 sense of gratitude to nature for the fact that, despite the sudden outbursts of their unbridled anger, she more often it is affectionate and generous. They knew how to look at nature as an animated being, "said the representative of the department.
According to him, some scientists who studied Tengrism came to the conclusion that by the 12th-13th centuries this dogma 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).
"Tengrianism 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 bizarrely and surprisingly organically intertwined The only religion with which Tengrianism had much in common is the Japanese national religion - Shintoism," the representative of the republican ministry concluded.
