Yhyakh is a traditional festival of the Sakha people. The ancestors of the Sakha celebrated Yhyakh on June 21st and 22nd - the summer solstice. Since 1991, June 21st has been an official holiday in the Sakha Republic.
According to the old cattle-breeders' calendar, a new year began in June. It coincided with nature waking up and was a holiday in celebration of renewal. The ancient Sakha wanted to protect themselves, their close relatives and their cattle from evil forces, and asked for a blessing from the gods of aiyy for their families and the whole tribe for the following year. According to one of the legends of the Sakha, the first man who brought people together for yhyakh was a man named Ellei.
The Sakha people worshipped the Sun, which is why the colour white, the colour of the sun, is so important in Sakha rituals. Traditionally, the festival is opened by the 'white shaman', an elder dressed in white clothes. He is accompanied by eight girls wearing white dresses, and nine boys.
The Yhyakh ritual consists of three parts. The first is the most important one. It involves holding kumis (fermented mare's milk) and praising the supreme white creator, identifying him with the Sun. There is a special place for the ritual in the middle of the Yhyakh field, which is decorated with birches and ropes interlaced with black and white horse hair, pieces of birch bark and scraps (salama). The white shaman sprinkles kumis for the gods and spirits and asks them to send plenty of green grass to the pastures, to ensure the cattle and horses breed well and to take care of those present.
The second part of the Yhyakh takes place in the open air in the presence of numerous people sitting round a tusulge (a place where a feast takes place). Special wooden vessels (chorons) are used for drinking the kumis and drinkers are supposed to leave some kumis in the
bottom of the choron, because it symbolises plentiful supplies and also the prosperity of the host. According to the tradition, you should not 'drink' all the riches of the host.
The third part of the Yhyakh consists of games, sports competitions, horse racing and singing contests, the narration of folk tales and the national circle dance, ohyokhai. The national form of wrestling, khapsagay, is very popular and attracts a large audience. Another national sport is m^s-wrestling (stick pulling), in which two participants each try to pull the wooden stick over to their own side. Jumping contests are another specific attraction.
But the most fascinating event is the ohyokhai song competition. People sing and dance in a circle, which denotes the year's cycle. The singers start one after another and people repeat in chorus while dancing.
During the festival, people wear national dress decorated with fur, beads and embroidery, and they eat traditional dishes. The festival continues for three days and nights. People stay out all day and night and early in the morning they watch the rising sun, taking energy from it for the whole year.
Sakha people celebrate the New Year twice a year – in winter with the rest of citizens of Russia, and in summer – according to the ancient traditions. Yakutia is the largest region of Siberia, almost all of its territory is situated in the Arctic Circle. Sometimes the temperatures reach -60 °C. Summer is very short, it lasts only three months. It begins in the middle of June. And the holiday is celebrated this time of year.
The Sakha Yhyakh festival (literally it can be translated as abundance) is related to a cult of a solar deity, with a fertility cult. Before the German invasion of the Soviet Union it was held on 22 June, the longest day of the year. But after 1941, for moral reason (the date of Yhyakh coincided with the beginning of Operation Barbarossa) it began to be spent in the period between 10 and 25 June.
Ancient Sakha celebrated the New Year at the Yhyаkh festival. Its traditions include women and children decorating trees and tethering posts with "salama" (nine bunches of horse hair hung on horse-hair ropes). The oldest man, wearing white, opens the holiday. He is accompanied by seven virgin girls and nine virgin boys and starts the ritual by sprinkling kymys on the ground, feeding the fire. He prays to the Ai-ii spirits for the well-being of the people who depend on them and asks the spirits to bless all the people gathered.
Afterwards, people sing and dance Ohuakhai (see below), play national games, eat national dishes, and drink kymys.
During the years of stagnation these traditional ceremonies were almost forgotten. Now there is a revival of Sakha culture, including the yhyakh festival. Until 1990, when the first yhyakh was held in Yakutsk, traditionally accurate celebrations were only held in some regions.
The Ohuokhai Dance
The Ohuokhai dance appeared long ago when the Sakha people lived in the South and were typical cattle-breeders, so-called sun worshippers. It is a native dance that combines three forms of art: dancing, singing and poetry. The Sakha word "yungkyu" (Yңкүү, dance) comes from the verb "ungk" (Yң, to worship).
The Ohuokhai is a simultaneous round dance and song. Dancers form a circle and dance, arm in arm, hand in hand, with the left foot put forward, while making rhythmical, graceful movements with their bodies, legs, feet and arms. A lead singer improvises the lyrics and the other dancers repeat them. This Ohuokhai leader has a special talent not only for singing but also, what is more important, for poetic improvisation. There song leaders compete at the national Yhyakh festival for the best poetic expression, best song and biggest circle.
Poetic improvisation of the Ohuokhai represents one of the richest and oldest genres of Sakha folklore.
The melody of the Ohuokhai is put to many types of music, from marching tunes to operas. Kylyhakh is the special singing technique of vocal cord vibration. This technique gives a unique national Sakha colouring highly appreciated by experts in "throat singing". The Ohuokhai plays an important role in the development of the musical and choreographic arts.
A famous folk singer, poet and composer, Sergey Zverev from the Suntarsky region added many new elements in the expressiveness of the movements.
The beginning: the ritual fire, shamans and the round dance
The celebration starts with an ancient ritual - sprinkling kumis on the ground, feeding the fire, praying to the spirits for the well-being of the people who gathered and for the blessing of them all. This is the obligation of the main shaman. A few young men help him start a fire, over which he greets the Gods, at the same time sacrificing horsehair, pancakes and kumis - this is all given to the fire.
Yhyakh is a family holiday. Every family spends a lot of time preparing for this day - they sew new holiday clothing, prepare national dishes (kumis and byppah - cultured milk product and salamat - a special kind of porridge).
Afterwards everybody takes part in the round dance Ohuokhai - a massive native dance. All the participants of Ohuokhai take each other's hand and share positive energy with one another - everybody becomes kin. The songs that are sung are devoted to the force of Nature, her beauty and greatness. They are also devoted to a favored summer and it's abundance. After this dance the 'official part' is over and everybody scatters around the meadow, where all the competitions are slowly starting. Some are interested in fights, others watch runners compete or run themselves.
The ceremony of drinking the national beverage - kumis
Kumis is a fermented product traditionally made from mare's milk - it has always been favored in Yakutia. For the Yakuts kymys is a truly holy beverage - it is presented to the holy spirits during the celebration of Yhyakh.
The algyschyt (the charmer) starts a fire and asks the gods, the spirit of fire and earth to send prosperity, the increase of crop, abundance and blessings. The holy drink - kumis, is given to all the guests. During the celebrations it is drunk from a special sacred vessel - a "choron", alcoholic beverages during Yhyakh are prohibited. Those who have never tried kumis before should take it slowly - indigestion is quite possible due to want of habit.
The meeting of the Sun
Games and contests are held till the night. Everybody waits for the most important ceremony - the meeting of the Sun - this is the culmination of the holiday. When night falls, all the people gather on a big meadow surrounded by a fence. Right in the center a special ritual is carried out with heave offering to the gods, the shaman says a few prayers and only after this ritual is everybody let out onto the meadow. The whole crowd is waiting for sunrise.
How to get there
In order to take part in the celebrations, Yakuts and visitors come to the city a few days in advance in order to finish the last preparations and to set out for the meadow in good time. This is not extraordinary due to the fact that when the celebrations actually start, it will be extremely difficult to get there in time because of the terrible traffic. This will end only after the sunrise on the next day. There are special commuter buses and shuttle buses going from Yakutsk to the place of celebration. If you don't want to be stuck in traffic, you should really get there in advance. Some tourists arrive a day before and set up their tents right next to the pavilions.
Празднование [ править ]
Люди Саха празднуют Новый год два раза в год - зимой с остальными гражданами России , а летом - по древним традициям. Якутия - крупнейший регион Сибири , почти вся его территория расположена в Полярном круге. Иногда температура достигает -60 ° C. Лето очень короткое, оно длится всего три месяца. Это начинается в середине июня. И праздник празднуется в это время года.
Фестиваль «Саха-Йях» (буквально его можно перевести как изобилие ) связан с культом солнечного божества с культом плодородия. До немецкого вторжения в Советский Союз он состоялся 22 июня, самый длинный день в году. Но после 1941 года по моральным соображениям (датировка Йяхя совпала с началом операции « Барбаросса» ) ее начали проводить в период с 10 по 25 июня.
Древний Саха провел Новый год на фестивале им. Его традиции включают женщин и детей, украшающих деревья и привязные стойки с «саламой» (девять пучков лошадиных волос, свисающих на веревках для волос). Самый старый человек, одетый в белый цвет, открывает праздник. Он сопровождается семью девственницами и девятью девственницами и начинает ритуал, разбрызгивая кимы на землю, подпитывая огонь. Он молится духам Ai-ii за благосостояние людей, которые зависят от них, и просит духов благословлять всех собравшихся людей.
Впоследствии люди поют и танцуют Ohuakhai (см. Ниже), играют в национальные игры, едят национальные блюда и пьют кимы .
За годы стагнации эти традиционные церемонии были почти забыты. Сейчас возрождается сакская культура, в том числе и йяхский фестиваль. До 1990 года, когда в Якутске проводились первые йяхы, традиционно точные празднования проводились только в некоторых регионах.
[ Прав. ] Этимология
Танец Ohuokhai
Танец Ohuokhai появился давным-давно, когда жители Саха проживали на юге и были типичными скотоводами, так называемыми поклонниками солнца. Это родной танец, который сочетает в себе три формы искусства: танцы, пение и поэзию. Сакское слово «юнкю» (Yңкүү, танец ) происходит от глагола «ungk» (Yң, для поклонения).
Ohuokhai - это одновременный круглый танец и песня. Танцоры образуют круг и танцуют, рука об руку, рука об руку, с выдвинутой левой ногой, делая ритмичные, изящные движения своими телами, ногами, ногами и руками. Ведущий певец импровизирует лирику, а остальные танцоры повторяют их. Этот лидер Ohuokhai обладает особым талантом не только для пения, но и, что более важно, для поэтической импровизации. Там песни лидеры соревнуются на национальном фестивале Yhyakh за лучшее поэтическое выражение, лучшую песню и самый большой круг.
Поэтическая импровизация Охоохай представляет собой один из самых богатых и самых старых жанров фольклора Саха.
Мелодия Ohuokhai ставится на многие виды музыки, от походных мелодий до опер. Килыхах - это специальная техника пения вибрации голосового шнура. Этот метод дает уникальную национальную окраску саха, высоко оцененную специалистами в «горловом пении». Ohuokhai играет важную роль в развитии музыкального и хореографического искусства.
Знаменитый народный певец, поэт и композитор Сергей Зверев из Сунтарского района добавил много новых элементов в выразительность движений.
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