It so happened that it was the Yakuts who were able to preserve the largest number of rituals and algys (blessings) of the ancient faith in Heaven. Living proof of this is June 22 - the day of the summer equinox and, at the same time, the beginning of the short northern summer. The Sakha people have always worshiped the Sun and Fire in their divine, metaphysical sense. Even the root “sah” of this word means fire, sunlight, or simply light.
The Ysyakh scenario provides that the solar deities Aiyy will arrive on Earth. Therefore, Aiyy Serge is established for them - the divine hitching post. After all, the gods will come on their fiery horses.
Serge (Yakut serge - "tethering post") - ritual poles among the Yakuts. Serge means that the area where it is installed has an owner. It is placed in the form of a processed pillar at the booth, at the gates of the house (“as long as the serge stands, the family is alive”). You can not destroy the serge - it must itself become worthless. Serge is associated with the cult of the horse and is also a symbol of the tree of life, the world tree that unites the three worlds. Three horizontal grooves are cut into the post. The upper one is intended for tying the horses of the celestials of the upper world, the middle one is for the horses of people, and the lower one is for the horses of the underworld. In the past, serge were installed during the initiation of a shaman (rite of passage shanar). In the burial places of shamans, very high serge were installed - for the hitching post of gods and spirits.
The word "Ysyakh" can be translated by the words "sprinkle", "sprinkle". On this day they say and sing good parting words - Algys. They refer not only to Aiyy and Tangara, but also to people and nature - forests, fields, lakes, rivers.
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Later, stories begin about what was done, what moments in life were especially exciting over the past year, what was lost and what was gained, what was achieved.
By the way, the latter was used during the years of socialism. Ysyakh is so significant for the Yakut people that they decided not to cancel or ban it, but to add Soviet reality to it. As a result, representatives of the party and the Soviet government, heads of farms, ordinary workers and hunters took to the stands. And we talked about how they are fulfilling the five-year plan. After that, the foremost workers were honored and festivities began. Of course, there was nothing wrong with this, but the essence and meaning of the holiday, as a way of uniting man and Heaven, was lost.
National holiday Ysyakh
Ysyakh in Yakutia lasts for several days, which is why it was called a festival. The procedure for conducting Ysyakh is approved at the republican level. In ancient times, this time was not included in the calendar and equalized the failure of identical days in months. During these days, dozens of rituals were performed. They are mainly associated with the feeding and drinking of Fire, Sun and Sky. This symbolizes the relationship that established tengrism between gods and people. The participants in the celebration behave before the gods as they would if respected and beloved older relatives arrived. I want to feed and show strength, dexterity, surprise with dance, updates with Yakut ornaments and patterns, talk, share what is in my heart. This is precisely the main motive of Ysyakh.
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It should be noted that the Yakut holiday Ysyakh has always been and remains cheerful and childishly naive. Its very atmosphere of stone upon stone does not leave the idea of such events as some kind of gloomy pagan obscurantism with bloody sacrifices, dull shamans and mournful music. Here are examples of some of the competitions that are held during the celebration. Jumping on one leg, jumping on two legs on the marks, a competition to eat the most food and drink the most koumiss. You might think that the pioneer leaders in pioneer camps or mass entertainers come up with the same thing. True, children and adults rarely perceive such competitions with enthusiasm.
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During Ysyakh they play with great enthusiasm. The fact is that each such game is a symbolic act of reprogramming one's destiny. Food plays the role of a symbol of prosperity, and jumping allows you to jump over failures. As a result, people change their fate for the whole year ahead. They change in a positive way, because in sports, and in comic competitions, as in fortune-telling, a happy fate is predetermined from the very beginning. After all, all this happens in front of the gods with horse teams behind their backs, in front of the Celestials, the messengers of the Father of all things - Tengri.
Ysyakh Olonkho
The tradition of celebrating Ysyakh is inseparable from the epic of the people of Sakha Olonkho. So much so that the full name of the holiday consists of two words - Ysyakh Olonkho. The relationship can be expressed something like this: Olonkho covers a huge layer of space and time. It is in this epic that it is said that God, Yuryug Aiyy Toion, created everything that we can or cannot perceive, gods and humans, the animal kingdom and the world of spirits. At the same time, the Middle World is granted to man. People are relatives of aiyy deities. The reins and bridles that people hold behind their backs are symbols of those reins and bridles that the celestials hold in their hands. They control people, but not as slaves. Rather, the deities see the limitations of people and come to the rescue in difficult situations.
In the form of an epic, Olonkho is a collection of poems. They tell about the fate of the Aiyy aimaga tribe, which was sent from the Upper World (Үөhee Doydu) to the Middle World (Orto Doydu). This is the world that people are able to perceive. The stories tell about how the settlement took place, what obstacles the heroes had to meet, how they withstood the difficulties. At the same time, the heroes often fight with representatives of the Abasy tribe - the Lower World (Allaraa Doidu).
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By tradition, Olonkho is performed without musical accompaniment. Narrators (olonkhosuts) use a special tonality. They either pronounce poetic stanzas in a special recitative, or sing stanzas. All this is done with a special tonality.
Olonkho is completely saturated with the spirit of Tengrism. It is the message of the ancestors, and the ancient Sakhas made the main way of transmitting information not even the verses themselves, but their symbolism and the rituals arising from it. For some time they were almost completely replaced by theatricality. Narrators recited poems, dancers danced dances, even shamans fed sky, fire, sun and lawns with koumiss as a tribute to traditions with elements of folklore. Now the situation has begun to change radically. They even talked about the need to completely abandon the theatrical side and leave only the sacred part of the rituals and ceremonies. But such a radical approach did not work because of the very nature of Tengrism, which never put its own values at the forefront.
Osuohai
It is no coincidence that the most culminating moment of the holiday is the Yakut Osuokhay. This is a symbolic unity of all people in one big round dance. Making measured movements, they move in the direction of the Sun. The leader of the olonkhosut continuously sings songs that praise everything that happens. The movement can start in the afternoon and continue until sunrise. However, in some uluses, the Yakut dance Osuokhay lasts three days and three nights. Of course, the members change. This is not an endurance marathon. The main thing is that the round dance lasts and lasts for long hours, filling the participants and spectators with the energy of unity.
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Agree, an uninitiated tourist can take pictures and call it all a folklore dance. Maybe this is so, but at the same time there is also a collective prayer and meditation.
Ysyakh Tuimaady
Ysyakh in Yakutsk is held in the area of Us Khatyn. The celebration of the meeting of summer, which takes place in the capital of the Republic of Sakha, is respectfully called Ysyakh Tuimaady. At the end of June, in the area of Us Khatyn, near the city of Yakutsk, people from all over the republic gather to celebrate this special holiday together. Even the mayor of Yakutsk takes part in the grand opening of the event. For two days, various festive events are held here: horse races, sports, osuokhay dance, koumiss drinking, feasts, concerts with the participation of Yakut pop stars, meeting the sun, etc. In order not to spoil the national Yakut holiday, during Ysyakh, the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited throughout the city.
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Ysyakh Tuimaady has become so famous that guests from other cities of Russia come here, even representatives of various countries. After all, this holiday fully reflects the essence of the Yakut culture. In addition to Ysyakh Tuymaada and Olonkho, Ysyakh of Youth is also held, as the name itself says, a celebration of the meeting of summer, dedicated to youth. Ysyakh Manchaary is also held annually, a holiday with a sports bias. All self-respecting athletes of Yakutia are waiting for this holiday to measure their strength and exchange experiences in sports competitions.
