There are such people - Evenks. The story of the Evenks. Tales of the mountain winds. Legends of Evenki of South Yakutia Toto and Nako, people are birds

On Earth came black as the coal of an extinct bonfire, night; and a harsh polar winter hung over the whole Middle World. It carried its weather from the Lower World of Khargi. The Great Muhuchi then decided to gather all the Evenks together on a loam, call on Heveki and ask him for help from people and tell him that it has become completely bad to live across the ridges walking. No food, hard to get water, deer disappeared. Cold and hunger, disease and poverty reigned in Middle Earth.
  At the call of Muhuchi, everyone gathered at the loam. The big shamans turned and sacrificed Heveki with a request to help restore the people to their former happy and carefree life, to return the people to the Sun, it warmed them and allowed all living things to grow. Heveki answered people: “You yourself are guilty, behaved carelessly and missed your kuta (happiness). Now learn to correct your mistakes yourself. We must fight for our happiness and take care of it. ” Having said this, Hevaki went into his Upper World.
  People thought deeply after his words and decided that only one Soning Main could help the Evenks. People asked him to return the stolen Sun to the people of the Middle World. Main agreed and, standing on his heavy athlete’s skis, ran across the sky, looking for the trail of heavenly moose cow Haglan. The trail of his skis melted in the black sky and disappeared from view in the heavenly ridges of the vast Upper World. The blue-black night taiga of the Upper World hid it among its trees, like a summer gadfly in the skin of a deer.
  And on Middle Mother Earth, sleeping in a deep and heavy sleep, people continued to get sick and die in the eternal winter that had come - they were not used to such colds and frosts, kese! (about grief!). People had to break all the banning amulets: chop wood in the dark and feed the fire. The mistress of the Lower World, Eni Buni, scolded Khargi: a lot of people were dying, and there was nowhere to hold their souls. The shaman fell asleep - the carrier of dead souls. Souls not accepted into the Lower World started a war. They began to seize the possessions of Kharga's helpers - the spirits of disease, hunger and cold. The spirits of disease became worried and went complaining to the Mistress of the Underworld. Khargi realized that he had made a mistake, but was in no hurry to correct it. He laughed gloomily with the sound of an owl, flying with a noise over the family fires, extinguishing sparks and killing the Spirit of Fire - Togo.
Frightened people wrapped themselves tightly in their warm skins. Sending the spirits of illness to a person, failures on the hunt, or doing any other petty evil, he still dreamed of becoming the Master of the Universe! Ebey (scary!).
  Dead souls continued to fight the spirits of disease and evil, and so there was no time to rise to the Middle World and send curses on living people. Meanwhile, in the Middle Earth, the great Muhuchi healed people with the power of his Spirit - the Word, and with the departure of every Evenk to the Lower World, the walls of his big heart became thinner, they were erased from experiences for his destitute people. It seemed to him that he had done everything he could. Khargi was very strong with his assistants, who did not have an account, like fallen hairs from a shed deer skin. It’s hard, enuke (it hurts). But he continued to treat people doomed to starvation and cold death. A cry of wolf howls stood on the ground, and there was no end to the tears and grief of mothers and widows. The terrible war of people and evil spirits continued, and the shadows of dead Han people (ghosts) were already roaming on Earth.
  From the understanding that people are doomed, the great heart of Muhuchi-narrator could not stand it, exploded. A huge force escaped from this explosion, illuminated
  black winter sky with bright multi-colored flashes. It illuminated the whole taiga - this is how the Northern Lights appeared. People began to feed children and patients in the light of it, in the plague it became warmer and brighter. In the light of the northern lights, the former dexterity and luck, vigilance of the eyes returned to the hunters and good prey appeared. In the ice of the rivers, people learned how to make ice holes and fish. A little began to live better, however!
  And all the time people remembered the great Muhuchi with a kind word. And in response, his heart sang a thin silver song that only a man with a good heart could hear.
  Many cross-eyed people still hear him. They want to hear, but they cannot, those whose hearts are covered with black shaggy hair, which is called Stupidity, Cruelty, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Anger.
The great storyteller died in the arms of his friends, and they placed him in a high shed. His friends performed well in the far arc into the Lower World: they killed funeral deers, laid a saddle with pack, clothes, dishes, and food. The funeral pyre made of rosemary and juniper branches burned out for a long time, and the Spirit of Fire was fed with pieces of fat from funeral deer. People did not forget about Mother Earth, and they fed her slices of fat, and the Great Losihu-Haglan people remembered. Haglan lived pretty well all this time. The sun was a good master of her plague. But, despite the glorious nature of the Dulach-Sun, they have recently begun to quarrel often. But is it possible to combine day and night?
  Haglan after a while appeared a small calf with a brightly shiny red skin, as she dreamed - of a sunny color.
  And the ribbons of the Northern Lights, all wriggling, crawled and crawled deep into the Universe. The universe became brighter, the hero Main saw clearly his cosmic path, and his heart heard the voice of the Great Muhuchi, who asked him to help people.
  Suddenly he saw the plague of Space moose Haglan, a small sparkling calf playing near him. Main fired a dull arrow *, which fell in front of Haglan's feet, reporting the arrival of a man. Having greeted her, Main asked: "Is it time for you, Haglan, to return the Sun to people?" A terrible rockfall began from the loud animal roar of Losikha, high stones scattered on hot volcanoes, and lava spilled onto the Earth. Main fired from his heroic bow into Haglan's forehead, but she grinned, caught a hoof in an arrow and broke it. Then Main quickly raised his heroic spear-palm and hit Losikha at the base of his head. The moose cow fell with a roar, breaking its branchy horns. From this roar, the ice in the rivers cracked, and clear water appeared. Maine freed the Sun and set him free from the Haglan Plague.
  As Dylacha rose high into the sky, the earth became lighter and warmer. It got hot in the winter park and Mother Earth. She woke up, took off her winter clothes, and streams ran on Earth, the snow melted.
  Main decided to stay in the Upper World, and since then transverse-eyed people have called him Heavenly Sonning - the Guardian of the Sun.
  People know this legend and pass it on from generation to generation.

Notes

Dull arrow * - an arrow with a large wooden knob trimmed with soft fur. They hunted a small fur-bearing animal with valuable skins with her. It, falling into the head of the beast, caused hemorrhage in the brain and hematoma, a fracture of the cervical vertebra or skull, and thereby the death of the animal, but the skin remained intact, there were no holes on it. If during the hostilities one of the parties sent a dumb arrow - it was a sign of peace, armistice, negotiations, in a word - a sign of unwillingness to fight. A sharp arrow declared its intention to continue hostilities.

Arina: And about Khargi everything was the other way around! They misinterpreted the legend in favor of the winner ((As has already happened more than once.

"KHARGIN - from Evenki, Khargi - wild deer, forest, spirit-master of the forest, hell, devil (ERS), used from ancient times in Evenki shamanic terminology"
   Can a wild deer be the devil? Maybe the master of the forest is the devil? Only for those who do not need forests, probably, and who want to subdue animals for themselves, to make them domestic and wild ...

Amazing legends of the northern peoples

Who and why domesticated moose in ancient times?
   Northern legends have preserved to this day unusual legends about the white people who grazed deer, elk and herds of mammoths. As a result of the global war between the evil spirit that came from heaven, many of the race of white people died, were forced to move to other places, having lost mammoths and ceased to breed moose. But still, under these forest giants, they strive for humans, since their genetic memory has preserved a craving for people. Historian writer George Sidorov provides striking examples that prove that legends can be quite real.

Georgy Sidorov: The first legend was told to me by Dyachkov. Dyachkov is a storyteller Yukagir from the village. He tells me a story. So three heroes decided to find out which of them is stronger: the Chukchi hero, the Yukagir hero, the hangichu - the hero in Yukagir, and the Russian hero. They decided to prove which of them is more powerful, stronger, to get a mammoth. I say: “Listen, I understand everything, but the Russians appeared here in the 17th century, that the mammoths lived with you?” “Well, what are you, George, what mammoths in the 17th century they were already gone. It was a long time ago when the climate was normal, everything grew, then we decided to get a mammoth. ” And he tells me how this struggle was, how everyone got a mammoth, this is a long legend.

I will not talk about it, but the fact is that the Russian hero wins. And then he is recognized as the main one who will manage both Chukotka and the land of the Yukagirs. There, the Even hero also joins in the end, he helps the Russian hero. And it turns out that everyone recognizes the supremacy of the Russian hero. I say: “Listen, well, a beautiful fairy tale, but after all ....” He says: “Yes, it was a long time ago, 5-6 thousand years ago, maybe this fairy tale would not have been born here in Yukagir, Chukotka. She could have come from somewhere in the south, but we have preserved this tale. ” That is, when all these peoples in the North they lived. Mammoths will not live here now, there is nothing there, these are bikes.

And that was a very long time ago. That is, it was saved, this legend, it came from Yukagir, and most likely it was a time when the ancestors of the Yukagirs, the ancestors of the Chukchi and Eskimos moved to the North, when this dispute was and the Russians insisted on their own, giving them the opportunity to live in the North, once empty land - live on health. That's all. The second legend, very interesting, was told to me by an Evenki shaman, an old woman. She didn’t even tell a legend to me, but a real myth, which can be taken as a historical fact. She names two peoples: one is the people of endri, the second is gomendri. Andry is a white race people, tall, strong, powerful heroes who inhabited all of western Siberia. They bred deer.

A huge number of deer, thousandth herds. And Gomendri are the same people, but they populated the mountainous territory beyond the Yenisei. All these Tungusks, this Khatanga, there Taimyr, right up to the ocean itself - are vast territories. She told me about their existence, that deer was not the main thing, they raised moose, they rode on moose. They kept them in huge pens, but besides these moose they held thousandth herds of mammoths. When she began to tell me all this, why the endry, or indri, the mammoth itself is called "indrik" - the beast, the beast to all the beasts, in Russian. The climate was different, and now in Old Russian - “mammoth” - “endrick”, “Gomendri” - “living in the mountains”. Understand how. There is still the sound of mountains, they raised moose in the mountains. That is correctly translated "people-mammoths", "people-animals." And she tells me when the first Evenks came here, the Evenks gave their deer, just as they gave the Chukchi, taught them how to taiga reindeer husbandry, taught how to breed moose.

Evenks used to know domestic moose. When I listened to her, I did not know what to think, because I understand - the deer - yes, the deer are now domestic, and where is the moose, the moose is a wild beast, but she persistently told me: both Gomendri and Endry rode moose along taiga, and moose is even better than a deer, he tries everything in a row, feed in bulk, the deer lived only where there is a lot of moss. And mammoths were their main occupation, they held them for a very long time, then they lost them, lost mammoths, because of some terrible catastrophe. What a disaster? Everything is also connected with an ancient myth. I.e. The evil spirit Khargi decided to destroy people on earth, and he began to fight with the spirit of the Heveki - this is a good spirit, and this terrible battle began: the sky burned, the earth burned. And then the Evenks themselves fell, hid in caves, and they were ordered, endri and gomendri, the white heroes told them: get out of the ground.

We will fight together, in alliance with the Heveks, we will defeat the Khargs. And people joined this fight. The white race fought on the side of the good spirit, and the good spirit defeated the Khargi. Khargi was destroyed, overthrown, but the fire consumed the mammoths, they lost their mammoths, the water consumed their homes, a great catastrophe came, people were saved only in the mountains and only on the right bank of the Yenisei. And then there were only domestic moose, and domestic deer. They gave the Evens and Evens deer, and they were near Baikal, the Evens left to the northeast, and the Evenki went to the northwest. Andry and Gomendri themselves - part went underground, where, as I don’t know, but went underground, and the other part moved the forest-steppe to the territory of modern Buryatia, Khakassia, these huge gigantic steppes that border the taiga. This is just the Kemerovo region, right up to the Urals.

That is, this tradition, it is very similar to the true things that actually happened. But I still have one question: where do the moose come from? The question was serious, because it does not add up. Deer - understand, elk - no. It was so interesting, I accidentally open one of the textbooks on domestication of animals and suddenly one person writes an article that the moose is still domesticated. He is still home. He has rebuilt genetics. Any moose is a domestic animal, it does not need to be domesticated, it has long been domesticated. Just run wild.

Cattle walk in the villages, graze on the pasture, moose adhere to them, and along with the cows, the moose graze, go into the stall, the owner comes - next to the cows there is a family of moose and waits for people to come up to him, caress him and he’s good reacted. When I read, to tears: I thought, Lord, why did we whip this moose, kill so, because he falls under our shots because he is a man somewhere in the depths of his genetics - he is not afraid of man. And here is an example that the moose really was domesticated, an example from my life. We have now set up the base, which is now located on our Vasyugan, we have a moose cow there, every year it comes to us, brings posterity. We will collect all our dogs, don’t touch the moose, they sit in our enclosure, walk freely in the winter - dogs, and the elk walks near our houses, with its calves, one or two calves. We find traces of lying, she keeps us by ear and does not go anywhere. Just a hundred meters, you do something, look, here he is, an elk has come up, that is, he is clinging to a person. This has been going on for about 5 years. That's it. Maybe a bear scares a moose cow. Sometimes she sleeps right next to houses, the same moose cow, we know her well, we don’t touch her.

But once this was the case, once the dogs began to bark, in early autumn, in September. We went fishing - dogs bark into the bushes. We think, okay, maybe the bear passed there. Dogs barked, barked, then fell silent. We recalled them. The smell was felt. The smell was falling. We go in, lies a dead elk, a huge moose. This is a hundred meters from our house, the moose is dead. There is a small pond, an elk came to die. Some bastard shot him from a carbine, to see, he was seriously injured, the moose left and came to die with people. He died by the yard with our house, the dogs barked at him, he came under the protection of a man so that the bear would not pick him up, wounded. That is, here the evidence is clear that the moose and the person are connected by something. Here is this legend - in terms of genetics related - this Evenki legend - it is very serious. Therefore, here, please, I told you the whole stories of these endri, Gomendri, they took the side of the good spirit and gave the Evenks the opportunity to live further in the North. This is such a legend.

Once upon a time, three Siberian [-earths] appeared, similar to the listening ears of a year-old wild deer. The middle earth at that time with a rug [size] was spread out, ninety-nine directions for river channels were outlined on it and mountains stood, similar to the thick fur of a black fox divided into nine rows. The grass [on it] never withered. How long, how short this middle earth existed - I do not know. It became so vast that no winged bird could fly around it. It was such a beautiful country that, having seen it, it was impossible to find anything with which [one could] compare [her]. In this country, spruce blossomed like snowdrops, larch fluffed like young grass, pines grew, shimmering like the fluffy tail of a red squirrel, talniks were stretched by a string, and marquise birches grew, branching roots. Here on such a beautiful land, besides all this, there lived running animal animals and people. If to tell [about everything], then on the southern slopes there were many male moose, in the mountain larch forests there were a large number of male deer, along the outskirts of the earth were jumping hares, countless squirrels were found along the rivers.

If you think carefully, then how not to live in such a good country for the red-haired Urangkay with two legs, with a bare face, with a freely rotating head ?! A large river flowed along this land with a mouth somewhere in the west, with a source in the east, and its banks were beautiful and steep, like the beak of a black goose. Nevertheless, this country was like an island in a gulf of the sea: strong winds constantly blew on it and whirls swirled.

In this country, two boys lived and lived in the same plague. They have to say: "Cho!" - so there was no deer, say: "Hot!" - there was no horse, say: "Here!" - there was no dog, say: "Friend!" - there was no [and] friend, they lived alone, only together. If you ask what they ate and how they lived, the youngest of them was a man with strong legs - a fast-legged hero, and he did not miss a single four-legged beast. If you give an example, [that] a male moose would catch like a spider, a bear like a bug, a wild deer male like an ant. He ran, holding himself at the level of the third vertebra of the male moose, at the level of the tail of the male deer, at the level of the scruff of the bear-beast. The oil was the inner fat of the moose, plantain - the fat of the wild deer, and the dinner was [meat] from the ribs of a fat female moose.

I looked and thought: “Such a strong athlete, of course, must have a well-known name and loud fame”, it was blossomed on the middle earth by the name of Irksimondya, a well-done athlete.

And if you pay attention to the one who was older, then he did not leave the native plague and fathom. If you tell [about him], then in order to listen, he was deaf, to talk to him: he was a deaf and dumb old man.

If we say how he was useful to Irkismon, then, although [he] sat in one place, he was a blacksmith, handyman. From whom [he] learned and where he found his tools, no one knew. In his right hand he had a seventy-seven pood hammer, in his left - thirty-three pound mites. They forged the youngest weapon for hunting animals. The name of this old man was [such] - the blacksmith of Torontai, who had mastered flares from three years old, and from four years of age with a hammer.

How long, how short they lived - [I] do not know. Irkismondia of the middle earth, without missing a day, ran along his middle earth. In a day he brought ten wild deer, tying [them] to ten mating [caftan].

And one late afternoon, when the land on which he walked his whole life was completely crushed, [he] brought ten males of wild deer and threw them where the wood was chopped. The next day, getting up, they began to freshen them, suddenly a terrible scream came from the plague. Frightened, our man rushed to the plague, with one leap reached it. Kicking, smashed the door of the plague into small pieces, looked. Sees: the blacksmith of Torontai crushed his index finger with a hammer. The blood of the blacksmith Torontay instantly filled with a key, like water from a teapot. Irkismon the hero held such a speech:

Dyngdoni-dyngdoni, delague! - The blacksmith of Torontai! My bragg! Though you are deaf and dumb, what's wrong with you? Ancient wise elders said: "The blacksmith does not hit by." What an invisible Avahi made you wrong and robbed me of a respected friend! Oh, annoying, insulting! Woe is me! You yourself, though an old man, haven’t been treating a quadrangular hearth to the lard of revered animals for a long time. Maybe that's why you were wrong! Quickly cut four pieces of fat from a male deer and treat fire! Rather, tie your finger over the raw moss of a deer! - saying so, [he] kicked the threshold of the plague so that it split.

The blood of the blacksmith Torontay flowed through [the threshold], like a rivulet. After that, Irkismondia of the middle earth, having cut off four pieces of fat of a male deer, treated him to fire and tied the old man’s finger with raw meat of a male wild deer. [Injury] began to heal better from this than from any treatment.

Meanwhile, Irkismondia of the middle earth, having calmed down and rejoiced that the blacksmith Torontai would not die, slept for three days in a row.

On the fourth day, saying: "It's time to hunt," [he] began to prepare equipment. And at dawn, winds blew from all sides, black clouds thickened, white clouds appeared. Before he could look back, a wind-whirlwind blew, thunder-lightning, shaking the sky, thundered above the ground. Lightning nearly smashed the plague. It poured rain and heavy snow fell. When the wind and rain stopped, three [birds] came down from the sky, whistling and rustling; one of them sat at the door, the second on a smoke hole, the third on a small pillar. Here is one of them, sitting on a smoke hole, twirling her tail like a cuckoo, she led such a speech:

Kidu-kidu, kiduyar! - Irkismon middle ground, open the door and say hello! Listen to this and tell me about this and that! If you ask me: “Where are you from?”, You will guess yourself. You probably know the mate (hero), who had long ago married the eldest daughter of Hevan the old man, Kukkumachan beauty. He lived with her for three years and fled to the sea island, kidnapping the blacksmith Torontay, the son of an old Hevan. And my name is Kukkumachan, my middle sister is Darpek by name, and my younger sister is Secak the beautiful. Irkismon of middle earth, you are a notorious con artist; what happened, that your broad chest has narrowed, your long thoughts have shortened (i.e. your mind)? After all, your chest is large and your voice is resonant? What is the matter with you, from fright (or something) your voice was heard in all corners of the three Siberian lands? I finally found you, an unscrupulous robber! We flew from a distant vast country, the clothes were not all worn out yet, but our stomach was hungry. If you say, "I had you as my wife," then entering [us] in your house, rather feed if you have food! Whether you admit it or not, I still won’t let you abandon me! And if you refuse, then you can’t fly in the sky and don’t walk on the earth! "

Hearing this, Irkismon of the middle earth pretended to remember what was forgotten and jumped out into the street, saying: "And in fact, she was my wife." Going out into the street, he sees - three beautiful girls came. One of them is in silk clothes, the second in gold, and the third in satin, three sisters, the daughters of an old Hevan. Quickly approaching, [Irkison] took them by the arms and led them into the Chum-Uten, put them in a row on a bench with six legs, pushed his quadrangular silver table and began to prepare a dish from the inner fat of a male moose, drowning lard from the scruff of a bear-beast . He piled the meat of different animals on the table. Young girls who arrived from afar sat at the table and ate, talking about this and that. Having finished eating, a girl named Kukkumachan sat opposite her sisters and spoke like this:

Kidu-kidu, kiduyar! “My sisters, Darpek and Sekak, beauties, you both will return home right now, otherwise your nephew will not give rest to your grandparents because of boredom.” Having come to him, say: "We found your father, Irkismon of the middle earth, he and your mother will arrive in three days." In my room in a golden box there are three decks of cards, give one of them to him, let him play before my arrival. I’ll observe Irkismon of the middle earth, find out his intentions and by all means, persuade him [to return], - he says.

Here the sisters, having heard the elder’s speech, went out into the street, turned over three times, turned into white birds, flew up and went home.

After them, the remaining lived for another three days. On the third morning, the beautiful Kukkumachan sat opposite her husband and brother and spoke like this:

Kidu-kidu, kiduyar! - Irkismon of the middle earth, the master called my master and another called my friend, the blacksmith of Torontai, brother called my brother, open your ears (lit .: listen with two ears, listen with your gut), listen to my story, hear with your guts, understand [his] mind! How much you look alike, do not marvel at anything, both are cold-blooded. If you do not reckon with either my homeland or me, then do not you want to see your son? After your [departure] a boy was born. If you want to know how he was called and what he is famous for, [of] he who has ears is the most sensitive, of those who have eyes — the most vigilant, Togokomo-Chagilgan by name. Even during these nine days, I missed my son so much that falling asleep [would] not come a dream, eat [would] be no appetite. I can not live in your house. Will you, Irkismon of the middle earth, follow me or not? If you don’t go, you will be left alone, - I will take away the brother of the blacksmith Torontay. If you don’t go now, you won’t run away anywhere, no matter what happens, I will track your tracks, go around all the places you have visited. Torontai blacksmith, brother called my brother, although you are deaf and dumb, you understand my prophetic words with your mind, hear with your gut! Let's go home soon, ”he says.

Quickly jumped out into the street, turned into a white bird and flew up. Irkismon middle ground, listening to this, looked at his friend. The blacksmith of Torontai either heard or guessed - most likely, he understood [what was the matter]. The Torontai blacksmith turned over three times, turned into a crane, grabbed the seventy-seven-pound hammer with the claws of one paw, and thirty-three-pound mites with the claws of the other. Irkismon of the middle earth turned over three times, turned into a silver crane; and they flew up after the beautiful Kukkumachan. Turning into winged birds, they flew along the edge of the eighth sky, under a ninth cloud. How long, short they flew - did not know. Summer by rains, autumn by degrees, winter by snow, and by the recognition of fluffy snow flakes in spring, they kept their way.

But will they linger on the road? [Behold] approaching the places where the old Geevan lived. When they flew up, the sea appeared, the opposite side of which was not visible, and in the fog it lost the beautiful Kukkumachan. Despite this, Irkismondia of the middle earth, saying: "I have long rested places with my gut," moved forward. He glanced over the opposite bank, thought: “Birch,” turned out to be a herd of white, sleek deer; thought: “Thickets of talnik”, - it turned out a herd of newborn deer, thought: “Stones” - turned out to be a herd of cows, thought: “Stump”, - there were horses. The old Gewan, it turns out, had a lot of cattle. They descended and, becoming humans, went through the herd. Walking, we looked and saw a sixteen-wooden house in front. Going to the door of the house, Irkismondia of the middle earth spoke so loudly that his voice thundered on the earth and swept across the sky:

Dyngdoni-dyngdoni, delague! - Daughters of an old Geevan, open the door, say hello! Do not be afraid of me, thinking: "Where did you come from, a tribe of a mat, who, having come, spoke." I’m a well-known mata to you, although you call me an unscrupulous robber, and I’m the middle land of Irkismondya-mata. Quickly cook me good clothes and good food! Show me my son, we came from a distant country. Do not delay the traveler and do not make him wait! Good short talk, good fast movement! - is talking.

When he finished his speech, there was a noise in the house and a strong mata hero spoke.

Gold-gold, gold-mine! - My mother is called my mother, Kukkumachan is a beauty, an aunt is called Aunt Secak the Beauty! Who, having come, opened his mouth? How voluminous his chest is. I did not even hear such a loud voice in a dream, and there was no rumor about him. Let me out now, [else] I will go out myself; if he is a murderer, I will fight with him [to death]; if he is a cannibal, we will quickly devour each other. Whatever he is, I will look at him immediately, ”he says.

In the house, apparently, he was breaking free of hands, then the Kukkumachan beauty spoke:

Kidu-kidu, kiduyar! - My son, the one with the ears is the most sensitive, the one with the eyes is the most keen, Togokomokon-Chagilgan, wait, calm down, do not break out [from my hands], probably your father, the middle land named Irkismon, arrived. Take your time, because I already told you who he is, ”she persuaded.

After that, the women released Togokomo-Chagilgan. Opening the door, he began to kiss his father and uncle so that his lips were swollen. He took father’s hand with his right hand, uncle with his left hand and led [them] into the house. Having sat at the corners of the quadrangular table, [they] began to talk. While talking, Irkismon of the middle earth looked at his son. Looking at it carefully, the father thought: "Indeed, [a son] will grow a clever and strong mate! And the beautiful Kukkumachan beauty reproached me:" You lived and did not know that you had such a good son. "

Narrator N.G. Trofimov

Evenki (self-named. - Orochon, outdated. Name. - Tungus) - a nation settled on the territory of the Evenki Auth. okr. (Krasnoyarsk Territory) and in other regions of Siberia and the Far East. In total, according to data for 1995, 30 thousand people live in Russia. Small groups of Evenks live in China and Mongolia. Believers are adherents of traditional beliefs; some are Orthodox. Evenki (Tunguska) language belongs to the Tungus – Manchu languages. Writing based on the Russian alphabet.

TYVGUNAY – YOUTH AND CHOLBON – CHOKULDAY

Once upon a time, many years ago, at the mouth of five deep-sea rivers with wide valleys and burning capes, under the tree with dense branches, Tyvgunai lived — well done. This fellow did not know either father or mother, did not know whether it was a thunderstorm, a woman was born, or he himself came out of the cradle - he was an orphan. He gnawed a talnik with his teeth and, twisting a bowstring, made himself a small hunting bow from the bast of a talnik. And he lived, getting them different small living creatures.

Living this way, once thought: “I'll go up the river, see what’s there,” and set off. I'm tired on the road. Suddenly looking - the camp seemed. He comes up and sees two ducks swimming along the shore. Sneaking up to them, he wanted to shoot an arrow, and the ducks all continue to dive and swim. He pulled a bowstring, but did not fire, fearing to kill someone else's bird.

Then he asked:

Maybe you belong to someone from the local? Let’s talk, you tell me everything and then don’t tell me that he killed you without warning! - says Tyvgunai-well done.

The ducks took off. Soaring, they sang:

Well, a well-born Tyvgunai-born fellow almost killed us. He must be a kind person, therefore he regretted it. We, having become ducks, almost gave ourselves to ruin. On the bump where we sat before swimming, there was a thimble. Take it and take care, he will do good to you!

Tyvgunai - well done look - there is a golden thimble, took it and put it in his pocket. Then he came to the camp. A lot of people gathered there, and there were many heroes. Among them is the rich owner of the camp.

This host said:

Here you can see the arc of a bow piercing the ground. To the hero who managed to pull this bow, I will give my daughter to my wife.

Every day, the heroes tried to pull this bow, but no one could pull it out. Tyvgunai — well done — walked — walked, looked and went home. Having returned, he sees - a hero is sitting under a branchy tree. Noticing him, Tyvgunai was frightened. And he says to him:

Don’t be afraid of me, I am your elder brother. It’s been many years since I’ve been looking for you. Where did you come from?

I walked up the river, there is one camp where the warriors try to pull the onion piercing the ground to marry the daughter of the rich man, but no one can pull it out, I looked at it and returned, ”Tyvgunay says.

Here is my horse, enter his left ear - you will find food, enter his right ear - you will find clothes, ”says the elder brother Cholbon – Chokulday.

The Tyvgunai fellow did everything as his brother had commanded, and became a hero. On horseback they rode up the river. We arrived, and the onion sticks out, as it was sticking out, no one could pull it out. Then Cholbon – Chokulday jumped from the horse and pulled the bow, the bow arc broke and bounced up, after a while something flashed like lightning; when the arc reached the Upper World, as if thunder had thundered.

Then Cholbon – Chokuldai and his brother mounted horses and flew to the Upper World to see what happened.

We got to the Upper World. It turned out to be land, there were as many people there as mosquitoes, and livestock like gadflies. When they walked along it, they saw: a smoke breaks out from under the ground. They bent to the place where it smokes, and they see that a half-burnt old man with an old woman is sitting.

“Old woman, my liver hurts, I would give a piece of the liver,” the old man says.

The old woman replies:

Uh, here my mistresses gave me a piece of the liver, saying: "Lubricate the skin with the liver so that it becomes soft." If I give the liver, they will again hammer my poor head with their silver tongs.

Old lady, my head hurts, do you have a little brain? - the old man asks.

Oh, you already ate that piece of brain that you gave yesterday, they will again hammer my poor head. My chest is aching, but in this world there is no one to remember about me. That's when you were young and fought with the heroes, and when they, having defeated you, flew into this world, taking us with them, I left a two-year-old boy under big larch, covered with measles, saying: “If he remains alive, let him be called Cholbon– Chokuldaem. " I left a six-month-old boy under a branchy tree, covered him with an old deer plank, saying: “If you stay alive, you will be called Tyvgunay-well done.” But they probably did not survive. How can they get into this world? My chest is aching, says the old woman.

Hearing these words, the brothers went into the plague.

Where did you guys come from? - the old woman asks.

We arrived from the Middle World, my name is Cholbon – Chokulday, and this is my younger brother Tyvgunai, well done, ”the elder says.

We got into this world when the heroes defeated us. You were left at home. There are heroes against whom no one can resist. Now they are lying: their death came from the Middle World and tore off half of their body from each. They fry us on fire, asking: "Who is left in your homeland?" But they force their shamans to conjure: let, they say, find out where death came to them from. If the shamans cannot find out, they cut off their heads, ”said the mother.

Then the brothers went out, scored several livestock and gave their parents food. Then they went to the big house of the heroes. The house was full of people; the guys hid, sat down and began to watch the heroes cut off the heads of the shamans. They brought one shaman, she began to predict:

The people who sent death from the Middle World have come and are sitting here among you.

Hey, cut off her head, let her not deceive how they can be among us! - ordered the senior hero.

Then the shaman said:

Good fellows, do not let me cut off my head, stand before us. - And she lowered the tambourine down.

Cholbon – Chokulday and Tyvgunay – well done appeared before the heroes. Both wounded heroes got up, stared at the guys. One hero was called Singkoltukon – Eden, another Begaltukon – Eden.

We were the heads of the clan, the best of Eden, the great of the great, and now we have become crippled, sitting here. You won, so cure us!

The guys spat on their palms, rubbed the heroes, and those, becoming as they were before, got to their feet. Getting up, they went to the site for fights, went to fight. Brothers are behind them. Riding on horses, the elder and elder began to fight, the younger and the younger. So they fought, taking off on horses to the very edge of the Upper World. Suddenly Cholbon – Chokulday stopped seeing. And Singkoltukon, jumping from one side to the other, began to chop it with his palm. At this time, the horse Cholbon – Chokuldai sang:

Above my left ear, under the mane, there is a silver hatchet, quickly grab it and strike across my face. Then look down! When you bend down, you will see a small raft, tied from four corners to the horse of Singkoltukon. On it, an old woman spread a smoke smoke and fumigates us with smoke. Kill her. Blood dripping from my nose will extinguish her smoke. When the smoke goes out, again you will see well.

Cholbon – Chokulday, as the horse commanded him, grabbed the hatchet, swung the horse on the nose with a sweep, blood gushed out by the stream, and it became light. He looked down - it turned out that the old woman was sitting on a raft tied to the horse of Singkoltukon and was fumigating him with smoke. Cholbon – Chokulday killed her with one shot.

They began to fight again. After a while, Singkoltukon says:

Well, it is clear that none of us will be able to overcome each other, stop fighting and go to us.

Go. Having arrived, they entered the house. The house was very nice. Singkoltukon says:

Well, sit here!

The seat was also good, strong in appearance. As soon as Cholbon – Chokulday said, “Sit down!” When the seat underneath broke through and he flew down. He flew for a long time and suddenly hears:

I, Singkoltukon, brought a brave man to the Lower World.

If he would drive the cattle in front of him and behind him, we would wait for him to eat, ”Cholbon – Chokulday again hears.

Our man has nothing, out of frustration he typed clay in the palm of his hand and said: “Turn, go ahead of me,” and threw the clay forward. Clay turned into cattle. He grabbed the clay with his other hand, saying: "Having turned into cattle, follow behind me," and threw it back, it turned into cattle.

Brave man: he has cattle in front and behind. Well, enter it into the house, smoke it for three days, let it get used to the smell of this country.

When he entered the house, one old woman, sitting by the fire, singed a human head, throwing it into the fire and removing it from there. There were many human bones. The old woman says:

A person who has come to this country does not return to his homeland; I also lived in Middle Earth. If you are a person, then do not inhale the nose of the air of this country for three days; if you breathe in, you will not leave here.

For three days those cannibals fired human bones on fire. Our man was sitting, not breathing the air of this country, waiting for the main cannibal to fall asleep, watching him, but would he fall asleep! Thirty days he did not close his eyes. When a month passed, he closed one eye, after three days he closed the second. So I closed both eyes.

Above the place where Cholbon – Chokulday sat, there was a huge bell, like a plague, and the bell had a tongue. Our man, turning into a spider, stretched out a web to the tongue of the bell. The web, reaching the tongue, immediately stuck. Cholbon – Chokulday went along it. Approaching, I saw: through the sky, with a needle eye, the hole of the Upper Earth is barely visible.

Our man began to climb the tongue of the bell, and rising, immediately flew up, turning now into a gadfly, then into a bird. And so he began to approach the hole. When there was a distance to him equal to the length of a large larch, he turned into a man and jumped. When he jumped, the bell rang below and the cannibal cried out:

Oh! Cholbon – Chokulday ran away!

And then the noise of the chase was heard. Cholbon – Chokulday hardly escaped. In the place where he went out, a cannibal leaned out on his chest. I almost grabbed him, but did not dare to go further, returned, saying:

And henceforth come, having cattle in front and behind, then only you will come back.

Since then, they say, shamans began to take cattle for kamlan.

Cholbon – Chokulday returned and sees - Singkoltukon – Eden watches how horses are beating. Cholbon – Chokulday said then:

Dog, you have not yet deceived me, I will reckon with you! Let's go to the rock, where the earth converges with the sky, they will judge which of us is right and who is to blame.

He agreed, went after Cholbon – Chokulday. Finally came to that place. Cholbon – Chokuldai was the first to mount his horse and jumped into the gap when the sky moved away. Only the tip of the ponytail was cut off. When Singkoltukon jumped on a horse, he was cut in two. And he died.

Cholbon – Chokulday went to look for his brother. In the wake of the battle went. Finally I saw horses clutching each other with their teeth. He also searched, he sees - his brother and the brother of Singkoltukon, having bent their nails into each other's faces, exhausted, are already at death.

Cholbon – Chokulai spat in the palm of his hand, and as soon as he stroked his brother, he immediately became the same as before.

Well, how are you? Can you still fight or not?

And Tyvgunai pulled the hand of the Begaltukon the hero, helped him sit down.

He said:

Now I can’t, my brother helped you, help me too. Killing me, exhausted, you will not gain glory.

He is also being treated, and he has become what he was before. Now we’ll look for each other’s souls, we’ll bring them, let them agree.

Begaltukon and says:

When you go down to the Middle Earth, at the mouth of five deep-sea rivers there is a big reach, go down to the very middle of it, to the very depths, there are a lot of galanians floating there. There is the smallest silver galyan, catch up, catch it and bring it.

After thinking for five days, taking aim for ten days, he shot an arrow, saying:

Come back with a message on a bowstring, with a hotel on the tip of the tip.

When he fired, there was a splash of water below, rustling like a strong thunder. Tyvgunai passed out. That arrow quickly returned, bearing the soul of Tyvgunai. The Tyvgunai fellow tried to take it away, but the arrow did not yield to him, gave it to its master.

Then Tyvgunai sang:

When you go up the stream of three deep-sea rivers, you pass the springs and the mountains move towards them, at the very middle of the peak you will find a huge larch with ninety-nine holes. Split it like dust, from those ninety-nine holes, ninety-nine swallows fly out, of which a little swallow flies above all, catch and bring it.

He aimed for ten days with a solid bow made from the core of a tree, thought for five days, and said: “Come back with news on a bowstring, with a gift on the tip of the tip”, fired an arrow. She fell off with a noise, as if a bright lightning flashed. After some time, the arrow thundered like a strong thunder, hit a larch with ninety-nine holes and pierced it, splitting it like a rotten tree. Begaltukon also lost consciousness several times.

Suddenly they see how far, far, under the lowest edge of the sky, a swallow flies, an arrow flies right behind it. Already approaching the hole of the Upper Earth, the swallow is about to fly away. The Tyvgunai fellow remembered the thimble, threw it toward the hole, and the hole closed tightly. A swallow flew into a thimble, an arrow caught it and brought it.

Begaltukon tried to take away his soul, but gave the arrow to his master.

Well, now none of us will win, we will make peace, we won’t fight, we will exchange our souls, you go home, ”Begaltukon says.

The guys took their mother and father with them, returned to Middle Earth, healed nicely, they say. Tyvgunai the young man married a girl who gave him his thimble, and Cholbon – Chokulday took the daughter of the owner of a rich camp as his wife, and they lived very well.

TORGANAY

Once upon a time, when mother earth with a small rug was, and the sky - from the eyes of a chipmunk, a little gleamed, two guys lived. The older one was called Torganai, the youngest was Chanyka. So lived and lived, day by minute, year by night seemed. So gradually one of the guys grew up. I made toys for myself, I made rays. He did the chip-chip with the beam - he lowered the arrow, screaming “cookie-cookie”, did not let the doll fly past. He killed all the birds.

The younger guy was not guarded at all, not cleaned at all. Everywhere he stuck with his mud - both to the log and to the plague pole. Torganai began to hunt. He hunted and killed animals. He will kill the beast, tie it to a knitting caftan and drag it home. Once, having come home, he looked at his brother, and he was clean, clean. Torganai Chanykoy asked:

How did you become so smooth and white?

Chanykoy said:

Oh, I am birch bark and snow smoothed, cleaned and whitewashed.

Torganai continued to hunt. I hunted, killed animals and dragged them home. Chanykoy with something really very smooth and white! Torganay asked:

What are you doing that has turned so white, washed and became smooth, slipped chips and dirt from your hair, and removed it from your clothes? Tell me well. If you don't tell me, I'll beat you.

Chanykoy said:

Brother, don’t hit, I’ll tell you. From the side of the sunrise, two swan-girls came and combed me, washed me, so I became clean.

Torganai said:

Well, you catch one of two!

Chanykoy said:

Catch!

Torganai hid behind the plague. When he hid and arrived at noon, two swan maidens arrived. There, at the place where Chanykoy chopped wood, went down, went into the plague. Upon entering, combed and washed Chanykoy. When they washed, Chanyka, having caught the older one, cried out:

Thorganai! Go soon!

Torganai ran running, hung the plumage of a maiden-swan on the top of the pole. So Torganay got a wife. Having married, Torganay spent three days with his wife. Then he went fishing. Torganai came home, but there is nobody at home - neither brother nor wife. He looked at the pole-tree - the tree fell, his brother's overturned cauldron was found rusted.

Well, Torganai was left alone. Left, Torganai thought: “What am I, alone, to do?” Then went Torganai west. On the way I met a three-headed eagle, sang:

Genge! Genge! Genge-koen!
  Eagles, be healthy!
  I'm out of grief
  Went to wander.
  Three-headed eagle
  What do you know?
  Tell me.

The three-headed eagle sang:
  Dyngdy! Dyngdy! Dyngdy-koen!
  Taiga is great!
  Two Swan Maidens
  They flew east
  Three days have passed.

Torganai says:

Well, you would help me!

Three-headed eagle says:

I will tell you. Here you go west. There will be three rivers along the way. If you are cunning, you will cross the river. Then you will meet ten wild deers across the third river. Of these, the tenth beast broke half the horns; he had a silver saddle and a three-seated silver rein. If you catch him, you will become very happy.

Torganay went west, reached the river. Looked, and the river is wide. There is nothing to trade in. Torganai looked down and up, shouted in all directions with a thin voice. He ran, took the birch bark, stuck to the soles and crossed over the river. So he crossed all three rivers. Beyond the third river, he saw traces of animals. Slowly crept Torganai to the beasts. The animals sensed him. Noticing him, the animals ran. Torganai chased after them. Chased, chased, caught the beast. Grabbing at the horns, Torganai rolled over. And then a plain appeared to him instead of mountains and hills instead of pits. Overturned. He stood upside down for three days, and came to himself for five days. Getting up, said:

With a silver rein the beast! My veins are tired, my lungs are tired of running. But will you save me?

So at Torganai appeared a riding beast. On this beast chased after other animals. Having caught up with animals, he killed a calf for food on the road. Torganai went west again. I arrived at the silver mountain. Having reached the mountain, he said to his riding deer: “Become a well!” He kicked him, and the beast turned into a deck. He himself became a small child and cried at the foot of the mountain.

When he cried, the eagle went down to the top of the mountain, hearing crying, was delighted. "Someone sent me a son ?!" - said and, having flown up, he took him as sons. Brought it home. He left him at home, he flew away to fishing. Left alone, Torganai ie animal bones made toys for himself, a tambourine made. Tired of hunting, the eagle flew home and went to rest. When he was sleeping, Torganay quietly tied himself to his leg. Having tied, hit a tambourine. The eagle flew up. He flew to the top of the mountain, and Torganai fell. Having fallen, Torganai went down. Going down, I heard crying. He went to cry. Approaching, he looked and in a dry lake near Chirkumai a newborn baby was crying. Chirkumai sings:

Cheever! Cheever! Cheever Coen!
  Hush, Little Baby, Do not Say a Word.
  Do not cry, do not cry!

Torganay went to Chirkumai, asked:

This is whose child?

Chirkumai said:

This is the swan-maiden abandoned son I am nursing.

Torganai again asked:

But the swan girls themselves have flown to where?

Chirkumai said:

The swan, the girls, went away, flew away, they will return at noon.

Thorganai thought, said:

This is my son. Well, make him cry so that the swan girls soon come.

Chirkumai made the baby cry a lot. Torganai himself hid in more often. Noticing how the swan maidens approached, Torganai, going to the side of the house, hid. Hiding, I heard the singing of a girl swan.

The elder had the name Geltangachan – Kuvulgat, the elder said:

Come down soon! The son cried. Chirkumai probably forgot to feed him.

The youngest girl, singing, said:

The eldest swan-girl, Geltangachan-Kuvulgat, went down to a dry lake. I ran to my son in a run. Taking her son from Chirkumai, she began to feed him. Just beginning to feed, Torganai, having run up, the plumage of a swan-maiden chopped down with a six-pound ax. Another girl, Geltangachan – Kuvulgat sister, sang:

Well, now goodbye!
  If you didn’t listen to me and came down,
  Stay with your son-in-law!

Sang and flew west.

Well, now Torganay, finding his wife, began to live with her. Their son grew up every night. Father made him toys, and made a bulb. The child, having made a chip-chip beam, did not let a single bird fly over him. So he became an industrialist. I hunted and met various birds and animals. They asked: "What is your name?"

The guy is without a name. There is nothing to answer if there is no name. The guy came home, asked his mother:

So I hunt, I meet birds, they ask me about my name, laugh, that I have no name. How am I going to be so without a name? Give me a name! - so saying, he began to ask his father and mother.

Mother told her husband:

Well, hubby, let's give the son a name! Let me give him a name: Huruguchon, let his name be.

Oh well! - said Torganai.

The boy, having received the name, was delighted, took a bow, went to hunt. I hunted, I met the birds again. Birds asked him:

What is your name?

My name is Huruguchon.

Huruguchon hunted animals. Kill a dozen, bring a tenth home. Once, while hunting, I saw a chipmunk. “Chipmunk - what kind of beast is this? Why so beautiful? Well, I'll catch him alive, ”said Huruguchon, chased and caught him. Caught, was delighted, ran home, pushing the spruce tree, shaking off the buds of an alder. He flew through the marnik, came home, asked his father:

Which animal is edible or not?

Father said:

This is a worker of god. You can’t eat it!

I went again to hunt Huruguchon. When he walked, he hunted, suddenly a strong whirlwind rose. And the whirlwind suddenly spoke:

Well, you strong guy, what are you waiting for? Where is your mother? Tell me! If you don’t tell, I will take the prey from you.

Huruguchon looked - there is nobody. I thought: “What did it say?” After thinking, he looked around again - there was nothing anywhere. Without understanding anything, he went forward - home. Walking, he sees the tracks of animals, and animals still before him were driven away. So, without killing anything, Huruguchon returned home. Arriving home, he asked his mother:

When I went fishing, a strong whirlwind rose, then someone spoke: “What are you, strong guy, waiting for? Where is your mother?" - asked.

Mother said:

A! This is the daughter of the Sun, a strong girl Sekakchan – Kuvulgat, probably.

Huruguchon asked his mother:

Where is this daughter of the Sun Secakchan – Kuvulgat? Tell me, I'll go to her. She greatly annoyed me and prevented the fishing: she dispersed my animals in front of me.

Huruguchon's mother said:

Well, well, I'll tell you. Go south, when you go there will be a silver house with a pillar reaching to the sky. In this house lives the daughter of the Sun named Sekakchan. The one-legged, one-armed Avasi-hero will be there. His food is half a spoon, and a spoon half a spoon. If you defeat him, take the girl as a wife.

Huruguchon in the mother’s house put ten-pound iron beams on both sides of the entrance.

Now if these beams rust, you consider me dead, ”he said.

He said goodbye to his father and mother and set off. Huruguchon walked, walked, and walked day and night. Walking, he thought to himself: "If I came from the Lower Earth, the earth would stick on my heel." He said so, looked at his heels. There is no land there. Then he said: "If I came from Middle Earth, my leather caftan would be demolished." He said so, looked - his caftan had worn off his leather. So having passed, he went to the silver house. He came, tried to open the door, does not open.

Huruguchon turned into a bird, sat on a tree, began to examine. Avasi-hero brings firewood, brings firewood into the house. Avashi opened the door. As soon as he was about to open the door, Huruguchon turned into a fly and flew into the house. Entering, he remained in the middle of the house ...

Tyvgunai – well done and Cholbon – Chokulday. Told in 1963 a resident of the village. Ugoyan of the Aldan district of Yakutia I. Marfusalov. The candidate of philological sciences, research fellow at the Institute of Language, Literature and History of the Yakutsk branch of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences, folklorist A. Myreeva wrote and translated.

Palm - a large knife, mounted on the handle, something like a spear.

Torganai. Recorded in 1936 from a student of the Institute of the Peoples of the North I. Romanov from Zeya, Chita region, translated and published by G. Vasilevich - Torganai. L .: Glavsevmorput, 1939.

Marnik is a bush, usually impassable.

Myths and legends of the peoples of the world. Peoples of Russia: Collection. - M .: Literature; Book World, 2004 .-- 480 p.

Evenkia (Evenki region) refers to the regions of the Far North. It is located in the northeast, occupies 32% of its total area, but the share of the population of Evenkia is only 0.53%. This is one of the most sparsely populated territories not only in Russia, but also in the whole world.

The relief of the region is mainly mountainous, in the north there is a huge massif - Putorana plateau with an area of \u200b\u200b250 thousand km 2. It is included in the Putorana Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The rare Putoranian snow sheep lives here, meeting with him is a rarity, where you can often meet a brown bear.

It is here, among the bare peaks, according to Evenki beliefs, Khargi - the spirit - the owner of the Lower World, rival Seveki - the creator of the earth, animals and humans, the spirit - the owner of the Upper World, the patron of people and deer. Presumably, the Khargi cult formed about 5 thousand years ago, when volcanic eruptions occurred in the area. Having left after a quarrel with Seveki in the Lower World, Khargi continues to send his assistants to the earth - evil spirits that prevent people from hunting, bring diseases, send blood-sucking insects. Therefore, it needs to be flavored with gifts, including berries.

In local forests, a large number of berries: red and black currants, cranberries, cranberries, blueberries and cloudberries. Forests are mainly coniferous: spruce, larch, pine, Siberian cedar. There are birch, alder, bird cherry and mountain ash. A tenth of the territory is occupied by the tundra. And permafrost is widespread everywhere.

In this kingdom of sharply continental climate, the duration of winter is eight months. December-February is the season of the lowest temperatures, sometimes below -60 ° C. Spring and autumn are so short that they are almost invisible. Summer does not last long: from late June to mid-August. The weather is capricious in summer: from sudden frosts to heat + 40 ° С. A polar day in summer gradually changes to a polar night in winter.

In Evenkia there is the geographical center of Russia: next to Lake Vivi in \u200b\u200bthe southwestern part of the Putorana plateau. The center is fixed 16 km south of the Arctic Circle, and the lake is so large (88 km long) that it crosses the circle itself. It takes a long time to get here (2 hours by helicopter from the neighboring Turukhansky district), there are no permanent settlements, no one lives except a bear, a fox and a deer. Even the exact depth of the lake is unknown: the Evenks say about 200 m.The lake is large - more than 30 rivers flow into it, and there is an abundance of fish in it: taimen, char, grayling, sigvalek (endemic to the Putorana plateau), pike, perch, lenok. Like all large lakes of Evenkia, Vivi is of tectonic origin. The exact amount of Lake Evenkia is unknown, but you can talk about thousands.

Evenkia is far from the main Siberian cities, there are no year-round roads on its territory, movement along the Lower and Podkamennaya Tunguska is possible for several weeks a year, and even then during the flood: all villages are on the rivers. The bulk of the cargo is delivered by winter road and aircraft.

Today, indigenous peoples make up less than a third of the total population of the region. In Evenkia, they are mainly engaged in reindeer husbandry and hunting. The population lives in a tribal community or unites in peasant farms.

From the Putorana plateau across the Central Siberian plateau, the territory of the Evenki region decreases from north to south, with most of the territory being uninhabited mountainous terrain.

History

If it had fallen a thousand years earlier, the theory of the extraterrestrial origin of local reindeer herders would inevitably be born.

Only in 1931, one of the most common self-names of the people - Evenki - was recognized as official, before that they were called the Tungus.

The earliest information about nomadic reindeer breeders, which are now called Evenks, is found in Chinese historical chronicles of the 5th-7th centuries. But in general, until the XX century. Evenki were not a single people, but separate tribes, living at a great distance from each other. At the same time, they were connected by a single language, customs and beliefs, which already indicates the common roots of all Evenks. The origin of the people has not yet been precisely established. Perhaps their homeland is Altai, Mongolia or Manchuria. Ethnographers offer dozens of theories.

Evenkia appeared as an administrative entity in 1930, when Soviet power created the Evenk Autonomous Okrug as part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The residents of the region still celebrate their main holiday, Evenkia Day, on December 10, the day the Evenk Autonomous Region was formed.

From 1991 to 2006, the district was an independent subject of the Russian Federation, remaining administratively territorial part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. According to the results of the referendum, since 2007 the Evenki Autonomous Okrug has become the Evenki municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

No less famous is the village of Vanavara: 60 km north and 20 km west of it is the epicenter of the explosion of the alleged Tunguska meteorite in 1908 with a capacity of up to 50 Mt. The recorded evidence of the Evenks, who personally observed an incomprehensible phenomenon, has been preserved. The event gave rise to many hypotheses, not one has yet been proven. For the first time, the idea to save the place of disaster for future generations was expressed in the late 1920s. the first meteorite researcher Leonid Kulik. His dream came true after 70 years.

Today in the village of Vanavara is the central estate of the Tunguska Nature Reserve. It highlighted an area of \u200b\u200babout 2150 km2, which in 1908 was directly exposed to the factors of the Tunguska explosion: shock wave, radiation associated with the explosion of a forest fire. The ecological consequences of the fall of the Tunguska meteorite are studied here. In the documents of the reserve, it is noted that the place of impact of the Tunguska meteorite is of exceptional interest as the only area on the globe that makes it possible to directly study the environmental consequences of space disasters.

In the Central Siberian Reserve there is a nature monument Sulomai pillars: a canyon with slopes up to 150 m high, on which vertical stone hexagonal prisms with a diameter of about 10 m and a height of 80 m are located. Pillars are the result of weathering of rocks.

Once a year, the village of Surinda becomes the venue for the traditional national holiday - Reindeer Herder's Day. Representatives of the reindeer herding brigades, including women and children, compete in races both on reindeer teams and on horseback - a deer designed for horse riding.

Another big holiday is the Evenki New Year - Muchun, celebrated in June. Since ancient times, Evenks gathered on this day, talked about the past winter and made plans for a new winter. During Muchun pagan rites of purification and fumigation of a kurekan - hedge for deer are performed.

general information

Location : Middle Siberia.
Administrative affiliation : Siberian Federal District.

Administrative status : municipal district and administrative-territorial unit with special status in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Administrative division : 23 municipalities (towns and villages).
Administrative center : pos`kjr Tour - 5526 people
Settlements : from. Baykit - 3312 people, p. Vanavara - 2913 people, pos. Essay - 630 people (2016).
Educated: 2005
Languages: Russian, Evenk, Selkup.
Ethnic composition : Russians, Ukrainians, Evenks, Yakuts, Selkups, Nganasans.
Religion: Orthodoxy, shamanism.
Currency unit : Russian ruble.
Large rivers: Podkamennaya Tunguska, Lower Tunguska.
Large lakes: Essay, Vivi.
Neighboring Regions and Subjects of the Federation : in the north - the Taimyr Dolgan-Nenets district, in the east - the Republic of Sakha and the Irkutsk region, in the south - Kezhemsky, Boguchansky, Motyginsky and North-Yenisei districts, in the west - Turukhansky district.

Figures

Area: 763,200 km 2.
Length: 1,500 km from north to south 850 km from west to east.
Population: 15,414 people (2016).
Population density : 0.02 people / km 2.
Highest point : 1678 m, Kamen mountain (Putorana plateau).
Distance (Tour) : 5738 km east of Moscow, about 1000 km north of Krasnoyarsk.

Climate and weather

Dramatically continental.
January average temperature : -36 ° C.
July average temperature : + 14 ° С.
Average annual rainfall : 400 mm.
Annual average relative humidity : 70%.

Economy

Minerals : oil and natural gas.
Agriculture : crop production (potatoes, vegetables, crops), animal husbandry (reindeer husbandry), hunting for fur animals, river and lake fishing.
Traditional crafts : dressing deer skins, making clothes and decorative products.
Services sector: tourist, transport, trade.

sights

Natural

Central Siberian Reserve (canyon Sulomai pillars, 1985)

Putoran State Nature Reserve (Weeping Rocks and Shaitan Mountain, 1988)

Tunguska Reserve (meteorite fall zone, Churgimsky waterfall, Kulik and Farrington, 1995)

Lakes Vivi, Nyakshingda, Agata and Northern

Tours Village

Evenk Museum of Local Lore

Curious facts

The course of the local rivers is stormy, there are many rapids and rifts in the rivers. When the water rises in the spring, characteristic steady whirlpools form in the rapids of the riverbed, and local residents call them korchas.

Evenki legends claim that Lake Essei has a second bottom. Most likely, if it is, it is not the roof of the “water watchman” dwelling, as the legend says. Probably, it is formed in the same way as in the famous lakes with a double bottom - the trunks of drowned trees, fastened together with silt and forming a kind of crust. Cryptozoologists claim that under such a crust there can be an underwater world of the dinosaur era.

When the Evenki region was the Evenki Autonomous District, as of 2006 it was in last place among the subjects of the Federation in terms of population.

In the Vivi river basin is a large impact crater - Logancha. It was formed as a result of a meteorite fall 40 million years ago. The estimated diameter of the crater is about 22 km. It is significantly deformed by late geological processes.

Indicators of tectonic processes on the territory of Evenkia are the angular outlines of lake shores (they occur at the site of new faults perpendicular to the previous direction) and larch hidden by water (such stand, for example, in Lake Agata, which indicates modern lowering of the bottom).

The village of Nidym, founded in 1940 and standing on the right bank of the Lower Tunguska River, gained great fame in the USSR in the 1970s. It was here that the shooting of the film “Friend Tymanchi” (USSR, 1970) took place, and here its action unfolds. In the film about the friendship of the Evenki boy Tymanki and the wolf cub named Ajavrik (translated from Evenki - favorite), the locals were shot. The film, which contains unique ethnographic material, is the pride of the Evenks and part of their cultural heritage.

In the official symbols of the Evenki region there are the main elements of the pagan cult. In the center of the flag is the national Evenki Kumalan rug, representing the sun. The coat of arms is in the form of a ritual shamanic tambourine, a symbol of the Universe among Evenks, a gathering place for assistant spirits protecting the Evenki people. Loon on the coat of arms, flying to the sunset from sunrise, is the creator of the Earth, the patron of the people.