The Sakha, called Yakuts in Russian, are a Turkic-speaking people living in north-eastern Siberia, along the basin of the Lena River, in one of the coldest permanently inhabited regions on Earth. Breeders of horses and cattle in an extreme environment, they developed a religion in which the luminous sky, the spirits of the lower world and the figure of the shaman find a particular balance.
A many-levelled cosmos
Sakha cosmology knows, like other Siberian traditions, an upper world, a middle world inhabited by humans and a lower world. The upper world is the seat of the Aiyy, creative and luminous deities, the highest of whom is Ürüng Aiyy Toyon, the «White Creator Lord».
The lower world and some regions of the cosmos are instead inhabited by the abaasy, spirits regarded as hostile, to whom the traditions attribute misfortune, illness and death. Between these two poles move many other powers: the master spirits of places, such as those of fire, forest and waters.
Two different specialists
One of the most interesting aspects of Sakha religion is the presence of two distinct religious figures, who should not be confused:
| Figure | Traditional role |
|---|---|
| Algyschyt | pronounces the algys, the blessings, addressing the Aiyy in the luminous rites |
| Oyuun (man) / udagan (woman) | the shaman who travels through the worlds and also deals with the abaasy |
The algyschyt does not enter trance and does not travel: he is an officiant who speaks on behalf of the community to the benevolent celestial powers. The oyuun, by contrast, is the shaman in the proper sense, who during the drum-accompanied session makes journeys, fights or negotiates with spirits.
Ethnographic literature also contains the distinction between «white» and «black» shamans, depending on their main relationship with the powers of the upper or lower world. As among the Buryats, it is a useful but not rigid classification.
The Yhyakh
The most important Sakha festival is the Yhyakh (also spelled Ysyakh), celebrated around the summer solstice, when the sun hardly sets. It is a festival of renewal: it greets the summer, the new season of milk, the prosperity of the herds.
The traditional elements of the festival are:
- kumis, fermented mare's milk, offered to the Aiyy and drunk from decorated wooden cups called choron;
- the blessings of the algyschyt, who open the festival by addressing the luminous deities;
- greeting the rising sun;
- the osuokhai, the great circle dance, in which participants hold hands and move following the course of the sun while a singer improvises verses;
- games, wrestling contests and horse races.
The Yhyakh is above all a festival of the Aiyy and of light: it is not a shamanic rite in the strict sense, but the communal celebration of the cosmic order.
The olonkho
Sakha culture also possesses a great epic heritage, the olonkho: long sung poems recounting the deeds of heroes of the middle world against the abaasy, in a cosmos divided into the three levels. The olonkho, whose complete performance could take several nights, has been recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
The epic offers a valuable window onto cosmology: in it appear the Aiyy, the lords of the spirits, female and male shamans, and the continual struggle between the forces that keep the world in balance.
Repression and revival
During the Soviet period traditional Sakha religion was harshly repressed, shamans were persecuted and the Yhyakh was turned into a civic festival. Since the end of the 20th century the festival has again been celebrated with its ritual elements, and it is today one of the most important celebrations in the Sakha Republic. Studio Esoterico Cornelio sees in it an example of how a rite can preserve, in its gestures, an entire vision of the world.
In short
- The Sakha, or Yakuts, are Turkic-speaking herders of north-eastern Siberia.
- The Aiyy are the luminous deities; the abaasy the hostile spirits of the lower world.
- The algyschyt blesses without trance; the oyuun and udagan are the shamans proper.
- The summer solstice Yhyakh combines kumis, blessings and the osuokhai dance.
- The olonkho epic preserves Sakha cosmology and is UNESCO intangible heritage.
