Forest Yukaghirs (Oduls)
The Upper Kolyma and Lower Kolyma Yukaghirs had sleds of various origins and designs, since the former sleds were intended for dogs, and the latter for deer. Both were used only on snow.
Yukaghir dog sleds (миидьии) are shorter, narrower and simpler than those of other peoples of eastern Siberia, made of birch.
They have three or four pairs of straight hooves (legs) inserted into the runners with a rough spike. The length of the runners is three meters, the width is about 10 cm, the thickness is about three cm. In front they have a steep bend, to which a horizontal arc (ram) is attached. Its other attachment point is the first pair of hooves.
Approximately at the middle of the height, each pair of hooves has a horizontal crossbar – three boards are put together on them. A pair of poles of the same length as the boards is attached to the upper ends of the hooves. Between these poles and the ends of the boards there is a rope binding representing the sides of the sled. There is no back, as there is no front vertical arc, which the rider holds on to, so as not to roll over when the dogs run fast. The absence of these common details can be explained by the absence of the necessary number of dogs in Yukaghirs – without it, these details seem optional.
Another explanation for the absence of a vertical arc is as follows. In the annual nomadic cycle, the Odul families used sleds mainly at the end of winter – in spring, when they roamed from their winter homes to the upper reaches of the Kolyma River and its tributaries. In sleds pulled by 2-3 dogs, they carried valuable items, covers of dwellings, sick and infirm people. All other family members, including teenagers and old people, went skiing. That is, sleds were mainly used as cargo and the vertical arc had no functional significance.
The same cards were used by the fishermen, going to the autumn snow for fishing. Or when they went fishing for moose in the spring. In the past, artisans used a hand sled and a travois.
In Odul folklore, sleds are often mentioned as winter vehicles. In the fairy tale, the old lady had a magic team, instead of a sled, she harnessed a ninbe (нинбэ) needlework board, and her thimble performed the role of a dog. In another text, a girl wandered with a dog and a sled. Fleeing from the ogre, she tied the dog to a tree as a decoy, and dragged the sled herself.
In the humorous text, three guys went fishing on a sled, ten hares were harnessed instead of dogs. They ran down the river and found themselves near the ogre' house.
L. N. Zhukova, Cand. Sc. History
![Юкагирская собачья нарта [Иохельсон, 2005]](https://arctic-megapedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/nartyu1-1.jpg){kind=link}
