Household items of the tundra Yukaghir,
made by Rozhina Vera Vasilyevna
Rozhina Vera Vasilyevna is a native of Yukaghir origin and an honoured resident of Ust-Yansky ulus, a master of folk arts and crafts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Showing respect for the traditions of her ancestors, Vera Vasilyevna skilfully crafts items useful for traditional life. All the items shown are made of natural materials.
A small reconstruction of a boat (oldje) made by Vera Vasilyevna from rovduga (deerskin), a piece of board and osier-bed, the kind of two-seater boat her grandfather and grandmother used for travelling and fishing. Yukaghir village of Ust-Yansky ulus is located in the tundra, where trees are only dwarfed, so osier-bed ("talnik") is used in everyday life. To get rovduga, the wool is removed from reindeer skin, then it is impregnated with fish or reindeer fat, liver, then the impregnated skin is kneaded by hands, special means or other methods and, finally, the kneaded skin is smoked to strengthen and preserve it. In the case of a boat, the outer side of the rovduga was covered with seal fat for strength. The flaps of rovduga were joined together with a stitch made of reindeer vein. The oars (chamdje) are made of talnik and smoked reindeer skin.
The boat used wooden seats made from dry logs found on the river bank, and for comfort the seat was covered with sheared reindeer skin. Vera Vasilyevna recalls that to transport such a boat, a special narta (sledge) made of sheared reindeer skin was equipped with skis for smooth gliding and rovduga harnesses to tie the boat.
Her grandmother taught her how to make loops from rovduga, a piece of osier-bed and small deer bones, which replaced buttons on outer garments. The small bones in the joints of the back leg of an eland, which looked like pebbles, were used to make buttons.
The traditional life of northern peoples is considered ecological - each material has its own purpose. In the hind leg of the moose there is a thin bone resembling a fork tooth, it was used by housewives in cooking, for example, pulling out meat with this fork. The deer also has such a bone, but it is much smaller in size. This bone could be used to make an awl or earwig. The awl was also more often used for processing deer skin.
Burbot skins are used to make a cover or a vessel for storing fish dishes. The skin can be easily removed with a knife, and after removing it, the skin is blown into and left to dry outside. A pike skin is also used to make a pouch, which is noted to be good for storing yukola (sun-dried fish).
The rovduga (deerskin) bag preserves meat better. Sturdy and flexible rovduga is made by smocking, treated with reindeer liver for strength, and to get an even beige colour the rovduga is dyed with alder. All products are lined with reindeer's undercoat hair. The thread usually consists of several reindeer's undercoat hairs, wrapped with hair, also reindeer's veins are used as thread. Vera Vasilyevna notes that each craftswoman has her own way of sewing.
Vera Vasilyevna notes that kneading deer skin is a job more suitable for men's hands than women's.
In addition to rovduga, Vera Vasilievna uses hare, Arctic fox and squirrel skins in her craft.
Vera Rozhina's works have been presented many times at fairs and exhibitions of international, all-Russian and regional levels and were awarded with prize certificates.
Asya Konstantinova,
leading specialist of the UNESCO Chair of M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University (NEFU)