The indigenous peoples of the Far North - Nenets, Khanty, Selkups - call Yamal a sacred land, the abode of the all-powerful gods
They say that scientists tried to make a map of the sacred places of the peninsula and have already mapped 263 sanctuaries on it, but they lost count.
People with white eyes
“Do you want to visit Yuribey? Not scary? - An elderly Nenets asked me with disbelief in her voice. My grandmother also told her that mysterious little people live on the banks of this sacred river for the Aboriginal people. They have snow-white eyes and fog-like hair. They are called sikhirta, or sirtya, and are considered the predecessors of the Nenets reindeer herders. It seems that these creatures have moved underground forever and there graze herds of … surviving mammoths. Sometimes Sirtha come to the surface, and then archaeologists discover details of the decoration of their clothes. And in 1987, two women allegedly even met one of the Sirte. He used some unknown force to take valuable fish away from their fishing nets …
In the spring, the famous northern fish really like to spawn in the waters of Yuribey: nelma, muksun, cheeks. This Yamal river with a length of more than 500 km flows through the permafrost through the entire peninsula and flows into the Baydaratskaya Bay of the Kara Sea. Once a year, its waters are reversed in an unknown way and flow in the opposite direction for several days. They say that not a single native resident will step into the river in summer without bringing a gift to the harsh Yuribey. And the sanctuaries of the indigenous people located on the banks of the river are the most revered in Yamal. The popularly known place Yuribey hehe'ya resembles a large chum. Scientists have found here traces of fresh sacrifices made by nomadic reindeer herders. Inside the "chum" there is a whole mountain of deer skulls, glassware, and colored shreds everywhere.
Getting to the mysterious river is not easy. Under the wing of the gas workers' rotational helicopter for more than two hours of flight, there is only a permafrost plain. Upon arrival, the wind knocks down, and the frost, in spite of special thermal clothing, chills to the bone. A month ago, the temperature dropped to -43 °. There is virtually no spring here. Summer comes in a few days. Before the ice melts, the river seems lifeless and the snowy desert looks creepy. For some reason, I recall the custom of the indigenous people to bury the dead in boxes placed right on top of the snow. It is not customary to dig graves in the permafrost …
The place where mammoths doze
Yuribey is called the supplier of world archaeological sensations, "the place where mammoths doze." As if someone (aren't those little people?) From time to time frees the ancient giants from the ice captivity and brings them to the surface. In September 1988, a mammoth named Masha was found 25 km from the mouth of the river. The mammoth found in May 2007 was christened Lyuba in honor of the wife of the reindeer breeder Yuri Khudiy. Scientists note that permafrost is an excellent storehouse of historical values. In the sands of Egypt, the culture has been preserved "only" for 5 thousand years, and in the depths of the tundra, secrets of tens and hundreds of thousands of years may be revealed. "Look - just found today!" - Sergey Khudi, environmental advisor to one of the railway construction companies, shows a petrified piece of wood - dark gray on the outside and light, as if freshly cut, on the inside. “They began to drill a well in the river,and at a depth of 18 meters, the drill literally overkill. I think this tree is more than one thousand years old."
Hoodie by nationality Nenets. He shows me his passport, where in the column “place of birth” it says: “Yamal tundra”. In the evening, at dinner in one of Salekhard's trendy restaurants, he confesses that he is very respectful of the beliefs and sanctuaries of the reindeer herders. “The world, like the human soul, is multi-layered. We fly into space, extract Yamal gas from under the permafrost, the reserves of which will last at least another 50 years, and sometimes we cannot figure out ourselves,”he thinks philosophically.
However, the industrial development of Yamal, where 91% of Russian gas reserves are concentrated, is making its own adjustments to the traditional way of life of the indigenous inhabitants of the peninsula. The mysterious Yuribey River, which emerges from its usual 300-meter channel in spring and overflows almost 4 km for 5-6 days, turned out to be the main obstacle on the way to the development of the largest gas field. The construction of a branch line, the main highway leading to the gas storage room, almost stalled.
In order not to disturb the unique ecology of the part of the tundra, sacred for reindeer herders, it was decided to build a bridge overpass along the edge of the river flood. Such long bridges in the Arctic latitudes have never been built anywhere in the world. The overpass will stand as if on matches - on special piles with a unique technology that keeps the permafrost from thawing. The builders assure that the bridge will be the same attraction in the region as the sacred Yuribey River itself.