The harsh and mysterious land, the shores of which are washed by the waters of the icy ocean, and a significant part of the land is occupied by the endless tundra, is called Yakutia. Amazing people live here who believe in powerful spirits and sacredly observe their ancient traditions. One of them is an ancient wedding ritual, which will be discussed today.
Spirits run the show
According to the ancient Yakut legend, everything that captures the human eye is subject to the power of spirits. A contented spirit protects a person and his home from evil spirits, increases the number of livestock, provides the hunter with large prey. A spirit angry with a person sends misfortune on him. The prey leaves the hunter, the fish bypasses the nets, the whole family suffers from serious illnesses and, in the end, dies.
The well-being of the Yakut family also entirely depended on the mood of the spirit. A man who managed to win over this essence to himself had several wives, the first of whom occupied a dominant position.
Matchmaking process
In ancient times, the number of newborn boys significantly exceeded the number of newborn girls. The parents of the bride-to-be looked closely at potential grooms in advance. The most agile and fortunate always had more chances of getting a real beauty as a wife.
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From a strong, healthy man, exactly the same son was born. Therefore, if you want your daughter to live in full prosperity, choose a good father-in-law. Having picked up the groom, the bride's ancestors agreed with his parents about the kalym (ransom). After the matchmakers left, the bride did not have to leave her half of the yurt until they returned. Some poor fellows were locked up for more than a week, because Yakutia is huge and the groom's house from the house of his bride could be separated by hundreds of miles.
Since the 18th century, the state of affairs has changed significantly. Now the groom's parents were looking for a bride for him. If the bride agreed to a marriage, then the conversation turned to the size of the kalym. Sometimes the ransom for the bride was so great that the future bridegroom became an employee of his father-in-law. The young man had another option. He could get into the trust of future relatives, and then steal his bride.
Prepare your dowry
The Yakuts prepared the wedding dress and the bride's dowry in advance. Each girl had to have at least three sets of clothes, sewn by herself. The patterns on these outfits testified to the history, glory and prosperity of her family. Also, the dowry included: clothes intended for the groom, silver jewelry, fur coats, skins and a number of horses.
The bride's relatives sewed her a new wardrobe, since they did not take the girl with old things to her husband's house. Only the closest female relatives dressed the newlywed before the wedding. The young bride stood on the skin of a white mare. The main adornment of the girl was a tusyulyuk, a hip belt made of silver pendants, which speaks of maiden innocence. Three dresses followed, a sleeveless jacket, a light coat and a rich fur coat. The decoration was completed with silver ornaments, a fur hat with embroidered mittens and a front veil.
During the departure of the bride from her father's house, relatives tied bags with old clothes to the saddle of her horse. Near the house of the betrothed, the bags were pierced with knives and thrown away so that all evil spirits would not enter the new house.
On the threshold of the yurt of the future husband stood an experienced woman who, by the ringing of silver jewelry, determined the innocence of the newlywed. The gentle and melodic ringing spoke of chastity, and the muted strumming of shame. Two hundred years ago, the verdict of an "experienced" old woman could bring a girl convicted of dishonesty to suicide.
Endless holiday
If the bride passed the test for decency, the groom and his friends collected the kalym and went to her house. The groom entered the bride's yurt alone. His friends stayed outside. There, the bride's parents and a shaman were sitting by the fire, who poured oil into the fire to placate the spirits and read the future of the young family from mysterious signs.
Then the groom invited his friends, they gave gifts to the bride's parents, and the wedding feast began until late in the evening.
In the morning, the groom went to the yurt located next door. There his bride was waiting. The young man held out a whip to the newlywed, she took him by the whip, and the betrothed took his chosen one out into the street. On the way to the house of the newlywed, there were at least nine stops to make. Each time, the bride, as a gift to the Mistress of the Land, left a fur bed at the bus stop.
In the yurt of the betrothed, the same procedure was repeated as in the yurt of the betrothed. After the spirits were coaxed, the groom's relatives considered the bride's dowry and praised it.
The wedding feast lasted at least three days. All this time the guests were offered a rich treat, and the young men competed in archery, wrestling, jumping and running.
Family life
Both during the wedding process and for a long time after it, the wife hid her face from her father-in-law and her husband's older relatives under a veil. In the house of her husband's parents, she should have been in a specially fenced off place and not be seen by her father-in-law. This ritual of avoidance lasted up to 7 years, and in some cases even to old age.
Meanwhile, the son-in-law could not appear before the older sisters and mother-in-law without a headdress and a long shirt that hides his knees. Otherwise, damage could be sent to the young couple, which could harm all offspring.
If life did not work out for young people, they could part. A sterile wife or giving birth only to girls could be sent back to her father and returned to the kalym. The wife, dissatisfied with her husband, could take the dowry herself and return to the parental home. Fortunately, successful marriages were much more frequent, and led to the strengthening of friendships between different clans.
