This story took place at the end of the nineteenth century, when Yakutia was part of the Russian Empire and was divided into uluses (districts). Each of them was ruled by a prince-toyon from among the wealthy Yakuts. The ruler of one of the central uluses will be discussed.
This prince was heartless and despotic even at that time. He robbed the peasants, built himself almost a royal mansion, sucked all the juices out of the poor and severely punished his subjects for the slightest offenses. At the same time, the toyon regularly collected tribute from the population and sent it to the center, so the higher officials were happy with it and were not going to replace it with someone else.
Annoying kumalaan
One late autumn evening a kumalaan - a wandering beggar - approached the prince's house and asked to spend the night. Then it was a common occurrence: the wanderers were provided with dinner and overnight, and they did some kind of housework for this. However, this tramp was so ragged and wretched that the prince, casting an arrogant glance at him, did not want to shelter the unfortunate man and ordered him to be driven out of the yard. According to the customs of that time, this was unacceptable: the owner had to feed the kumalaan at least yesterday's turnip and let him into the pig barn.
Apparently, the beggar also thought about it, because soon he reappeared at the porch. Toyon was very angry. He decided to grab and whip the insolent man, but first find out why he is showing such persistence and continues to bother him. When the kumalaan was dragged before the princely eyes, he asked him a question:
“Didn't I make it clear that there is no place for you here? Why don't you get out?
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The beggar humbly replied:
- I need to spend the night somewhere, and I'm very hungry. The nights are already too cold to sleep in the open. I'm sorry, but I have nowhere else to go.
The prince chuckled coldly:
- And what use is it to me to let such a rascal come to me? What are you willing to pay for my hospitality?
Suddenly the wanderer said:
- If it interests you, then I am good at telling olonkho.
What is olonkho
For reference: olonkho is a type of oral epic of the Yakut people, which occupies a central place in the local folklore. These are long (often several tens of thousands of lines) poems telling about the eternal struggle between good and evil. They were performed by olonkhosuts - highly respected folk storytellers who specialized exclusively in this type of epic art. Experienced olonkhosuts were distinguished by their multifaceted talent: they had to demonstrate singing and acting skills, as well as possess remarkable oratorical skills and the gift of improvisation. Record-long olonkho was performed for seven days, day and night. The storytellers took a break only for a short sleep, snacks and other natural needs (both their own and those of the listeners).
It is not surprising that at a time when there was no television, the Internet, and books too (there was no printed literature in pre-revolutionary Yakutia), it was a great honor to have a good olonkhosut under your roof.
But the arrogant prince did not immediately believe the tramp:
- Oh really? Are you really a master of olonkho? Such a ragamuffin?..
- Right. And people really like how I sing.
The owner gloomily invited the guest into the house, but before that he said:
“Okay, you’ll tell me and my wife tonight. But if we don't like your olonkho, I will order you to whip you with the strongest whip.
On that and decided. Toyon again did not show hospitality, ordering that in the coldest corner of the house a hard hide be thrown on the floor for a guest. He himself had a hearty supper with his family, and ordered the beggar to bring only sour cottage cheese, stale bread and water. The guest gratefully accepted the treat and, at the call of the prince, went to entertain his hosts.
A fire was burning in the semi-dark bedroom, the princely couple were lying on the bed waiting for the performance. The tramp sat down by the stove and, warming himself along the way, began the story. To the great surprise of the spouses, the poem turned out to be very interesting, and the olonkhosut performed it simply masterfully. Expressing approval from time to time, the prince listened for half an hour, and then he had to leave for a small need. Toyon told the Cumalaan to pause, while he left the house and went to the latrine.
Nightmare journey
The evening sky was covered with leaden clouds, and it was drizzling with cold rain. No sooner had the prince reached the restroom, when someone suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and tore him off the ground. The terrified toyon looked up and saw a huge black vulture carrying him into the sky. Fighting the gigantic bird was pointless and dangerous: the prince could fall down and crash. Therefore, having entrusted himself to fate, he chose not to move.
They flew for a long time. The air managed to turn icy, and the prince was completely numb. Finally the vulture went down, threw its prey into a clearing and disappeared.
A huge bonfire was blazing in the clearing, around which naked women danced. One of them went to the toyon and, grabbing him like a child, put her nipple in his mouth. Liquid poured from his chest, but the prince immediately realized that it was not milk, but human blood. In order not to choke, he began to swallow it and drank until he felt that no more would fit into him.
Having drunk the prince, the woman burst out laughing and said:
- Your soul is as black as coal, and there is no place among people for such a monster. We give you a new look. Now go and do evil without any restrictions!
The man looked at himself and was horrified: his body was covered with ulcers, abscesses and tumors. A flock of creepy creatures came from somewhere. They tore off the skin from the Toyon, broke his neck and turned his head back, removed the scalp, and then cut off his lips, ears, nose and eyelids with their claws. The pain was unbearable. Then the black vulture flew in again and, seizing the prince, who was twitching in agony, dragged him somewhere. In the end, he found himself in an empty night clearing.
Toyon (or whoever it was now) looked around and realized that he was in the woods near his home. The unfortunate man crawled to him to ask for help from the servants, but at dawn he realized that the sunlight burns him like a flame. The prince hid in a nearby abandoned booth. The next night, he also failed to approach the people - they frightened him. Toyon was terribly hungry, but could not eat berries or mushrooms. Once some peasants entered his booth. The prince pounced on them and literally ate them to the bone. After that, he ate only human flesh, and this went on for many months. The killer stopped thinking humanly and lived only to satisfy his unabated hunger.
Once a shaman came to the booth with a tambourine and began to chant. It was clear that he had come to drive out evil spirits from the hut, into which the former richer and despot had turned. The shaman went into a trance and began to beat the tambourine. With each blow, the prince felt a growing pain, it seemed that they were going to turn him inside out …
A happy ending
When the torment became completely unbearable and the cannibal realized that his end had come, he … suddenly woke up in his warm bed. His wife slept next to him soundly, a fire was burning out in the stove. The olonkhosut sitting near the stove smiled and asked the owner:
- Well, how do you like my olonkho? Enough, or will I continue?
Toyon hardly came to his senses and realized that before him was a strong shaman. And the long months of princely suffering were just an illusion created by this sorcerer, posing as a vagabond.
The owner fell to his knees and begged his forgiveness, vowing that he would change his attitude towards people. By his order, the "beggar" was fed the most exquisite dishes that were found in the house, washed and dressed in an expensive outfit, and made a bed for him in the guest bedroom. In the morning, the prince gave the olonkhosut his best stallion, and he didn’t spare money with provisions. The shaman thanked for such a reception, said goodbye to the spouses and rushed off about his business.