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Thursday, 14 July 2011
14 July 2011. Now, For Something Entirely Different…
This is the Annual Mud Day at Westland MI USA… you can’t deny that these guys are having FUN. Are you game? I AM… does that surprise you?
BMD
14 July 2011. A Multimedia Presentation. Here’s Russia… Meet the Khakas!
Editor’s Foreword:
As I posted a photo essay on a Khakasian holiday below, I thought that you’d like some background on this Siberian Native people. I’ll give you some images, and, then, I’ll give you some info on these indigenous folks and their homeland after the pics.
BMD
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NB: The music doesn’t start until 40 seconds into the vid, it sounds much like Andean flute music.
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The Republic of Khakasiya is in central Siberia, midway between Moscow and Vladivostok. Administratively, it’s part of the Siberian Federal Distrct, with a total land area of 65,659 square kilometres (25,345 square miles); Khakasiya’s a bit larger than the size of the American state of West Virginia, about the same size as Lithuania (that is, a little over twice the size of the Netherlands), or, if one prefers, it’s 80 percent the size of Scotland. Of its population of 532,000, 286,000 (54 percent) live in its three largest cities, Abakan (the capital, with 163,000 inhabitants), Chernogorsk (75,000), and Sayanogorsk (48,000). The population density is 8.65 people/square kilometre (21/square mile). 75 percent of the 80,000 Khakas living in Russia reside in the Republic of Khakasiya, but the 60,000 Native people in the Republic make up only 12 percent of the population (82 percent are Russian, 1.5 percent are German, 1 percent are Tatar). By the way, Alaska has a somewhat similar proportion of Native people, having 15 percent Natives amongst its total population (although Russians better accept the Khakas as equals than Alaska Natives are by Anglo-Saxon Nativists). In Russian parlance, a “Republic” is an area of concentrated settlement of a non-Russian indigenous people (such as Chechnya and Tatarstan), even if the Natives aren’t a majority of the population. Its climate is just about the same as in Krasnoyarsk, very cold dry winters coupled with warm humid summers. The average high temperature in January is -11.3 degrees (11.7 Fahrenheit), the average high in August is 21.5 (70.7 Fahrenheit), with average lows in January (the coldest month) reaching -19.4 (-2.9 Fahrenheit).
Khakasiya is the largest per-capita producer of hydropower in the RF, and it has thermal generation plants as well. Its industry is based on molybdenum, copper, and coal mining, aluminium production, agricultural processing, and railway wagon manufacturing (5 percent of all goods wagons made in the RF are made in Abakan). The South Siberian Railway connects Abakan to the Trans-Siberian Main Line at Krasnoyarsk. Pastures and hayfields occupy large areas, which give a large grazing area for livestock such as sheep, dairy cattle, and horses. The main crops grown are wheat, barley, oats, millet, sunflowers, and sugar beets. Khakasiya is a net exporter of agricultural goods, despite having only about 20 percent of its land suitable for any form of agriculture.
During the 19th century, many Khakas accepted Russian ways, and most converted to Orthodox Christianity. Shamanism with Buddhist influences, however, is still common, and many Christians practise Shamanism alongside Christianity. In Tsarist Russia, the Khakas were known as Minusinsk Tatars, Abakan Tatars, or Yenisei Turks. The Khakas always show great deference to their elders, they give titles of respect to all those older than they are; older men are always known as “abaa” (“Uncle”), and older women are called “piche” (“Older Sister”).
BMD
14 July 2011. RIA-Novosti Presents… Russia’s Kaleidoscopic Breadth… Khakasiya Celebrates Tun Pairam
Recently, people in Khakasiya celebrated Tun Pairam, an ancient holiday marking the first big milk yield of the year, when the herders move their cattle from their winter pastures to greener summer pastures. The first “big milk” appears when the animals get their first fresh forage after a winter’s worth of hay.
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Viktor Zimin (1962- ), Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Khakasiya and RF Gosduma Deputy (United Russia), in traditional folk dress at the Tun Pairam festival.
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The holiday is a time for colourful performances, and it opened with public festivities.
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Youth groups performing during Tun Pairam.
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The first Women’s Crafts Fair Мастерица Сибири (Masteritsa Sibiri: Female Craftsmen of Siberia) at Tun Pairam featured female craftsmen from the Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tyva Republic, Altai Krai, Altai Republic, Gornaya Shoriya (southern part of Kemerovo Oblast, inhabited by the indigenous Shor people, they’re “hillbillies” (in the best sense of the word)), and Khakasiya (all part of the Siberian Federal District). The Altai, Khakas, and Shor peoples are mainly Orthodox; the Tyvans are mainly Buddhist.
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Wooden craftwork on display at the fair.
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Native artisans displayed all sorts of crafts, including homemade dolls, shaman drums, and many other gifts.
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Another first-time event was an exhibition, Podium Ethno, showcasing the work of indigenous fashion designers, who based their submissions upon the traditional dress of the Khakas and Altai peoples, held as part of the Tun Pairam celebration.
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Of course, no Tun Pairam is complete without airan, a fermented horse’s milk beverage.
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6 July 2011
RIA-Novosti
Voices From Russia, Too 
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