Eskimo custom of overeating on holidays. The customs of the Eskimos, which will seem strange to us ...
Number - 1718 people. The language is the Esco-Aleut family of languages. Settlement - Chukotka Autonomous District of the Magadan Region.
The most eastern people of the country. They live in the north-east of Russia, on the Chukchi Peninsula. Self-name - yuk - "man", yugyt, or yupik - "real person". The Eskimo languages are divided into two major groups - Yupik (Western) and Inupik (Eastern). On the Chukchi Peninsula, Yupik is divided into Sirenik, Central Siberian, or Chaplin and Naukan dialects. The Eskimos of Chukotka, along with their native language, speak Russian and Chukchi.
The origin of the Eskimos is debatable. The Eskimos are the direct heirs of an ancient culture spread from the end of the first millennium BC. along the shores of the Bering Sea. The earliest Eskimo culture is the ancient Bering Sea (until the 8th century AD). It is characterized by the extraction of marine mammals, the use of multi-seat leather canoes, complex harpoons. From the 7th century AD until the XIII-XV centuries. there was a development of whaling, and in the more northern regions of Alaska and Chukotka - hunting for small pinnipeds.
The main type of economic activity was marine hunting. Until the middle of the XIX century. The main hunting tools were a spear with an arrow-shaped double-edged tip (pan), a rotary harpoon (ung'ak') with a detachable tip made of bone. They used canoes and kayaks to navigate the water. Baidara (anyapik) - light, fast and stable on the water. Its wooden frame was covered with walrus skin. The canoes were different types- from single to huge 25-seater sailboats.
On land they moved on arc-dusty sleds. Dogs harnessed "fan". WITH mid-nineteenth V. the sledges were pulled by dogs harnessed by a train (a team of the East Siberian type). Short dustless sleds with runners made of walrus tusks (kanrak) were also used. On the snow they went on "racket" skis (in the form of a frame of two planks with fastened ends and transverse struts, intertwined with sealskin straps and lined with bone plates from below), on ice with the help of special bone spikes mounted on shoes.
The way sea animals were hunted depended on their seasonal migrations. Two seasons of whale hunting corresponded to the time of their passage through the Bering Strait: in spring to the north, in autumn v to the south. Whales were shot with harpoons from several canoes, and later with harpoon guns.
The most important object of the fishery was the walrus. WITH late XIX V. new fishing weapons and equipment appeared. Hunting for fur-bearing animals spread. The extraction of walruses and seals replaced the whaling industry, which had fallen into decay. When there was not enough meat from sea animals, they shot wild deer and mountain sheep, birds, and fished with a bow.
The settlements were located in such a way that it was convenient to observe the movement of the sea animal v at the base of pebble spits protruding into the sea, on elevated places. The most ancient type of dwelling is a stone building with a floor deepened into the ground. The walls were made of stones and whale ribs. The frame was covered with deer skins, covered with a layer of turf, stones, and again covered with skins on top.
Until the 18th century, and in some places even later, they lived in semi-underground frame dwellings (today). In the XVII-XVIII centuries. frame buildings appeared (myn`tyg`ak), similar to the Chukchi yaranga. The summer dwelling is a quadrangular tent (pylyuk), shaped like an obliquely truncated pyramid, and the wall with the entrance was higher than the opposite one. The frame of this dwelling was built of logs and poles and covered with walrus skins. From the end of the 19th century light wooden houses with a gable roof and windows appeared.
The clothes of the Asian Eskimos are deaf, made of deer and seal skins. Back in the 19th century They also made clothes from bird skins.
They wore fur stockings and seal torbasas (kamgyk) on their feet. Waterproof shoes were made from dressed seal skins without wool. Fur hats and mittens were worn only when moving (roaming). Clothing was decorated with embroidery or fur mosaics. Until the 18th century the Eskimos, piercing the nasal septum or lower lip, hung walrus teeth, bone rings and glass beads.
Male tattoo - circles in the corners of the mouth, female - straight or concave parallel lines on the forehead, nose and chin. A more complex geometric ornament was applied to the cheeks. They covered with a tattoo their arms, hands, forearms.
Traditional food is the meat and fat of seals, walruses and whales. The meat was eaten raw, dried, dried, frozen, boiled, harvested for the winter: fermented in pits and eaten with fat, sometimes in a semi-cooked form. Raw whale fat with a layer of cartilaginous skin (mantak) was considered a delicacy. The fish was dried and dried, and freshly frozen in winter. Reindeer meat was highly valued, which was exchanged among the Chukchi for the skins of marine animals.
The kinship account was kept on the paternal line, the marriage was patrilocal. Each settlement consisted of several groups of kindred families, who occupied a separate semi-dugout in winter, in which each family had its own canopy. During the summer, families lived in separate tents. The facts of working off for a wife were known, there were customs to woo children, marry a boy to adult girl, the custom of "partnership in marriage", when two men exchanged wives as a sign of friendship (hospitable hetaerism). There was no marriage ceremony as such. In wealthy families there was polygamy.
The Eskimos were practically not Christianized. They believed in spirits, the masters of all animate and inanimate objects, natural phenomena, localities, wind directions, various human states, in the family relationship of a person with any animal or object. There were ideas about the creator of the world, they called him Sila. He was the creator and master of the universe, followed the observance of the customs of the ancestors. The main sea deity, the mistress of sea animals was Sedna, who sent prey to people. Evil spirits were presented in the form of giants or dwarfs, or other fantastic creatures that sent diseases and misfortunes to people.
In each village there lived a shaman (usually it was a man, but female shamans are also known), who was an intermediary between evil spirits and people. Only the one who heard the voice of the helper spirit could become a shaman. After that, the future shaman had to meet alone with the spirits and conclude an alliance with them about mediation.
Fishing holidays were dedicated to the extraction of a large animal. Especially famous are the holidays on the occasion of whale hunting, which were held either in the fall, at the end of the hunting season - "seeing off the whale", or in the spring - "meeting the whale". There were also holidays for the beginning of sea hunting, or "launching canoes into the water" and a holiday for "walrus heads" dedicated to the results of the spring-summer fishery.
Eskimo folklore is rich and varied. All types oral art subdivided into unipak v "message", "news" and into unipamsyuk v stories about events in the past, heroic legends, fairy tales or myths. Among the fairy tales, a special place is occupied by the cycle about the crow Kutkh, the demiurge and the trickster, who creates and develops the universe.
The earliest stages in the development of the Eskimo Arctic culture include bone carving: a sculptural miniature, and artistic bone engraving. The ornament covered hunting equipment, objects household items; images of animals and fantastic creatures served as amulets and decorations.
Music (aingananga) is predominantly vocal. Songs are subdivided into "large" public - songs-hymns, which are sung by ensembles and "small" intimate - "songs of the soul". They are performed solo, sometimes accompanied by a tambourine.
The tambourine is a personal and family shrine (sometimes used by shamans). It is central to music.
Bibliography
For the preparation of this work, materials from the site http://russia.rin.ru were used.
The material was found and prepared for publication by Grigory Luchansky
G.A. Ushakov
Eskimo food
“And in the old days, that is, before the arrival of Europeans, and now the Eskimos eat mainly the meat of marine animals. The first place among them is occupied by the walrus, the second - by the seal (seal, bearded seal) and the third - by the whale. Reindeer meat is considered especially tasty, but it is exchanged with the neighbors of the Chukchi reindeer herders, and therefore it rarely gets on the menu of the Eskimo. In addition to the meat of these animals, the Eskimos eat the meat of a bear, and at the time of need - the meat of a fox and even a dog.
In the summer, bird meat serves as a considerable help in nutrition. The Eskimos eat all the birds found in the North. The exceptions are the raven and the crane, which are treated with prejudice, but by no means because they are considered "nasty". “The meat is very strong,” say the Eskimos, and they generally prefer meat that is soft, juicy and fatty. But when a hunger strike sets in, then the meat of a crow is eaten willingly, since it is still not stronger than old walrus skins taken from a yaranga, or belts from teams and tastier than meat dogs, which had to be fed during more and more frequent hunger strikes.
In general, the Eskimos do not know "nasty" animals and birds that could not be eaten.
Before my acquaintance with the Eskimos, I often encountered the widespread opinion that they like to drink lard. Among the Eskimos known to me, I have not met a single such amateur, And when they heard of such an opinion, they usually said: "Vrot!" (He's lying!) - or they laughed merrily, taking it for a joke.
Eskimos are more willing to eat any meat when it begins to smell a little.
Eskimo cooking techniques are remarkably simple. Meat is mostly eaten raw or frozen, sometimes boiled or dried.
In its raw form, whale skin is also eaten with a layer of fat adjacent to it - “man" so "". For most Europeans, out of habit, "man" so "" will seem unappetizing, but in fact it has palatability capable of satisfying many gourmets. It tastes a bit like fresh butter, and even more - cream. "Man" so "" is also used in boiled form. Then it is less tasty and crunches on the teeth, like delicate cartilage. "Man "tak"", which is already beginning to smell, is called "ekvak".
As "man" so ", and meat in general, the Eskimos boil in water without salt and any seasonings. Usually the meat is pulled out of the boiler, as soon as it warms up well, it does not even have time to lose its raw, bloody color. Game is cooked in the same way. When preparing birds for cooking, the Eskimos do not pluck them, but skin them. Then the skin is cleaned of fat and thrown away, and the fat goes to the preparation of a special dish called "pug"-nyk "".
During my trips around the island, I often had to sit out of the weather in the Eskimo yarangas, eating "man" so ". When there was no fresh "man" so "", the hospitable hosts offered at least tasty dish- dried meat, called "nyfkurak". "Nyfkurak" is the meat of walrus, bearded seal, seal and bear. The cooking method is very simple. The ribs are cut out of the carcass of the animal along with the vertebrae, cuts are made between them and hung out in the sun. The sun, which is weak in these places, is strongly helped by the wind, and after three or four weeks the “nyfkurak” is ready. The “nyfkurak” from bearded seal meat seemed especially tasty to me. Walrus and bear are too fat, and fat in the sun acquires an unpleasant bitter taste.
Fish, like game, is of great help in the diet of the Eskimos. She, like meat, is eaten mostly raw or frozen, less often boiled and dried.
From plants, the Eskimos also eat willow leaves, meadow onions, sweet edible root and leaves of "nunivak", "syuk"-lyak" (a type of edible root), "k" ugyln "ik" (sorrel) and berries "ak" avzik "(cloudberry)," syugak "" (blueberries) and "pagung" ak "" (shikshu).
Berries are eaten raw. They also go to the preparation of a tasty dish, which my companions spoke with admiration, but due to the absence of deer on the island, I did not manage to try it. According to the description of the Eskimos, this dish is a cross between compote and vinaigrette. For its preparation, the contents of the deer stomach are taken and berries are mixed with it - cloudberries, shiksha or blueberries. "Nyk" nipih "knock"! (Very tasty!) - said my companions, remembering this dish. Without having tried this delicacy, I cannot express my opinion, but, undoubtedly, it is necessary and useful for the Eskimos, since there is generally very little vegetable food.
Eskimos do not eat mushrooms, calling them "tug" nyg "am sigutn" at" - damn ears.
From seaweed the Eskimos eat seaweed washed ashore by the surf, but they eat it with an interesting precaution. The fact is that, according to them, seaweed can grow in the human stomach and cause pain. To prevent such a phenomenon, according to the Eskimos, is very easy. One has only to pat one's bare stomach with a stalk, and then one can eat as much as one likes.
Eskimos love to eat various sea shellfish. They are collected in the surf or removed from the stomach of a walrus. More than once during the hunt, I had to observe how the Eskimos, freshening a freshly killed walrus and ripping open his stomach, eat with pleasure the mollusks extracted from there.
“Everyone eats with their hands, bending over the “k” yutak “om” for each piece and making a kind of puff from slices of meat and fat.
Semi-liquid dishes, for example, the treat described above from berries and the contents of the stomach of a deer, and on our island some kind of porridge, are eaten without spoons. The food is poured onto "k" yutak "", and everyone dips three fingers into it right hand- index, middle and nameless - and licks them. After saturation, the hostess gives a “exit” hatch - a rag, and everyone wipes their lips and hands.
Dishes are usually not washed.
At present, the Eskimos are accustomed to European products and can no longer live without tea, sugar and tobacco, they can hardly do without flour. But still these products are secondary in their diet.
Eskimos drink tea up to ten times a day, mostly brick tea. It is brewed very strong and rarely let the water boil. If the water is hot enough to brew tea, then that's enough. When, due to an oversight of the hostess, the water boils, then a lump of snow is lowered into it, and sometimes a cold stone. Sugar is used only as a snack.
Flour is used to make havustak. Khavustak is a flatbread boiled in walrus or seal fat. Eskimos do not bake bread, but on occasion they eat it with great pleasure. "Havustak" is prepared as follows: the flour is poured with cold water, kneaded - and the dough is ready. If there is, they put soda, if not, they do fine without it. From this dough they make cakes and boil them well in boiling fat. Ruddy in appearance, these cakes are hard and tasteless.
Of the other "achievements" of civilization among the Eskimos, vodka took root. There is no need to talk about the "beneficial" consequences of the penetration of vodka into the life of the Eskimos. One can only welcome the prohibition by the Government of the import of such products into the Chukotka region.”
Tobacco smoking among the Eskimos
“Another no less worthy product is also a gift of civilization – tobacco. The Eskimos now suffer from a lack of tobacco no less than from a lack of meat. An Eskimo who does not smoke or chew tobacco is a rarity. Men without exception not only smoke, but also chew it, women predominantly chew it. Even children chew tobacco, and even at the age of ten, it is hardly possible to find ten children in a hundred who do not have this habit. Many times I had to watch how the Eskimos calmed the crying baby, shoving tobacco gum into his mouth. “Without tobacco, the mouth dries,” the Eskimos justify their addiction to it.”
Eskimo dwelling
The author often stayed in Eskimo yarangas, which he perceived as a habitual dwelling, so he does not give detailed description yaranga, but draws attention to interesting details. “There is no dining table in the Eskimo yaranga. Tableware is made up of one narrow, oblong and small wooden dish - “k" yutak "" and a wide semicircular female knife - "ulyak". "K" yutak "" is placed directly on the floor, and the whole family is located around it. Quickly working with a knife, the hostess cuts the meat and fat on the dish into thin slices. Moreover, the first and last slices from each piece must be eaten by herself.
Eskimo clothing
“The main material from which Eskimo clothing is made is deer fur. For the polar climate, this is by far the most practical material. Clothing made from it is light, soft, does not restrict movement and perfectly retains heat in the most severe frosts.
All polar travelers agree that soft, light, velvety reindeer fur is the best of all furs for clothes and sleeping bags.
An equally valuable quality of reindeer fur is its elasticity, thanks to which the snow that gets into the wool during snowstorms does not freeze, as in any other fur, and is easily knocked out, so the clothes remain completely dry.
In addition, the Eskimos sew clothes from seal skins, walrus and seal intestines, and imported cotton fabric, which they began to use relatively recently.
Hats are usually worn only by men. Women in winter and summer often go bareheaded. The most common type of headdress is “nasyaprak” (malachai). In its cut, it is close to a hat-helmet, but more open in front. Usually, “nasyaprak” is sewn from deer fur, usually taken from the head of an animal. It is trimmed mainly with dog fur, and only the wealthiest Eskimos make a trim from wolverine fur.
In addition to "nasyaprak" a, the Eskimos wear "macacaques" and "nasyag" ak "". The latter are more common among Chukchi reindeer herders. These headdresses, in fact, are a kind of "nasyaprak" a: "macacaca" is a slightly reduced copy of it, but the top of it is cut off, so that the top of the head is open. "Nasyag" ak "" resembles our knitted helmet, in front of it it falls on the chest, and in the back it reaches half of the back; under the armpits, it is intercepted by belt ties.
In the summer, as a rule, men do not wear hats, being content with a narrow strap holding their hair.
Recently, caps and caps have appeared under the general name "Lk "-ik"". But there is no great need for them, and they are rather a luxury and an indicator of material well-being.
The man's outerwear is "atkupik" (kukhlyanka). It is made double: the lower one - "ilyulik" - is put on with fur inward directly on the naked body, and the upper one - "k" aslyik "" - with fur outward. It has a straight cut, resembling a shirt without wedges in the hem, with a neckline into which you can only stick your head in. A collar (usually made of dog fur) is sewn to the "ilyulik" u ". Putting on "k" aslik "", the collar is pulled out over it. "Atkupik" reaches the knees or even closes them; girdling, the Eskimo raises the hem high and gathers it into a large fold under the belt, which is held above the very hips. Thus, the stomach is securely covered. In addition, the folds replace pockets, the Eskimos hide in them a pipe, a pouch, matches, cartridges, and on trips even a bottle of water to freeze ice on the sledge runners.
Pants - "k" ulig "yt" - are sewn from different materials: deer fur, deer paws and seal skins, but they are all the same in cut. There are no belts on these pants, and they are pulled together not at the waist, but at the hips with a drawstring. The pants are pulled together with a lace at the ankles. They are sewn a little longer in the back, shorter in the front, so that the stomach is all open. There are no cuts on the pants.
Depending on the purpose and quality of the material, the pants are divided into "syupak" ak "" - top, made of deer fur, which are worn with fur outside; "iliph" ag "yk" - lower ones, made of the same material, but sewn with fur inside; "k" alnak" - upper trousers made of deer legs; "tumk" ak "" - from seal skins; "tunuk" itylg "i" - from seal skins, trimmed with red and white mandarka embroidery on the back.
"Supak" ak "" and "k" alnak "are worn only in the cold season," ilyph "ag" yk - all year round, and "tumk" ak "" - in the summer, "tunuk" itylg "i" is worn only on holidays. This is the dress suit of the strongest wrestlers, so to speak, their distinguishing feature ...
Mittens are usually sewn with one finger. They do not differ in beauty, like the Eskimo shoes, designed for winter trips and summer hunting, but they are no less comfortable and practical. In winter, they usually wear "ag" ilyugyk" - mittens made of deer paws with wool up, and in summer - "aiyph" attacks, not afraid of water, made of sealskin. The style of both is the same. In spring and autumn, when you need to protect your hands from both dampness and frost, often very sensitive, they wear "ag" ilyugyk. The back side of them is sewn from deer paws, and the front side is made of sealskin. Gloves with five fingers are worn very rarely, more on holidays. Obviously, they are borrowed from the Russians. iha" - hand).
IN winter road Eskimo puts on a bib - “manun" so. It is usually made of seals or short-haired dog fur and protects the collar from frost freezing. In especially cold weather, they also put on a forehead - "k" agug "so" "- a strip of thin reindeer fur 3-4 centimeters wide. "
Eskimo shoes
“In the Eskimo language, there are up to twenty terms for various types of shoes. Shoes are generally called "kamgyt". Judging by the abundance of names, once Eskimo shoes were probably very diverse, but now their range has been significantly reduced. Modern shoes can be divided into three main groups: winter shoes, summer shoes for sea hunting and wet weather, summer shoes for dry weather and household use.
The most characteristic detail of Eskimo footwear is its sole. It is always made from lakhtak skin. The skin is cleaned of fat, stretched and dried. It is not subjected to further processing. The soles made from it, when wet, sit down strongly, and if the sole is the size of the foot, then the shoes will soon become unusable. Therefore, the sole is always made with a large margin on each side. Having bent this stock up (the work is done with teeth), the sole is shaped like a trough and in this form it is hemmed to the top. Having got wet and sat down, it quickly loses its shape, but lasts a long time.
A particularly large supply is left in summer shoes designed for wet weather.
The most common at the present time are "stool yug" yk, "akugvig" asyag "yk", "kuilkhikhtat" and "mug" nik "ak". "Stulyug" yk" is sewn in the form of a short stocking, slightly going over the ankle, the front and the short shaft are always made of deer legs. The top is tucked under the trouser leg and tightly pulled together with a lace of the latter, which eliminates the possibility of snow getting inside. In local climatic conditions"Stulyug" yk can rightly be considered the ideal winter footwear. The Eskimos also gave the same name to another type of footwear, borrowed by them, obviously, from the Tungus and Yakuts, namely, torbas. They differ from "stool" yk "only in a longer bootleg, so that the stocking covers the knee. These shoes are worn over pants. It is not very common: it is inconvenient for walking and riding a sled, and during a snowstorm, snow fills up in the bootleg.
In summer, the Eskimos mostly wear “kuilkhikhtat” made of sealskin with wool left on it. Their tops are short, at the top there is a lace that is tightened over the leg. The front is made wide and goes in a straight line from the toe to the ankle. This allows you to put on shoes, even if, when wet, it is very dry. The excess front is wrapped in a pleat and tightened with a frill. "Akugvig" asyag "yk" and "akugvypagyt" are very similar to each other. Only the first ones reach the knee, and they are tied at the top with a cord, while the latter do not have a cord above the knee. Both those and others are sewn from sealskin, but the wool is first removed from it. The front is as wide as that of the "kuilkhichtat".
In creating the types of footwear described above, the Eskimo cared entirely about their practicality, and it must be admitted that he achieved this, albeit at the expense of appearance.
On the other hand, shoes designed for household use and the dry season are not without elegance - “payak" yk "and" mug "nik" ak. These shoes are sewn from sealskin, the front is made of reindeer fur with wool inside and is decorated with embroidery.
Household customs of the Eskimos
“At night, the Eskimo strips naked. (However, in the canopy he usually sits completely naked and during the day.) Waking up, he waits for his wife to prepare breakfast, and only having paid enough attention to the latter, he starts dressing. All the clothes given in the evening to dry, in order, are given to him by his wife. First of all, he pulls up his pants. If he stays at home, then he confines himself to one "ilyph" ag "yk." Then, pulling on fur stockings, the Eskimo puts on his shoes, and the toilet is finished. He puts on a kukhlyanka only when leaving the canopy and girds himself with a leather belt - “tafsi”. A knife - "savik" - and a few beads of glass beads always hang on the belt. The latter are in reserve, for sacrifice to the evil Spirit.
Going hunting, the Eskimos also take with them a large hunting knife - “stygmik”, which is worn on the hip and attached with a wooden clasp to the waistband of their pants.
Astronomical knowledge of the Eskimos
According to the author, the astronomical concepts of the Eskimos are very limited. "They have their own constellations: Ursa Major - Reindeer, Pleiades - Girls, Orion - Hunters, Gemini - Bow, Cassiopeia - Bear Footprint, Cepheus - Half Tambourine."
Eskimo timekeeping
The Eskimos count time by the moon, and “the only unit of time is the month -“ tank "ik" "(moon). They do not have the concepts of a week, a year, not a single Eskimo knows how old he is.
There are twelve months, but since the lunar month has only 27.3 days, the Eskimo month does not represent exactly certain period time, but constantly moving. Because of this, confusion is obtained, and it is not uncommon to hear two old men arguing about which month it is. The dispute is mostly resolved by turning to the life of nature, which, in essence, is the true calendar of the Eskimos, which is confirmed by the names of the months:
to "uin" im k "alg" ig "viga - domestic deer rut - October;
stupid "tum k" alg "ig" viga - wild deer rut - November;
pynig "am k" alg "ig" viga - the rut of wild sheep, or ak "umak" - the month of the sitting sun - December;
kanah "tag" yak - the month of frost in yarangs - January;
ik "aljug" vik - the month of the fishing net - February;
nazig "ahsik" - the month of birth of the seal - March;
tyg "iglyukhsik" - the birth month of lakhtaks - April;
lyug "vik - the month of the sling - May;
pinag "vik - the month of the opening of the rivers - June;
yln "ag" vik - the month of shallowing rivers - July;
nunivagym palig "viga - the month of collecting the edible root nuni-vaka - August;
palig "vik - the month of withering, or tun" tukh "sig" vik - the month of death (slaughter of domestic deer), or alpam k "atyg" viga - the month of leaving the nests of young guillemots - September.
At the end of September, the Chukchi reindeer herders really slaughter domestic reindeer, and the Eskimos exchange reindeer meat with them for their hunting products.
Jack London called them "Children of the Frost". Eskimos are a group of indigenous peoples of Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Chukotka. There are about 150,000 of them left on Earth. "My Planet" - about the differences between cultures and the paradoxes of national identity.
They can borrow someone else's wife
If the permanent wife is ill or has Small child, it is convenient to change it to a young and strong woman which makes it easier to move around. After all, on the way, a woman should not only fulfill her marital duty, but cook food, help the head of the family in every possible way and share the hardships of the road. To exchange wives for a few days there special term- "areodyarekput".
They call internet travel
IN early XXI centuries, the Eskimos got acquainted with the Internet, and this term needed to be translated into their language. The experts chose the word ikiaqqivik - "travel through the layers". Previously, this was the name of the shaman's ritual, which, in search of an answer to any question, "traveled" through time and space.
They sniff each other when they meet
The traditional Eskimo greeting, used mostly by relatives or lovers, is called "kunik". It looks like this: one of the greeters presses his nose to the forehead or cheeks of the second and draws in air - as if sniffing, inhaling a familiar smell. The custom was said to have arisen because severe frost lips freeze - you can’t kiss, and they even called it an Eskimo kiss. In fact, this greeting is purely friendly and is due to the fact that those who meet in the cold can have the lower part of the face covered.
They compete in pulling the thread with their ears
The program of the World Eskimo Olympic Games includes a special competition - pulling the thread with the ears. Loops are made at the two ends of the thread. Opponents sit face to face, a loop is put on each ear. And as others pull the rope with their hands, they try to pull the thread with their ears (or rather, with their heads and even torso tilts), until someone refuses to continue the competition because of pain. I must say, not every ear is able to withstand such a struggle.
They risk their lives for a handful of mussels
Monotonous food is sometimes so annoying that the Eskimos decide on an extremely dangerous event - collecting mussels under the ice. There is a thick layer of ice on the surface of the Arctic seas almost all year round. Gotta catch a short time low tide, when a hollow space forms under a huge ice layer, cut a hole in it, go down and harvest mussels from it.
This is a really risky business. The collectors have no more than half an hour to leave the ice cave before the wave arrives - if you do not have time, death is inevitable. In addition, the ice, hanging almost in the air at low tide, can collapse on desperate collectors. And all for the sake of a handful of mussels, which are eaten in one sitting.
Their women use moss and algae instead of pads.
Eskimo women use the skins of fur-bearing animals, moss-moss and thin wood shavings made from alder as means of protection on critical days. Those who live near the sea prefer algae.
Their children are afraid of Kalupiluk
Every culture has its own specific monsters and monsters that scare children if they don't go to bed now. The Eskimos are afraid of Kalupaluk (Qalupalik or Kallupilluk) - a ghost that is just waiting to drag careless people under the ice, to the bottom of the sea.
They put players on the graves
The custom of leaving the deceased his favorite things exists among many northern peoples. Sending the deceased to the "upper people", the living "sent" with him everything that, in their opinion, could be useful in another life. Before it was knives, walrus tusk crafts, now it’s a modern Appliances. Most often - video cassettes and players.
The people we call the Eskimos live on the Chukchi Peninsula. This is the most extreme northeast of the Asian part of Russia. There are only 1,700 Eskimos there. However, this is not the whole nation, but only a small part of it, because the Eskimos still live in the USA, Canada and on the island of Greenland. This nation has more than 100 thousand people in the world. Eskimos are sea hunters and hunters. They hunt whales, walruses, seals, seals and feed on the meat of these animals. The Eskimos themselves call themselves Inuit, which means "real people."
Holiday of the beginning of spring hunting (Atygak)
Sometimes this holiday is called differently - "the holiday of launching canoes into the water." Arrange it in late spring - early summer. It is at this time that the hunting season for marine animals begins. The family that has a canoe (and not everyone has them), with the help of relatives and neighbors, lowers it to the sea. A canoe is a light, fast boat. It is a wooden frame covered with walrus skin. Up to 25 people could fit in a large canoe. It is in the canoe that a group of hunters will go fishing. While the men are busy with the boat, the women prepare food: they cook meat, make something like cutlets from meat, lard and seal fat, as well as a special dish from roots and herbs collected in the summer. And then all the adult members of the family - men and women - begin to paint their faces with black graphite or soot, drawing several lines along the nose, on the chin, under the eyes. It's not just decoration, it's magical rite. The number of these lines is directly related to the marine animal that this family believes brings them happiness - walrus, seal, whale, seal. Then everyone puts on a festive white clothes. In the old days, it was a special garment made from the intestines of sea animals. Then everyone goes to the seashore, carrying cooked food with them. The owner of the canoe cuts the brought meat into small pieces and throws them into the sea and into the air. This is a sacrifice to the spirits of the wind and the owner of sea animals. Their success in hunting depends on them. Part of the meat is immediately thrown into a kindled fire - this is a sacrifice to the spirit of fire.
Walrus Festival (Naskunykhkylyk)
At the end of July, walrus hunting usually ended. A period of stormy weather began, and sea hunters did not dare to go far from the coast on their canoes to hunt for walrus. Then it was time for another holiday. On the day of the holiday, a walrus carcass was taken out of the glacier. The owner of the yurt or the shaman invited by him began to beat the tambourine, calling for a feast of various spirits, on which the life, health and hunting success of a person depend. The owner took part of the cooked food to the seashore, threw it in small pieces into the air and into the water with the words: “Everyone gather here and eat!”
After the meat was divided among relatives, the walrus skull was taken to a special rock - a sacrificial place for the "mistress of sea animals." As during the holiday of the beginning of spring hunting, all families walk in turn, but each invites all the inhabitants of the village to her place.
Whale Festival (Fields)
The whale is the main food animal of the Eskimos, the most dangerous in terms of hunting for it and the most desirable, because the whale is a lot of meat and fat. They can eat up the whole village at once, they can stock up for the future for a long time. The holiday is arranged by the one who killed (harpooned) the whale. All the inhabitants of the village gather to him. The whale is butchered right on the shore and eaten right there. During the holiday they make images of whales - wooden sculptures, - which are hung in different angles yarangi. The festival uses finely crushed graphite, which, thrown into the air, magically reproduces the fountain released by a whale swimming in the ocean. At the whale festival, as usual, the whole village walks. Many families keep amulets depicting a whale. In honor of the whale, a special dance is performed, reproducing all the stages of hunting for it. It is curious that this dance is performed by all participants, sitting in one place: only the arms and head move.
In ancient times, in some settlements of Kamchatka, a night spent by a guest with the owner's wife was considered a special honor for the house. The lady, by the way, tried to seduce the guest with all possible ways. And if she also managed to get pregnant, then it was celebrated by the whole village. What was, of course, reasonable - fresh genes. Such traditions are not uncommon: the Eskimos and Chukchi, for example, also used the beauty of their wives for the benefit of the clan. They gave them to "use" the men who went to fish. Well, in Tibet it was generally believed that if a guest liked someone else's wife, then the will of higher powers and it was impossible to resist them.
About quirks
For example, in Tibet, a girl was considered an enviable bride only when she changed a dozen or two partners. Virgins, as you can see, were not held in high esteem in the country of the Dalai Lama. But the Brazilians from the Jerusalem artichoke tribe made impressive sacrifices to please their ladies. The fact is that the girls found only huge genitals worthy of their attention. For this, men exposed their penises to poisonous snakes, after the bites of which male dignity met the expectations of discerning Jerusalem artichoke women.
Girls have been training intimate muscles since time immemorial. It is known that wives and concubines Chinese emperor trained vaginal muscles with jade eggs. According to legend, they were able to control their vaginal muscles so skillfully that they could bring a man to orgasm while remaining still.
The ability to expand the entrance of the vagina made it possible to "absorb" rather large objects, such as apples. And the wave-like contraction of the muscles from the vaults to the entrance made it possible to throw objects inserted into the vagina, sometimes over considerable distances.
In Japan and Korea, there was a curious practice of enhancing the male orgasm. To make it more vivid and memorable, a prick in the groin with a golden needle is enough, Eastern traditions say. The inhabitants of the Trobriand Islands were very inventive in bed comforts. What is only the habit of biting the eyelashes of a partner, this is considered their traditional caress. I would like to see the teeth of these entertainers, because in order to gnaw through an eyelash, the teeth must be at least sharp.
But the Indians, experienced in love, had much more options for extreme entertainment of this kind. For example, their treatises on the art of love taught the use of "apadravia" - a male piercing made of gold, silver, iron, wood or buffalo horns! And the great-grandfather of the modern condom "yalaka" - an empty tube inside with pimples on the outside - was also invented in India.
lovers thrill in sex, the Batta tribe of Sumatra had a tradition of putting pebbles or pieces of metal under the foreskin. They believed that this way they could deliver much more pleasure to their partner. Argentine Indians also had a similar idea in their arsenal. They attached horsehair tassels to the phallus. It is terrible to think about the hygiene of meetings with such fellows.
Interestingly, the residents of Tanzania increased their attractiveness. They did not adorn themselves and did not dress up. They stole from the man they wanted... a hoe and sandals! In those parts, the listed things are of particular value, so the man, willy-nilly, had to go to rescue the property, and there - what the hell is not joking.
And what about our compatriots? In ancient times, in some settlements of Kamchatka, a night spent by a guest with the owner's wife was considered a special honor for the house. The lady, by the way, tried to seduce the guest in every possible way. And if she also managed to get pregnant, then it was celebrated by the whole village. What was, of course, reasonable - fresh genes. Such traditions are not uncommon: the Eskimos and Chukchi, for example, also used the beauty of their wives for the benefit of the clan. They gave them to "use" the men who went to fish. Well, in Tibet it was generally believed that if a guest liked someone else's wife, then the will of higher powers and it was impossible to resist them.
Japan - crawl and "yobai"
The ancient sexual tradition with the poetic name "yobai" existed in the Japanese outback until the end. 19th century. The essence of the custom “stalking in the night” (approximate translation) was as follows: any young man, under the cover of night, had the right to enter the house of an unmarried young lady, crawl under her blanket and, if the chosen one was not opposed, directly engage in delicious “yobai”. In Russian, however, it does not sound like the name of a tradition, but more like a call to action.
If japanese girl came across intractable, then the frustrated young man had to go home. Like any tradition, the yobai custom was governed by strict rules. A potential lover had to go on a romantic date completely naked, as a night visit dressed man was considered robbery and could end badly for him. However, the guy had the right to cover his face and appear before the girl as a beautiful stranger. These are the Japanese role-playing games.
Tibet - one way trip
Once in Tibet, visiting men were greeted with genuine cordiality. IN travel notes famous traveler Marco Polo talks about a local sexual tradition that required all young girls to copulate with at least twenty different men before marriage. Either there were few men in Tibet, or fresh girls, according to custom, were intended exclusively for strangers, but travelers were worth their weight in gold here. And those poor fellows who could not stand up for themselves, sexual swindlers literally "teared slippers like Tuzik." Therefore, the trip to Tibet for some of our brothers became the last.
South America - Indian bab formation
The sexual traditions of the Kagaba tribe can forever discourage a man from conscientiously fulfilling his marital duty and having offspring. Representatives of the strong half of the tribe are terribly afraid of women. It's all about strange ritual initiation of young men into men: a young Kagaba Indian must acquire his first sexual experience with the oldest lady of the family. For this reason, in marital relations the man is inactive, and if the wife hints at closeness, then he prefers to cowardly hide in the jungle in a bunker pre-equipped for such purposes (like he went hunting).
It happens that several fugitives are hiding in a bachelor's lair at the same time. Then the female half of the tribe equips a search expedition. Role-playing games of slave and mistress always end predictably. Dissatisfied wives scour the jungle until they find the caches and return their faithful to the bosom of the family.
Africa - food preferences
Who is interested in military parades? Only the military, but the common people demand bread and circuses. The king of Swaziland knows exactly how to make a feast of the soul for his subjects, and therefore every year he arranges a grand procession of virgins. Thousands of seductive scantily clad beauties cheerfully march in front of the monarch. It has become a good sexual tradition in Swaziland when the king chooses from the participants in the parade new spouse, and each failed wife is rewarded with a large bowl of food. And believe me, according to local criteria, this is a royal gift!
In the late 1940s, the German gynecologist Ernst Grafenberg discovered a new erogenous zone in the wards. It was located on the upper wall of the vagina and was the size of a pea. Grafenberg described it in scientific article"The role of the urethra in the female orgasm" (1950). Either the circulation of this publication was too small, or the title did not inspire the general public, but until the early 80s, even Cosmopolitan stubbornly ignored Grafenberg's discovery.
It took the writing talent of sexologists Alice Ladas, Beverly Whipple and John Perry to make the whole world aware of the new source of pleasure. Their book The Ji Point and Other Discoveries in Human Sexuality (1982) became a bestseller and has been translated into 19 languages.
In the Baganda tribe East Africa) there is a belief that sex directly on agricultural land significantly increases their fertility. By the way, such a sexual tradition was inherent in many peoples. However, the natives did not arrange vulgar orgies in the beds of plantain (the main fodder crop of the Bagandans). For the ritual they chose married couple- Parents of twins. The event was held on the field of the tribal leader and consisted of the following: the woman lay on her back, a plantain flower was placed in her vagina, and the husband had to get it without the help of hands, using only the penis. According to the custom, the family of agronomists had to demonstrate the miracles of balancing act only on the leader's field. In the gardens of their fellow tribesmen, it was not necessary to play role-playing games, it was enough to dance a little.
The sexual traditions of the peoples of the world are different, as are the standards of beauty. How can a woman from the Zambezi Valley be considered attractive if she has a mouthful of teeth like a crocodile? To become beautiful, a Batoka girl had to get married. On the wedding night, the satisfied spouse turned the “ugly” girl into a beautiful woman, knocking out her front teeth. Such a custom, accompanied by a simple plastic surgery, makes a batoka woman happy and a radiant smile never leaves her face again.
Mesopotamia - temple prostitution
Every inhabitant of ancient Babylon had to make a sacrifice to the goddess of love, Ishtar. To perform the ritual, the lady went to the sanctuary of the goddess, sat down in a conspicuous place and waited for her to be chosen. unknown man. The client gave the chosen one a coin, after which they went to some secluded corner, where they made a generous sacrifice.
Once was enough. However, some especially zealous Babylonians constantly practiced such role-playing games, offering strangers an interesting vacation for money, which later went to the needs of the temple. It was impossible to leave his territory before the end of the ritual, so a pretty girl “shot back” quickly, and an unsightly young lady had to wait for her prince for a long time, sometimes even for years! Housing and food were provided. Similar sexual traditions existed in Cyprus, and Greek girls sacrificed to the goddess Aphrodite.
Russia is a country of councils
Family life in Rus' is not easy! The couple to be married had to feel this statement already at the wedding. All night before the holiday, the bride, according to the ancient Slavic custom, untwisted her braids and sang dreary songs with her bridesmaids. In the morning, a bunch of tiring wedding ceremonies awaited her, which continued until late in the evening and on an empty stomach. Even during festive feast the bride was not allowed to eat. The groom was also not sweet - all the celebration he was obliged to cheerfully gallop around numerous relatives.
And finally, the feast ended. Exhausted young found themselves alone in the bedchamber and were going to have unrestrained sex and fall asleep. Dreaming! The sexual tradition assumed the active participation of relatives in the first wedding night newlyweds - guests until the morning yelled obscene ditties under the bedroom windows, and one of them (specially chosen for this purpose) periodically knocked on the door and asked: "Is the ice broken?" In such an environment, the groom soon began to realize that the mission was impossible, and his efforts were in vain, despite the narrowed body immobilized from fatigue. Therefore, the young spouse was given the opportunity to rehabilitate himself over the next few nights. If the matter still did not go well, then experienced advisers were connected to it: the brother or father of the groom. It is known that in some villages in Ukraine, an authorized prompter sat comfortably under the bed, from where he helped the newlyweds with good advice on how to do everything right, and at the same time created an atmosphere of an unusual holiday with his presence.
Micronesia - love with a spark
If you are sure that role-playing games with elements of sadomasochism were invented by the notorious marquis, I hasten to disappoint - this is a common misconception. The natives of Truck Island were addicted to self-mutilation during sex even before the mother of the Marquis de Sade faked an orgasm in a simple missionary position. The custom was as follows: while the partner diligently puffed, making reciprocating movements, the ardent lover set fire to small breadfruit balls on his body. It is rather difficult to imagine how she did this during sex ... It can be assumed that the man did not copulate with the whole lady, but with a distant part of her (for example, the heel). These natives are such pranksters!
