Sami National Day Celebrates the Unique Heritage of the Polar Peoples Living in Russia
They've been living in the Russian polar regions for over 5,000 years. Representatives of one of the native peoples of the European north regions celebrate the Sami National Day without forgetting their main tradition on which their lives literally depend. Reindeer herders summed up the driving in which got prolonged because of climatic anomalies and counted every animal.
Dmitry Ageyenko will show unique videos from winter tundra.
This living stream gives awe. When lakes and rivers freeze, it's time to count deer. A herd is separated into parts. Animals are put into a corral, in which they start their round dance which looks like circles on the water. At the same time, a domesticated deer always runs after sun, clockwise. A wild one will move in the opposite direction.
- When will you put the deer inside?
- Enough?
- Enough, close it.
The count is fast. Deer don't eat when they're in the corral, they need to be let out as fast as possible.
Vladimir Filippov, workshop head: "I guess half a village depend on deer. They are all about providing services. Farms are major enterprises".
Recently, the oldest reindeer-breeding farm of the region turned 88. People are taught their job since childhood, like several centuries ago. The Sami people continue the tradition.
"Look how you dance!"
You only need reindeer lichen to make a deer stand on its hind legs. The rest is technique, Polina Kharypina jokes. Her family community doesn't have many animals, just six. But the family plans to create its own small village.
These people always sing when doing any kind of housework. Now, the Sami don't often live in the tundra, but only 30-40 years ago, it was a tradition.
Domna Khomuyk (Zakharova): "The tent was a lot bigger, and there were two parts separated by the fire. Our family, for example, lived in one part, my mother had 5-6 children, and there also were 3-4 reindeer herders".
Now, there are a little more than 1,500 Sami in Russia. Another 100,000 live in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. And for all of them, the deer is the base of the culture.
It feels like this deer is trying to gore me, but these animals are very gentle, and it only wants me to scratch its ear. Sometimes, it even tries to purr or smack, like a horse.
- What's up? Do you like it?
Igor Ageyenko, Dmitry Ivannikov, Andrei Zaytsev, Alexei Nabukin, and Pavel Kovliga, Vesti from the Murmansk Region.