Tamara Piatnikova explains the making of items from fish leather

“In the past, all kinds of things were made from fish skin. This here is burbot skin. You see, the back part of the skin is strong, and because it is strong, people used to make tarpaulins from it. Covers to protect against rain and bags for clothing were sewn from it. They made bags and waterproof jackets out of it. For the leather, they used the back skin of the burbot, because it is thicker and stronger, whereas the belly skin is thin and tears easily. I don’t know exactly how the skin was processed in the old days.

Today, the craft of making items from fish skin is being revived. Now the fish skin is cleaned in water with detergent, rinsed well, dried, softened (by kneading), and then the fish leather is ready. The tanned fish leather is used to sew various items. Small handbags or sewing pouches are made from it.

There’s a legend about people who traveled downriver on a raft. It was probably a story about the settlement of the town of Beryozovo and our river lowlands near Polnovat on the Ob. According to the legend, people already lived in Beryozovo. A man walks to the shore and sees a raft approaching. On the raft is a man. And the raft has a fish skin cover – specifically, burbot skin. When people traveled long distances, they would build such a cover and live under it, like in a tent. Apparently, they were on a long journey and could sleep and find shelter from rain under it. At that time, burbot skin was used for making such covers.

I also remember that when I was a child, there was something unusual in my grandfather’s storage shed. I saw a jacket there. It was said to be for protection against the rain. When fishing, people were exposed to all kinds of weather – rain and wet snow. They wore this jacket over their clothes, and the clothing underneath stayed dry. In good weather, they would dry the jacket – but not in the sun; it was dried somewhere in the shade.

I remember, for example, my grandfather’s storage shed. There was a device, a kind of crossbar, where things were hung to dry that should not be exposed to sunlight. They would hang there all summer. I once asked why all the corners of the shed had holes, where things were stored. Couldn’t they have been repaired? They told me no, it was done on purpose. When winter clothes were stored there in summer, the draft would keep moths out of the furs. Fish skin items were dried there too.

Probably tutchangchera bags were sewn from it – not just for women’s things, but also for storing and transporting items during long journeys or travels.”

Recorded by Stephan Dudeck, Budapest, 2024.