The "Sitim" group explains kumys utensils

“Here we see kөҕүөr ihit containers, which are intended for the preparation and drinking of kumys (fermented mare’s milk) during Ysyakh festivals. After the existing utensils became old and unusable, our artisans decided to revive this tradition. To this end, our association ‘Sitim’ was founded in 2014. At first, we worked together to weave objects from horsehair. Later, we began to reconstruct old tableware and objects used by our ancestors. In this work, Prokopii Romanovich Nogovitsyn became our most important helper and advisor.

Last year, we created a complete horse harness based on the catalog book of the American Museum of Natural History (New York). This year, we made siri ichit and simir ichit (milk containers). For this, we used the hides of three-year-old oxen. We took two hides from last year’s slaughter. First, we soaked them in water for one month, then in thickened blood, then in a mixture of blood and oil, and finally, we smoked the hides for seven days. After that, they felt like plastic and acquired this beautiful black color. All the threads used for these practical items were made following the taҥalai pattern. We also spun them ourselves, in the same way threads were made in the past. Among the kөҕүөr utensils is also the chamnatar – a whisk used to shake kumys by inserting it into a funnel (kөҥkөlөy). At the top of the whisk are several holes through which air is pumped into the kumys milk. According to the traditional beliefs of the Sacha people, there are nine rings carved around the handle of the whisk.”

Recorded in Nemyugu (Hangalas ulus), 2024.