Valentina Berel’tueva describes a wooden ladle

00:00 – 01:31

Such ladles are used for stirring arsa, soup, or tea, as well as for transferring food from one dish to another. They are made from birch wood, although other types of wood can also be used and shaped into the desired form while still wet. Through a story about ladles, Valentina Berel’tueva illustrates the linguistic and cultural diversity of the region: two girls used different terms for the same object – chinaka in Evenki and shanaga in Buryat. Their grandfather explained that both terms were correct, thereby sparking their interest in the different languages and in the history of the object. From her grandfather, she also learned about the former use of spoons and ladles made from birch bark, which proved useful because certain foods stirred with them were believed to keep for longer.
(Subtitles: cc)

Recorded by Mariia Berel’tueva, Uliunkhan, Kurumkan District, Republic of Buryatia, December 2025.
Translation: Mariia Berel’tueva (Tepkegir).
Transliteration: Mariia Berel’tueva, Daniil Nikitenko.
Editing: Nadezhda Mamontova.