Valentina Volkova recalls the Use of fish skin bags for making butter

"A long time ago, the Evenki made bags from fish skin — called sevgume. These bags were sturdy and waterproof. When preparing to move camp, the Evenki filled a special bag with reindeer milk and hung it on the saddle. After a day of traveling, the milk turned into butter. Inside the bag, there was water and butter. My father liked to drink the water — it was good for the stomach. Then they joyfully took out a round piece of butter — a treasure. They sliced bread thinly and spread it with butter — āri. With joy, they first gave the butter to the children, then to the elders, and only then to themselves. They sat by the fire, drank tea, and rested. It was so good, so delicious! Even today, as an old woman, I remember with tears how we lived with my parents in the taiga, how we traveled. The reindeer, the reindeer milk, the adorable little calves. I remember how my mother and father made ityk for us — the children. So sweet, so touching." (Video in progress)

Recorded by Nadezhda Mamontova. Aldan, 2024.