Abstract: This article presents the raw materials of Yakut clothing and its symbolic meaning based on the materials of Yakut traditional folklore (Olonkho texts, proverbs and sayings). In all cultures, archaic ideas about clothing are associated with sacred ideas about the surrounding world, space, apothecary, social, aesthetic meanings are put into the costume, and animals play an important role in this phenomenon, acting here not only as material resources, but also carrying mental content, endowing a garment with special meanings, and a person special qualities. The costume is in direct contact with the human biological body, which is perceived in all cultures not just as a biological object, but as something related to the human personality. The main text of the article is divided into two semantic parts: folklore data revealing the social significance and material value of animal skins, and ideas about the apotropaic, magical functions of animals transmitted to humans through clothing. Previous studies of the traditional Yakut costume have been devoted to issues of visual appearance, sacred functions, and costume transformation. In this article, an attempt will be made to consider the ideas of the Yakuts about animals reflected in the materials of traditional clothing, which is the novelty of the study. The considered ethnographic data, texts of epic folklore and Yakut proverbs and sayings showed that animal motifs in clothing definitely carry sacred functions: animal morphological motifs are used in Yakut traditional clothing not only for aesthetic, but also for apotropaic purposes. Proverbs and sayings, along with descriptions of the clothes of mythical characters of Olonkho, show that the ranking of valuable / not valuable, sacred /ordinary is reflected in everyday vocabulary and folklore. These data allow us to evaluate not only the attitude towards fur as a material, but through them we can trace the spiritual attitude towards animals expressed through the costume.

Abstract: This article examines the process of changing everyday clothes in Yakutia in the late XIX – mid XX centuries on the example of a winter suit. This historical period was marked by active modernization processes in the region, which also affected the material culture of the population. The issue of adaptation of residents of the Far North to new economic conditions is relevant in this regard: how the transition from the traditional way of life to Soviet culture took place. The hypothesis of the present study is that the culture and technologies of traditional tailoring of fur and leather have been preserved in the studied period precisely because of the need for the population to self-sustain themselves with winter clothing in conditions of shortage of goods and raw materials. The chronological framework of the study covers the period of the end of the existence of the traditional Yakut costume and ends in the middle of the twentieth century. To study the winter costume, photographic materials were used, which depicted samples of everyday clothes. Photos from the photo funds of the Yakut State United Museum of History and Culture of the Peoples of the North named after Em. Yaroslavsky, which includes images from both public and private collections, are considered. In addition, consultations with informants were held to supplement the data. This topic has not yet become the subject of special study, since the costume of this period is no longer ethnic. Nevertheless, in our opinion, it is interesting in the context of studying the adaptation of folk traditions to modernization processes. Using visual and field sources, the transformation of casual clothing in Yakutia of the studied period is considered. The authors of the article came to the conclusion that in the era of modernization there was a sharp change in the way of life, which affected the material culture of the inhabitants of Yakutia. Unification in the wardrobe of citizens of the Soviet state in the first half of the twentieth century could not always cover the needs of residents of specific climatic zones, including residents of the northern republics. This contributed to the preservation of traditional technologies of manual production of winter clothing.

Abstract: This article examines the emergence and essence of the Yakut scare story. The modern Yakut scare story takes roots from the traditional culture, but in its genre form represents the modern urban legend. The goal of this research lies in tracing the process of synthesis from the perspective of anthropology. The author analyzes the differences between the Yakut, Soviet and Russian scary motifs, as well as determines the key traditional sources of the emergence of the Yakut scare story. The author aims to examine scare story as an important part of modern ethnic culture that retained traditional images, as a result of transition from the traditional life to an industrial society, rather analyzing separate stories through the prism of folklore studies. This defines the scientific novelty of this paper, as this topic has not previously become a separate subject of research in the scientific literature. The sources for this article employ the theoretical works about the Yakut culture, folklore overall, as well as Russian and Soviet horror stories; field materials acquired by the author, such as excerpts from interviews and sociological survey. The conclusion is made that the modern Yakut scare story has emerged in 1970s on the basis of traditional folklore, which obtains the features of the Soviet scare story and forms the new genre of modern folk art.

Abstract: The object of this research is the image of mammoth in spiritual culture of the peoples inhabiting Yakutia. Mammoth fauna has always, in one or another way, affected the social, economic and even political spheres of people’s life, and of course, it left an imprint on the spiritual life in form of the myths, legends and mythical images. These representations played a substantial role in spiritual culture of the peoples of Yakutia; therefore, this article attempts to view them in the folklore of mammoth archetype as a part of ethnic culture. There is scattered data regarding the representations of different peoples on mammoth fauna. Usually, such myths are described with the entire range of folklore of a particular ethnos, and were not viewed comprehensively in the common context. The novelty of this research consists in the attempt of collection, systematization and analysis of information on the role of mammoth in folklore of the peoples of Yakutia, as well as identification of the categories of images reflecting the traditional representations on mammoths and their regional peculiarities. It is concluded, that the representations of mammoth among the peoples of Yakutia can be divided into two categories: more realistic eastern (the Ykaghir and the Chukchi), and more mythical western (the Yakut, the Even, and the Evenks). For all of the listed ethnoses, mammoth is an important and sacred animal, who has chthonic traits, but also carries the religious mediation functions.