Sakha new year festival. "Yhiakh." (Ыhыах.)

We had a rare privilege last weekend when we were invited by our Sakha friends to their new year's festival. A new year's festival in May? Well actually their new year is June 21/22 when the Summer solstice comes, their biggest festival of the year. But as the students here in Krasnoyarsk will be in exams at that time, they decide to host their festival in May.

There are 300 or so Sakha students here in Krasnoyarsk. Before last Saturday we had become friends with three of them. We have wanted to get to know more indigenous people here in the city. Sometimes it feels slow going. It's not always easy meeting people on the streets. Although this is how we became friends with Varya- well actually on the bus.

So being invited last Saturday was special on many levels for us. It was special to be invited by our Sakha friends, that they wanted to share their culture with us. It was special to take part in their festival and learn some more about their culture. It was great to meet so many new people and to feel so welcomed by them.

The festival was supposed to be held the previous weekend at a tourist baza just outside the city. But there were some problems with the owners at that location and the festival was postponed and relocated. Instead it was held two hours outside the city. We could have gone on the bus with the students, but we did not know if we should spend the night there (with little kids and young adults partying noisily through the night). So were very happy when our team mate Tim was able to come with us. We went in his car. It was good too that he was able to meet more people and open doors to relationships.

We turned up at the tour-baza at four o'clock. We ended up following the second bus full of students through the windy and bumpy streets of a Russian village to get to it.

Here's Tim with some of the new students we met. On the left is Kolya. He came and played Australian Football with us in Akademgorodok yesterday. On the right is Vladislav and his girlfriend. I chatted with Vladislav a lot at the festival and we swapped phone numbers. Hopefully we will get to know each other more still.

The students have a very well organised community. There are 300 or so of them. They have their own student's association with a president and vice-president etc. Before the new year's festival could begin they needed to have an opening ceremony. They appointed the oldest student in their community as the elder. He performed the opening prayers.

I don't know all of the symbolism in the opening ceremony dance. Perhaps they are wearing white for purity? That's an anthropological question, not an answer.

The horse hair decorations (horses are big in Sakha culture) are used in the dance. They can be used in a practical sense for swatting mosquitoes (there are lots in the north where they come from), or in a spiritual sense for swatting spirits!

Quite a spectacular costume.

There were plenty of songs, all in the Sakha language. All of these young people are fluent in their Sakha language, which is quite exciting, considering that other Siberian languages are endangered.

The opening ceremony was followed by some good old fashioned oral story telling, with dramatisation.

These are four cows, being delivered as a dowry or bride price.

Like I said, horses are important in Sakha culture.

All up there were about 100 students in attendance.

A highlight for me was participating in a round dance. It really felt like, "yep, we're doing it, we're 'here'." Abigail and I are in the back.

PJ was of course a hit with everyone. The kids really do their job fitting in. :)