Extra Credit Post- Food

The Yakut people don't eat the typical fast food or go to restaurants that we are normally used to. For food, the Yakut people will go and find it themselves. Their diet consists mostly of dairy, vegetables, meat, and fish. Instead of cows mild, reindeer milk is mainly drank at most meals. What's interesting about their cuisine is that it is mainly found themselves. Fresh vegetables are picked, along with fruits. Fish and meats are hunted daily and they will clean, cook, and eat everything on their own. Meals are a very big part of their culture. It is a time for gathering and talking with family members and friends. Although there are some local little stores/restaurants, most of the population will hunt and gather for each meal; during harsh winters they stock and save food for when they are unable to receive any.

References

Information References:

http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/ethnoatlas/hmar/cult_dir/culture.7883

http://polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~ipy/usr/sympo/proc-files/62-Vanda.pdf

http://www.geocurrents.info/place/russia-ukraine-and-caucasus/siberia/the-yakut-sakha-migration-to-central-siberia

http://www.arcticphoto.com/yakut.asp

http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/ethnoatlas/hmar/cult_dir/culture.7883

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02604020903300642#preview
http://pilot.passhe.edu:8052/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v2=1&ti=1,1&SEQ=20140429102300&Search_Arg=yakut&SL=None&Search_Code=TALL&CNT=50&PID=bzpLzLaQ4ozzQzVucv3ZN1-ik3Q_f&SID=2

http://www.thelongridersguild.com/yakuts.htm


Picture References:

http://www.thelongridersguild.com/king-carl.htm

http://www.geocurrents.info/place/russia-ukraine-and-caucasus/siberia/the-yakut-sakha-migration-to-central-siberia

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8074182/Probiotic-drinks-do-not-aid-health-Europe-says.html

Cultural Survival

One problem that the Yakut people face is that modern development is affecting their culture. It has come up that people may be trying to change their ethnocultural traditions in order to get them more into the modern world. In the seventeenth century, Yakutia was contacted and annexed by Russia, and during the eighteenth century, the area served as a transit camp and highway for freight to newly-annexed Siberian lands. After building the culture back up they like the way that it is. Although they do have some things modernized, they like to stay traditional. With a population as big as theirs, it is somewhat of a majority ruling that makes it "acceptable" for them for stay with tradition. 
For the most part, the Yakuts continue to rely on their own resources and means of survival by hunting, fishing, and breeding. 

                                       

Interview

Due to certain obstacles, I was unable to personally get an interview with someone from the Yakut culture. However, in my biology class this semester, I was talking to a girl Veronika about this blog that I had to do for class. I was telling her about my culture and she stopped me when she heart "Yakut culture." She started to tell me about how her cousin came to visit her from Russia and she knows about the Yakut Culture, so I asked her if she could somehow get in contact with her and ask what she knows about the culture. She was able to help and gave me a list of questions and answers that she had for me.

Q: What language do you the Yakuts speak?
A: One that people probably haven't heard of, Turkic.

Q: What do they do for fun?
A: Alot of the time they like to hunt and fish, what some people may see as work, they see as daily activities. Also, they love to dance and listen to exotic music. Weddings and birthdays are huge celebrations.

Q: What's the fashion like?
A: They are very traditional, they wear a lot of leather and fur especially when it gets so cold.

Q: How do they get around?
A: If the bus is not running, they will horseback ride or walk to many places

Q: Are the friendly?
A: Yes, they are very open, welcoming and humble people.

Migrations and Diaspora

Within the Yakut culture, there are not many people who move outside of it. Since they are such a close knit culture, most people are born and raised in the same area. However, in the earlier times there was migration withing the culture. At first, the Yakut people lived in South-Central Siberia. When Mongolian speaking Buryats moved to the land, there was not always cordial relations between the two cultures. Close to the 11th and 13th century is when the migration to central Siberia began along the beautiful Lena River. This is where they now stay and have built their homeland.

                            

Neighbors

Although the Yakut people mostly keep to themselves, there are surrounding neighbors of different cultures that they do not have a problem with and seem to get along. Surrounding the area are other indigenous people such as the Evens and the Evenks. What's interesting is that even though they are close to the Yakut people in geographical terms, they speak a completely different language and have a completely different way of doing things. As I said, the Yakuts usually keep within their own culture, but if they come along a different culture, they do not shy away from them. They are very welcoming and pleasant people.

Birds

Where the Yakuts live, there are about 280 species of birds, but because of the weather conditions there, many of them are rare to see and some are even vanishing. One Bird that is common to see is the crane. of the 15 species in the world, 6 of those species are located in Yakutia. Specifically, the Siberian white crane is known to be a sacred bird to Yakuts. The tale that goes along with that is that if one sees are Siberian white crane at least once in their lifetime, they will be happy forever.