The temperature is getting warmer, we arrived the -25°C and from the originally planed 4 layer system of clothes, we only use two anymore. I can't believe we are still in Sibiria. But today we have the appointment with one Olonkho singer Vladimir Dimitriewitch Danilov and Iwan Alexandrowitch Egorov. We met them both in the Dorm Atchi the day before and told them that I want to record the Olonkho singing.
Epos of Yakut people, is sang by a men like storytelling. It was used also for entertaining the family when the Yakutians lived more noth and the days were short. This singing can take hours. A special quality which seperates the singers is the way of telling the story and breathing.
So we went to their home, very close to our dormitory and were friendly welcome by both of them. Iwan showed us video recordings from the Ysyakh festivals from the last years, switched to recordings when he was fighting for Yakut people's right in front of Jelzin and switched again to Ysakh, switched to him as a young man explaining the yakut-culture. We got dizzy but it was very interesting to see this man and how he fought for the yakutian rights. Finally he founded the Yakut society and also worked on the creation of this "Dorm Atschi" a cultural meeting point to celebrate customs. While Iwan was explaining (always changing the cassettes by taking one after the other) Vladimir dressed up his Yakut Olonkho singers dress.
We need to please the the god of the room and of Olonkho by singing and starting a little fire in direction east. Vladimir did it at the oven in the kitchen, afterwards we went back to the living room and he was singing one of his famous alliteration poems - the letter "T", then he started to sing very passionate the Olonkho singing. For at least 2 hours with explainations in between.
Before we left he gave both of us a book about his alliterations and sang the one with the first letter "S".
It was amazing to hear all this sound, if I were a kid sitting at the fireplace before going to bed, and grandpa would come for singing the story about the upper, the middle and the under world, with all heros. I would be probably caught. We can't understand Yakut, so we joined the sound and let work our imagination.
Tuyara gave me a call for the next Olonkho appointment the next day at 10 in the morning in the "Dorm Atschi", Thomas can't join for translation, so I will do it like usual. Fingers, Hands, moving hips and waving eye-bows. We'll see.
Monday, 23. January 2012

working in -35°C outside temperature

after the even-image description and an instant rap

ice-sculpture

Osochai - Yakutian circle dance

Chinese new year dinner at the dormitory
DAY 20 - registration
Note for myself. Never forget to regisster in Russia, could cause problems later. So the best way is to book a hotel and the staff will do it at the post- office. Normally.
So we also did it, but although the staff copied the passport, visa and travel-agency invitation,
the next day I got my registration with half of Thomas name. So since we are living now in the dormitory, I picked up the correct registration today. Finally, three days later. some things need time in Yakutia, other things are organized in some hours, like the appointment for an Olonkho singer. "Just come tomorrow in my flat". We will do.
So we also did it, but although the staff copied the passport, visa and travel-agency invitation,
the next day I got my registration with half of Thomas name. So since we are living now in the dormitory, I picked up the correct registration today. Finally, three days later. some things need time in Yakutia, other things are organized in some hours, like the appointment for an Olonkho singer. "Just come tomorrow in my flat". We will do.

registration paper
Sunday, 22. January 2012
DAY 18/19 - dancing Evenks dances
Two days of recording and meetings.
Amazing experiences of people who help to make things happen and people who open the "new world of culture".
Even and Evenks.
After we had hart times to organize a lot of things also to explain people that we are not here for scientific reasons although I want to record languages, we finally met two women in the museum for music and folklore - two even women. Very nice women, they seemd to be very quite but the last impression was as astonishing access to their music and singing - as good as contemporary rap and hip hop. those both women were singing and rapping in even language about the situation like from the US-west-coast.
With these impressions and the idea to cook german food in Tuyara's home we organized cucumber, balsamico, tomatos, sausages, garlic,... and other things for GERMAN POTATO SALAD with SAUSAGES. We made a tasty dinner for us three Tuyara, Thomas and me. We were talking quite nice and took a taxi to our dormitory around 11pm.
The sunday started in the kitchen with all the others from the dormitory, an international breakfast between chinese noodles, german bread, cheese and cereals. The temperatures are around -31 degrees and we are getting really relaxed about this topic after a while. One underpants and a trousers must work and it works. We went to the "Dorm Artschi" a folklore house with a circle dance from yakut people today.
Wow. all the people were dressed very nice and were dancing traditional yakut dances. Some remind me to Polka. I was in the middle sourrounded by 40 Yakut men and women while I was recording the circle dance singing man and the crowd who repeated his first voice. This is Yakutia.
Later Semyon called he found an Evenk woman for description, so we met and went to her appartment. She was describing, she was singing, we were dancing, she was telling stories about her reindeer-childhood, and dreams - the ice-whispering and how to escape from bears while riding a reindeer........ Thanks Seymon, this evening was a very impressive experience.
Later we had a chinese and japanese dinner in the dormitory with all the other teachers from language school. GERMAN,KOREAN, CHINESE, JAPANESE and us. The Dragon year is one step ahead so we ate very tasty food and were talking a lot.
Thomas and my first chicken food besides of salad and tofu. But we went through and the vodka helped to forget that the chicken had no nail-cut before.
Happy New Year again. Dragon year 2012.
Amazing experiences of people who help to make things happen and people who open the "new world of culture".
Even and Evenks.
After we had hart times to organize a lot of things also to explain people that we are not here for scientific reasons although I want to record languages, we finally met two women in the museum for music and folklore - two even women. Very nice women, they seemd to be very quite but the last impression was as astonishing access to their music and singing - as good as contemporary rap and hip hop. those both women were singing and rapping in even language about the situation like from the US-west-coast.
With these impressions and the idea to cook german food in Tuyara's home we organized cucumber, balsamico, tomatos, sausages, garlic,... and other things for GERMAN POTATO SALAD with SAUSAGES. We made a tasty dinner for us three Tuyara, Thomas and me. We were talking quite nice and took a taxi to our dormitory around 11pm.
The sunday started in the kitchen with all the others from the dormitory, an international breakfast between chinese noodles, german bread, cheese and cereals. The temperatures are around -31 degrees and we are getting really relaxed about this topic after a while. One underpants and a trousers must work and it works. We went to the "Dorm Artschi" a folklore house with a circle dance from yakut people today.
Wow. all the people were dressed very nice and were dancing traditional yakut dances. Some remind me to Polka. I was in the middle sourrounded by 40 Yakut men and women while I was recording the circle dance singing man and the crowd who repeated his first voice. This is Yakutia.
Later Semyon called he found an Evenk woman for description, so we met and went to her appartment. She was describing, she was singing, we were dancing, she was telling stories about her reindeer-childhood, and dreams - the ice-whispering and how to escape from bears while riding a reindeer........ Thanks Seymon, this evening was a very impressive experience.
Later we had a chinese and japanese dinner in the dormitory with all the other teachers from language school. GERMAN,KOREAN, CHINESE, JAPANESE and us. The Dragon year is one step ahead so we ate very tasty food and were talking a lot.
Thomas and my first chicken food besides of salad and tofu. But we went through and the vodka helped to forget that the chicken had no nail-cut before.
Happy New Year again. Dragon year 2012.
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