Delegation from Sakha Republic visits AMNH

On May 9, 2012, the American Museum of History, Division of Anthropology welcomed a delegation of master craftsmen and native experts from the Sakha Republic in the Russian Federation: Vera Solovyeva, founder of Sakha Diaspora, interpreted for the group of seven - Prokopii Bygynanov (ironsmith), Fedor Chiarin (woodworker), Izabella Eliakova (master clothing maker, old styles), Raisa Markova (poet and singer), Anna Nikiforova (master sewer of ornamental horse cloths cheprak] and hats), Mikhail Mikhailovich Postnikov (folk healer) and Galina Shadrina (prayer singer and folklorist).
The group had come to New York to attend and perform during the annual United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.

Delegation of master craftsmen and native experts from the Sakha Republic
Delegation of master craftsmen and native experts from the Sakha Republic in the Russian Federation. Front row (from left): Anna Nikiforova (master sewer of ornamental horse cloths (cheprak) and hats), Raisa Markova (poet and singer), Izabella Eliakova (master clothing maker, old styles); Back row (from left): Mikhail Mikhailovich Postnikov (folk healer), Vera Solovyeva (founder of Sakha Diaspora), Fedor Chiarin (woodworker), Galina Shadrina (prayer singer and folklorist) and Prokopii Bygynanov (ironsmith).
Yakut Kumiss Feast
Yakut Kumiss Feast (Ysakh Festival), AMNH Anthropology Archives, Neg. No. 1796, taken by Waldemar Jochelson."Participants in spring ysakh festivals drank offerings of kumiss, a sacred brew of fermented mare’s milk, from special vessels called choron. Jochelson believed the ritual was dying out, but in modern times ysahk has played a key role in Sakha cultural revival. The ceremony pictured here was held early to accommodate Jochelson's travel schedule." (In Kendall, Laurel, ed. 1997. Drawing Shadows to Stone: The Photography of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897-1902. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 50).

At the museum, the group asked especially to see objects made by members of the Orosin family, ancestors of Fedor Chiarin and Anna Nikiforova, who had made some of the magnificent objects collected by Waldemar Jochelson during the American Museum of Natural History’s Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902). A member of the Orosin family also assisted Jochelson in his collecting activities among the Sakha.

This encounter was particularly poignant for the two descendants of the Orosin family in the delegation. Regarded as prosperous and powerful, after the Soviet Revolution, all of their tents and belongings were gathered together and publicly burned. Objects in the AMNH collection are rare survivors of the Orosin legacy of Sakha handicraft.

Objects from the Division of Anthropology [1]
Selection of objects from the Division of Anthropology, Asian Ethnographic collections, collected by Waldemar Jochelson during the American Museum of Natural History’s Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902).
Objects from the Division of Anthropology [2]
Selection of objects from the Division of Anthropology, Asian Ethnographic collections, collected by Waldemar Jochelson during the American Museum of Natural History’s Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902).

Examining Collections

Consulting Collections [1]
Examining Collection
Consulting Collections [2]
Examining Collection
Consulting Collections [3]
Examining Collection
Consulting Collections [4]
Examining Collection
Consulting Collections [5]
Examining Collection

Presenting Choron Goblet

The group presented the museum with a hand-carved choron goblet, made, using traditional tools and methods, by Fedor Chiarin’s cousin, Sofron Egorovich Orosin in the traditional Sakha style (a copy of an unknown master artist, 1871). The presentation included a small ritual with drumming, singing, and jaw harp (khomus) music. Before handing the choron to Curator Laurel Kendall, each member of the group rubbed some of their own energy into the wood.

Ritual with drumming, singing, and jaw harp music
The presentation a hand-carved choron goblet included a small ritual with drumming, singing, and jaw harp (khomus) music.
Rubbing energy into the wood
Before handing the choron to Curator Laurel Kendall, each member of the group rubbed some of their own energy into the wood.
Delegation from Sakha Republic presents the Museum with a hand-carved goblet.
Before handing the choron to Curator Laurel Kendall, each member of the group rubbed some of their own energy into the wood.
Rubbing energy into the wood
Before handing the choron to Curator Laurel Kendall, each member of the group rubbed some of their own energy into the wood.
Laurel Kendall, the Museum’s Curator of Asian Ethnology accepting a large handmade wood goblet from Sakha delegation member Fedor Chairin as other members, all dressed in cultural attire, watch.
Dr. Laurel Kendall, Curator of Asian Ethnology and Chair of the Division of Anthropology accepting a handcarved choron goblet presented by Fedor Chairin on behalf of the group, made, using traditional tools and methods, by Fedor Chiarin’s cousin, Sofron Egorovich Orosin in the traditional Sakha style (a copy of an unknown master artist, 1871).
Presenting bilingual catalogue of the Jesup Collection
The delegation with copies of Zinaida Ivanova-Unarova's bilingual catalogue of the Jesup Collection.

This visit continues a relationship of scholarly exchange that began in 1992 when the Sakha native scholars Zinaida Ivanova-Unarova and the late Vladimir Ivanov-Unarov studied the collections at the American Museum of Natural History and shared images of the collection with local craftspeople in Sakha. The delegation brought with them copies of Zinaida Ivanova-Unarova’s recently published bilingual catalogue of the Jesup Collection, which includes a wealth of new information on the collection at AMNH.

Photographs taken during the visit by Craig Chesek, © AMNH Photo Studio