A tale about stingy reindeer-owners

A Lamut community faces harsh winter hardships. An old shaman, after being neglected by wealthy reindeer owners, moves away after a prophetic dream. Wolves scatter the rich man’s herd, causing extreme starvation. The Master of the Desert helps the struggling family with a herd of reindeer, teaching them to share. However, they later fail to learn this lesson and perish.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The Master of the Desert, a supernatural being, aids the starving family by providing them with reindeer and imparting a lesson on generosity.

Moral Lessons: The narrative emphasizes the importance of sharing resources and the consequences of selfishness, as the family’s initial stinginess leads to their downfall.

Conflict with Nature: The community faces harsh winter conditions, wolf attacks, and snowstorms, highlighting the struggle against natural forces.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Evens (Lamut) Lore

Learn more about the Evens (Lamut)

Told by Ivashkan, a Lamut man, on the upper course of the Molonda River, the Kolyma country, summer of 1895.

The short days of the year had already begun, and the cold of winter had come. Then some Lamut met to live together. They pitched their tents close to one another, played cards, and had merry talks and joyful reunions. An old shaman, who had nothing to eat, had no joy. The wealthy reindeer owners gave him nothing, so stingy were they.

One time he went to sleep without any supper, and had a hungry dream, such as the Lamut used to have. In the morning he said to the best hunter in his own family, “Let us move away! I had a dream that the wolves came and scattered the reindeer herd all over the country.” So they moved away and pitched camp separately. The richest of the men had several children, and up to that time they had never known what hunger was. Still he gave nothing to the poor people.

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The old shaman left him. The people in the camp played cards as usual, and laughed noisily. Then they went to sleep, the herd being quite close to the camp. In the morning, however, the reindeer were gone, and only numerous tracks of wolves were seen in the deep snow. The rich man had nothing left, not even a single riding reindeer, so he had to stay in camp with all his children and grandchildren.

The others somehow moved off in pursuit of their lost animals. His men, too, tried to search for their reindeer; but a violent snowstorm came which lasted several days. It covered every trace of the reindeer in front of them, and made invisible their own tracks, behind them. The great cold caused all the game to wander off. They could find nothing to feed upon, so they were starving and perishing from famine. They ate their saddles and harnesses, the covering of the tent, and even their own clothes. They crouched almost naked within their tents, protected only by the wooden frame thereof. In ten days they had never a meal, and so at last they took to gnawing their own long hands.

The old father, however, set off again. He wandered the whole day long in the open country, and found nothing. Finally, he stopped in the middle of the desert, and cried aloud in despair. The Master of the Desert heard his voice. He came all at once from underground, and asked him, “What do you want?” — “My wife and children have had nothing to eat for ten days, and they are starving to death. My hunting boots are full of holes, and I am unable to walk any longer. Do not cry!” said the Master of the Desert. “I also am the owner of reindeer. I will give you something to eat, but you must remember the ancient custom of the Lamut. When you have food, give the best morsel to your poor neighbor.” — “I will,” said the old man. “Is not my present trial as severe as theirs?” — “Now, go home!” said the Master of the Desert, “and go to sleep. Food shall come to your house.” So the old man went home. His wife said to him, “Do come and look upon this sleeping boy! He is moving his mouth as if chewing. This presages good luck.” The boy was the youngest child of their elder son. “Be of good cheer,” said the old man, “the worst is over. We shall have something to eat.”

They went to sleep and in the morning they saw that a large herd of reindeer had come to their camp. All were gray, like the wild reindeer. Still the backs of the largest bucks were worn off by saddles. These were the riding reindeer of the Master of the Desert. The people lived on these reindeer. By and by the winter passed, and the long days of the spring came back. The people broke up their tents, and in due time moved away, as is customary among the Lamut reindeer herders. They came to a camp of numerous tents, and pitched their own tents close by the others. The old woman, however, had not learned her lesson. She was stingy as before and gave evil advice to her husband. Several poor people were in that camp. The old woman said again, “We are rich, but we must not feed these good-for-nothings. We never saw them, they are strangers. Let us rather move away from here.”

So they moved off, and after some days they pitched camp alone, as before. In the morning, however, all the reindeer were gone, no one knew where. Only their tracks were left on the pasture ground. They may have ascended to the sky. The Master of the Reindeer grew angry with them because of their close hands and hard hearts. Therefore he took away his property. They walked back to camp; but the people said, “Formerly you gave us nothing. You too may go away with empty hands.” They went away, and soon were starved to death.

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Story about cannibals

A Lamut family fleeing man-eaters finds refuge with a rich reindeer breeder who buys and marries their daughter. Suspecting they plan to fatten and eat her, a herdsman warns the family. They escape during the night. Pursued by three men, the father ambushes and kills the pursuers in a narrow pass, eventually settling in a new land and remarrying the daughter to a kind man.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: The family challenges the oppressive and cannibalistic practices of their community by fleeing and resisting their pursuers.

Trials and Tribulations: The family endures a series of challenges, including fleeing from danger, surviving in new territories, and defending themselves against threats.

Community and Isolation: The narrative explores the family’s isolation from their original community due to its cannibalistic practices and their efforts to find a new, safer community.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Evens (Lamut) Lore

Learn more about the Evens (Lamut)

Told by Irashkan, a Lamut man, on the upper course of the Molonda River, in the Kolyma country, summer of 1895.

In ancient times the Lamut in all parts of the land ate one another. There was an old man who had an only daughter. The neighbors wanted to eat her. So the father and mother and girl fled, and wandered off for ten days and ten nights without stopping. They crossed several ridges of hills, and from the last they saw some tents standing in a pass. They descended, and pitched their own tent near by.

The people, however, were also man-eaters, even worse then those whom they had left. Although they had large reindeer herds, they wanted to eat human flesh. A rich reindeer breeder of those people paid suit to the girl. He paid a hundred reindeer for her, and married her.

Every day the husband slaughtered fat bucks to feed his wife with their meat. They gave her of the best fat. Oh, the parents rejoiced!

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A poor young man who had no reindeer of his own, and who served throughout the year, summer and winter as a herdsman to the rich owner, said to them, “There is Do cause to rejoice. They simply want to fatten her before they slaughter her. When she is fat enough, they will kill her.”

And, indeed, in the night time in the very act of copulation, the husband felt with his hand of the haunches and the belly of the woman, and muttered to himself, “Still not enough. Why do you not eat your fill? Eat more fat and marrow.” So the woman understood. The next morning the young herdsman said, “They are weary of waiting. Soon they are going to eat her. Why do you not flee? You may do so this very night, cut a way through the cover of the sleeping room.”

Indeed, in the night time they ripped open the cover of the sleeping room and ran away. They took riding reindeer and rode off. They rode for a night and a day. Then they looked back, and saw three men in pursuit. So they turned in another direction and rode on. They rode again for a night and a day. Then they looked back and saw the same three pursuers who were this time nearer than before. The father grew angry, and said, “I will attend to this.” He descended from the reindeer, and slipped his bow from over his shoulder. “You ride on without me. I shall wait here for the pursuers.” The path was very narrow, and led through a pass, so that the three pursuers had to ride in single file. The foremost hurried on. He did not think of any danger. He only looked ahead.

When he was directly opposite the hidden man, the latter sent forth an arrow and shot him. In the same way he slew another and still another. After that he mounted his reindeer and overtook the women. They came to another country, and lived there. The girl was married again to a rich reindeer breeder, a well-meaning man, who knew nothing of man’s flesh.

A tale of the Chukchee invasion

A group of Lamut men, divided about potential threats, separate their reindeer herds. Despite warnings from elders about being cautious, young men boast of their strength. Suddenly, Chukchee enemies attack at dawn, overwhelming them. During the pursuit, a young woman and an infant are struck by arrows. The men, including those who previously bragged, flee, abandoning their wounded and exhausted reindeer.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: The younger men dismiss the elders’ cautionary advice, leading to disastrous consequences.

Good vs. Evil: The narrative depicts the Chukchee attackers as a malevolent force overwhelming the Lamut people.

Tragic Flaw: The arrogance and overconfidence of the young men result in their downfall.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Evens (Lamut) Lore

Learn more about the Evens (Lamut)

Told by Hirkan, a Lamut man from the desert of Chaun, in the village of Nishne-Kolymsk, winter of 1896.

At the time of the freezing of water some Lamut men crossed the mountain ridge near the Wolverene River. They came to the upper course of the Chogodon River and lived there. They wanted to separate their reindeer herds. In doing this, they talked among themselves. One said, “We must be very careful. From the east enemies may come to kill us and to drive our herds away.” Another man, young and hasty, answered, “All right, let them come! We can kill them all.” An old man, the oldest of all, whose son and son-in-law were the most active and swift of foot said, “Do not say so! You must be on your guard, and show no arrogance.” Still another young man said, “You are too much afraid, a whole family of cowards. Let them come! We can destroy all of them.” Another old man said, “Ah! stop talking! The evil one is watching for every rash word. He punishes arrogant people.”

After that they separated their herds and went to sleep.

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In the morning at dawn there came from the east enemies as numerous as flees. Even the snowy mountains grew black with the multitude of men. They were the Chukchee. They moved on in large herds like reindeer. They attacked the tents in front, and were killing the people. At that very time those in the rear gathered a few things and moved off. They rode along. The Chukchee saw them and followed afoot, so nimble and light of foot were they.

One of the pursuers shot an arrow and hit a young woman. She sank down on the neck of her reindeer. Her husband, however, — the one who first said, “We can kill all of them,” — only glanced back, and hastily cut off the halter of her reindeer, which was attached to his own saddle. After that he galloped on more headlong than ever.

The Chukchee followed on. Another of them shot an arrow, and hit a cradle. [Among the Tungus and the Lamut, cradles of small children are so constructed that they may form one half of the usual pack load of a pack reindeer so they may be carried along with infants on the reindeer back.] The infant fell out. His father (the one who said, “We may kill all of them”) glanced back, and cut off the reindeer halter. That done, he rode on with all possible speed. They rode across the mountain-ridge, and fled to steep rocks along the narrowest paths, so that the Chukchee sledges could not follow their riding reindeer. Whenever a pack reindeer fell down exhausted, they would not stop to take off the load, but would leave it there, load and all. At last they came to the mountains of Oloi. The pursuers were not there, so they stopped, and after a while pitched their camps.

Chaun story

The Lamut people living on the river Chaun are a branch of this tribe that has migrated farthest to the northeast. They are composed of stragglers from several clans of the Kolyma country, who came to the Chaun desert for various reasons; therefore, they do not form a separate clan. Their ways of living in the treeless tundra of Chaun, however, are different from those of all other Lamut, and are nearer to the mode of life of the Chukchee, among whom they dwell. They number about thirty or forty families.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Quest: The young man’s journey to find other people and a wife represents a personal quest, driving the narrative forward.

Conflict with Authority: The young man’s defiance of his father’s advice and the subsequent tensions with his father-in-law illustrate challenges to familial and societal authority.

Community and Isolation: The protagonist’s initial integration into the new community, followed by his isolation due to cultural differences and moral disagreements, underscores the tension between belonging and estrangement.

► From the same Region or People

North Asia
- Evens (Lamut) Lore

Learn more about the Evens (Lamut)

Told by Hirkan, a Lamut man from the desert of Chaun, in the village of Nishne-Kolymsk, the Kolyma country, winter of 1896.

There was a Lamut man in the country of Chaun who went to East Cape to look for some thong-seal hides. He moved and moved, and so came to the very end of the country. He had with him his wife and also a son, young and active. All around the country was wholly deserted. Not a single trace of man was to be seen anywhere. The young man said, “I will go and look for people.” The father retorted, “Do not go! You will lose your way, and in any case you will find nothing.” — “No, I shall find them. And I shall even take a wife among them.”

He went away on snowshoes, and after a considerable time came to a river wholly unknown to him. There was a large camp there. Several tents were pitched in two clusters. In one of them lived a man who had a single daughter. He entered, and stayed with this family as an adopted son-in-law. One day the father-in-law said to him, “Let us go to the river to catch fish!”

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There was on the river a large open place. They set off. The son-in-law was very light of foot. He was the first to reach the open water. Without much ado he cast into the water his fish-line, and immediately felt something heavy on it. So he pulled it up, and there, caught on the hook, was a small child, human in appearance. He was much afraid, and threw the child back into the water. After that he again cast his fish-line back into the water, and in a moment drew out another human child. He threw it back into the water, but in the meantime the other people arrived. “Why are you throwing the fish back into the water?” said the old man angrily. If you do so, you will destroy our fishing luck and the fish is our existence. Everything will be destroyed.” — “Oh,” said the young man, “but I caught a human child! I was afraid.” — “I say, it was no child, it was a fish. You are playing jokes on us. Better go away! I was mistaken when I called you a reliable man. Be off! You are no longer my son-in-law.” They cast into the water their own fish lines, and after a while they also caught a small human child. They put it upon a long wooden spit and roasted it, before the fire. Then they sat down and made a meal of it. This done, they went back.

The human son-in-law felt very angry. So he also cast his line and angled for fish. He caught one after another, and all his fish were human. In a short time, he had collected a large heap. He covered them with sticks and stones, and went home late in the evening. “Where have you been the whole day long?” asked the father-in-law quite sternly. “I have been angling.” — “Caught anything?” — “I covered a large heap of fish with sticks and stones.” The old man was very glad. “Oh, indeed, you are the very son-in-law for me!” The spring was coming. The snow was covered with a hard crust. The old man said, “Let us go on snowshoes to hunt wild reindeer-bucks!” They went out on snowshoes, and came to a forest. The old man said to his son-in-law, “You must hide behind this large tree as we will drive the reindeer towards you, that you may kill them one by one.” The young man crouched behind the tree, having his bow ready. The other people drove the reindeer toward him. He saw running past him two giant men, all naked, with long hair that reached to the ground. He was so much frightened, that he did not dare to shoot at them.

The other people came. “Well,” asked the old man, “have you killed them?” — “Whom must I kill? Two giant men passed by, both naked, with hair hanging down to the very ground. I did not dare to shoot at them.” — “Ah!” said the old man angrily, “they were no men, they were wild reindeer-bucks. You spoil our hunting pursuit. This hunt is our very life. Be off! I was mistaken when I called you a reliable man. Cease being my son-in-law! Be gone from my house and family!”

They went home. The young man was angrier than ever. He ran to the forest and looked for some trace of those human reindeer-bucks. He found tracks and followed them. At last he saw those giant naked men. They were sitting on the ground leaning against the trees, and fast asleep. So he crept toward them and tied their long hair around the tree. Then he crept off and made a large fire on their windward side. They were killed by the smoke.

Late in the evening he came home. “Where have you been the whole day long?” — “I found those reindeer bucks and killed both of them.” Oh, they were very glad. Now they had plenty of food, but the son-in-law could not eat it. They slaughtered for him real reindeer. One day his wife said to him, “They are very angry with you because of those everlasting slaughters. They are going to kill you too. You had better flee to your own country.” — “And will you go with me?” — “Yes, I will.” — “And what will you eat in our land?” — “I shall eat fish and reindeer meat. I want no more human flesh.”

Once when she had to keep watch over the reindeer herd, she crept out of the tent quite naked. She took some new clothing from the large bags outside and put it on. They fled, and came to his father. There they made her walk three times around a new fire, and thus her mind was changed. After that they left that country and moved away. They went back to their own land and lived there.