Yearly meetings

Comment

The content of this text was recorded in Russian by Ljudmila Zhukova from one of the residents of the village Nelemnoe. In 1990 it was translated into Yukaghir by Vasilij Shalugin.

Translation

(44-1) Long ago the young people of the Kolyma used to gather at a place called Prorva. (44-2) It was called that later. (44-3) The Yukaghirs called it Ulege Chorxo. (44-4) On God's day, St Peter's day, all the Yukaghirs gathered there. (44-5) At that time the Yakuts used to come from Verxnekolymsk. (44-6) The young people used to sing, dance and play for three days. (44-7) The Yukaghir girls tied a red ribbon on their head. From that the people learnt they were girls. (44-8) The women didn't wear red ribbons. (44-9) The best girl was called "a gull." (44-10) A boy with a nice shape and face was called "a larch tree." (44-11) When they saw a boy with a white face they called him "a willow-ptarmigan." (44-12) A tall and slim boy was called a round white-fish.