The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930, 1927-12-29
0STYAKS STILL
PRIMITIVE RACE:
Medieval Customs Practiced
by Strange People in
Siberian Province.

Washington. Far North radio oper-
ators report reception of station Au-
rora Borealis. And, according to the
listeners in" at Beresov, Tobolsk
province, Siberia, station ABS pro
gram" is melodious, even if the less
imaginativ might merely call it lin
reference"
'Beresov is an isol8ted town OF
wooden huts, native dugouts, and 1000
Inhabitants on the Sosva riyer about
100 miles east of the Ural mountains
ana about as far south of Jl2e Arctic
circle as the southern COAST OF Ice
land" says a bun etin from the Wash
ington headquarters of the National
Geographic society. 'SFobolsk, the
nearest stable town, and Saitkoga,
the nearest station of the Trans-Sibe-
rian railway, are about 400 miles south
of the village.
Land of the Osty axis.
"vThile many Russians mhabit Bere-
SOW it is in the land of the Ostyaks, a
race whose long heads, a.hick lips,
round faces, prOtruding cheek bones,
dark narrow eyes, smooth back mar,
and yellow-gray skin, are Ia sharp
contrast to the features of t.het., Euro
pean neighbors just Scross the Ural
range.
'The Ostyaks are divided into snail
clans, each clan usually representing
family. In the winter they lselnaIA
in and near the villages, but summer
time finds them in the fields in their
tents of birch bark and deeeskin.
Few of the clansmen caG read or
write and figures are almost unknown
to them. The notches on a stick are
to the Ostyak what the beads on d
counting board are to a Cha naman
A fathom Is measured by the distance
between the finger tips of outSt1ta1 ched
arms. Time is measured by tNe in
terval it takes for pot of II ees'ttH
size to boil.
Medicine men and pagan priests
held sway over the Ostyaks before
the Russians conquered them Now
many are Christians (Russian ORTIZ
odox) and Moslems. However, the
clansmen still retain some of their old
customs. In many of the huts clan
images, carved out Of wood and gayly
painted, are still to be seen. Bleed
ing the sick is still favo rite cure
all and some clans insist f hat theil
children smoke tobacco TO prevent
sore threats and lung infecfi MS.
"The bear has always bee 7 hel'
sacred by the Ostyaks. WAel the'
kill one, the clansmen apologize. ~ sh'
carcass for several days. They ilSls
the blame for taking the bears Ale i
not theirs, but the Russians who So''
them the guns. To swear by TIL
.jawbone of a bear is as sacred Il
swearing on the Bible in Chrisn a
country. For three years after L !
death of clansmaa An image of "a
deceased is dressed and undreSstM
set up to the table. ana put to Bv,i
as If living thing. Then it is buriaa
with the remains.
Once Well Organized Race.
Good Ostyak wives are IuXures,
than one An ardent swain might pay
ten fox pelts and herd of deer fol
the girl Of his choice. II he is not
matrimonial diplomat. ne hires Il pro
fesSional gobelWVe., to bargain with
the prospective brides parents. After
the ceremony. the bride seu!es down
to her job of taking care of the home.
and tie reindeer herd too, if her hus,
hand is fortunate enough to have one.
In her spare time she makes fine EN-
broidery Oh linen, made o iijiX and
hemp which she raises Some of tile
men are skilled in wood ANA bone
carving.
"Ostyaks seldom grow taller than
= feet inches. In the winter the
numerous layers of deerSkin clothing
make them nearly as broad as they
are tall. The reindeer is not only
the chief source of clothing hut alsu
the chief means of tranSporialion
And raw reindeer meat is one of thell
principal foods. Corn meal boiled
with fishbones and entrals of fish
soaked in oil are Ostyak delicacies
"Old forts i'll the Beresor region
recall the days when the OstNaks
were well organized race that for
many years STAYED off Russian aggres-
sion in western Siberia. Since they
were conquered the race has disinte-
grated and through trade and infer
marriage wit the Russians, 1heir Ian
guage is rapidly disappearing.
The United States has $4,000 miles