Evening star., 1927-10-23
OSTYAK CHILDREN
FORCED TO SMOKE
Siberian Tribe Has Queer
Customs-Bear Worshiped
as Sacred Beast.

Far North radio operators report
reception of Station Aurora Borcalis. y
and according to the "lstenersin" at
BeresoY, Tobolsli Province, Siberia.
Station ABS program" is melodous.
even If the less imaginative mig hi
merely call ii interference.
"Beresov is an isolated town of
wooden huts, native dugouts and , 900
Inhabitants on the Sosva River about
100 miles east of the Ural Mountains
and about as fan south of the Arctic
Circle as the southern coast of Ice
land" SAYS a bulletin from the head
quarters of the National Geographic
Society. "Tobolsk, the nearest sizable
town, and Saitkova," the nearest sta
ton of the Transsiberian Railway,
are about 400 miles south of the vii
lage.
Land of the 0Styalis.
while many Russians inhahit Bere-
SOW. il is in the land of the Ostyaks.
race of people whose long heads, thick
lips, round faces, prctrudine cheek
bones, dark narrow eyes smooth black
hair and yellow gray skin are in sharp
contrast to'the features of their Euro
pean neighbors Just across the Ural
range.
THE OStyaks are divided into small
clans. each elan usually representing
a family. In the Winter they remain
in and near the Villages, but sumner
time finds them in the fields in their
tents of birch bark and deerskin
Few of the clansmen can read or
write. and figures are almost unknown
to them. The nOtches ON a stick are
to the OStyak what the beads on. a
counting board are to a Chinaman. a
fathom is measured by the distance
hot 40 of ~,
arms. Time is measured by the inter
val it takes for a pot of a certain SIZE
to boil.
Children Forced to Smoke.
Medicine men and pagan priests
held sway over the Ostyaks before the
Russians conquered them. Now many
are Christians RUSSIAN Orthodox 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. Bleeding the sick is still
faxorite cure-all, and some clans in
sist that their children smoke tobacco
tc prevent sore throats and lung infec
tions
The bear has always been held
sacred by the Ostyaks. When they
kill one the clansmen apologize to the
carcass for several days. They insist
the blame for taking the bears life
is not theirs, bu. the Russians who
sold them the guns. To swear by the
iaWhoHe of a bear is as sacred as
swearing on the Bible in a Christian
country For three wears after the
death@Df a clansman an image of the
deceased is dressed and undressed.
set up to tie table and put to bed as
if a living thing. Then it is buried
with the remains.
Once Wei Organized
Good Ostyak wiyes are luxuries.
end the, clansmen often have more
than one. An ardent swain might pay
IL foxSpelts and herd of deer for the
girl of his choice. If he is not a
natr. monia' diplomat he hires pro |
fessioHal go-betwcep to bargain with |
The Prospective brides parents After |
the Gel empny the bride settles down |
10 her job of taking care of the home. |
and thu reindeer herd TOO. if her hus-'
handzis fortunate enough to have one. I
In her spare time she makes fine EN- |
hr0idery on linen, made of flax and !
hemp. which she raises. Some of the |
men are skilled in wood and bone |
carving
''Ostyaks seldom grow taller than |
feet 4 inches. In the Winter the |
numerous layers of deersk:n clothing |
rake them nearly as broad as they
are tail. The reindeer is not only the
chief source of clothing but also the
chief means of Ostyak transportation.
And raw reindeer meat is one of their
principle foods. Corn meal boiled with
fish bones and entrails of fish soaked
Ia oil are Ostyak delicacies
old forts in the Beresoy region re
call the days when the 0styaks were
q well organized race that for many
years STAYED off Russian aggression
in western Siberia. Since they were
conquered the race has disintegrated,
and through trade and intermarriage
with the Russians their language is
rapidly disappearing