Yakutian spirit of cold, half-man and half-bull, the embodiment of the Yakutian holder of cold Chyskhaan. He looks like an old man with a long beard. Dressed in a blue fur coat, decorated with a pattern in the form of the northern lights, and has a headdress with high horns, symbolising the incarnation of the Bull of Winter.
The name of the Yakut lord of the cold Chyskhaan consists of two parts: "chys" and "khaan". Where "chys" means terrible cold, and "khaan" means blood, position or rank. For example, "Chyskhaan tymny" - heavy frost, "Chyskhaan tyal" - a permeating wind. That is, the name "Chyskhaan" can be directly translated as "piercing cold with cold wind", which very accurately conveys the features of winter cold in this place.
In general, Chyskhaan is the Yakut name for the area of Oymyakon, a runner of the cold. This word was made transferred to the usual Yakut image of the Winter Bull or the Yakut image of Dil Ogyukha, which literally translates as the Bull of the cold season.
According to the Yakut fable, the frost sends the great Bull of Winter - Chyskhaan to the ground. He once fell in love with the beautiful Cholbon Kuo and ran with her high into the endless sky. The earth then calmed down in anticipation of a great miracle - the birth of new life and the coming of a new year. But as soon as the sun warmed the earth, the Big Bull's horn fell off, and then the second one. Chyskhaan melted. And only the cold wind, flying past, whispered to the beautiful Cholbon Kuo: "See you, darling, next winter!" She then turned into a bright morning star, the patroness of lovers. She is called the star-girl, and since then she has been waiting for his return every year and he returns to her every autumn...
Yakuts represent the spirit of cold in the form of a half-bull is not accidental. Crossbones and mammoth tusks have long been found in these places. Previously, they were considered the horns of a huge fairy bull. And because they were found more often in the spring, it was believed that the bull was killed by heat. And, therefore, the bull is a sign (call) of cold.
According to Yakut legends, the Bull appears from the Arctic Ocean in mid-October. It means the onset of winter in Yakutia. Initially, it grows horns, marking the cold. With warming, they begin to fall off. One horn fell off - severe frosts are over. When the second horn falls off, wait for spring. With its onset, the bull completely melts and returns to the ocean. An interesting fact is how these signs intersect with the Orthodox calendar. So, on October 14, on the Intercession of the Theotokos, the Bull comes out of the ocean and, as a consequence, winter comes. On the first day of Athanasius (January 31) his horns are blunted, on the second day of Athanasius (February 12) the first horn is broken, on February 24 the second horn is broken and the cold recedes. The bull completely melts and returns to the ocean on May 22 - St. Nicholas Day. Such coincidences suggest that either the belief in the Great Bull arose after the arrival of the Muscovites and the adoption of Christianity, or was adapted after the adoption of a new religion for the Yakuts.
The history of the modern image of the Yakut lord of the cold began relatively recently - in the 1990s. The statuette of Chyskhaan was created at the republican competition "Creation of the symbol of the Pole of Cold" by Semen Sivtsev, a resident of Oymyakon ulus.
The costume of the modern Chyskhaan was created in 2002 by Yakut fashion designer Augustina Filippova to attract more tourists. It consists of a captan and a breastplate decorated with traditional Evenki and Yakut ornaments, as well as hats with huge horns.
If you want to visit Chishaan, his place of residence is a cold runner in Oymyakon, Yakutia.
Therefore, get to know the world and Sakha, where its ancient Turkic peoples live. See you later! Bye!