This past weekend, residents of the Itelmen village in Russia’s Far Eastern territory of Kamchatka celebrated the Alkhalalalai traditional ritual festival of giving thanks to nature, which marks the end of the summer hunting and fishing season.
This past weekend, residents of the Itelmen village in Russia’s Far Eastern territory of Kamchatka celebrated the Alkhalalalai traditional ritual festival of giving thanks to nature, which marks the end of the summer hunting and fishing season.
Festival participants enjoy tambourine playing competitions, cook traditional meals and demonstrate their carcass dismemberment skills.
The ancient fall holiday marks the end of the summer and fall hunting and fishing period for Kamchatka’s indigenous population. The Itelmens give thanks to the forest and rivers and ask the spirits of the animals they killed for forgiveness.
The Itelmen thanksgiving ceremony includes a purifying ritual, in which each participant has to cross a circle of birch-wood,
and the erection of another wooden idol (background), an essential symbol in each Itelmen village.
An essential part of the holiday is the contest which involves participants pulling faces to scare away evil spirits.
But the dance marathon is the central event. It is a ritual of thanksgiving to the Raven spirit of Kutkh, which, according to ancient legend, is believed to be mystical origin of Kamchatka. The marathon tests the participants’ endurance, with the longest dancing pair declared the winners.
The organizers plan to make the Kamchatka indigenous peoples’ dance marathon one of Russia’s leading attractions.
In 2010, the Alkhalalalai was declared an official holiday throughout Kamchatka Territory.
