Ethnic Boryats, a Mongol people who make up the largest indigenous group in Siberia, celebrated their culture last weekend at the Yordyn Games festival in the eastern region of Irkutsk.
Ethnic Boryats, a Mongol people who make up the largest indigenous group in Siberia, celebrated their culture last weekend at the Yordyn Games festival in the eastern region of Irkutsk.
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© RIA Novosti . Evgeniy Kozirev
The ethnocultural festival, which took place for a fourth time this year, included traditional athletic competitions such as stone throwing, wrestling, archery, jumping, tug-of-war and sheep shearing.
The festival’s cultural program featured a beauty contest, storytelling events and an arts-and-crafts fair featuring ethnic cuisine.
Visitors stood in long lines to taste the traditional Buryat beverage "tarasun," a high-proof alcoholic drink made from fermented mare’s milk, along with other specialties.
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© RIA Novosti . Evgeniy Kozirev
This year's festival saw a record-high attendance of more than 3,000 people.
The festival opened with the ritual of Delkhei Daidyn Murgel, a prayer and offering to the spirits of the holy mountain of Yord and the cliff of Aiya. This ritual was performed by shamans and venerated clan elders.
The beauty contest lasted for two days, with six women from Irkutsk, Yakutia and Buryatia competing for the title of Miss Yordyn Games.
On day two, a jury also determined the festival’s strongest athletes.
The Yordyn Games, which in addition to Buryats includes numerous other indigenous peoples of Eurasia, culminates in a ritual circle dance, known as the Yekhor, around Mount Yekhe Yord.
