The Russian Rice Connection

A peek into an obscure nook of Asia

- Oleg Aliev

According to an old legend of the Soyot people, a vicious person can never find the way into the valley of the Ok-hem River: Bad weather or misfortune will stop him. There are mountains all round the valley. This area of the Sayan Highland, situated to the west of Buryatia and sharing its borders with Tuva and Mongolia, is considered to be one of the most traversed and sparsely populated areas of Siberia. In the 19th century, Buddhist pilgrims coming back from the Himalayas gave the name “Lesser Tibet” to the Okinsky region, the local landscapes being very similar to the Tibetan Plateau.

The second day of the monotonous riding march along stony mountain paths was coming to an end when a large herd (about 100 heads) of big, horned, shaggy animals with long hair almost touching the ground came into view as we turned the bend. It became clear that we were close to our destination: Those were domestic yaks. You cannot find wild yaks anywhere, except on the Tibetan Plateau. There are only two places in Russia where you can see domesticated yaks: in the Altai and here, the Sayan Highland. Moreover, the Soyot people are the only ones who rear yaks in the Okinskaya Valley; their neighbours, the Buryats, do not keep yaks.

The yak provides food and materials to make clothes. The pasturing of this animal is the main occupation for the Soyot men. Women manufacture skins and use them for making fur coats and waist-jackets. Leather is used for trousers and wool is used for knitting mittens. All year round, yaks pasture in mountain steppes, taking scanty food from under the snow in winter. Their thick fur allows them to survive easily in harsh climates.