Tuva.Asia / The New Research of Tuva

It is hard to explain what this sound resembles. Certainly, it is like a cloud of falling splashes: if each of the splashes had its own voice, it would probably sound like this. Or the cries of a flock of tiny birds. Or the call of some overwhelming feeling: sweetly alarming, disturbing. Or…and then the sound entered the workshop. It entered and shattered the space.

The girls brought in a dress. Silk, dark blue, embroidered with white beads, and…jingle-bells. And that is what sang in many voices with every movement. Delicate, tremulous.

The ethnocultural complex "Aldyn-Bulak, which appeared in Tuva a year ago, has already successfully conquered the love of tourists from various corners of the world, and has become a true pearl and jewel of the republic, which is justifiably known as  "The Heart of Asia". Heritage of the Scythians. The idea to build an original cultural complex, which would fully reflect the national comfort, folklore, and traditional way of life of Tuvans, originated in 2010, after the head of the republic, Sholban Kara-ool declared he Year of Tourism for Tuva.

Soloist of Tuvan group of world renown "Huun-Huur-Tu" radik Tyulyush will give a solo concert on 23 February at Moscow cultural center "Belye Oblaka" (White Clouds). Guests will be able to listen to Tuvan throat singing and traditional paly on authentic instruments: igil, byzaanchi, khomus, and shoor. Concert starts at 19:30. Price of ticket 700 rubles. About Radik Tyulyush: "Sometimes one gets tired of music that you hear on the radio. All the world has began to strive for the natural. Humanity understands that everyhting is hiding in the roots. As they say - everything new is really just thoroughly forgotten old.  I believe that Tuvan music had an influence in the rebirth of this interest because of the unusual throat singing technique of  vocalization, timbre of the instruments, melodics, and the Tuvan tuning", - says Radik.

The legend "About the Creation of the World" was first put into a written format by aspirant of Tuvan State University Ai-bek Soskal at the request of the director of ensemble "Edegei", Kima Chozarovna Dongak. For the next production, it was necessary to find out its origins: how did Sook-Irey get into traditional Tuvan culture? Designer and ballet-master Vyacheslav Dongak created Sook-Irey's costume on the basis of this legend. Adyg-Tulush: When Mother -Earth was being created, Sun and Moon called the creator-chayakchi Father-Heaven. The Sun shone during the day, and the Moon at night. At that time the earth was flat, and the heaven was bluer than blue, and nothing happened.  Mother-Earth was lonely and angry, and mountains with flat lands, wrinkles and salt lakes showed up.

The St.Petersburg publishing house "Aleteia" has published the book "The Phenomenon of Socio-Cultural Neotraditionalism" by our authors, researchers from Novosibirsk, S.A. Madyukova and Yu. V. Popkov. The book offers a version of socio-cultural neotraditionalism which is described, on the one hand, as a characteristic feature of the change in the channels and means of inhering social experience and translation of traditions (diachronic aspect) and, on the other hand, as an important mechanism of socialization and enculturation in the process of actual social interaction (synchronic aspect). The authors show the important role of socio-cultural neotraditionalism in the processes of ethnic identification and reproduction of ethnicity in the contemporary context.

International scientific center "Khoomei" of RT together with medical research institutes has, since 1995, paid special attention to the question of  pension benefits for professional khoomei performers during the past 10 years, together with the history and  music ethnography, in the context of shamanic culture and playing of traditional wind instruments, with the aim of preserving the phenomenon of national culture, as well as development of the traditional art as a component of social life of Tuvans. The result of  many years of research of study of both khoomei and its performers - khoomeizhi (throat singers) was a study at Roosevelt Hospital in New York (NY, USA). The head - Doctor of Medicine, director of the laboratory of voice, of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery department - professor Anat-Keidor, doctor of medicine Anthony John, author of this article, (informants  - Boris Kherlii, Ivan Saryglar in 1995, and Ayas Danzyryn). These observations revealed micro-hemorrhages on the mucosa of vocal cords.

In 2011, archeologists found such artifacts in Siberia, that even the Hermitage and Louvre are envious. In 2011, scientists from Institute of Archeology and Ethnography of SO RAN worked all over  the world:

In Montenegro, Mongolia, Vietnam, in republics of Central Asia…but Siberia had more surprises for the scientists again. What was it, lying literally under our feet? 

Novosibirsk region is richer in artifacts than the entire Montenegro, especially Vengerskiy and Chanovskiy districts.  The vice-director of Institute of Archeology and Ethnology of SO RAN, Vyacheslav Molodin will tell us about one of the finds - a tiny metal figure, which literally radiates ancientness.

 Questions have been arriving to our site, addressed to authors of articles. We are publishing professor Nikolai Abayev's answer to a reader's question generated after reading the article "The Year of the Tuvan Dragon is Here!" from 23 February 2012.

Question: We heard that the Supreme Shaman K. T. Topchun-ool ("Adyg-Eeren" association) recently found a Dragon statue near Por-Bazhyn, and that this Dragon also shows up on Tuvan Dragon tamgas? 

(tamga = tribe or clan brand, mark)

Answer:  In 2007, Tuvan newspaper "Efir" (No.17, pg. 3) really published a drawing of a Dragon statue, found near Por-Bazhyn (see Table No.1, No.3).

The North -Eastern Federal University named after M.K.Ammosov (Yakutsk, Russia) is organizing a two-day (22-23 March, 2012) International scientific conference «Cultural heritage of Northern Eurasia: problems and development prospects», which will take place in Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The event   with a view of actualization and preservation of a cultural heritage of the North-east of Russia will be a part of the International scientific actions «L.N. Gumilyov's Heritage and destinies of the peoples of Eurasia: history, present, prospects» dedicated to the 100 anniversary of Lev N. Gumilyov.

In Almaty, presentation of documentary film of famous Kazakhstan director Rustem Abdrashov "In Search of Tengri" (Tengir Zharylkasyn) took place. Why this journey of a group of scientists, ethnographers, artists and journalists is based on Genghis Khan's route,  the origin of the idea, and what happened as a result - journalists present at the press-showing received the answers to these questions during 2.5 hours of the film. The main sponsor of the expedition since the planning stage in June 2011 is the media firm "Alash Media Group". Information support was provided by channel STV, Seventh Channel, radio station TengriFM, and newspaper "Alash Ainasy".  A journalist from Tengrinews.kz joined the scientific-artistic collective of  turkologist Napil Bazylkhan, turkologist-arabologist Robert Ermes; artist-restorer Krym Altynbekov, film director and cinematographer Sabit Kurmanbekov, musician-ethnographer, kobyz-player Erlan Sabitov, dombra player Abulkhair Abdrash; rock-singer Asem, photographer Rustem Rakhimjan and others.  From that moment, light was thrown on every step of the expedition for 15 days of travel.

This Year of the Dragon has, de facto, started off in Tuva somewhat earlier before its usual calendar term, announcing its coming with an earthquake, which, as a matter of fact, did not cause serious injuries to the population; that is fully understandable, because ancient Uriangkhai can be considered the homeland of dragons. Professional astrologists warned that unpredictability, unexpectedness, and spontaneity of events are quite characteristic of this calendar-mythological personage, and mentioned his habit of showing up before the usual term, suddenly changing all the established rules and norms. There are many misconceptions in western astrology and mythology about the coming Year of the Dragon and its totemic protector spirit, Fire-Breathing Serpent-Dragon, which are very offensive to this totally noble, valiant and wise personage of Central Asian nomad folklore.

This year on January 31, Nadia Rusheva would have turned 60. 

The vivid, active, promising life ended when the girl was only 17. She was born in 1952 in an artistic family. Her father Nikolai Konstantinovich Rushev (1918-1975) was a theatre artist. Her mother, Natalia Azhikmaa-Rusheva(born 1926) is one of the first Tuvan ballerinas. The family lived in Ulan-Bator at the time, as instructors on art duty. They gave the girl a Mongolian name - Naidan - which means "Eternally living" in translation. It turned out to be a prophetic name. in our days, Nadia Rusheva's art is known to practically any cultured person, in Russia and abroad. Taking a pencil in her hand, the girl rapidly and accurately produced a drawing on paper. There was an impression that invisible lines were already present, and the child was only following them. And the young artist never used an eraser. She produced one illustration once and forever. Each of these creations was a unique picture which showed a fairy-tale hero with astonishing precision.

German publisher LAP Lambert Academic Publishing recently released two books by a Tuvan researcher, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Merited scientist of Republic Tuva, head scientific worker of Russian Institute of Culturology, and the head scientific worker of Tuvan Institute of Humanities Research of Government of republic Tuva, Marina Mongush. The title of the first monograph is "Vdali od svoikh, svoi sredi chuzhikh" (Away from your own, your own among strangers). It is dedicated to ethnic groups of Tuvans, who are currently living away from Republic Tuva. 

Anokhin's National Museum, where the mummy of the famous "Altai princess" is kept, will open in 2012 in Gorno-Altaisk after complete reconstruction, as the Minister of Culture of the region, Vladimir Konchev, informed RIA Novosti. The mummy of  a woman was discovered by the expedition of Novosibirsk archeologist Natalia Polosmak in 1993 in a kurgan of Scythian era on Ukok plateau in Altai, near the border with Mongolia. This find, which has been dated to more than 2,500 years old, is considered to be one of the most significant archeological discoveries of recent times. Native Altaians consider the mummy to be their ancestor and call her "the Altai princess".

The visitors from Austria stayed in the center of Asia for only five days, and they were saturated! Roswitha-Anna and Paul Uccusic, and Isolda Schmitt managed to do a lot in Tuva.

As old friends and acquaintances from 1993 noted, thanks to their visit they found out the news about people who became near and dear to them since the first memorable Tuvan-American scientific- practical seminar of scientists-shamanologists and shamans in that remote June 18 years ago…that is when the first brick was laid of the firm bridge from our republic to Europe for shamans and shamanologists.