MOSCOW, October, 11. /TASS Correspondent Ulyana Bakumenko/. I have addressed a family community on the Chukchi Peninsula. "Do come to us, our herbal healer granny has a birthday right this Saturday," head of the Roiyryn community, Vasilisa Ruzanova, told me in response to my request to meet Chukchi herbal healers. Here I am in Tavaivaam - not far from Anadyr. Inside a real Chukchi yaranga (national tent), at a national party. Before the celebration began, I assisted the hosts in decorating the yaranga, in making fish, in collecting tundra herbs - all those items were immediately placed on the table.
A breathtaking view on Anadyr Bay, opening from the yaranga, is amazing. All the guests assure me in chorus: the Chukchi tundra is cold and hostile only at the first glance. I can remember what Ruzanova told me: "Many herb healers will come to the celebration, and they will be happy to tell you about the generosity and treasures of our land. But please be sure to bring about five liters of water: we’ll cook fish, sing, will have tea, and - I’m telling you - one cup of rich-flavored healing tea won’t be enough." She was absolutely right.
Warm tundra
The embarrassment about the fact that I had practically barged myself to Antonina Kergitval’s birthday celebration faded immediately when somebody gave to me decorations and asked to place them across the yaranga. Everything was very simple, and the guests who came to greet well-known follower of the Chukchi’s traditions are of all ages: from three to 90. Women were arranging dishes on the table. The tradition is that everyone brings some tasty dish to the party.
However, there are two dishes, which are cooked right on the spot. Those are fish, and the so-called mantak - a local dish of whale skin and fat - it tastes similar to fat cooked with mushrooms. Practically every dish is strewed with herbs, collected nearby. Before we leave for the herbs, I receive instructions.
"Walk accurately, talk to the tundra, to the animals," Antonina Kergitval, whose birthday we were celebrating, is a teacher of the Chukchi language. "Don’t be lazy and take with you a piece of fish, dried meat - treat our forests with gratitude. Remember: you are a guest, so respect every grass, every beetle. For sorrel we’ll get closer to the water, the snow there melts away longer and thus its leaves are richer there, more juicy. We use the Arctic sorrel, just like you do, to make soup - that’s all healthy."
As we are walking towards Anadyr Bay, Antonina tells us at the age of 77 she feels perfect, never misses dancing events in Chukotka - that’s also thanks to the tundra medical kit.
Antonina’s mother taught her to find special herbs in the Arctic. Later on, Antonina began to share the knowledge with the youth. She is considered to be the best teacher of the Chukchi language in Chukotka. She also writes tales for kids and adults, participates in competitions, even at the present age she dances and sings fervently at all national holidays.
"Look, this is "k’uk’un’et", a mountain willow. We here would need only the tops. In winter, it’s a great spice for meat - just keep the leaves in ice-cold water under some press. We’ll be lucky to find today a golden root - "yun’ev" in Chukchi. Normally, we find it on river banks, though if near Anadyr, it is not so "powerful" because it grows in swamps there - the branches are too thin. However, a lot depends on the cook," she said smiling.
"Or take our Arctic sorrel - it is very good for digestion problems. Thus, in case of pains, chew it. It works better than any pills."
We continue walking, and Antonina tells me that all the herbs collected in summer need special treatment so that they could survive in winter. Some need to be cut, then stewed, then stored in darkness under pressure, others must be mixed with melted fat and then sealed in glass jars.
The locals use willow leaves to make porridge. Prior to cooking, the leaves are beaten and broken practically into powder. Meadow bistort roots are boiled until they get mashed, then fat is added. This is a recipe of a rich and healthy porridge.
A plant with bright yellow flowers helps throat singers to treat vocal cords. Meadow bistort is an anti-inflammatory agent - the Chukchi use powdered plants in wound-healing wraps.
… Beginner’s luck. In just 30 minutes our bowl is filled with golden root, Arctic sorrel, and rockfoil, which is very tasty with stroganina - sliced frozen fish. Another spice for our dinner in the tundra was the well-known coltsfoot, which the Chukchi call "myt’et." A few bright fireweed flowers for a long relaxing chat - and here we return to the guests.
"That’s all healthy"
Cheerful "hei-hei" welcomes "the hunters" returning from the tundra. While we were "hunting," the number of guests spurred on. Antonina noticed my surprise, and explained to me: we welcome everyone, and here, in Chukotka, guests come without invitations.
This explains how at one table were Moscow ornithologists, who study on the peninsula spoon-billed sandpiper, which is on the Red Data Book. Other guests were: a phthisiologist who has devoted the life to treating tuberculosis in patients in the North; and a college teacher of Northern dances; an honored geologist; a well-known local singer, as well as many others.
In the Arctic sun, aside from the main guests, are lovely grannies, who due to the age are not too active at parties like this. However, as soon as they hear the drum and the throat singing, they get involved in the process. Many of them do not speak any Russian.
"My mom is Russian, and she must be the only Russian who speaks Chukchi and not a word in Russian," a well-known local musician, Igor Kelevket, told us. "We will never be able to learn where her parents come from, and we believe they died in the war. When a baby, mom was adopted by a Chukchi family and was brought up as a Chukchi. All her life she worked in the North, in teams of sea hunters, and never learned to speak Russian."
The grannies’ hands remember what to do: as soon as the barrel with herbs was placed near them, they began washing and cutting - a centuries-old process.
"I wish we had more time to treat you with green porridge," herbal healer Irina Gyrgolnaut said. "We mix up herbs and boil them with fat for a few hours. If you like it sweet - add shiksha (crowberries - an evergreen shrub no more than 20 cm high with leaves similar to needles and with small dark berries that taste sweet), of if you want to have a substantial meal - then add blood and meat of a sea animal. This food is great for any disorder - look at our men: they live in the tundra for years, work in freezing cold, and still they are strong in body and soul."
Irina tells us about the tundra herbs, which the locals eat, use to treat cold, digestion disorders, or to "cleanup blood," or to apply above skin irritations.
Chukchi kids from the age of three join adults to collect in the tundra crowberries and lingonberries - drinks made of them keep the kids well in long Arctic winters. Every summer, the family community takes kids to the tundra, where they collect wild herbs and thus practice the North’s skills.
"Such trips to the tundra have been organized for our retirees by the Anadyr Mayor’s Office since 2020," Vasilisa Ruzanova said. "By the way, this is an event on the program for the Anadyr District’s social and cultural development 2020-2025. You won’t find many Russian regions, where collecting berries and herbs is on a state program list."
I can see no one could’ve left Antonina’s birthday party without a wrap of sockeye salmon caviar, or a chum salmon tail or a bunch of Arctic grasses. On top of that was the adamant confidence the tundra is happy to share much more warmth than anyone may imagine.