Chyskhaan
The Cold Keeper. By yakut legend Ox of Cold creates the winter by its breathing. Annually the russian Ded Moroz gets from hands of Chyskhaan Symbol of the Cold with which begins the pre-newyear journey on country. Chiskhaan is living on the Pole of Cold but also have a Yakutsk Residence - "Permafrost Empire"
Chiskhaan is said to be a modern incarnation of the mythical image of Yakut Bull of Winter. The image (and the name Chiskhaan) is alleged to well-known Yakut fashion designer Avgustina Filippova. Chiskhaan’s residence as it is due to the Cold Keeper is located at the Pole of Cold in Oimyakon. Every year fairy-tale characters from all over the world arrive to Oimyakon to visit Chyskhan and to symbolically take over the Cold from the Keeper’s hands and to share their experience of the current New Year preparations.
According to Yakut legends every autumn the Bull of Winter comes out of the Arctic Ocean and gives out the cold. In spring on the first St. Athanasius day (around March, 7) it casts one of its horns and on the second St. Athanasius day (around March, 22) the Bull sheds of his second horn. Then his head knocks down, and by the time of ice break his carcass is carried back to the Arctic Ocean. It is supposed among historians that the Bull of Winter image in Yakut mythology and folklore is emerged as affected by the impression mammoth remains had on ancient Yakuts. At times of Yakut migration to the Middle Lena it could have been found everywhere frozen in the ice.
Notably the mammoth and the bull make up two aspects of the Bull of Winter image, one is of unknown animal and the other is of long forgotten ancient Yakut deity of the Bull (Bug-noyon).
Whereas according to native mythology all spirits, itchi, are personified, i.e. the Yakuts communicate with them, make sacrifices, conduct ceremonies in order to win their favourable disposition, the Bull of Winter image is deprived of all this. As consistent with Yakut traditional mythology, the Bull is the incarnation of inevitable forces of nature (frost, cold and winter) therefore it comes from the North out of the water (of the Ocean). It is portrayed as a huge blue spotted white bull with enormous transparent horns and frosty breath. When it walks round, everything freezes over, so all humans and animals suffer from the cold at the time. By the end of January the winter and the frost reach an all-time high level, so on the day just before the end of January the Mighty Eagle, the child of the warm skies, comes from the South, shovels off the snow from its nest and emits his first ringing screaming. Because of that screaming, the Bull of Winter retreats: it alternately loses both his horns and his head.
(Courtesy of Yakutia Newspaper)
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