Dear friends, today we share the amazing chronicle of Olonko, the heroic epic of Yakut, which is an essential part of the cultural heritage belonging to the people of its origin as one of the oldest epic arts of the Turkic populations, this term denotes the entire narrative tradition of the Sakha Republic, located in the Far East. The poetic stories, ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 verses, alternate between sung poetry and spoken prose recitatives. To bring to life these many legends of ancient warriors, deities, spirits, and nomadic social upheavals, the narrator must be a true master of eloquence, acting, and musical improvisation. This masterpiece, developed within family circles for entertainment and education, reflects deep spiritual beliefs while testifying to the lifestyle of a resilient population struggling to survive in harsh climatic conditions and historical vicissitudes. Since each community had its own storyteller with a rich repertoire, many unique versions developed throughout the region. Recognizing its profound global value, it declared this oral creativity a masterpiece of the "Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in 2001, and officially inscribed it on the Representative List in 2008. Despite a brief resurgence in interest following perestroika, political and technological changes in the 20th century seriously threatened these ancient customs. Today, the tradition faces the threat of extinction, as the remaining keepers of these ancestral ways are now few and advanced in age. © Portal Arctic Russia.

Dear friends, today we share the amazing chronicle of Olonko, the heroic epic of Yakut, which is an essential part of the cultural heritage belonging to the people of its origin as one of the oldest epic arts of the Turkic populations, this term denotes the entire narrative tradition of the Sakha Republic, located in the Far East. The poetic stories, ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 verses, alternate between sung poetry and spoken prose recitatives. To bring to life these many legends of ancient warriors, deities, spirits, and nomadic social upheavals, the narrator must be a true master of eloquence, acting, and musical improvisation. This masterpiece, developed within family circles for entertainment and education, reflects deep spiritual beliefs while testifying to the lifestyle of a resilient population struggling to survive in harsh climatic conditions and historical vicissitudes. Since each community had its own storyteller with a rich repertoire, many unique versions developed throughout the region. Recognizing its profound global value, it declared this oral creativity a masterpiece of the "Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in 2001, and officially inscribed it on the Representative List in 2008. Despite a brief resurgence in interest following perestroika, political and technological changes in the 20th century seriously threatened these ancient customs. Today, the tradition faces the threat of extinction, as the remaining keepers of these ancestral ways are now few and advanced in age. © Portal Arctic Russia.