Tied up colorful ribbons known as yalama on the larch tree branches shaman tree Altai Russia
Very often in Altai you can see many ribbons of different colors on trees branches or some sticks on the tops of passes or in places where some brook crosses the road This tradition originated in the Altaiñ mythology In accordance with it the Universe consisted of three parts the Heavens the Earth and the Underground All gods dwelt on the mountainous tops Wicked spirits lived underground When some human being climbed the top of the pass he came close to gods dwelling So he had to sacrifice something to the gods and the sacrifice was a ribbon yalama or djyalama on the branches of birch tree or larch Going down from the mountainous tops where gods lived brooks sooner or later reached the spirits kingdom that was underground That was why the place where brooks crossed the road was also special The tree was considered to be a bridge between the three worlds Ribbons tied up on its branches protected and defended a traveler from perfidy of wicked spirits Red ribbons were a sacrifice to the Master of Fire and Home Djyayk White and blue were the most sacred colors and symbolized purity and the realm of gods heavens Moreover the colors symbolized the sides of the world white was West black was North red was South blue was East and yellow was a center
Size: 5573px × 3685px
Photo credit: © Pavel Filatov / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: altay, august, beautiful, calm, coniferous, custom, environment, fine, foliage, forest, geography, grove, horizontal, journey, july, june, landscape, leaves, limbs, local, national, nature, needles, picturesque, quiet, recreation, relax, resort, scenery, season, shine, siberia, silence, stillness, summer, sun, taiga, tourism, tranquility, travel, traveler, tree, trip, twigs, view, vista, warm, weather, western, wild, wood, world
