Snowmobiles and reindeer sleighs racing. The main spring festival of reindeer herders came to Yamal

On the 22nd -23rd of February the ethnic trading station Kar-Nat of Purovskiy district will be the first to celebrate the main holiday of Yamal – the Reindeer Herder’s Day. The program includes the competitions in ethnic kinds of sport among agricultural enterprises and the reindeer sleighs race. The contest of ethnic clothes will be also organized.

The traditional competitions of reindeer herders for the Cup of the governor of Yamal will take place in the town Nadym on the 2nd and the 3rd of March. Traditionally the square near the Boulevard of Strizhov will become the place for the competitions, and the reindeer sleighs race will take place on Lake Yantarnoye.

The competitions will be held in several ethnic kinds of sport, among them: ethnic wrestling, throwing a tynzyan on a khorey, mas-wrestling, jumping over nomadic sleighs, reindeer sleighs racing. (The note: a tynzyan is a rope-lasso for catching reindeer, and a khorey is a long pole for driving a reindeer sleigh). While men will compete in strength, tundra women will demonstrate ethnic costumes and decorated narty – nomadic sleighs. Reindeer herders - winners of the competitions will receive valuable prizes necessary in everyday life from sponsors.

Then the main spring festival of reindeer herders will move to the village of Kharampur in Purovskiy district. Within two months it will go around 23 settlements and towns of Yamal.

The celebrations will end on the 19th-20th of April in the village of Seyakha of Yamalskiy district. In the Salekhard the festival will take place on the 30th of March.

It is possible to learn more information about dates and venues of the holiday on the website of the Reindeer Herder’s Day (in Russian - http://nordfest.com/).