Саха ойбон омук оймотуга (Sakha mammoth ivory carving)
The carving of mammoth ivory by the Sakha people of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia — a material naturally preserved in the region's permafrost for thousands of years, yet one the Sakha did not begin carving until relatively recently, since mammoth tusks were traditionally understood as "the horns of the Bull of Icy Water," sacred property of the spirit of the earth, subject to a taboo against being taken at all; craftsmen only began working the material from the 18th century, and even then performed a ritual asking forgiveness of the spirits of earth and water, with libations of kumys and butter offered to the spirit of fire, before beginning each new piece.
Risk level: Endangered · Not Listed
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