Mists on the River: Folktales from Siberia by Yeremei Aipin

Reviewed by: Mists on the River: Folktales from Siberia by Yeremei Aipin Judith Gero John (bio) Mists on the River: Folktales from Siberia. By Yeremei Aipin, illustrated by Gennedy Raishev, translated by Marina Aipin and Claude Clayton Smith, Shanti Arts, 2020, 50 pp. Does your sandpiper soup have too much fat? Does the hunter’s wife get a drink of water? Why does Rosy Cranberry burst apart? Yeremei Aipin’s collection of Siberian folktales, Mists on the River, can give the reader some important insights about a culture miles away from the American reader. This small collection, only nine stories, of unusual and interesting tales gives the reader much to ponder and provides insights into a world beyond their usual existence. I often challenge my students to tell me about the culture that originates an oral tale based only on the story in front of them. The further the story is from the student’s experience, the more difficult the question. Herakles makes sense to most students, but the perseverance and kind nature of Scarface, the Blackfoot hero, confounds them. They ask why Chang, of the Chinese tale “The Magic Boat,” did not seek to replace the emperor and just wanted to go home? And they are frequently horrified that the cruel Sedna is in charge of the Inuit food supply. It usually takes a long discussion to help them see the culture behind the stories. Aipin’s folktales will challenge many readers to understand the culture that rests at the heart of the stories. Indeed, I find myself making assumptions that likely miss the story’s point. The Ostayk and Vogul people (now known as the Khanti and Mansi) live in an area of Siberia as cold and desolate as the land inhabited by the Inuit of North America, but food does not seem to be quite the problem for the Khanti and Mansi as it is for the Inuit. Hunters are important in this book, as seen in stories like “Birdie-Birdie’s Bow and Arrow” and “Paki the Bear.” Fishermen such as “Lany the Fisherman” are also important. Two stories of the nine focus on sandpipers. This certainly piqued my interest. I always think of sandpipers as desert birds. But Laura Nielsen, in “Tough Little Birds Face Alaska’s Ice,” explains that arctic sandpipers are [End Page 113] essentially “little balls of fat” (Frontier Scientists, 2016). This creates an understanding for the story “The Wife and the Sandpiper,” and the idea that perhaps the arctic sandpiper is not a good bird for soup because of the fat. There are two stories that create lists: “The Sandpiper” and “Bridie-Birdie’s Bow and Arrow.” The former explains the parts of the sandpiper, while the latter shows the connections among the elements of fire, wind, sun, clouds, and rain. Other stories include “Ptichek and His Sister,” which uses a trickster hero to help with survival during a dangerous encounter. In these tales the animals and experiences important to the peoples of Siberia are similar to other tales in the warnings, foibles, and desires, but they also create wonder and curiosity. Does the sandpiper provide shelter for the people or does the story describing his body meet another cultural element? Certainly, hunters are often in dangerous areas, and the story of “Paki the Bear” reveals the hope of those hunters for especially friendly helpers in the woods, while Ptichek and Chi-Chi show the need for clever self-reliance, and “the Cuckoo” warns children to be good to their mothers. In addition to the unique stories, the book is accompanied with illustrations by the well-known Khanty artist, Gennady Raishev. The son of a Khanty hunter, Raishev creates art steeped in the art and stories of his people. Each story has a watercolor drawing with stylized decorations. The tall, long-beaked sandpiper, the warmth of the hearth, and the importance of the hunter in the culture are emphasized through the illustrations. Aipin’s little book is an opportunity to pass on the stories of his grandparents and preserve an oral history that few people still know. It is an excellent introduction to Siberian folktales. It will help folk-story lovers...

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