Kigilyakh

Kigilyakh or kisiliyakh[1] (Russian: кигиляхи; Yakut: киһилээх, romanized: kihilēx, lit. 'stone person', plural киһилээхлэрэ kihilēxlere) are pillar-like natural rock formations looking like tall monoliths standing more or less isolated. Usually they are composed of granite or sandstone shaped as a result of cryogenic weathering.[2] Most kigilyakhs formed during the Early Cretaceous and are about 120 million years old.[3]

Cultural significance and etymology

These anthropomorphic rock pillars are an important feature in Yakut culture.[4][5] Often they are slightly scattered, protruding from the surface of smooth mountains and giving the impression of a standing crowd of people.[6] According to Yakut legends kigilyakhs originated in very ancient people.[5]

The Yakut word "kisiliy" means "a place where there are people".[3] Kisilyakh means "mountain having a man" or "mountain married".[6] The term "kigilyakh" is a distorted form of the original Yakut "kisilyakh".[7]

Locations

Such stones are found in different places of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia, mainly in the East Siberian Lowland:[5]

Outside of Yakutia, similar formations are found in the island of Popova-Chukchina and the Putorana Plateau, in Krasnoyarsk Krai.[11]

History

Ferdinand von Wrangel reported on the kigilyakhs on Chetyryokhstolbovoy, an island of the Medvezhyi Islands in the East Siberian Sea. He visited the island during his 1821-1823 expedition and named it after them (Chetyryokhstolbovoy meaning "four pillars"). The kigilyakhs on Chetyryokhstolbovoy Island are about 15 m (49 ft) high.[2]

In the Soviet Union on the Kigilyakh Peninsula at the western end of Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, a New Siberian Islands named after Vladimir Voronin, then in charge of the polar station on the island, was shown a large standing rock which had been heavily eroded and which gave its name to the peninsula.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Verkhoyansk & Kisilyakh". Archived from the original on 2021-07-30. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  2. ^ a b c "Медвежьи острова". Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: In 86 Volumes (82 Volumes and 4 Additional Volumes) (in Russian). St. Petersburg: F. A. Brockhaus. 1890–1907.
  3. ^ a b c Types of weathering
  4. ^ Kigilyakhi of the New Siberian Islands - Russian Geographical Society
  5. ^ a b c "Kigilyakhi of Yakutia". Archived from the original on 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2019-07-18.
  6. ^ a b Ландшафты как отражение топонимов Якутии (Landscapes as a Reflection of the Toponyms of Yakutia)
  7. ^ Toponymy of Regional Cultural Landscapes – Verkhoyansk District, Sakha (Yakutia)
  8. ^ Село Андрюшкино и его обитатели (Andryushkino village and its inhabitants)
  9. ^ Кисиляхи хребта Суор-Уйята
  10. ^ Ykt - Вернулись из Гранитных Городов Улахан Сис
  11. ^ A. Grigoriev, Megaliths in the Arctic
  12. ^ Soviets gather geographic data in Arctic - CIA

Further reading

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