Krachai
Encyclopedia
This article is about the legendary chief. For the root vegetable, see Boesenbergia rotunda
.
A legend prevalent among the Chukchi people
of Siberia tells of a chief Krachai
(or Krächoj, Krahay, Khrakhai), who fled with his people (the Krachaians or Krahays, also identified as the Onkilon or Omoki--Siberian Yupik people) across the ice to settle in a northern land. Though the story may be mythical, the existence of an island or continent to the north was lent credence by the annual migration of reindeer
across the ice, as well as the appearance of slate spear-points washed up on Arctic shores, made in a fashion unknown to the Chukchi. Linguist Michael E. Krauss has recently presented archaeological, historical, and linguistic evidence that Wrangel Island was a way station on a trade route linking the Inuit settlement at Point Hope, Alaska
with the north Siberian coast, and that the coast may have been colonized in late prehistoric and early historic times by Inuit settlers from North America. Krauss suggests that the departure of these colonists was related to the Krachai legend.
Boesenbergia rotunda
Fingerroot , also known as Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. In English, the root has traditionally been called Fingerroot, because the shape of the rhizome resembles that of fingers growing out of a center piece.-Uses:Fingerroot is known as temu kunci...
.
A legend prevalent among the Chukchi people
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
of Siberia tells of a chief Krachai
Krachai
This article is about the legendary chief. For the root vegetable, see Boesenbergia rotunda.A legend prevalent among the Chukchi people of Siberia tells of a chief Krachai , who fled with his people across the ice to settle in a northern land...
(or Krächoj, Krahay, Khrakhai), who fled with his people (the Krachaians or Krahays, also identified as the Onkilon or Omoki--Siberian Yupik people) across the ice to settle in a northern land. Though the story may be mythical, the existence of an island or continent to the north was lent credence by the annual migration of reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
across the ice, as well as the appearance of slate spear-points washed up on Arctic shores, made in a fashion unknown to the Chukchi. Linguist Michael E. Krauss has recently presented archaeological, historical, and linguistic evidence that Wrangel Island was a way station on a trade route linking the Inuit settlement at Point Hope, Alaska
Point Hope, Alaska
Point Hope is a city in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 757.-Geography:...
with the north Siberian coast, and that the coast may have been colonized in late prehistoric and early historic times by Inuit settlers from North America. Krauss suggests that the departure of these colonists was related to the Krachai legend.