Lasso

Nenets

Nenets National District, Arkhangelsk Oblast

1970s

Leather: natural leather: hide (reindeer); bone (domestic reindeer)

РЭМ 8223-32

The lasso, a rope plaited from long narrow deerskin cords, up to 25 m long, was the deer herdsman’s main tool. The loop was tightened with a bone pulley with two holes; the lasso’s one end was fixed in the bone pulley, and the free end of the lasso was passed through the second hole to form a loop. The lasso was thrown over the deer’s antlers. Boys were taught the skill of lasso handling from early childhood by their father and grandfather. Abstract by I.A. Karapetova