00:00Have you ever wondered what it will be like if Rapunzel lived in the coldest village on earth?
00:07How would her long hair withstand the biting Arctic chill, where there is no running water,
00:13and every task is a challenge? How will she adapt to a life where winter rules the year,
00:19and stepping outside in anything less than layers of fur could mean freezing? To find the answers,
00:25let's journey to a small icy village in Yakutia where we meet Marina, the real-life Rapunzel of this frozen land.
00:33Marina is 29 years old, a nurse at the local hospital and the mother of two children. Her hair is so long,
00:43thick and something she's been growing her entire life. She's only cut it once and plans to keep it
00:50long forever, seeing it as part of who she is. Today is Saturday, a quieter day at home. Marina's
00:58husband is at work and her youngest son, 4-year-old Nurkun, is visiting her grandparents. Marina starts
01:06her day by brushing her hair, a daily ritual to keep it healthy and tangle-free in this freezing Yakutian
01:12climate. Keeping her hair healthy in temperatures that can freeze boiling water in seconds is no small
01:19fit. Marina uses traditional Yakutian remedies like horse oil to protect her hair from breaking in the
01:26dry icy air. Marina and her 9-year-old daughter Alima are on a shared mission to grow their hair for life.
01:35Inspired by her mother, Alima admires her love for long hair and has promised to follow in her footsteps.
01:42Alima's hair has already reached 70 cm while Marina's floors down an impressive 134 cm.
01:52Today they are having a special day dedicated to hair care. Washing hair in Yakutia is no small task.
01:59With no running water due to frozen pipes and no shower in their home, they must prepare extensively.
02:06Hitting the bathing house takes hours and they need to collect ice from the river,
02:10melt it and heat it for bathing. It's an all-day effort just to wash their hair.
02:17Alima, who dreams of becoming a doctor someday, sees this routine as a part of her family's tradition.
02:23In Yakutia, long hair is more than just a personal choice, is a symbol of beauty, femininity and
02:30cultural pride. For Marina and Alima, it represents their strength and connection to their heritage,
02:36even in one of the harshest places on earth.
02:44Life in Yakutia is no fairytale. The cold is relentless, and even the simplest tasks,
02:50like washing hair or taking a shower, turn into challenging adventures.
02:55Marina starts her day gathering firewood for the stove.
02:59The fire not only heats her home, but also the bathhouse, a crucial part of daily life,
03:04where winter temperatures can plummet to minus 60 degrees Celsius.
03:10Most of the household responsibilities fall to Marina, as her husband works nearly every day repairing
03:16fridges, heating systems and other essential appliances, a job in high demand during Yakutia's
03:22brutal winters, when frozen pipes and faulty boilers are common. Marina handles the heating,
03:29cooking and water collection, often with the help of her 9-year-old daughter Alima.
03:41Heating the bathhouse is no small task. Marina has to start hours in advance to ensure it's warm
03:48enough to bottle the biting cold outside. Today she is working to heat the bathhouse using a large
03:54stack of firewood to bring it to the right temperature. After heating the bathhouse, Marina heads out to
04:08collect water, a task she must do every day to meet her family's essential needs. With no running water in
04:14the village, all the water they use comes from the nearby river. Marina carries a sturdy metal bucket
04:21through the thick ice covering the river's surface. Marina and her family live in a small village in
04:31western Yakutia. Life here revolves around basic necessities with neighbors forming a close-knit community.
04:38Locals start their mornings standing to stop hauling water from wells or rivers and ensuring their home
04:46are insulated against the bitter cold. Crime is almost unheard of in this small trusting community.
04:53Neighbors support one another whether it's sharing firewood or helping clear snow. Despite the challenges,
05:00Marina's village is a place of resilience where life revolves around adapting to the extremes of the
05:06Arctic and finding beauty in its frozen landscapes.
05:36Once at the river she chops through layers of ice, sometimes over a meter thick to reach the water beneath.
06:00The icy wind bites at her face and the cold air makes every breath visible.
06:06But this daily chore is as much as a part of her routine as cooking or cleaning.
06:12The water Marina collects is used for everything – drinking, cooking, washing dishes and showering.
06:18It's a hard process, but for Marina it's a way of life.
06:24Despite the hard work, Marina does it with quiet determination, knowing it keeps her family warm,
06:30fed and clean in one of the toughest places on earth.
06:37Alima often helps her mother with this task, learning the skills she will need to navigate
06:42the life in the Arctic. Reaching the river is no small effort. Marina navigates through a snowdrift,
06:49pulling a sledge to carry the heavy water back home.
06:55After collecting the water and returning home, Marina prepares the bathhouse.
07:04The fire has been burning for several hours
07:07and the small wooden bathhouse is finally warm enough to use.
07:22The bathhouse is a key part of Marina's weekly routine and after all the efforts of gathering water
07:33and heating the space, it's finally time for her most time-consuming task – washing her hair.
07:49It's very long, reaching well past her knees and washing it is not easy. The whole process takes
07:55about 30 minutes from soaking it with warm water and rinsing out the soap. When her hair is wet,
08:02it becomes extremely heavy, often straining her neck and back.
08:09In her remote village, Marina doesn't have access to modern hair products like conditioners or shampoos.
08:15Instead, she uses a simple bar of soap, which works well for her. She also doesn't use a hair dryer or
08:22styling tools, letting her hair dry naturally. But her hair takes an entire day to dry naturally.
08:29Because of this, Marina never goes outside on hair washing days. In Yakutia's extreme cold,
08:36wet hair could easily lead to illness and frostbite.
08:45Since heating the bathhouse takes so much effort, chopping wood,
08:51hauling water and hours of preparation, Marina only washes her hair once a week.
09:05After Marina finishes washing her hair, she rubs it in a towel and calls Selima to join her.
09:17The heated bathhouse is a rare luxury and they make the most of it together.
09:31The heated bathhouse is a small pizza floor.
09:34The heated bathhouse is also an malice for her.
09:37I am since a growing day, I ended up working with a shared bathhouse.
09:41I started in the bathhouse, by getting the bathhouse and then I started out wearing a shampoo.
09:45I started to see things like the field of soap.
09:48When I was working with my daughter, I started to find a lot of soap.
09:51After everything, I began to get back into full air.
09:54The hardwood of soap is a hot air.
09:57When I was young, my mother was a child.
10:02She was a child.
10:05My mother was a child.
10:07She was a child.
10:09She was a child.
10:12She was a child.
10:17She was a child.
10:19She was a child.
10:22Life in Yakuta is a story of resilience and tradition.
10:26The people here face some of the toughest conditions on earth, yet they embrace their culture with pride.
10:33Long hair like Marina's is not just a look, it's a symbol of their identity passed down through generations.
10:40Even in this frozen land, the residents of Yakutia continue to honor their traditions and keep their spirit alive.
10:56your children's world.
10:57Theorn gardı
10:58Itting.
10:59Itting.
11:01You've..
11:03nó?
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