Arctic Shaman Santa?! Meet Yamal Iri, The Grandfather of the End of the World

Beyond Santa Claus and Ded Moroz, the real Arctic winter wizard is Yamal Iri, the “Grandfather of Yamal,” a localized Christmas figure from the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. We uncover his unique powers: not just gift-giving, but utilizing a shamanic drum made with ancient Nenets technology to drive away evil spirits and bestow positive energy. Discover why this Siberian hero wears a functional reindeer-skin malitsa , carries ancient mammoth bone jewelry , and how his tradition, rooted in Indigenous culture, offers a spiritual alternative to the global legend of Santa Claus. Contact: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Special thanks to: The Christmas Song/Heaven/Slow 3/4 Song by Peter Evans, Tom Blancarte, and Brandon Seabrook - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC by 3.0⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Santa Claws is Coming by Ergo Phizmiz - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC by 3.0⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ holiday by Dee Yan-Key - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CC by 3.0⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You can listen to Arctic Shaman Santa?! Meet Yamal Iri, The Grandfather of the End of the World online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Arctic Shaman Santa?! Meet Yamal Iri, The Grandfather of the End of the World is an episode from The Lost Christmas Podcast by The Chronicler.

This episode is 00:29:53 long.

This episode was published on Nov 14, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Lost Christmas Podcast when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.