Alexander Afanasyevich Shepelev is a maker of Sakha khomuses from the village of Syyrdaakh in the Ust-Aldansky District of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). He holds the title of Master of Folk Arts and Crafts of the Sakha Republic, is a member of the republic’s Union of Blacksmiths and has received a scholarship from the Head of Yakutia. Shepelev’s work is known both within Yakutia and far beyond the republic.

After leaving school, Shepelev worked on a state farm and subsequently completed two years of military service. On returning home, he worked at a rural school, a fire station and a municipal services organisation. Craftsmanship was already present in his family: his grandfather, Pyotr Innokentyevich Portnyagin, occasionally forged knives and worked with wood. However, he wanted his grandson to receive an education and deliberately kept him away from blacksmithing during childhood.

Shepelev came to the craft independently as an adult. In 2005, he learned to forge Sakha knives from Yuri Germanovich Burtsev, the son of the renowned maker German Gavrilyevich Burtsev, known as Keremen Uus. Shepelev first attempted to make a khomus in 2007. Khomus making gradually became his principal occupation, while his connection with the circle of Keremen Uus’s pupils placed him within one of the most important contemporary craft traditions of the Ust-Aldansky District.

Shepelev regards sound as the most important quality of a khomus. He repeatedly plays an instrument while making it and, even after the work appears complete, leaves it until the following day so that he can listen again and make any necessary adjustments. He does not try to reproduce a single established form exactly. Although his handmade khomuses share recognisable features, they retain individual details and musical characters.

Shepelev respects modern metalworking technologies but considers the traditional forging of the Sakha khomus essential to the continuity of the craft. In his view, technical development should complement the methods inherited from earlier generations rather than replace them. He marks his work with a stamp based on the letter “Ш”, shaped to resemble the footprint of a ptarmigan.

Shepelev has repeatedly won awards at regional blacksmithing and khomus-making competitions. In 2016, he took third place in the Chuluu Khomus category at Darhan Uus, Yakutia’s principal blacksmithing exhibition. At the 2022 Ysyakh Olonkho festival, he received first place in two categories: for a khomus made using contemporary methods and for the best traditionally forged khomus. He was subsequently invited to serve as a member of the jury at republican makers’ competitions.

Shepelev has been a member of the Union of Blacksmiths of the Sakha Republic since 2018. In 2020, he received the title of Master of Folk Arts and Crafts of the Republic and a distinction for his contribution to the development of Yakutia’s traditional arts. He was recognised for his contribution to the culture of the Ust-Aldansky District in 2021 and received the Excellence in Culture of the Sakha Republic distinction in 2023. His work is represented in the catalogue of the Museum and Center of the Khomus of the Peoples of the World.

Shepelev’s khomuses are owned by musicians and enthusiasts of traditional culture throughout Russia and in countries including Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey. He considers passing the craft to younger generations one of his important responsibilities. Because khomus forging requires specialised working conditions, he teaches primarily in his own workshop in the Ust-Aldansky District. Shepelev continues to work under the name given to him by his parents and has not adopted a separate craftsman’s name, believing that the time for doing so has not yet come.

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