Chukchi life and everyday life. How the Chukchi survive
Chukchi (self-name - lyg'o ravetl'an) is a distorted Chukchi word "chavchu" (rich in deer), which Russians and Lamuts call a people living in the extreme north-east of Russia. The Chukchi were divided into reindeer - tundra nomadic reindeer herders (the self-name Chauchu - “reindeer man”) and coastal - sedentary hunters of sea animals (the self-name Ankalyn - “coastal”), living together with the Eskimos.
The Chukchi first encountered Russians back in the 17th century. In 1644, the Cossack Stadukhin, who was the first to bring news of them to Yakutsk, founded the Nizhnekolymsk fort. The Chukchi, who at that time were wandering both east and west of the Kolyma River, after a persistent, bloody struggle, finally left the left bank of the Kolyma, pushing the Mamalli tribe from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to.
Since then, for more than a hundred years, bloody clashes between the Russians and the Chukchi, whose territory bordered the Kolyma River in the west and Anadyr in the south, from the Amur region, have not stopped. In 1770, after Shestakov’s unsuccessful campaign, the Anadyr fort, which served as the center of the Russian struggle against the Chukchi, was destroyed and its team was transferred to Nizhne-Kolymsk, after which the Chukchi began to be less hostile towards the Russians and gradually began to enter into trade relations with them.
In 1775, the Angarsk fortress was built on the Angarka River, where, under the protection of the Cossacks, an annual fair for barter trade with the Chukchi took place. Since 1848, the fair was moved to the Anyui fortress (250 versts from Nizhne-Kolymsk, on the banks of the Maly Anyui). The Chukchi brought here not only the everyday products of their own production (clothing made from reindeer furs, reindeer skins, live deer, seal skins, whalebone, polar bear skins), but also the most expensive furs (beavers, martens, black foxes, blue foxes), which the so-called nose Chukchi exchanged for tobacco with the inhabitants of the shores of the Bering Sea and the northwestern coast of America.
By the end of the 18th century, the territory of the Chukchi extended from Omolon, Bolshoy and Maly Anyuy in the west to the nomadic Penzhina and Olyutor nomads in the southeast. Gradually it increased, which was accompanied by the identification of territorial groups: Kolyma, Anyui, or Maloanyu, Chaun, Omolon, Amguem, or Amguem-Vonkarem, Kolyuchino-Mechigmen, Onmylensk, Tumansk, or Vilyunei, Olyutor, Bering Sea and others. In 1897, the number of Chukchi was approximately 11 thousand people. In 1930, the Chukotka National Okrug was formed, and since 1977 it has been an autonomous okrug. According to the 2002 census, the number of Chukchi was 16 people.
The main occupation of the tundra Chukchi is nomadic reindeer herding. Reindeer provide the Chukchi with almost everything they need: meat for cooking, skins for clothing and housing, and are also used as traction animals.
The main occupation of the coastal Chukchi is hunting sea animals: in winter and spring - seals and seals, in summer and autumn - walruses and whales. At first, traditional hunting weapons were used for hunting - a harpoon with a float, a spear, a belt net, but in the 19th century the Chukchi began to use firearms more often. To this day, only bird hunting with the help of a “bol” has been preserved. Fishing is developed only among some Chukchi. Women and children also collect edible plants.
Traditional Chukchi dishes are mainly prepared from venison and fish.
The main dwelling of the Chukchi is a collapsible cylindrical-conical tent-yaranga made of reindeer skins among the tundra Chukchi and walrus among the coastal Chukchi. The vault rests on three poles located in the center. The home was heated with a stone, clay or wooden fat lamp, on which food was also prepared. The yaranga of the coastal Chukchi differed from the dwellings of the reindeer herders in the absence of a smoke hole.
The Chukchi type is mixed, generally Mongoloid, but with some differences. Eyes with an oblique cut are less common than eyes with a horizontal cut; the width of the cheekbones is smaller than among the Tungus and Yakuts, and more often than among the latter; there are individuals with thick facial hair and wavy, almost curly hair on their heads; complexion with a bronze tint.
Among women, the type with wide cheekbones, a blurry nose and everted nostrils is more common. The mixed type (Asian-American) is confirmed by some legends, myths and differences in the peculiarities of life of the reindeer and coastal Chukchi.
Winter clothes Chukchi - the usual polar type. It is sewn from the fur of fawns (grown up autumn calf) and for men consists of a double fur shirt (the lower one with the fur towards the body and the upper one with the fur outward), the same double pants, short fur stockings with the same boots and a hat in the form of a woman's bonnet. Women's clothing is completely unique, also double, consisting of seamlessly sewn trousers together with a low-cut bodice, cinched at the waist, with a slit on the chest and extremely wide sleeves, thanks to which the Chukchi can easily free their hands while working.
Summer outerwear includes robes made of reindeer suede or colorful purchased fabrics, as well as kamleikas made of fine-haired deer skin with various ritual stripes. Most of the Chukchi jewelry - pendants, headbands, necklaces (in the form of straps with beads and figurines) - have religious significance, but there are also real jewelry in the form of metal bracelets and earrings.
The original pattern on the clothes of the coastal Chukchi is of Eskimo origin; from the Chukchi it passed to many polar peoples of Asia. Hair styling is different for men and women. The latter braid two braids on both sides of the head, decorating them with beads and buttons, sometimes releasing the front strands onto the forehead (married women). Men cut their hair very smoothly, leaving a wide fringe in front and two tufts of hair in the form of animal ears on the crown.
According to their beliefs, the Chukchi are animists; they personify and idolize certain areas and natural phenomena (masters of the forest, water, fire, sun, deer), many animals (bear, crow), stars, sun and moon, believe in hosts of evil spirits causing all earthly disasters, including diseases and death, have a number of regular holidays (the autumn festival of deer slaughter, the spring festival of antlers, the winter sacrifice to the star Altair) and many irregular ones (feeding the fire, sacrifices after each hunt, funerals of the dead, votive services).
The folklore and mythology of the Chukchi are very rich and have much in common with those of the American peoples and Paleo-Asians. The Chukchi language is very rich in both words and forms; the harmony of sounds is quite strictly observed in it. Phonetics is very difficult for the European ear.
The main mental traits of the Chukchi are extremely easy excitability, reaching the point of frenzy, a tendency to murder and suicide at the slightest provocation, love of independence, perseverance in the fight; At the same time, the Chukchi are hospitable, usually good-natured and willingly come to the aid of their neighbors, even Russians, during hunger strikes. The Chukchi, especially the coastal Chukchi, became famous for their sculptural and carved images of mammoth bone, striking in their fidelity to nature and boldness of poses and strokes and reminiscent of the wonderful bone images of the Paleolithic period. Traditional musical instruments- Jew's harp (khomus), tambourine (yarar). In addition to ritual dances, improvised entertaining pantomime dances were also common.
sabeltiger 14-01-2010 10:29
Life and survival of the Chukchi.
They live in camps of 2-3 houses, which are removed as the reindeer food depletes. In the summer, some go down to the sea. Despite the need for migration, their dwelling is quite cumbersome and can be easily transported only due to the abundance of reindeer (the camp's trainload reaches up to 100 sleighs). The Chukchi dwelling consists of a large tent of irregular polygonal shape, covered with panels of reindeer skins, with the fur facing out. Resistance against wind pressure is provided by stones tied to the pillars and cover of the hut. The fireplace is in the middle of the hut and surrounded by sleighs with household supplies. The actual living space, where the Chukchi eat, drink and sleep, consists of a small rectangular fur tent-canopy, fixed at the back wall of the tent and sealed tightly from the floor. The temperature in this cramped room, heated by the animal warmth of its inhabitants and partly by a fat lamp, is so high that the Chukchi strip naked in it. Chukchi winter clothing is of the usual polar type. It is sewn from the fur of fawns (grown up autumn calf) and for men consists of a double fur shirt (the lower one with the fur towards the body and the upper one with the fur outward), the same double pants, short fur stockings with the same boots and a hat in the form of a woman's bonnet. Women's clothing is completely unique, also double, consisting of seamlessly sewn trousers together with a low-cut bodice, cinched at the waist, with a slit on the chest and extremely wide sleeves, thanks to which Chukchi women can easily free their hands while working. Summer outerwear includes robes made of reindeer suede or colorful purchased fabrics, as well as kamleikas made of fine-haired deer skin with various ritual stripes. Costume infant consists of a reindeer bag with blind branches for arms and legs. Instead of diapers, a layer of moss with reindeer hair is placed, which absorbs feces, which are removed daily through a special valve attached to the opening of the bag.
Most of the Chukchi jewelry - pendants, headbands, necklaces (in the form of straps with beads and figurines, etc.) - have religious significance; but there are also real decorations in the form of metal bracelets, earrings, etc. The embroidery of the Reindeer Chukchi is very rough. Painting the face with the blood of the murdered victim, with the image of a hereditary-tribal sign - a totem, also has ritual significance. The most favorite pattern, according to Mr. Bogoraz, is a row of small holes sewn along the edges (English embroidery). Often the design consists of black and white squares of smooth deerskin, cut and sewn together. The original pattern on the quivers and clothes of the coastal Chukchi is of Eskimo origin; from the Chukchi it passed to many polar peoples of Asia. Hair styling is different for men and women. The latter braid two braids on both sides of the head, decorating them with beads and buttons, sometimes releasing the front strands onto the forehead (married women). Men cut their hair very smoothly, leaving a wide fringe in front and two tufts of hair in the form of animal ears on the crown. The utensils, tools and weapons currently used are mainly European (metal cauldrons, teapots, iron knives, guns, etc.), but even today in the life of the Chukchi there are many remnants of recent primitive culture: bone shovels, hoes, drills, bone and stone arrows, spearheads, etc., a complex bow of the American type, slings made of knuckles, armor made of leather and iron plates, stone hammers, scrapers, knives, a primitive projectile for making fire by friction, primitive lamps in the form of a round flat a vessel made of soft stone filled with seal fat, etc. Their light sleds, with arched supports instead of hoofs, adapted only for sitting astride them, have been preserved in primitive times. The sled is harnessed either to a pair of reindeer (among the reindeer Chukchi), or to dogs, according to the American model (among the coastal Chukchi). The Chukchi food is predominantly meat, boiled and raw (brain, kidney, liver, eyes, tendons). They also readily consume wild roots, stems, and leaves, which are boiled with blood and fat. A unique dish is the so-called monyalo - half-digested moss extracted from a large deer stomach; Various canned food and fresh dishes are prepared from monyal. Semi-liquid stew made from monyal, blood, fat and finely chopped meat until very recently was the most common type of hot food. The Chukchi are very partial to tobacco, vodka and fly agarics. The Chukchi clan is agnatic, united by the commonality of fire, consanguinity in the male line, a common totem sign, family revenge and religious rites. Marriage is predominantly endogamous, individual, often polygamous (2-3 wives); among a certain circle of relatives and brothers-in-arms, mutual use of wives is allowed, by agreement; levirate is also common. Kalym does not exist. Chastity does not matter for a girl. According to their beliefs, the Chukchi are animists; they personify and idolize certain areas and natural phenomena (masters of the forest, water, fire, sun, deer, etc.), many animals (bear, crow), stars, sun and moon, believe in hosts of evil spirits that cause all earthly disasters, including illness and death, have a number of regular holidays (autumn festival of deer slaughter, spring - antlers, winter sacrifice to the star Altair, the ancestor of the Chukchi, etc.) and many irregular ones (feeding the fire, sacrifices after each hunt, funerals of the dead , votive ministries, etc.). Each family, in addition, has its own family shrines: hereditary projectiles for producing sacred fire through friction for famous festivals, one for each family member (the bottom plate of the projectile represents a figure with the head of the owner of fire), then bundles of wooden knots of “misfortune removers”, wooden images of ancestors and, finally, a family tambourine, since the Chukchi ritual with a tambourine is not the property of only specialist shamans. The latter, having sensed their calling, experience a preliminary period of a kind of involuntary temptation, fall into deep thought, wander without food or sleep for whole days until they receive real inspiration. Some die from this crisis; some receive a suggestion to change their gender, that is, a man should turn into a woman, and vice versa. Those transformed take on the clothes and lifestyle of their new sex, even get married, get married, etc. The dead are either burned or wrapped in layers of raw deer meat and left in the field, after first cutting the throat and chest of the deceased and pulling out part of the heart and liver. Beforehand, the deceased is dressed, fed and told fortunes, forcing him to answer questions. Old people often kill themselves in advance or, at their request, are killed by close relatives.
With coming Soviet power, the Chukchi, with the exception of nomadic reindeer herders, moved to modern houses European type. Schools, hospitals, cultural institutions. A written language was created. The Chukchi literacy level (ability to write and read) does not differ from the national average.
Religiously, most Chukchi by the beginning of the 20th century were baptized in Russian Orthodox Church However, among the nomadic people there are remnants of traditional beliefs (shamanism).
Chukotka carved bone - view folk art, has long been common among the Chukchi and Eskimos of the northeastern coast of the Chukotka Peninsula and the Diomede Islands; plastically expressive figures of animals, people, sculptural groups from walrus tusk; engraved and relief images on walrus tusks and household items.
Bone carving in Chukotka has a long history. The Old Bering Sea culture is characterized by animalistic sculpture and household objects made of bone and decorated with relief carvings and curvilinear designs. In the next, Punuk period, which lasted approximately until the beginning of the second millennium, the sculpture acquired a geometrized character, the curvilinear ornament was replaced by a strict rectilinear one. In the 19th century, plot engraving on bone appeared, taking its origins from Pegtymel petroglyphs and ritual drawings on wood.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, as a result of the development of trade with American and European merchants and whalers, souvenir objects decorated with carvings appeared and were intended for sale. The beginning of the 20th century was characterized by the appearance of walrus tusks with images engraved on them.
In the 1930s, fishing gradually concentrated in Uelen, Naukan and Dezhnev. In 1931, a stationary bone-carving workshop was created in Uelen. Its first leader was Vukvutagin (1898-1968), one of the leading craftsmen. In 1932, the Chukotka Integral Union created five bone-carving artels in the villages of Chaplino, Sireniki, Naukan, Dezhnev and Uelen.
The figures of walruses, seals, and polar bears created in 1920 - 1930 are static in form, but expressive. But already in the 1930s, sculptures appeared in which carvers strive to convey characteristic poses, deviating from the symbolic, static image. This trend expands in subsequent years. In the 1960-1980s, sculptural groups dominated in Chukotka carvings.
Bahadur_Singh 14-01-2010 12:31
Where does the material come from?
This thing touched me about the Chukchi, “incendiary” the guys lived in post #36, and there my colleagues gave links to the book.
sabeltiger 14-01-2010 13:09
quote: Where does the material come from?
I just typed it into a search engine and found it, unfortunately I deleted the link..
Vorkutinets 14-01-2010 13:17
ONEMEN (San Tolich) will confirm, and a little later from the scene of events he will tell EVERYTHING AS IS for today.
Ustas1978 16-01-2010 23:06
up, so as not to lose!)))
We are waiting "from the scene"!
Papa Karla 17-01-2010 01:56
The way of life and way of life of the Chukchi, Evens, and Yakuts of the 20-30s of the twentieth century is very well described in the book by S.V. Obruchev “Into Unknown Lands.” http://podorozhnik.nn.ru/literatura/ObrucVNK.zip
kiowa 17-01-2010 16:33
Origin of material:
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukchi_carving
Off-top. Well, at least look at the current You in your avatar...
avkie 17-01-2010 19:29
uh, I've been there on business trips...
Probably, unfortunately, now everything is not quite like that.
northern peoples (Yakuts, Evenks) are losing their culture.
old people die, and many young people move to cities. the ability to make tents is being lost (now they are made from plastic film, cardboard boxes and roofing felt, some have switched to army-style canvas tents with an iron stove)
These peoples more often eke out a miserable existence in poverty.
I have no idea how they survive
Challenger 17-01-2010 22:21
They survive because survival is in their blood, no matter how trite it may sound. They just know how to survive. But just until civilization woke them up.
Kapasev 19-01-2010 23:54
They don't even survive at all. You can drive a brigade tractor driver into an artel to earn money on a bulldozer. I only know a couple of examples, but after finishing the season they returned to the bosom of reindeer herding.
By the way, we started producing venison stew
toKiowa I don’t look like that, this beard was grown on a hill in the winter especially for the photo and was subsequently shaved off.
Yuripupolos 20-01-2010 15:13
Oh, venison stew...
Has anyone seen anything like this in Novosibirsk?
sabeltiger 20-01-2010 15:28
A Chukchi lives with his family in a tent, the hearth is in the center, there is a hole in the roof, the frost outside is -50. And they sleep there and somehow survive... There are no hospitals, no telephones.
Challenger 20-01-2010 18:17
Yes, they don’t need hospitals and telephones. They are their own doctors. Without us, everyone knows how to survive, what to take for diseases... They have their own civilization. What's good for us is death. And vice versa.
Kapasev 20-01-2010 20:27
From birth, the Chukchi did not live in tents; they lived in yarangas and still do, but now they mostly live in fur tents or a combination of a tent and a yaranga.
A telephone is a necessary thing in the sense of listening to music, but for communication it is a radio station
Werewolf_Zarin 21-01-2010 17:54
But what about bul bul agly.....
and the Chukchi in the tent are waiting for the blossoming, the blossoming will come in the summer
next chorus
avkie 21-01-2010 22:05
quote: Originally posted by Kapasev:
The Chukchi did not live in tents when they were born; they were and still are in yarangas
You’re right, but at the time of writing my message I completely forgot this word, it’s spinning in my head, I can’t remember
Thank you for reminding me. Chukchan chum is yaranga.
Udavilov 21-01-2010 22:35
Previously, the Chukchi lived little. 30-40 years old.
Challenger 21-01-2010 23:19
and now, what, have they become bigger?..-)
Papa Karla 22-01-2010 01:27
quote: But what about bul bul agly.....Not Bul-Bul Ogly, but Kola Beldy.
Kapasev 23-01-2010 20:25
quote: Originally posted by Contender:
and now, what, have they become bigger?..-)
A little more, however.
And better.
For example, one of the prizes (not the main one) at the race is a laptop
Kapasev 23-01-2010 20:32
Can you feed that many dogs with red fish?
Challenger 23-01-2010 21:54
And what will a Chukka do with a laptop? I'm very interested.
Kapasev 25-01-2010 12:44
Same as everyone else. Thank Abramovich, there are computer classes in every village.
The brigades have generators.
onemen 25-01-2010 17:04
I just saw the thread, I’ll be more free and hang up some photos.
Kapasev 25-01-2010 23:29
"Survivors of Enurmino" photo sketch
(poorly dressed Muscovites)
Challenger 25-01-2010 23:46
How does a laptop help the Chukchi survive? For that matter?...
Kapasev 26-01-2010 02:12
That is, how is this “how”? There is a lot of leisure!
Thanks for the topic. I’ll download it and be in the brigades to drain it for dried meat.
By the end of the summer, the first question over communications will be: “Well, did you survive?”
Please send me a photo of a Chukotka migrant worker from the capital!
Challenger 26-01-2010 12:49
krysoboj 26-01-2010 21:16
It seems that in the Russian museum in St. Petersburg it is mentioned that in the 16-19 centuries the Chukchi were like the Genghis Khans of the Siberian flood - it took 3 years for the Chukchi to get to China or Rus', buy steel armor, the same amount back - and in this form of a Stone Age robocop enslaved all the local tribes. not at all anecdotal, stupid, cunning
Kapasev 27-01-2010 12:11
And in Enurmino the elders decided that drinking was the joy of Rus'
Photo "Nutepelmen - poor, rickety wrecks, unhappy people, hungry dogs..."
Kapasev 27-01-2010 12:16
In fact, jokes arose when an agreement on visa-free travel for indigenous residents was signed. Perhaps directly in the then kilometer-long queue at Am. embassies
Vorkutinets 27-01-2010 09:38
We are waiting for more photos from Onemen and Kapasev.
San Tolich, start teaching your teams a little order - get the dog out of the yaranga, shake out the bed in the morning and fold it in the corner...)))
For clarity, here is the European yaranga (North Komi). Show them.)))
Bahadur_Singh 27-01-2010 22:14
In the 4th photo I was impressed by the herd of deer; it’s interesting how many heads there are in the frame.
onemen 27-01-2010 22:19
quote: It’s interesting how many heads there are in the frame.
To be honest, I don’t remember, but there seemed to be about 5-7 thousand in the brigade.
Bahadur_Singh 27-01-2010 22:32
quote: Originally posted by onemen:To feed such a horde of deer, you probably need to roam every day, because in a day they will chew up all the reindeer moss in the area.
onemen 27-01-2010 22:38
No, they roam once every 1-1.5 months. A lot depends on the place, the time of year, and much more.
Vorkutinets 28-01-2010 12:40
quote: To be honest, I don’t remember, but there seemed to be about 5-7 thousand in the brigade.
But in this photo it will be somewhere around 1500-1700.
Kapasev 28-01-2010 04:22
The “special vessel” is called “achulkhen”. The classic one with a handle is hammered out of wood to create something like a large ladle. It copes with needs, large and small, in the evening, and empties in the morning.
Yuzhak ends, I'll take a photo
onemen 28-01-2010 09:53
quote: The special vessel is called "achulkhen".
Absolutely, thank you.
quote:
The deer came out of the valley in several pieces.
Yuripupolos 28-01-2010 19:28
Is Yuzhak a blizzard? O_o
zhurnalist 29-01-2010 22:22
The Chukchi lived for 1000 years without us and will live for many more, unless they get drunk, of course.
onemen 30-01-2010 16:12
quote: Is it hard for you to spend the winter at -70 and even with the wind?
Who are you asking?
Vorkutinets 30-01-2010 20:42
quote: Is it hard for you to spend the winter at -70 and even with the wind?
Your question is completely unclear. And I have never seen such low temperatures in Russia, except at our Vostok station, but this is in Antarctica...
Lat.(izvinite) strelok 30-01-2010 22:55
quote: Originally posted by Vorkutinets:
And there have never been such low temperatures in Russia.
It was a long time ago - on TV they said that it was -72 in Oymyakon once... Are they making a mistake?
Bahadur_Singh 30-01-2010 23:14
quote: Originally posted by zhurnalist:And you?
Is it hard for you to spend the winter at -70 and even with the wind?
The Chukchi lived for 1000 years without us and will live for many more, unless they get drunk, of course.
If we are already talking about minus 70, then this has nothing to do with Chukotka; the cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere is located in Yakutia.
om_babai 01-02-2010 13:59
quote: But in this photo it will be somewhere around 1500-1700.
I can't open the photo properly, but from what I see, I would give more. At least two times... One and a half thousand, this was the average size of the brigades on our state farm before the collapse. In a dense heap they will occupy an area... well, somewhere around 100x50, even less.
quote: Is it hard for you to spend the winter at -70 and even with the wind?
The Chukchi lived for 1000 years without us and will live for many more, unless they get drunk, of course.
Forgive me. Weak.
I simply won’t find such conditions anywhere in our hemisphere. You will decide - either the wind, or minus seventy.
By the way, we've already drunk ourselves a long time ago.
onemen 02-02-2010 19:47
quote: By the way, we've already drunk ourselves a long time ago.
Not entirely true, there is a generation of the early 90s who did not end up in boarding schools in those troubled times, so they rely on them.
dukat 03-02-2010 10:38
I haven’t been to Chukotka, but I’ve visited all of Yamal and Gydan. I had the opportunity to work on drilling exploration expeditions. I saw what civilization did to virgin nature. Abandoned drilling rigs with piles of rusting metal, ruts from lugs, which over time turn into deep ditches. Because the top layer of moss and soil has been removed, and underneath is permafrost. And this process is already irreversible. The Khanty have already learned how to cook mash. We really loved (I don’t know how it is now) cologne. As they told me, it smells delicious. The youth have already served in the army and have also seen.... The workers are mainly old people, and schoolchildren, who were caught every year by helicopter to study in boarding schools. And their parents hide them. I lived with them in the tent (not for long, though) and wore their shoes (ichigi). A very good thing. Light, warm and very comfortable. Prada takes some getting used to. Co fresh air you walk in... wow!!! The smell of rotten skins. sweat, fish. The eyes begin to water. And then it seemed like nothing!!! The food was very meager. Deer meat, fish, goose eggs in the spring...... and that's it. They lose teeth very early. Lack of vitamins affects. For flour, ammunition and other provisions they go to trading posts, where they are fleeced like crazy. The people are very kind and welcoming. They will always help. They will give you something to drink, feed and give you lodging for the night, but they do not tolerate lies and deception. Yes, and naive!! Somehow we came to the same camp. We look and there is a wooden cross above the tent. The eldest's name was Petya. Sing, we say, what kind of cross do you have? He tells us, “But you geologists don’t understand anything... it’s an antenna!!! We almost died laughing. So what... do you watch TV in the evenings? No, he says the TV is broken. And the antenna, purely wooden. But in general they don’t need civilization. That’s right, it was said. We will only do harm with our interference. And what kind of hunting and fishing is there? The cleanest water and air. The climate is really very harsh and their life is not easy. How many years have passed, but I'm drawn there. I'm unlikely to see such nature untouched by man again. I worked there from 85 to 90.
Kapasev 04-02-2010 23:53
It’s not like Dukat in Chukotka: in August you’ll tear up the tundra in droves moving from Ryveem to Yakan so that you want to write a denunciation against yourself in ZelenyPis, but the next year you think you’re lost. Only on the clay in the stream were GTT prints preserved.
“And the Russian leader in computerization of the population has become Chukotka, where 88 families out of a hundred use computers.”
See http://www.itartass-sib.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16341-301.html
dukat 05-02-2010 08:29
I’ve never been to Chukotka, but on Mar-Sala, near the Gulf of Ob, everything is so scarred that you want to cry. At the time when I was there, people in Moscow only dreamed about computers. So, I don’t dare to argue..... Granted, I haven’t been to those parts and I think little has changed.
krysoboj 11-02-2010 23:43
uv. numb, why is there ice without snow? I'm from Murmansk - I've never seen such beauty.
onemen 12-02-2010 12:10
quote: why ice without snow?
Strong wind, especially in spring, again a blizzard.
Vorkutinets 12-02-2010 09:39
The photo with ice is amazing! Who was the bicycle brought to in the yaranga?)))
om_babai 12-02-2010 14:34
quote: bike to whom
Either the family still does not have their own corner in the village (which may be for the best...), or they understand that everything will be communized before their arrival...
I liked the top photo and where it is on the ice (good light would be there, and approach with imagination... wow)
ATS... A friend of mine drives his own from us in the winter to Bilibino, through the village. Omolon. In the first version, he cut it in half and welded another piece of the boat, so there were 7 rollers on board. Well, diesel, of course, is not native. Several years passed... And this year he has a new product - 8 skating rinks!!! A 20-foot container is placed on the platform. Chukotka will precipitate when it sees it (if it gets there)
Sleds.. We called them “karyats”. One to one.
Tents with two poles on the sides. In our forest area, one was always enough. The annex - vestibule in front of the entrance was called "dyukan", something like a summer kitchen. The Chukchi have more serious ones, made from skins...
onemen 12-02-2010 14:59
quote: I liked the top photo and where it is on the ice (good light would be there, and approach with imagination... wow)
Dim, you don’t have much time, it’s mostly in the head - traces, and cutting off traces, and this is so “pampering”. It’s cold again, but it’s blowing.
I'll add more photos at the beginning of the week, now on my phone.
zhurnalist 27-03-2010 13:49
It really is a snowy dawn!
A harsh land, and harsh beauty.
kotowsk 27-03-2010 18:33
If we talk about survival, then the Chukchi model of survival was the strictest. survival of the species at the expense of individuals.
and as for the military affairs of the Chukchi, there is a book about it
http://mirknig.com/2007/10/29/voennoe_delo_chukchejj_seredina_xvii__nachalo_xx_v.html
or from deposit file
http://depositfiles.com/ru/files/2173269
Even Suvorov fought with them.
general information
The Chukchi are an indigenous people of the Russian Federation, one of the small peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East. The self-name is lygyoravetlan (“real people”). Self-names based on place of residence or migration are common: uvelelyt - “Uelenians”, chaalyt - “nomadic along the Chaun River”, etc. According to their way of life, the Chukchi are divided into two large groups: tundra nomadic reindeer herders (self-name - chauchu, “reindeer man”) and coastal ones - sedentary hunters of sea animals (self-name - ankalyn, “coastal”). Among the Western Chukchi, the self-name Chugchit (probably from Chauchu) is common. Russian name"Chukchi" also comes from Chauchu.
They speak the Chukchi language, which has several very close dialects that are quite well preserved to this day. Writing was created in 1931 in Latin graphical basis, later replaced by the Russian alphabet.
According to modern research, the ancestors of the Chukchi lived in the interior regions of Chukotka at least 6 thousand years ago. At the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. due to the appearance of excess population in the Chukotka tundra and changes in climatic and natural conditions, some Chukchi tribes advanced to the sea coast, into the area inhabited by the Eskimos, partially assimilating them, partially adopting many features of their culture. As a result of the interaction of land and sea hunting cultures, an economic division of labor occurred. The Yukaghirs also took part in the ethnogenesis of the Chukchi.
Territory of settlement and number
In 2002, 15,767 Chukchi lived in the Russian Federation, of which 12,622 people (about 70%) live in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Chukchi lived mainly in the Chukotka, Providensky and Iultinsky regions. The intensive development of reindeer husbandry in the 18th century and the need for new pasture lands caused the Chukchi to move west and south. By the beginning of the 20th century they occupied the entire modern territory of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, part of the Chukchi ended up in Kamchatka, another small group behind Kolyma in Yakutia. They live here at the present time: in Kamchatka - in the Olyutorsky district (village Achai-Vayam, etc.) of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug (1,530 people), in Yakutia - in the Nizhne-Kolyma region (1,300).
Distribution of the Chukchi by district in last decades indicates their weak migration. Changes in numbers are mainly due to natural growth and changes in the boundaries of districts (Shmidtovsky, Anadyrsky). Chukchi live in everyone populated areas districts together with Russians, Eskimos, Evens, Chuvans and other peoples. There are no purely Chukchi settlements, but in most villages the Chukchi predominate.
Lifestyle and support system
Basics traditional occupation Tundra (reindeer) Chukchi - nomadic reindeer herding. Most Reindeer herders spent years on the move. Each group of Chukchi had permanent migration routes and their own grazing territory. In the forest zone, migrations occurred every 5-6 days, in the tundra - 3-4 times during the winter. Semi-free grazing of deer was practiced everywhere. IN summer time the herds were located on the ocean coast, where there were fewer mosquitoes and gadflies. About a quarter of the reindeer Chukchi spent the summer in the continental part of Chukotka on the northern slopes of the mountains, where snow remained. With the onset of autumn, all the reindeer herders moved inland to the forest border. The Chukchi did not know a shepherd dog, and the shepherds were with the herd around the clock. Reindeer husbandry provided everything necessary for life: food, clothing, housing, means of transportation.
The basis economic activity The coastal Chukchi were engaged in sea hunting, the products of which (meat, fat for food and heating, clothing) also provided all the needs of life, and also served as an object of exchange with reindeer herders. Some of the Chukchi reindeer were also engaged in marine hunting during the stay of the herds on the coast. Fish was caught in case of emergency in free time from grazing. Fishing was somewhat more important in the basins of large rivers - Anadyr, Chaun, Kolyma. The development of trade relations stimulated the development of the fur trade, which previously also had no of great importance. In Soviet times, reindeer husbandry in Chukotka developed successfully. Improved breeding of animals, a more rational structure of the herd, successes in the fight against necrobacteriosis (hoof bacilli) and other diseases, and anti-water treatment of animals contributed to a significant increase in the number of animals and the productivity of the industry as a whole. By the beginning of the 90s. in Chukotka there was one of the largest herds of domestic reindeer in the world - about 500 thousand. Reindeer husbandry formed the basis of the economy of state farms, covering the losses of other industries, was main area The employment of a significant part of the Chukchi ensured their economic prosperity.
In conditions of market reforms, intensive destruction of the industry is observed. The number of deer in the area has dropped by more than half. The reform of state farms, the transition to new forms of industry organization based on private and collective shared ownership, not supported by material and technical resources, led to a curtailment of production. Almost all livestock farms and a number of fur farms where Chukchi women worked were liquidated.
Ethno-social situation
The ethno-social situation in many areas of Chukotka is extremely difficult. Its main components are mass unemployment of the indigenous population, problems with providing villages with fuel, food, electricity, and an increase in the incidence and mortality of aborigines. According to these and a number of other parameters, Chukotka, due to the characteristics of its geographical location and climatic conditions is in the most dire situation among other regions of the North. The incidence of tuberculosis among the Chukchi and other indigenous peoples of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is 10 times higher than the corresponding indicators for the non-indigenous population. In 1996, per 100 thousand people with active tuberculosis among indigenous people there were 737.1, including 233 children. The socio-economic situation in Chukotka in some years became so aggravated that it required the intervention of the federal government and humanitarian assistance from the international communities. In September 1996, the Government of the Russian Federation adopted a decree “On urgent measures to stabilize the socio-economic situation in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.” IN last years, with the arrival of the new governor, the situation has changed for the better, but much remains to be done to overcome the crisis.
Ethno-cultural situation
According to the 2002 census, the Chukchi language was considered the native language by 27.6% of the Chukchi. The Chukchi language is taught in many villages. Since 1992, it has been studied as part of the secondary school curriculum. Educational, artistic and socio-political literature is systematically published in the Chukchi language, and district radio and television broadcasts. Since 1953, the newspaper “Sovetken Chukotka” has been published (currently “Murgin Nuteneut”, a supplement to the district newspaper “Far North”). Teachers of the Chukchi language are trained by the Anadyr Pedagogical College, Russian State Pedagogical University named after. Herzen in St. Petersburg, Magadan Pedagogical Institute. Some of the Chukotka youth speak their native language, which is certainly a positive and stabilizing factor. Are saved essential elements traditional material and spiritual culture: means of transportation, housing (in the tundra among reindeer herders), holidays, rituals and customs, religious ideas.
The work of the artists of the professional Chukchi-Eskimo choreographic ensemble “Ergyron” and the Chukchi poetess A. Kymytval is widely known in the country and abroad. The traditional art of engraving and bone carving has been preserved and developed. The Chukotka branch of the North-Eastern Complex Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences has been established in Anadyr, which employs about 10 researchers from among the Chukchi and other peoples of the North. Are being studied various aspects traditional culture of the Chukchi, their language, folk methods of treatment, problems of transforming economic relations and forms of ownership and other problems relevant to the district. However, the difficult socio-economic situation in the district as a whole does not provide the opportunity for the full development of all traditional forms culture and art. People, especially in remote villages and in the tundra, are busy surviving in these difficult conditions. Today it is important to at least carefully preserve the surviving centers of culture.
Management and self-government bodies
The Chukchi are one of the few indigenous peoples of the North of the Russian Federation who formally have their own autonomous education. Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is currently a subject of the Russian Federation. The creation of the district played a role important role in the development of the economy and culture of the local indigenous population. However, as the mining industry developed in Chukotka and the number of newcomers grew, the district increasingly lost the features of a national-state formation, turning into an ordinary administrative-territorial unit. The only reminder of his former purpose remained the position of Chairman of the district executive committee, which, according to established tradition, was occupied by a representative of the Chukchi people. In other organs state power the Chukchi were represented purely symbolically. Suffice it to say that in the late 80s. Only 96 Chukchi worked in the sphere of state and economic management, most of them in minor positions. Unfortunately, this trend continues today. The functions of the self-government body are performed by the Association of Indigenous Minorities of the North of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, created in 1989. Its territorial branches operate in each district of the district.
Legal documents and laws
The legislative framework of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in relation to small peoples is represented by a number of documents. The Charter of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (adopted by the Duma in 1997) contains articles that define the policy of government authorities to protect and ensure the rights of indigenous peoples, the development of education, culture, environmental protection, the organization of local self-government and other important for the indigenous population questions. A temporary regulation “On the procedure for transfer” has been developed land plots for reindeer herding farms." A temporary regulation “On the procedure for approving the allocation of land plots for the use of the subsoil of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug” was approved, which takes into account the interests of small peoples. Laws “On preferential taxation of enterprises participating in the development” were adopted social infrastructure national villages”, “On the referendum of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug”, “On the procedure and principles for providing tax benefits”. A number of vital provisions for the Chukchi and other indigenous peoples of the district are reflected in the Executive Resolutions: “On measures to implement the program for the development of national villages (1996), “On measures to streamline the production and sale of biologically active reindeer raw materials” (1996), “ About the Chukotka District Scientific Advisory Council on Whaling" (1997), etc.
Contemporary environmental issues
State natural environment in the district began to cause serious concern already in the late 80s. By this time, as a result of industrial development and mismanagement of land, the area of reindeer pastures had decreased by 5 million hectares compared to 1970. Widespread deterioration of pasture areas and a decrease in feed supplies are still observed today. 8 specially protected areas with an area of 3 million hectares (4% of the entire territory of the district) have been created here. Attempts are being made to implement international projects in the district (Beringia Park, EKORA project).
Prospects for preserving the Chukchi as an ethnic group
Chukchi is one of the few northern peoples Russia, which is not yet in danger of disappearing from the national map of Russia in the promising future. The degree of preservation of the traditional culture of the Chukchi, the level of their ethnic self-awareness and ethnic solidarity allows us to make positive forecasts and look to the future. However, if in the near future the state and regional authorities do not provide significant support to the indigenous ethnic group of Chukotka and do not raise the socio-economic status of the district, then the Chukchi, as the most vulnerable part of the population, will be thrown far back in their development and survival. It is also necessary to emphasize that the Chukchi organizations themselves and their leaders must play a huge role in preserving and consolidating the people.
Kaydara holiday
According to the ancient ideas of the Chukchi, everything that surrounds a person has a soul. The sea has a soul, and so does the canoe, a boat covered with walrus skin, on which even today arctic sea hunters fearlessly go out into the ocean. Until recently, every spring, in order for the sea to accept the canoe, hunters organized a special holiday. It began with the boat being solemnly removed from the pillars made of the jaw bones of the bowhead whale, on which it had been stored during the long Chukchi winter. Then they made a sacrifice to the sea: pieces of boiled meat were thrown into the water. The baidara was brought to the yaranga - the traditional dwelling of the Chukchi - and all participants in the holiday walked around the yaranga. The first one was old woman in the family, then the owner of the canoe, the helmsman, the rowers, and the rest of the participants in the holiday. The next day, the boat was carried to the shore, a sacrifice was made to the sea again, and only after that the canoe was launched into the water.
Whale Festival
At the end of the fishing season, late autumn or early winter, the coastal Chukchi held a whale festival. It was based on a ritual of reconciliation between hunters and killed animals. People dressed in festive clothes, including special waterproof raincoats made of walrus intestines, asked for forgiveness from whales, seals, and walruses. “It wasn’t the hunters who killed you! The stones rolled down the mountain and killed you!” - the Chukchi women sang, addressing the whales. The men staged wrestling matches and performed dances that reenacted scenes of hunting sea animals full of mortal danger.
At the whale festival, sacrifices were certainly made to Keretkun, the owner of all sea animals. After all, the residents of Chukotka believed that success in hunting depended on him. In the yaranga where the holiday took place, a Keretkun net woven from deer tendons was hung, and figures of animals and birds carved from bone and wood were installed. One of the wooden sculptures depicted the owner of sea animals himself. The culmination of the holiday was the lowering of whale bones into the sea. IN sea water, the Chukchi believed, the bones would turn into new animals, and the next year whales would appear off the coast of Chukotka again.
Festival of the Young Deer (Kilvey)
Just as solemnly as the coastal inhabitants celebrated the whale festival, Kilvey, the festival of the young deer, was celebrated on the continental tundra. It was held in the spring, during calving. The holiday began with the shepherds driving the flock to the yarangas, and the women laying out a sacred fire. Fire for such a fire was produced only by friction, as people did many hundreds of years ago. Deer were greeted with loud cries and gunshots to scare away evil spirits. Tambourines-yarars, which were played alternately by men and women, also served this purpose. Residents of coastal villages often took part in the festival together with reindeer herders. They were invited to Kilway in advance, and the more prosperous the family was, the more guests came to the holiday. In exchange for their gifts, residents of coastal villages received deer skins and venison, which was considered a delicacy among them. At the festival of the young deer, they not only had fun on the occasion of the birth of fawns, but also performed important work: they separated the females with calves from the main part of the herd in order to graze them on the most abundant pastures. During the holiday, some of the adult deer were slaughtered. This was done in order to prepare meat for future use for women, old people and children. The fact is that after Kilvey, the inhabitants of the camp were divided into two groups. Elderly people, women, and children remained in winter camps, where they fished and picked berries in the summer. And the men set off with the reindeer herds on long journeys to summer camps. Summer pastures were located north of the winter nomads, not far from the coasts of the polar seas. A long journey with a herd was difficult, often dangerous. So the holiday of the young deer is also a farewell before a long separation.
Residents of the tundra save guests from the frost with the help of their naked wife
What have we heard about the Chukchi and the northern peoples in general, besides anecdotes? Yes, practically nothing! However, there are people who thoroughly understand the topic. In particular, a world-famous scientist, Professor Sergei ARUTYUNOV, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who conducted ethnographic field work in Japan, Vietnam, India, the Caucasus, as well as in the Far North and Siberia, including Chukotka. Although jokes are also information!
“Chukchi, go to the shower and wash yourself!” - “It’s impossible, however! There will be grief! The first time I washed myself, the war began. I washed myself the second time - Stalin died. At all
woe!
They finally forced the Chukchi into the shower. A couple of minutes later a joyful exclamation: “Hurray! I found the shirt!” - "Where?!" - “It was under a sweatshirt!”
- Sergey Alexandrovich, why are there so many jokes about the Chukchi?
- For the same reason that in India they tell jokes about the Sikhs, in Great Britain - about the Scots, and throughout Europe - about the Belgians. It is human nature to choose some kind of victim for ridicule. Despite the fact that everyone understands that these peoples are no worse than others. By the way, the Chukchi also have jokes about Russians. For example this one. A young Russian comes to Chukotka for the first time. Naturally, they take it with vodka - they drink one bottle, a second, a third... Finally, he asks: “How to become one of our own in Chukotka?” - “We need to sleep with a Chukchi woman and shake the bear’s paw.” The Russian staggers out. He returns in the morning, all tattered: “Well, I slept with the bear, now give the Chukchi woman - I’ll shake her hand!” In general, the Chukchi are very hospitable people and are also ready to laugh at themselves.
What shocked you most about the customs of the northern peoples?
- I am an ethnographer, accustomed to everything. But there were also funny moments. One of the visits to a Chukotka family about 50 years ago is very memorable. We arrived at yaranga, the dwelling of the Chukchi. It's cold in there, so in the center there's also a fur canopy made of reindeer skins...
- Is it warm underneath?
- Certainly! People heat up the space so much with their breath that they strip down to their underwear. The nomadic Chukchi are very fond of silk underwear. And not for the sake of beauty, but because lice do not grow in it - washing often under such conditions is problematic.
So, we sit and wait for the treat. And then the baby started crying and wanted to go potty. The hostess takes off his warm fur overalls and a diaper made of dried moss and gives him the opportunity to relieve himself in a wooden dish. Then this dish is placed behind the canopy - into the cold space of the yaranga, where the dogs are. A few seconds - and the dogs lick it all off until it shines. The hostess returns the dish and quite calmly begins to cut cold venison on it. This is what we ate with tea. By the way, she did not forget to thoroughly wipe the cups with a towel... To be fair, I will say that now, of course, the situation with hygiene has changed dramatically.
Fly agarics
Chukchi says to Russian:
- If you guess how many deer I have, I’ll give you both!
- Two.
- Wow, shaman!
- In one of your interviews you said that the Chukchi do not recognize mushrooms.
- Yes, they disdain them, they call them the excrement of the devil. This is primarily due to the fact that mushrooms pose a threat to losing deer. Deer experience protein starvation all the time. And the mushroom is the source of this very protein. So if a mushroom place comes across a deer’s path, that’s it, you won’t be able to gather the herd anymore, it will simply scatter. Therefore, as they approach the mushroom places, the Chukchi begin to yell, throw sticks, set dogs on fire - in a word, do everything so that the herd passes by as quickly as possible.
- But they still have respect for one mushroom.
- If you mean fly agaric, then yes. Among the Chukchi, fly agaric is common as a hallucinogen. And in order not to get poisoned, young people drink the urine of old people who use fly agarics, accustoming themselves to this “delicacy”. I just urge you not to practice this under any circumstances, the consequences can be fatal!
- And this kind of thing happens these days?
- Even about 20 years ago, young people were actively involved in fly agaric eating. That is, now these are people of about 40 years old. And there are even more fly agaric grandfathers! I don’t know how it is in our time. Still, in recent years a new generation has grown up with a more urbanized, urban mentality. Almost everyone receives secondary education. Although they certainly retain their Chukotka psychology.
- What does it consist of, this psychology?
- Don't stress. Not with anything. Including in sexual relationships.
One for two
The Russian asked the Chukchi for a loan of arctic fox skins for sale. He gave it. The second time he asked, he gave. The Chukchi sees him - for the third time Russian is coming. He says: “Wife, tell me that I’m hunting, otherwise he’ll beg for skins again!” And he himself - under the bed. The Russian comes in, his wife says: “He’s hunting!” - "What a pity! And I brought the money with interest. Well, let's celebrate the deal! They drank and went to bed. And the Chukchi lies under the bed and thinks: “I need to take the money, I need to shoot the Russian, I need to beat my wife. And as luck would have it, I’m on the hunt!”
- How do the Chukchi generally relate to sexual intimacy?
- Easy enough. Let's say, in the past it often happened that a person lost in the taiga came across a nomadic camp. How to save him from hypothermia? The naked guest was placed with the naked wife of the owner of the house. And then - how it goes... By the way, in 1977, in the same way, a swimmer from the United States was saved from certain death, who was swimming from an American island to a Soviet one in the Bering Strait area. She was carried away by the current and was very cold. And the Russian doctor, familiar with the life of the Chukchi, undressed and climbed into one of her sleeping bags. Everything worked out fine.
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In folklore, Chukchi women often sleep with Russians. How attractive can a Chukotka woman be to anyone? white man?
- Among them there are many nice ones, by our standards. It is not for nothing that all polar explorers had representatives of northern peoples as mistresses or temporary wives. For example, the legendary American admiral Robert Peary, who at the beginning of the twentieth century first achieved North Pole, had an Eskimo as his “field wife”. The archives contain a nude photograph of her, a very impressive woman. And then his legal wife Josephine came to Piri. The ladies met and got along quite well.
- Well, in principle, how important is marital fidelity for the Chukchi?
- The Eskimos in Canada and Alaska still have a tradition of exchanging wives when their families go hunting in the summer. This usually happens between friends and very often on the initiative of women. In Soviet times, communist morality still prevailed in our country, so the Chukchi never advertised such behavior. But the women there are very proud and freedom-loving. I knew one Chukchi family. His name was Robton, he was a whaler and a drunkard. And his wife named Ani got tired of his endless drinking.
“So that’s it,” she said. - I’m your wife, I’ll wash your underpants, put grass in the torboza (those fur boots) so that you don’t freeze, but as a husband you’re of no use. Therefore, at such and such a time, leave, and the store manager will come to me.
He seemed to have resigned himself. But when the store manager was at Anya’s, Robton came and told him: “Come on, putilka!” A bottle of vodka, I mean. He gave it. He comes for the second time: “Let’s go!” And then an enraged Ani jumped out into the corridor. “Who gave you the right to buy me for a bottle?!” - she shouted to the store manager. And she said this to her husband: “I am a free woman and I decide for myself who to sleep with!” With these words, she slashed him on the nose with a semicircular carving knife. And he, pressing the tip of his nose, ran to the paramedic. They barely sewed that nose on to him. In general, it is not uncommon for Chukchi women to have lovers, and their husbands take this calmly.
Like the Jews
The Chukchi became rich and bought a car. A month later they ask him: “So how?” - “Okay, however! Only the deer get very tired and the roof is slippery, I keep falling!”
- Sergei Alexandrovich, are there any rich Chukchi?
- In Soviet times, the Chukchi could earn eight thousand a year from whaling and arctic fox fisheries. And even more! By Soviet standards - a lot of money. But there were few such drummers, and they all drank. The situation changed somewhat under Gorbachev. During the fight against alcoholism, many stupid things were done, but for the Far North it was a blessing. After all, the physiology of the Chukchi is such that they get drunk from the first drink. Having lost the opportunity to drink freely, they rose up so much! And household appliances appeared (for those who lived in the villages), and they began to go to resorts.
A Chukchi friend told me: “I was in Crimea. I liked it, but it was very hot - plus 13 - 15 degrees!” He also bought a Moskvich. True, I went fishing from my village only about once a week, and then during the season - 12 kilometers. “What about the tundra?” - I ask him. “We buy snowmobiles for this, but many still use dogs.” - "Why?" - “What if there’s a snowstorm and you get stuck there for a long time? You leave with 12 dogs and return with four. Eight will go to feed the rest and eat yourself. But you can’t eat a snowmobile!”
And with the advent of capitalism, “new Chukchi” appeared?
- There are still guys who don’t drink who earn two to three million rubles a year. Mostly fishing. Once an Eskimo I knew tried to explain to me how they differ from the Chukchi. “You know, for us the Chukchi are like Jews for Russians. Compared to us, they are more crafty, commercially successful, and cunning.” However, a “new Chukchi” will never appear. There are few Chukchi in general, only 14 thousand, most of whom live in Chukotka. But everyone has nephews, cousins, uncles... “You get so much, but you don’t treat us!” - this is what the successful Chukchi hears. And - he treats, it’s customary. Until the money runs out.
- How many Eskimos are there in total?
- There are more than a hundred thousand of them, although only 1800 live in Russia. But there are even more small peoples. For example, the Uilta - there are only 300 of them left on Sakhalin. Or the Enets - only 250 in Taimyr.
You are a great protector for small nations. What can the state do for the same Chukchi? Look after them more? Or, conversely, not to interfere?
- Don’t interfere, don’t interfere! I think it would be right to put them on a reservation. And this is not an infringement at all. Vice versa! In America, when entering an Indian reservation, an announcement: “By crossing the red line, you agree to obey all decisions of the local tribal council!” If you look at a map of the United States, it is covered like a rash with reservation territories. It has its own laws. If, of course, God forbid, some complicated murder occurs, the investigation will be led by an FBI employee. But all the “everyday issues” are sorted out by local authorities. Of course, everyone is free to choose whether to live with their family or in another place.
- But what is this for? So that the Chukchi preserve their identity?
- First of all, to gain self-respect and survive. And then it is quite likely that the drunkenness to which nine-tenths of the Chukchi are subject will finally be put to an end.