View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Siberian Federal University Digital Repository Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 6 (2013 6) 925-939 ~ ~ ~ УДК 392 (571.512) Preservation and Transformation of Certain Aspects of the Traditional Way of Life of the Indigenous and Small-Numbered Peoples of the North, Living in the Settlements (Posyolki) of Turukhansk and Farkovo Kseniya V. Reznikova* Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041 Russia Received 18.11.2012, received in revised form 16.12.2012, accepted 18.02.2013 In July, 2010 the field research was conducted on the territory of Turukhansk district of Krasnoyarsk Krai by the postgraduate and undergraduate students of Siberian Federal University within the framework of realization of the project “Krasnoyarsk Krai as multicultural space, native land of the indigenous and small-numbered peoples of the North” and “Culture of the indigenous and small- numbered peoples of the North under conditions of global transformations”. The aim of the field research was to collect the material on the traditional culture of the indigenous small numbered peoples, living in settlements Turukhansk and Farkovo, in particular – the Selkups, the Kets and the Evenks. The tasks of the research included studying the peculiarities of modern conditions of housekeeping, material and spiritual culture, customs and ceremonies. The following methods were used: interrogations, observations, interviews, photographic fixation of material things, architecture, and photographs from family archives. Keywords: Turukhansky region, Indigenous peoples of the North, Evenks, Selkups, Kets, global transformations. The work was fulfilled within the framework of the research financed by the Krasnoyarsk Regional Foundation of Research and Technology Development Support and in accordance with the course schedule of Siberian Federal University as assigned by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. In the process of research two facts attracted living in comparatively better conditions, most the researchers’ attention. Firstly, different of the inhabitants of Turukhansk are ready to aspects of traditional way of life of the ISPN have leave for another place of residence with more different degrees of resistance to transformations. comfortable conditions of life. The inhabitants For example, traditional cuisine is preserved best of Farkovo, on the contrary, do not want to leave of all, at the same time traditional clothes are their traditional place of living. In this connection, practically not used in everyday life. Secondly, the present article consists of the two main parts: © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] – 925 – Kseniya V. Reznikova. Preservation and Transformation of Certain Aspects of the Traditional Way of Life… the first part is the study of the components of the the Kets. That is why the Kets speak more about way of life of the indigenous and small-numbered fish dishes than about meat dishes. Among the peoples, estimation of susceptibility to change; most wide-spread national dishes the Selkups the second part is a brief comparison of conditions name Sulkup bread, sun-cured Pacific salmon of life in in settlements Turukhansk and Farkovo, (jukola), horn and original sweets. The Selkup on the basis of which an attempt is made to bread was made in hot sand, which was dug explain the reasons for the attitudes, dominating up, a round cake was put into the sand and then among the inhabitants of the settlements: why the covered by sand. Originally, the dough was made inhabitants of Turukhansk are ready to leave their of flour and water, sometimes salt was added, place of residence, while the residents of Farkovo because it was difficult to get. In spring pike or do not want to leave their settlement. ide caviar was added to the dough to make it more nourishing. When the stores of flour ran out, the The degree of susceptibility to change Selkups took minced fish, which was always at of separate components hand, floured an even surface, put a flat cake from of the traditional way of life minced fish on it and left it for some time till the of the indigenous and small-numbered minced fish absorbed the flour, then turned the peoples of the North, living cake upside down and repeated the procedure. in settlements Turukhansk and Farkovo After that the cake was also roasted in hot sand, so Studying separate components of traditional they got fish-flour bread. When a lot of imported way of life of peoples, on the basis of research products appeared in the shops, the ingredients conducted in Khanty-Mansiysk region, for the dough for the Selkup bread changed, so, A.P. Zen’ko comes to a conclusion that language nowadays, besides water and flour, salt and soda and culture are lost most of all, while traditional are the obligatory components of the bread. occupations, such as fishing, hunting etc. are Among fish dishes horn and jukola are still very popular. V.P. Krivonogov noted in his works the most popular popular among the Selkups, it that national cuisine is the best preserved layer is also customary to roast fish on stick. Jukola is of indigenous culture. The research conducted dried fish. Originally it was prepared without salt, in summer 2010 confirmed this fact. While few because there was a shortage of salt. Nowadays, of the questioned representatives of the ISPN when the Selkups dry jukola, they use salt. Jukola expressed their interest to national folklore, was eaten on its own and was also used as an traditions and clothes, almost all of them could ingredient for other products. Well-dried jukola name one or more dishes of traditional cuisine, was ground into flour, which was mixed with jam most of the informants shared recipes. or powdered sugar to make sweets. When there was a deficit of sugar, to preserve berries, picked National cuisine in the forest, such as cloudberry, blueberry, Among the most often cooked dishes of the blackberry, the Selkups put them into vessels and Kets the following were named: fish on stick, covered them with animal fat, most often with fish soup, slices of frozen fish or meat, fish pie reindeer fat, thus, conserving the berries. Being (“isanyan’”: “is’”-fish, “njan’” bread), “ug” (meat conserved in this way the berries preserved their broth) and “sugudaj”. The most popular, though, original freshness, but some Selkups complained are fish dishes, especially after reindeer-breeding that it was impossible to remove all the fat and ceased to be one of the most important trades of it was unpleasant to eat berries with frozen fat. – 926 – Kseniya V. Reznikova. Preservation and Transformation of Certain Aspects of the Traditional Way of Life… According to the questioned Selkups, their thing was to know the dosage, because it is very previous name was “ostjaki-samoedy”, in fact, poisonous. This plant was used as a powerful it should have sounded as “syroedy”, because drug, shamans also used it. they ate products which were not cooked, for The preservation of folk medicine can be example jukola, sliced frozen fish or meat, berries explained by the fact that public health care is conserved in oil. not developed very well because of transport In general, a good degree of preservation inaccessibility. So, the local population has to use of ethnic cuisine can be observed, manifesting traditional medicines, but if there is possibility itself in 100% knowledge by adult population to avoid the most doubtful and dangerous (for of traditional recipes and ways of cooking of example, maromchanka, the dosage of which traditional dishes. But it should be noted that is extremely difficult to calculate) of traditional traditional cuisine underwent some changes, medicines, they are replaced by manufactured such as changes in recipes, for example, Selkup medicines. The trust of local people to traditional bread has now salt and soda, which simplify the medicines is based on their attitude to nature, process of cooking and improve the taste, salt is which is expressed by a formula: “If you are also added in the process of preparing jukola. honest with nature, it is honest with you too”, that is why vegetable and animal medicines, but not Folk-medicine manufactured ones, are most trusted. Folk medicine is preserved somewhat worse than national cuisine, but it still is used. Traditional occupations Nowadays, mostly herbal treatment is used: The traditional occupations of the ISPN, people gather medicinal herbs and either make living in Turukhansk and Farkovo, in particular herbal potion (nastoyka) or brew them. The Kets of the Selkups, the Kets and the Evenks, are say that if you have a cold you need to brew marsh hunting, fishing and reindeer breeding. While the cinquefoil and drink it with tea; stomach deceases first two are well developed nowadays, reindeer are cured by brewed tansy. To cure a furuncle the breeding ceased to exist in the named settlements Kets took brimstone or soft resin from a tree, put several decades ago – in the 1960-1970s when the it in the boil and covered with a birch tree leaf. last reindeer were killed. The Kets said that they A potion from nettle and plantain is used to cure mainly hunt fur-bearing animals and sell their a headache, dandelion juice – to cure mosquito skins in Turukhansk, but the prices, that second bites, birch tree shelf fungus –for strengthening hand dealers offer, are so low, that they have to of health and as diuretic etc. live from hand to mouth. They “do not live, they Both the Kets and the Selkups used survive”. Besides fur-bearing animals the Kets components of animal-origin as medicine. So, hunt geese, ducks and other wildfowl.