Baikal race
Settlement and population
Dynamics of changes in the population of Nganasans in Russia in the 20th century: - 867 people, - 748, - 953, - 867, - 1262, - 834, - 862.
The number of Nganasans in settlements in 2002:
Volochanka village 278
Ust-Avam settlement 244
Language and composition
Nganasans consist of two tribes - Avam (western, with centers in the villages of Ust-Avam and Volochanka) and Vadeev (eastern, with a center in the village of Novaya) Nganasans - and one clan (genus Oko (Dolgan) or Yarotsky Nganasans), not included in these tribes.
DNA
According to the Y-chromosome of DNA (transmitted through a direct male line), the real nomadic Nganasans (of which there are only about 100 people left) belong to 92% of the haplogroup N1b (“Samoyed”) and 5% to the haplogroup C. This is the highest figure among all peoples for haplogroup N1b. Thus, it can be said that the Nganasans are genetically the "most Samoyedic" people of all. In addition, this is one of the most homogeneous peoples of those studied by the DNA of the Y chromosome.
Story
In a relatively remote time (XVIII century), the forest-tundra strip from the river. Taz in the west and up to the river. The Lena to the east appears to have been occupied by tribes of wild reindeer hunters on foot. These tribes were not Samoyedic in language and culture, but were probably the western continuation of that people east of the Lena, from which, by the time the Russians arrived in the 18th century. Yukagirs were formed.
By the 18th century west of the Lena, these Paleo-Asiatics, who had a primitive and still Neolithic economy in terms of the technique of making tools for production, were already completely absorbed by the Samoyeds and Tungus. In the Pyasina river basin, for example, two small Samoyedic groups were formed in this way, known to Russians as the Kurak Samoyeds and the Pyasid Samoyeds.
However, in the interval between Lena and Khatanga, the Paleo-Asians were early influenced by the Tungus, and in the end they were assimilated by them only linguistically and pushed back partly to the very shore of the Laptev Sea, partly to the upper reaches of the river. Anabar and the middle reaches of Khatanga. At the same time, full-fledged assimilation did not occur, the Paleo-Asians fought with the Tungus for hunting places for wild deer, stole domestic deer and women from each other, etc., and, in addition, they received metal products and knowledge of reindeer breeding from the Tungus. Unlike the Samoyeds in the west, the Tungus did not develop a specialized tundra reindeer breeding system, therefore both the Tungus themselves and the Paleo-Asians remained small reindeer herders who did not know how to ride reindeer in sledges for a long time, using reindeer only for riding and transporting goods in packs.
To hunt wild deer, some of these Paleo-Asians penetrated deeper into Taimyr, where they met with the mentioned Kurak Samoyeds and Pyasid Samoyeds, and in the end were assimilated by these Samoyeds, forming tribes of tavgs and tidiris, met by Russians in the 17th century. During the 17th - the first half of the 18th centuries, the Tavgas, Tidiris, Kurak Samoyeds and Pyasid Samoyeds merge into one tribe of the Avam Nganasans. In this tribe, the descendants of the Tavgas, apparently, are the Chunanchera and Ninonde clans, the descendants of the Tidiris are the Linanchera clan, the Payasid Samoyeds are the Ngomde clan, and the Kurak Samoyeds are the Ngamtuso clan. This tribe got its name from r. Avam and Avam winter quarters, where they paid yasak.
The same Paleo-Asians who remained in the upper reaches of the Anabar and the middle reaches of the Khatanga (from Lake Essei in the center of their settlement) became known to Russians under the name of the Tungus Vanyadyrs, or Vanyads. During the first half of the 18th century, as a result of unsuccessful uprisings, hunger strikes, etc., this tribe disintegrated. Part of it went to the Tungus, part to the Yakuts who appeared in those places, and part went to Taimyr, settling east of the Avam Nganasans, and under their influence took shape as a tribe of the Vadeev (eastern) Nganasans.
- song tradition based on balls- songs-improvisations about anything. Almost every Nganasan has several personal balls. Songs for children ( n`uona balls) are created by parents for children, who, as they grow up, learn them and sing them as their own personalized songs. Lullabies ( l`andyrsipsa balls) are a family tradition and are passed down through the female line, as are cradle songs ( n`uo l`antery). Lyrical allegorical songs are popular among adults ( keyairsia ~ kainarue).
- epic tradition, expressed in poetic-singing contests-dialogues, in which sitabi are sung to the personal melodies of the main characters and are a kind of historical encyclopedia of Nganasan melodies.
- dance tradition. Circle dances are accompanied by throat wheezing on inhalation and exhalation ( narca kunta). In general, onomatopoeia of the voices of animals and birds occupy an important place and are included in the musical fabric of epic and lyrical melodies, the shamanic rite.
- The tradition of shamanic songs nada balls , whose melodies belong to various spirits ( d'amada) and alternate during many hours of ritual: the shaman sings, and one or more assistants sing along with him. Each shaman has ritual songs corresponding to the various stages of the rite: nabatachio balls- convocation of spirits; hositapsa balls- divination; nantami balls- appeal-request to the spirits. Shaman rites sound to the accompaniment of a tambourine ( hendir) or a staff with a bell ( boil). Sometimes the shaman's singing is accompanied by blows with a stick with vertebrae ( heta'a), which is usually used to strike the tambourine, but sometimes also as an independent rattle. Most rattle pendants on a shaman's costume and other attributes depict spirits ( bunk) and have the corresponding form: n`won- loons, cockers- crane, denkuika- swan, chedo- moons, etc.
- instrumental tradition: Rattles in the shape of a ring with stringed tubes ( d'aptudo) are sewn to children's clothes as a sound amulet. In an arc above the cradle ( captysi) scraped with a stick or a tube, calming the child and at the same time accompanying the lullaby. Hummer ( dick sleigh) and a rotating roll ( biahers), which are now known as children's toys, were ritual in the past.
Mythology
The main supernatural beings of the Nganasans are nguo , kocha , barusi , dyamady . The lower world, inhabited by the dead, is called Bodyrbomou(dead land). An ordinary person, having got alive in Bodyrbomou, becomes nguo for the dead.
Nguo
Nganasans who speak Russian well tend to translate the word "nguo" as "God", which is not entirely true. Literally "nguo" means "sky", with some Nguo living underground.
Nguo are usually mothers ( nyam) elements, natural phenomena, substances, animals, etc. So, known Mou yum(Earth mother), Bydy-nyam(Water mother), Tui-nyam(fire mother) Kou-yum(Sun mother) Kicheda-yum(moon mother) Syrada-nyam(underground ice mother), Ta-nyam(Deer mother), Nilu-nyam(Mother of life, she is the mother of Wild deer), etc. Of the male deities, the main thing is Deiba-nguo(Orphan god), chief patron of the Nganasans and their cultural hero. He is opposed by seven or nine sons of Syrad-nyama, who are called Syrada-nyantu(Underground ice guys).
We present to your attention a chapter from the book “From Mangazeya to Norilsk. 30 stories of the Arctic.
The publication was supported by PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel """, 2017.
It is even difficult to imagine that people still live in our country, whose direct ancestors in the 4th-3rd centuries BC (!) Already settled in modern Russia. Just think: at that time, the construction of the Great Wall of China had just begun, Rome was at war with Carthage, and Alexander the Great went to Persia! But this is true. The oldest of the indigenous peoples of Siberia to this day lives only in the east of Taimyr (on the territory of the Dolgano-Nenets municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory), and his name is Nganasans (nene "sa). Due to their isolation, they retained their unique culture and way of life for a very long time, which began to change only in Soviet times.
Nene'sa means "human". Nganasans are representatives of the Samoyeds, a group of peoples, which, in addition to them, includes the Nenets, Enets, and Selkups. These indigenous peoples of Siberia were previously called Samoyeds, but due to dissonance in the Russian language, the name was changed. Many of us are familiar with Samoyed dogs, aren't we? It was they who for a long time served as faithful companions of the mountain Samoyeds - the ancestors of the Nganasans, Enets and Nenets.
No one knows what made a small group of ancient Samoyeds leave the mountainous area at the sources of the Yenisei and Ob and go deep into Siberia, but one way or another, approximately by the end of the first millennium of our era, the ancestors of the Nganasans settled the tundra. DNA analysis confirmed that they are “the most Samoyedic” and the most genetically homogeneous representatives of the indigenous population of Siberia.
ARGISH GOES TO THE SKY
The Nganasan tribes traditionally lived in tents - cone-shaped huts. In summer they were covered with reindeer skins (nyuks) in one layer, and in winter in two layers so that a hole remained at the top of the dwelling - a chimney. Under it, exactly in the center of the plague, there was a hearth. For a long time, such a hut was the only dwelling of the Nganasans. But in the 20th century, they adopted from the Dolgans the technology of building beams - houses on skids, shaped like a small rectangular trailer. This mobile dwelling was heated with an iron stove, and thanks to the deer skins with which the trailer was upholstered, the heat was securely kept inside. Since then, in the summer, the Nganasans lived in tents, and in the winter, when it was convenient to move around in the snow, they lived in beams.
Roamed in a caravan - argish. The sledges were linked together and driven by the driver of the lead sled. Women's sledges decorated with colored skins were placed immediately behind the driver's wagon. They were followed by all the valuables on cargo sleighs, followed by sleds with groceries. The last sleds, to which dogs were tied, were loaded with skins for tents, boilers, and dishes.
The movements of the Nganasans across the tundra were very dependent on domestic reindeer, which were used in the argish. At the end of spring, calves began to appear, which significantly limited the speed of the caravan. At the same time, one should not forget about the dangers that the tundra is fraught with, ranging from wolves that can bully a deer to blizzards with hurricane winds.
In the summer, when it became impossible to move in a sleigh because of the melted snow and mud, all the large beams and sleds with things were left in a more or less dry place, reliably sheltered from moisture by old smoky nukes. To protect the runners from rotting in wet soil, poles were placed under the sledges and sleds. Things were tied up and fastened with deerskin straps. Large, bulky cooking cauldrons were turned upside down and placed under high cargo sleds. They took with them only the essentials on a light sled.
Before the departure of the argish, there was a kind of farewell ceremony, which would even seem funny to a person from the mainland. Women approached their sledges and hit them with a stick, saying that things should not be angry with the housewives for leaving them, and promised to return with gifts - pieces of deer fat. It would seem, how will this protect against a bear who decides to ruin things left in the tundra? But the Nganasans believed that it was thanks to such conspiracies that the Argish would find his belongings intact upon his return, and calmly continued on their way through the thawing Arctic.
THE FEMALE PARTITION AND THE BIRD-SOUL OF THE CHILD
In the past, nomadic women had far fewer rights than men. Although this is even putting it mildly: they were not considered people at all! There were many rules according to which a woman had to move in the plague. For example, it was impossible to step over a fire, the legs of sleeping people or things scattered on the floor. Touching a weapon, stepping on the blood of a deer and sleeping on a deer skin was also forbidden - this could lead to an unsuccessful hunt. And it may seem especially wild to forbid a woman to cross the path of an argish if he passed between her and her chum. Then she must walk up to ten kilometers in order to bypass it and still get home. A woman in labor was considered unclean - she was placed in a separate tent, and after giving birth she had to undergo a rite of purification. In order to transport a woman from one side of the river to the other (she was simply strictly forbidden to swim in a boat), the Nganasans tied two boats together, covered them with boards, and only in this way transported the beautiful half of the family across the water.
But no matter how creepy it all may sound, it cannot be said that women were mistreated. Moreover, men could even perform traditional women's work if it was required for the benefit of the tribe. For example, to collect fuel for a fire, put plagues, pluck geese. Nevertheless, the "woman" was clearly considered a being more stupid and unable to say something sensible. This, in particular, is described in the book “My Friends Nganasans” by Amalia Khazanovich, who in the thirty-seventh-thirty-eighth years of the last century wandered with one of the reindeer herding families, teaching them to read and write and the new laws of the young state. The Soviet government tried to fight the prejudices and ambiguous customs of the small peoples of the North, but much of this legacy of the dark times has not been completely eliminated even today, although in the 21st century and today's nomads use tablets, computers and mobile communications.
But back to the past. Nganasans could enter into marriage when the girl was able to chop wood, like a real keeper of the hearth, and the young man was able to hunt a wild deer. Of course, no one was interested in the opinion of the spouses, because the groom's father chose the bride, consulting with relatives. Divorce was not a problem if the wife was convicted of infidelity or did not give birth to children. A pregnant woman every morning and every evening asked the Moon for a successful birth, as it was believed that it was she who was responsible for the health of the mother and the unborn child. If the newborn seemed like someone from distant relatives, then the parents believed that the child was the rebirth of an ancestor.
Nganasans treated children with great love, never scolded or raised a hand against them. The name of the child was most often given by the grandmother or, in an exceptional case, the shaman of the tribe, based on some prominent signs or features of the newborn. Sometimes the baby got a name due to the situation in which he was born, for example, Dyamaku is a bird, which means that on the day the girl appeared, many birds flocked. Children were taught at home, surrounded by peers, and only the simplest, most practical things (adults were not literate either). Only from the middle of the last century they began to go to boarding schools without fail, to receive a normal secondary education. But this has also become one of the reasons for the distance of young people from the culture of their ancestors.
The Nganasans believed that the souls of small children are light, able to fly like birds. Therefore, if, God forbid, the child died, they buried him in a special way - on a tree. They knocked together a box-coffin and strengthened it among the branches - the higher, the better. From there, it will be faster and easier for the child's soul to ascend to the happy upper world, to heaven. Such graves are found in Taimyr even now - there are no special local cemeteries near the Nganasans ...
TAI MIRE - LAND OF DEER TRAILS
The most important role in the life of the Nganasans, of course, was played by deer. Food, clothing, the route of the argish, warmth in the plague, the favor of the gods depended on them. In Taimyr, the reindeer population is the largest in the world, but now it is endangered due to poaching, environmental degradation from construction and production.
In addition to reindeer herding, the Nganasans are engaged in fishing, hunting for wild deer and fur trade. For the sake of skins, foxes and rabbits are hunted. At first, either wooden traps (they are called mouths) or iron traps are placed. They are placed deep in the tundra, and at least four times during the winter the owner goes to check them so that the arctic fox is not eaten by his brothers or wolves.
But the best season for hunting wild reindeer is autumn, when more than a million animals, following their instinct, migrate south to the taiga and forest tundra to survive the harsh winter there. Unlike other ungulates, reindeer do not move in large herds, but in small groups or even singly, which makes it easier to hunt them. But in addition to people who want to profit from horns legally or illegally, animals are threatened by many more dangers - for example, wolves, which can chase deer for a very long time, waiting for them to get tired or lose their vigilance.
POLAR CUISINE
Due to similar natural conditions and lifestyles, the cuisine of different peoples of the North is very similar. Independently of each other, for centuries they fished, hunted deer, rabbits, arctic foxes and birds, and thanks to this they were able to feed themselves.
Many people underestimate the cooking of the indigenous northern tribes, because the housewives are limited in ingredients, they do not have the dishes we are used to, and the use of fire is also accompanied by some difficulties. Nevertheless, there is much to admire here. Only the deer was used by the Nganasans for food almost completely, right up to the stomach! The meat was eaten raw, and dried, and boiled, and frozen to obtain stroganina. Fat was evaporated from the bones, and the deer's blood was frozen separately for future use. By the way, then it, mixed with fresh milk, was considered a particularly delicious treat. This is where the famous expression “blood with milk” came from, because a person who eats this delicacy did not get sick with anything! Fat was also stored separately, in a calf skin or deer stomach that was removed especially for this purpose.
The fish was also used in different ways. It was dried in much the same way as venison, then smoked in the plague and received yukola. From this yukola it was possible to make fishmeal, mix with fish oil, roll into balls, freeze. Nutritious food is obtained by combining crushed caviar and crushed yukola. The dish is called - do not believe it! - pusher and, as they say, has incredible taste.
In addition to meat and fish, Nganasans use northern herbs and berries in their diet. They are mixed with melted fat, frozen for future use or used in direct cooking. However, seasonings for meat, so familiar in our cuisine, are not honored here, with the exception of salt, which is an indispensable thing in the household. But even it can sometimes spoil the true taste, as, for example, in the case of raw fresh meat.
Of the imported products, the Nganasans quickly mastered tobacco and tea. Everyone smokes their pipes - both men and women, this is one of their favorite pastimes in moments of relaxation. Bread was considered a delicacy for a long time, and when the nomads began to bake cakes themselves, they began to add caviar along with flour. Resourceful Nganasans cut the cakes as thin as a thread with a deer tendon, which passed through a thick dough like a wire through a piece of butter.
COSTUME OF THE SACRED LOON
The colors of the Nganasan folk costumes - black, white, red - correspond to the colors of the plumage of the loon, their sacred bird, the mythical ancestor. Therefore, the approach to clothing of this people is very serious and thorough.
It would seem that there could be something special in the park (the so-called warm outerwear with a hood) made of deer skins? Believe me - everything! For many centuries, nomadic women, while men hunted, sewed clothes for the whole family using the same complex technology. Skinning a deer correctly is already an art, and you need it from different parts of the body and different colors for each part of the pattern. Moreover, the skin must necessarily be from deer of different ages and removed from them at different times of the year. It was also made in a special way with a unique tool that had not changed for many years. The parka was sewn together with threads from the veins and neck hair of a deer, which, of course, must also be obtained and processed before that. Special attention was paid to the decoration of a tailored jacket, since much could be learned about its owner from the patterns and leather straps. Women's and men's clothes were decorated differently, and each color, each pattern had its own meaning.
Now imagine: each member of the family had five mandatory parks (holiday, winter, summer, everyday and even funeral). Nganasans could have up to ten children. In total, through simple mathematical calculations, it turns out that the Nganasan craftswoman had to make about sixty parkas for her family alone! And since the quality of sewn clothes is a guarantee of a nomad’s health, it is no wonder that a woman who made a parka especially well was married in priority.
MIKOLKA-GOD AND ALL-ALL-ALL
The Nganasan religion to this day is a kind of mixture of animism (endowing things with a soul), shamanism, Christianity and the cult of mothers of nature. The main traditional religion for a long time was shamanism, and shamans, respectively, are the most important people in the tribe. They were approached for advice, with requests for the treatment of diseases. As an intermediary between spirits and people, the shaman was responsible for a successful hunt, suggested the places of deer migration, and calmed the storm. It was impossible to imagine life in the North without a shaman. In argish, by the way, there were always so-called shaitans - sledges with domestic shrines. Only a shaman was allowed to disturb the spirits in an exceptional case, and a deer was sacrificed as an apology for this. Shaitans were inherited and jealously protected from prying eyes.
The Nganasan gods live under the earth (male) and in the sky (female) and are denoted by one word - nguo. According to some beliefs, the Nguo of heaven and the underworld are in a group marriage, and depending on which of the underground gods is currently with the heavenly mothers, this is how nature will change for better or worse. During life, almost every natural phenomenon Nganasans explain by the will of the nyama - the mothers of the Sun, Fire, Water, Tree, and so on, and after death they are taken away by underground nguo.
The beliefs of the nomads are reflected in their folklore. Fairy tales can be considered a kind of encyclopedia, from where you can find out how the Sun and the Moon appeared, why the fox has white fur on its chest and who brings warm weather to the earth.
Christianity had a rather peculiar influence on the worldview of the Nganasans. It can be said that after baptism, their beliefs were simply replenished with several new gods, but the old ones did not disappear. So, for example, along with nguo in the Nganasan pantheon there is Mikolka the god - Nicholas the Wonderworker and Lesa-ngo - Jesus Christ, the Russian god.
For several decades, great shamans have not been born in Taimyr. The descendants of those who talk with the spirits are trying their best to preserve the heritage of their ancestors, but every year it is getting harder. Less than a thousand Nganasans now live in the north of our country. Thanks to progress, almost limitless opportunities open up for the youth of the indigenous peoples of the peninsula, and, unfortunately, few people today are interested in the past of their kind. The last keepers of the ancient culture of the "most Samoyedic" tribe believe that the time has come for their people to go to the Valley of the Dead and pray there for the revival of the shamanic dynasty.
Cover photo: Sergey Gorshkov
Text: Daria Zelenskaya
Illustrations: Evgenia Minaeva
Nganasany, nya (self-name - "man"), in pre-revolutionary literature - Avam Samoyeds, Vadeevsky Samoyeds, Asi Samoyeds, Tavgian Samoyeds, a people in Russia living in the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenetsky) Autonomous Okrug of the Krasnoyarsk Territory of the Russian Federation. Settled in two groups: in the Khatanga region (Vadey Nganasans) and on the territory of the Dudinsk City Council (Avam Nganasans). The total number of 1278 people. Related peoples: Nenets, Enets, Selkups. They speak the Nganasan (Tavgian) language of the Samoyed group of the Ural family; has Avamsky and Vadeevsky dialects. The Russian language is also widespread.
Nganasans were formed in the 1st millennium of our era in the process of advancing Samoyed ethnic components to Taimyr, who assimilated natives - wild reindeer hunters. Later, separate groups of Evenks and Dolgans became part of the Nganasans.
The main traditional occupation is hunting for wild deer (with the help of paddocks and on river crossings), waterfowl (mainly goose), to a lesser extent - fur hunting and fishing in open water. Since the second half of the 19th century, domestic reindeer breeding began to develop intensively.
At present, the main occupations of the Nganasans are the seasonal shooting of wild deer and fur hunting.
The Nganasans led a nomadic lifestyle. The main dwelling is a tent, similar in design to the Nenets.
The lower clothes were sewn from rovduga, the outer winter clothes (parka) - from deer skins, of a deaf cut with a hood for men and a hinged one with a hood-shaped hat for women. Shoes made of deer skins with fur stockings had no rise.
Food - deer meat and fish.
Divided into several genera. Relationship counting is bilateral.
Traditional beliefs - animism, fishing cult, shamanism, etc., are characteristic of the cult of mothers of nature.
V. I. Vasiliev
Peoples and religions of the world. Encyclopedia. M., 2000, p. 368-369.
Nganasany
Auto-ethnonym (self-name)
nene'sa: Self-name n I - "comrade". The ethnonym comes from n e n e's a - "man". The northernmost people of Russia.
Main settlement area
The ethnic territory is part of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug.
population
Census numbers: 1897 - 838, 1926 - 887, 1959 - 748, 1970 953 (somewhat overestimated), 1979 - 867, 1989 - 1278.
Ethnic and ethnographic groups
According to the territory of residence and a number of cultural features, they are divided into Avam (Western) and Vadeev (Eastern).
Anthropological characteristics
In the anthropological classification, the position of the Nganasans is not clearly defined. They are included in the composition of the Siberian Mongoloids, but are assessed as a "separate population" that, along with the Dolgans, retained the features of the Paleo-Siberian complex, gravitating towards the Baikal group of populations.
Language
Nganasan: The Nganasan language is part of the Samoyedic group of the Uralic language family. Of the neighboring peoples, linguistic ties can be traced primarily with the Selkups in the general layer of non-Samoyedic vocabulary.
writing
The language is unwritten.
Religion
Orthodoxy: Orthodox. The influence of Christianity, in the general process of integrating the population of Taimyr into the Russian state, manifests itself quite clearly in the 18th century. Subsequently, there has been a restoration of the traditional worldview system. At the initial stage, Christianization was more intense and had a greater influence on the spiritual culture of the Nganasans. At this time, a number of churches were being built in the north of the Turukhansk region (Dudinskaya Vvedenskaya, Khatangskaya Epiphany, etc.), in which priests constantly lived, who were engaged not only in missionary, but also in educational activities. By the middle of the nineteenth century. there is a reduction in the number of clergy and, accordingly, missionary activity. Until 1824, all the churches of the Turukhansk region belonged to the Tobolsk, then Irkutsk, and from 1834 to the Tomsk dioceses. By this time, about 10% of the Nganasans had been baptized. In 1861, the Yenisei diocese was formed, but the results of its activities, in terms of strengthening the processes of Christianization, were ineffective. And by the beginning of the twentieth century. Nganasans were considered pagans.
The state of the Nganasan religion during this period and up to the present can be assessed as syncretic. Along with the characters of mothers of nature, lesa ngo = Russian god, Mikolka-god (St. Nicholas) appears, icons are associated with images of their cult objects - a bed, after baptism, the Nganasans did not abandon the traditional worldview system. It was she who "had a dominant value in the almost complete absence of traces of the Christian cult."
Ethnogenesis and ethnic history
The outlying location of the Nganasan ethnic territory, in relation to other Samoyed peoples, influenced their ethnogenesis and ethnic history. The Taimyr Peninsula, judging by the data of archeology, began to be mastered by man in the Mesolithic era (V millennium BC) from the east, from Prilenye. Cultural ties with this territory are preserved in later historical periods. The West Siberian influence on the ancient population of Taimyr begins to be recorded in 111 thousand BC. Thus, Taimyr was the territory where the interaction of West and East Siberian cultures took place, preceding the appearance of the Samoyeds here. Samoyedization of the ancient population of Taimyr begins from the territory of the lower reaches of the Yenisei, presumably from the turn of the 1st - 2nd millennium AD, but the formation of modern Nganasans took place later, during the period of the appearance of Russians in Siberia, which was reflected in written sources. In the modern tribal composition of the Nganasan, along with the Paleo-Asiatic (Yukaghir) component, which to a large extent determined the ethnic specificity of their culture, anthropological appearance and language, there are also Tungus features.
economy
Until recently, the Nganasans preserved the traditions of the ancient economic and cultural type of hunters for wild deer, which was based on the seasonal hunting of wild deer, fishing and bird hunting, a semi-sedentary way of life, a mobile and stationary dwelling, and a clothing complex specific to the Nganasans. During the 19th century Nganasans have mastered specialized large-scale reindeer husbandry and the life support system associated with it. In their culture, a nomadic way of life, Samoyedic transport, clothing, etc. are spreading. At the same time, numerous remnants of the ancient pre-reindeer herding tradition are preserved in the Nganasan culture, which determines their ethnic specificity.
Traditional settlements and dwellings
The camps of the Ngagasans were organized like those of other tundra reindeer herders - they consisted of 3-4 dwellings. In the past, the main dwelling of the Nganasans was the chum, later regional types of dwellings - golomo and beams - became widespread among them.
The Nganasan tent belongs to the Samoyed type, but differs from the Nenets in the structure of the base. These are two poles, at the top of one of which there are several holes, where the top of the second pole was inserted, which allows you to adjust the diameter of the base (up to 9 m) and the height of the plague. Chum is covered with reindeer skin tires. Winter tires are double, summer tires are single. In the center of the tent, on a metal sheet, there was a hearth-bonfire, over which boilers and teapots were hung on a special over-fire device similar to the device of the Nenets tent. One of the main poles of the plague - simka, was considered sacred. The floor is boarded. Sleeping places were located to the right and left of the hearth. These are deer skins that were placed on mats. Chum was transported on reindeer sleds.
The winter dwelling of the Nganasan is the golomo. This is a pyramidal dwelling, the frame of which is made up of 4 inclined poles. The walls and roof were made of boards and boards and covered with turf on top.
In the 20th century, a winter mobile dwelling - beams - became widespread in Taimyr. Beam is a small frame house (4x7x2) covered with reindeer skins on sleds. The floor was made of boards, there were small windows in the walls. The beams are heated with an iron stove.
Bibliography and sources
General works
- Nganasany. SPb., 2000./Khomich L.V.
Selected aspects
- The traditional worldview of Taimyr hunters (on the materials of the Nganasans of the 19th - early 20th centuries). L., 1983; / Gracheva G.N.
- Mobile dwelling of reindeer herders in the North of Western and Middle Siberia // Monuments of material culture of the peoples of Siberia. SPb., 1995./Gracheva G.N.
- On the issue of the influence of Christianization on the religious ideas of Nganasans // Christianity and Lamaism among the indigenous population of Siberia (the second half of the 19th-20th centuries). L., 1979. S. 29-49./Gracheva G.N.
- Nganasany. material culture. M., L., 1948./Popov A.A.
- Nganasany. Social structure and beliefs. L., 1984./Popov A.A.
Nganasans nganasans
(self-name - nya), people in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Russia). The number of 1.3 thousand people (1995). Nganasan language. Believers are Orthodox, some adhere to traditional beliefs.
NGANASANNGANASAN, the people of the Russian Federation, live in the Taimyr district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Number in the Russian Federation - 834 people (2002). The Nganasan language belongs to the Samoyedic languages of the Uralic family of languages; Avamsky and Vadeevsky dialects are distinguished. Believers are Orthodox, some adhere to traditional animist beliefs.
This is the northernmost people of Russia, living in the Taimyr tundra, north of the 72nd parallel. Nganasans are subdivided into western or Avam Nganasans, with centers in the settlements of Ust-Avam and Volochanka, and eastern or Vadeevsky, with a center in the Novaya settlement. Previously, the Nganasans were called Tavgians, Samoyeds-Tavgians. belongs to the Samoyedic languages. The ethnonym "Nganasans" was introduced in the 1930s and formed from the word "Nganasa" "man, man", self-name - nya (comrade). The Nganasans formed on the basis of the ancient Paleo-Asiatic population of Taimyr, Neolithic hunters of wild reindeer, mixed with the newcomer Samoyeds and Tungus tribes.
The main traditional occupations are hunting, reindeer herding, and fishing. Economic activity was seasonal. During the breeding of offspring by animals, hunting was regulated by custom (karsu), it was forbidden to kill female animals and birds during pregnancy and nursing cubs. The main hunting tool was a spear (fonka), a bow (dinta) with arrows (budi), a knife (kyuma), and since the 19th century, firearms have become widespread. Fish were caught with nets (kol bugur), iron hooks (batu), bone knitting needles (fedir). Reindeer breeding pursued transport purposes, and was subordinated to the main occupation - hunting for wild deer. To accustom animals to ride began in the third year of life.
The camps of the Nganasans were located on low hills, below, between the hills, deer were kept. In autumn, dwellings were arranged near the rivers so that hunters in the dark could return from fishing along the riverbed. The traditional dwelling is a conical tent (ma), which is similar in design to the Nenets tent. Its size depended on the number of residents (usually from one to five families) and ranged on average from 3 to 9 m in diameter. Since the 1930s, a beam has appeared - a rectangular cart on runners with a frame covered with reindeer skins or tarpaulins.
Traditional clothes were made from reindeer skins. Clothes were decorated with applications in the form of geometric ornaments (muli), which determined which social or age group the wearer belongs to. Reindeer meat was the main food. All parts of the carcass were eaten, not excluding the fetal and stomach contents (taiba). In summer and autumn, women prepared meat for future use. Unleavened cakes made from purchased flour (kiriba) were considered a delicacy. Among the favorite dishes were: chirima kiriba - cakes made from flour with caviar and chirime dir - lard boiled with caviar. Of the imported products, the Nganasans used tea and tobacco.
The Avam Nganasans were divided into five patrilineal clans, the Vadeev - into six. At the head of the clan were the elders - "princes". They represented their clan before the Russian administration, collected yasak, and held court. Among members of the clan and between friendly clans, the custom of mutual assistance was widespread. Disabled members of an impoverished family were fed to wealthy neighbors.
Places of traditional nomadism were assigned to groups of six or seven related families and were considered the property of the clan. The boundaries of these territories were carefully observed. Marriages between relatives on both lines were forbidden up to the third generation. The payment of bride price or working off for the bride was obligatory. Levirate was widespread, and cases of polygamy were rare and were found among wealthy people.
Nganasans believed in supernatural beings nguo - good spirits of natural phenomena (sky, sun, earth). They also included kocha - the spirits of diseases, dyamady - spirit helpers of shamans, barusi - one-armed and one-eyed monsters. All phenomena were considered to be the offspring of Mother Earth (Mow-nemy), Mother of the Sun (Kow-nemy), Mother of Fire (Tuy-nemy), Mother of Water (Byzy-nemy), Mother of Tree (Hua-nemy). Tribal and family patrons (koika) were also revered - in the form of stones, rocks, trees, anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figures.
The decorative art of Nganasan is represented by engraving on mammoth ivory, inlay and stamping on metal, leather dyeing and patterned sewing with reindeer hair. Nganasan folklore has been studied since the late 1920s. In epic rhythmic tales (sittabs), singer-storytellers sang the feats of heroes.
Mythological legends set forth myths about the creation of the world, which arose at the behest of the "Mother of all that has eyes" and the god of the earth Syruta-ngu, whose son, the Deer-Man, became the first inhabitant of the earth and the patron of people. The music has been preserved in the most ancient forms of folklore music-making and is genetically related to the music of the Nenets, Enets and Selkups. Her genres are represented by song, epic, shamanic, dance and instrumental traditions.
encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .
See what "nganasans" are in other dictionaries:
Self-name nya, nya ... Wikipedia
- (self-name nya, Samoyeds Tavgians) a people with a total number of 1278 people living on the territory of the Russian Federation. Nganasan language. Religious affiliation of believers: Orthodox, part of traditional beliefs ... Modern Encyclopedia
- (self-name nya) people in the Krasnoyarsk kr. (Russian Federation). 1.3 thousand people (1992). Nganasan language. Orthodox believers, some adhere to traditional beliefs ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (self-designation nya), people in the Russian Federation, in the Taimyr (Dolgano Nenets) Autonomous Okrug, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (1.3 thousand people). The Ngana San language is a Samoyedic group of the Uralic languages. Orthodox believers, some adhere to ... ... Russian history
Nganasany- (self-name nya, Samoyeds Tavgians) a people with a total number of 1278 people living on the territory of the Russian Federation. Nganasan language. Religious affiliation of believers: Orthodox, part of traditional beliefs. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (self-name nya, former names Tavgians, Samoyeds Tavgians) a people living in the Taimyr (Dolgano Nenets) National District of the Krasnoyarsk Territory of the RSFSR. The number of about 1 thousand people. (1970, census). N. language (see Nganasan ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
general information
The Nganasans are an indigenous people in the north of the Taimyr Peninsula in the Russian Federation. Self-name - nya. Nganasans correlate it with the Russian word "comrade". The old name is Samoyeds-Tavgians. The ethnonym "Nganasans", according to a number of researchers, is formed from nene sa ("man"). According to the place of residence, some differences in culture and language, the Nganasans are divided into western (Avam) and eastern (Vadeev). Their neighbors in the west are the Enets and Nenets, in the east and southeast - the Dolgans and Yakuts. The Nganasans are the northernmost people on the Eurasian continent.
They speak the Nganasan language, which belongs to the northern branch of the Samoyedic group of the Uralic languages. The Avam and Vadeev dialects are distinguished in the language. Vadeev Nganasans speak Dolgan. The Russian language is widely spoken throughout.
Modern Nganasans are the descendants of the northernmost population of the Eurasian tundra - Neolithic hunters of wild deer. Initially, they lived in the basin of the middle and lower Lena, from where they penetrated to Taimyr 6 thousand years ago, where they formed by the end of the 17th century as a separate ethnic group. It included various tribal groups (Tavgi, Pyasinskaya Samoyed, Kuraki, etc.) of pro-Yukagir, Tungus and Samoyed origin. The features of the ancient foot tundra hunters (stalking and deer hunting from boats at the crossings) in the Nganasan culture are much more pronounced than among the Enets closest to them. In the process of consolidation of the Nganasan ethnos, foot tundra hunters adopted the Samoyed type of large-scale reindeer herding, and by the middle of the 19th century, the Nganasans were considered traditional reindeer herders.
Number and territory of settlement
According to the 1989 census, there were 1,278 Nganasans in the USSR. Almost all of them were recorded in the Russian Federation. Of this number, about 900 people live in the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug, the rest live outside it in various regions and regions of the Russian Federation. The main part of the Nganasan is concentrated in the central and southeastern part of the Taimyr Peninsula within the administrative boundaries of the Dudinsk and Khatang regions. At present, the western (Avam-sky) Nganasans are concentrated in the settlements of Ust-Avam and Volochanka in the Dudinsky district, the eastern (Vadeevsky) - in the village. New Khatanga region. Everywhere they live together with representatives of various nationalities, but mainly with Dolgans, Enets and Russians.
According to the 2002 census, the number of Nganasans was 834 people.
Lifestyle and life support system
Until the 70s, the basis of the traditional Nganasan economy was nomadic reindeer husbandry, which developed within the framework of collective farm and state farm production. Ancillary industries were fur trade, hunting for wild deer and fishing. By the end of the 70s. Due to the large increase in the population of the Taimyr wild deer, domestic reindeer breeding of the Avam Nganasan group practically ceased to exist. Domestic reindeer breeding has also been greatly reduced among the Vadeev Nganasans. The main branch of the economy was the autumn hunting of wild deer on the rivers during its migration to the south, as well as fur hunting and fishing. The existing type of economy is preserved today. Men in the hunting brigades of the Taimyrsky state industrial farm, the Volochansky and Ary-Mas state farms are engaged in fishing, women work in the village workshops for the manufacture of fur clothes, souvenirs at the blue fox fur farm.
In the 1990s, in connection with the transition to a market economy, the Nganasans faced a set of new complex problems. In the context of the economic crisis, the central and southeastern part of Taimyr is not of economic interest to the state. In fact, the state supply of farms with fuels and lubricants and fishing equipment has ceased. The administration of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug does not provide effective assistance to farms either. The sale of hunting products has become a serious problem. It is bought up for a pittance mainly by local merchants, making a lot of money on it. The very way of life of the commercial population has changed. Before that, fishermen and hunters spent most of the year at fishing points. Now this has become impossible due to fuel shortages and its exorbitant cost. Hunting areas are inhabited only at the height of the hunting season and, as a rule, no further than 100-120 km. from housing. The rest of the time people spend in villages where there is no work.
Ethno-social setting
The forced change in the way of life of the Nganasans seriously complicates the moral and psychological climate in the settlements. People strive to return to their former tundra life, but it is impossible to do this for economic reasons. All this creates a mood of hopelessness, abandoned to the mercy of fate. Hence the growth of alcoholism, the decline of morals, the growth of crime. According to the Nganasans themselves, relations with their closest neighbors, the Dolgans, escalated. The Nganasans explain the situation this way: “Blood is different. We communicate only with each other. We have a drunken fight."
For the most part, market relations are alien to the Nganasans. However, market reforms still make themselves felt. Social differentiation is growing among the Nganasans. A small layer of prosperous fishermen emerged. One of these lucky hunters commented on the situation: “Over the past 10 years, the situation in the village has worsened, while mine, on the contrary, has improved.” Indeed, most of the inhabitants in the villages have slid to the threshold of extreme poverty. Unemployment in the settlements is especially detrimental to young people who have lost the skills of fishing activities. According to one of the respondents, "now many people live like this: the old people received a pension, and they drank it away."
Ethno-cultural situation
The peculiarities of the settlement and economic activity of the Nganasans contributed to the good preservation of the traditional culture for many years. Many of its elements (food, clothing, vehicles, traditional worldview, calendar and family rituals, etc.) are preserved today, acquiring new forms of manifestation. So, for example, the ritual holiday “Pure Chum”, traditional for the Nganasans, which was usually held when the sun appeared after the polar night, has now turned into a spring folklore festival. Persistently preserved, and not only among the elderly, feeding fire and family heirlooms. In family education, traditional fairy tales about animals are widely used, explaining their origin, characteristics and habits. Family shamanism has not completely disappeared either.
According to the All-Union Census of 1989, more than 90% of Nganasans named the Nganasan language as their native language. This is one of the highest rates among the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East. True, researchers working among the Nganasans treat this figure with great skepticism. According to field research by linguists, no more than 50% of Nganasans speak their native language. In the 1930s, the Nganasan language was considered as a dialect of the Nenets. For this reason, writing was not created on it. The alphabet of the Nganasan language was developed only in 1986. At present, the first Nganasan primer is being published. As an academic subject, the Nganasan language, if there are students, is taught at the Russian State Pedagogical University. Herzen. However, life in ethnically mixed villages, where Russian has become the everyday language, makes the revival of the native language very problematic even if it is successfully taught in schools.
Bodies of management and self-government
The structure of the Administration of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) District of the Krasnoyarsk Territory has a Department for the Affairs of Indigenous Peoples of the North, which deals with the problems of the indigenous population, including the Nganasans. Their representatives work in the district and rural administrations. The functions of self-government bodies among the peoples of Taimyr are currently performed by the district and district associations of indigenous peoples of the North, created in the 90s. However, the Nganasans are poorly informed about their work, and the work of these associations has not been particularly active until recently. It is noted that the Nganasans have no interest in political issues, ignorance of their rights and the laws of the Russian Federation on the indigenous peoples of the North.
Legal documents and laws
In the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug, where the majority of Nganasans live, special legislative acts dedicated to the indigenous peoples of the North have begun to be developed and adopted only in recent years. The only legal document in this regard for many years was the Charter (Basic Law) of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug. The charter guaranteed free medical care to small peoples, the creation of territorial public self-government bodies (Community Councils, Councils of Elders, etc.), the allocation of territories for traditional nature management, financial support through the formation of appropriate funds from the district and local budgets, assistance in the development of traditional sectors of the economy, training national personnel, etc.
On January 1, 2007, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenetsky) Autonomous Okrug and the Evenk Autonomous Okrug merged into a new subject of the Russian Federation - the Krasnoyarsk Territory within the borders of the three previously existing subjects, the Autonomous Okrugs became part of the Territory as Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenetsky) and Evenki districts.
Normative legal acts dedicated to indigenous peoples, adopted before the unification and retaining their force in the respective territories:
Law of the TAO dated April 29, 2003 No. 184-OKZ “On Guarantees of the Fundamental Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug”;
Law of the Krasnoyarsk Territory dated July 1, 2003 No. 7-1215 “Basics of Legal Guarantees for Indigenous Peoples of the North of the Krasnoyarsk Territory”;
Law of the TAO dated 06.07.03 No. 187-OKZ “On Traditional Types of Economic Management of Indigenous Peoples of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug”;
Law of the Krasnoyarsk Territory dated July 6, 2004 No. 11-2212 “On state support for traditional economic sectors and crafts of the indigenous peoples of the North of the Krasnoyarsk Territory”;
Law of the TAO dated 04.01.03 No. 158-OKZ “On reindeer breeding”;
Law of the TAO dated November 29, 2004 No. 317-OKZ “On folk art crafts of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous District”;
Law of the TAO dated April 29, 2003 No. 183-OKZ “On the languages of the indigenous peoples of the North living in the territory of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug”.
Contemporary environmental issues
The territory of predominant settlement and economic activity of Nganasans is almost not affected by intensive industrial construction. The negative environmental impact of the Norilsk industrial complex, according to the indigenous people themselves, is almost not felt. A part of the Nganasans are concerned about another problem. The isolation of the Nganasan settlements from the district and regional centers in the context of market reforms led to a weakening of administrative control over fishing activities, a significant increase in poaching. “We didn’t shoot like that before,” many Nganasans say, “no one restricts anything and no one encourages anything, everything is done quietly.”
Prospects for the preservation of the Nganasan as an ethnic group
Despite their small numbers, difficult socio-economic situation, growing contacts with the newcomer population and neighboring, as a rule, more numerous peoples, the Nganasans are fully preserved as an independent people, they almost do not undergo assimilation, they use their language quite widely, and steadfastly preserve their ethnic identity. self-consciousness, traditional economy and many features of material and spiritual culture. All this allows us to talk about the future of Nganasans with a certain degree of optimism.
