Chukchi - interesting facts, customs, holidays. How modern Chukchi live (29 photos)

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.

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 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.

You, of course, have heard jokes about the Chukchi. This is not a question - it is a statement. And you've probably told similar jokes to others. The Chukchi themselves, having listened to you, might have laughed: they loved to make fun of themselves. But most likely you would have been killed. At the same time, most modern weapons would hardly help if you were against such a dangerous enemy.

In fact, it is difficult to find a more warlike and at the same time ineradicable people than the Chukchi. It is a great injustice that we do not know about this today, although Spartan education or Indian traditions are in many ways much softer and more “humane” than the approaches to educating future Chukchi warriors.

"Real People"

Luoravetlans are “real people,” as the Chukchi call themselves. Yes, they are chauvinists who consider others second-class. They joke about themselves, calling themselves "sweaty people" and the like (but only among themselves). At the same time, the Chukchi’s sense of smell is not particularly inferior to that of dogs, and genetically they are oh so different from us.

The Chukchi are a corruption of “Chauchi” – reindeer herders. It was the Chauchs that the Cossacks met in the tundra, before reaching their direct and recognized relatives - the Ankalyns, the coastal Luovertlans.

Childhood

Like the Indians, the Chukchi began the harsh upbringing of boys at the age of 5-6. From this time on, except for rare exceptions, sleeping was allowed only while standing, leaning on the canopy of the yaranga. At the same time, the young Chukchi warrior slept lightly: for this, adults sneaked up on him and burned him either with hot metal or with the smoldering end of a stick. The little warriors (somehow it’s hard to call them boys), as a result, began to react with lightning speed to any rustle...

They had to run behind reindeer sleds, rather than ride on sleighs, and jump with stones tied to their feet. The bow was an invariable attribute: the Chukchi generally have vision - unlike ours, the rangefinder is almost flawless. That is why the Chukchi were so willingly hired as snipers from World War II. The Chukchi also had their own game with a ball (made of reindeer hair), which was very reminiscent of modern football (only the Luoravetlans played this game long before the “foundation” of football by the British). They also loved to fight here. The fight was specific: on slippery walrus skin, additionally lubricated with fat, it was necessary not only to defeat the opponent, but to throw him onto sharp bones placed along the edges. It was dangerous, to put it mildly. However, it is precisely through this confrontation that grown-up boys will sort things out with their enemies, when in almost every case the loser faces death from much longer bones.

The path to adulthood lay for the future warrior through trials. Because Dexterity was especially valued by these people, so during the “exam” they relied on it, and on attentiveness. The father sent his son on some mission, but it was not the main one. The father quietly tracked his son, and as soon as he sat down, lost his vigilance, or simply turned into a “convenient target,” an arrow was immediately shot at him. The Chukchi shot, as mentioned above, phenomenally. So it was not an easy task to react and get away from the “gift”. There was only one way to pass the exam - to survive after it.

Death? Why be afraid of her?

There are eyewitness accounts that describe shocking precedents from the life of the Chukchi even at the beginning of the last century. For example, one of them began to have severe stomach pain. By morning the pain only intensified, and the warrior asked his comrades to kill him. They immediately complied with the request, without even attaching much importance to what happened.

The Chukchi believed that each of them had 5-6 souls. And for each soul there can be its own place in heaven - the “Universe of the Ancestors.” But for this, certain conditions had to be met: to die with dignity in battle, to be killed at the hands of a friend or relative, or to die a natural death. The latter is too great a luxury for a harsh life, where you should not rely on the care of others. Voluntary death is a common thing for the Chukchi; you just need to ask your relatives about such “killing yourself.” The same was done for a number of serious illnesses.

The Chukchi who lost the battle could kill each other, but they didn’t think much about captivity: “If I became a deer for you, then why are you delaying?” - they said to the victorious enemy, expecting a finishing blow and not even thinking about asking for mercy.

War is an honor

The Chukchi are born saboteurs. Small in number and ferocious, they were a terror to all who lived within range. A well-known fact is that a detachment of Koryaks, neighbors of the Chukchi, who joined the Russian Empire, numbering fifty people, scattered if there were at least two dozen Chukchi. And don’t dare accuse the Koryaks of cowardice: their women always had a knife with them so that when attacked by the Chukchi, they could kill their children and themselves, just to avoid slavery.

“Real people” fought with the Koryaks in the same way: first there were auctions, where every incorrect and simply careless gesture could be understood as a signal for massacre. If the Chukchi died, then their comrades declared war on the offenders: they called them to a meeting at a designated place, laid out a walrus skin, greased it with fat... And, of course, drove in a lot of sharp bones around the edges. Everything is like in childhood.

If the Chukchi went on predatory raids, they simply slaughtered the men and captured the women. The prisoners were treated with dignity, but pride did not allow the Koryaks to surrender alive. The men also did not want to fall into the hands of the Chukchi alive: they took men captive only when it was necessary to extort information.

Torture

There were two types of torture: if information was required, then the enemy’s hands were tied behind his back and his hand was pressed over his nose and mouth until the person lost consciousness. After this, the prisoner was brought to his senses and the procedure was repeated. The demoralization was complete, even the “seasoned wolves” were splitting up.

But more often the Chukchi simply realized their hatred of the victim through torture. In such cases, the enemy was tied to a spit and methodically roasted over a fire.

Chukchi and the Russian Empire

Russian Cossacks in 1729 were sincerely asked “not to commit violence against the non-peace-loving peoples of the north.” Their neighbors, who joined the Russians, knew the hard way that it was better not to anger the Chukchi. However, the Cossacks, apparently, were filled with pride and envy at such glory of the “unbaptized savages,” so the Yakut Cossack leader Afanasy Shestakov and the captain of the Tobolsk Dragoon Regiment Dmitry Pavlutsky went to the lands of the “real people,” destroying everything they encountered on their way.

Several times Chukchi leaders and elders were invited to a meeting, where they were simply vilely killed. For the Cossacks, everything seemed simple... Until the Chukchi realized that they were not playing by the rules of honor to which they themselves were accustomed. A year later, Shestakov and Pavlutsky gave the Chukchi an open battle, where the latter did not have many chances: arrows and spears against gunpowder weapons are not the best weapons. True, Shestakov himself died. The Luoravetlans began a real guerrilla war, in response to which the Senate in 1742 ordered the complete destruction of the Chukchi. The latter numbered less than 10,000 people with children, women and old people, the task seemed so simple.

Until the middle of the 18th century, the war was tough, but now Pavlutsky was killed and his troops were defeated. When Russian officials figured out what losses they were suffering, they were horrified. In addition, the Cossacks’ agility decreased: as soon as they defeated the Chukchi with an unexpected raid, the surviving children and women killed each other, avoiding captivity. The Chukchi themselves were not afraid of death, they did not give mercy and could torture extremely cruelly. There was nothing to scare them.

A decree was urgently issued prohibiting angering the Chukchi in general and interfering with them “with malicious intent”: it was decided to introduce liability for this. The Chukchi soon also began to calm down: to capture the Russian Empire for several thousand soldiers would be too burdensome a task, the meaning of which the Luoravetlans themselves did not see. This was the only nation that intimidated Russia militarily, despite its insignificant numbers.

A couple of decades later, the empire returned to the lands of warlike reindeer herders, fearing that the French and British would “make a dangerous peace” with them. The Chukchi were taken by bribery, persuasion and appeasement. The Chukchi paid tribute “in the amount that they themselves choose,” that is, they did not pay at all, and they brought “help to the sovereign” so actively that it was easy to understand who was actually paying tribute to whom. With the beginning of cooperation, a new term appeared in the Chukchi lexicon - “Chuvan disease”, i.e. “Russian disease”: with civilization, syphilis came to “real people”.

The French and British were feared in vain...

The trends of Europe were like a stop sign for the Chukchi. They traded with many people, but they showed the greatest mutual respect in trade... with the Japanese. It was from the Japanese that the Chukchi purchased their metal armor, which was exactly like that of the samurai. And the samurai were delighted with the courage and dexterity of the Chukchi: the latter are the only warriors who, according to numerous testimonies of contemporaries and eyewitnesses, were able not only to dodge arrows, but also to catch them with their hands on the fly, managing to throw them (with their hands!) back at their enemies.

The Chukchi respected the Americans for fair trade, but they also liked to give the latter a little push in their pirate raids. This also happened to Canadians: there is a well-known story when the Chukchi captured black slaves on the Canadian coast. Having realized that these were still women, and not evil spirits, the Chukchi took them as concubines. Chukotka women do not know what jealousy is and therefore took such a trophy from their husbands normally. Well, black women were forbidden to give birth, because... they were “defective people”, kept as concubines until old age. According to eyewitnesses, the slaves were happy with their new fate, and only regretted that they had not been kidnapped earlier.

Jokes

The Soviet government, having decided to carry the fire of communist ideology and civilization to the distant Chukotka yarangas, did not receive a warm welcome. An attempt to put pressure on the Chukchi by force turned out to be a difficult task: at first, all the “Reds” from nearby territories flatly refused to fight the Chukchi, and then the brave souls who arrived here from afar began to disappear in detachments, groups, and camps. For the most part, the missing were not found. In rare cases, it was possible to find the remains of slaughtered failed colonists. As a result, the “Reds” decided to follow the well-worn path of bribery under the Tsar. And so that the Chukchi did not become a symbol of independence, they were simply turned into folklore. This is what they did with Chapaev, relying on jokes about “Vasily Ivanovich and Petka,” remaking the image of an educated and worthy person into a funny and amusing one. Fear and admiration for the Chukchi were replaced by the image of a kind of idiot savage.

They are the same today...

What has changed today? By and large - nothing. Christianity seriously undermined the Chukchi foundations, but not so much that this people became different. Chukchi are Warriors.

And let some laugh at yet another joke about the Chukchi, while others admire their prowess - a true Warrior is always infinitely higher than both of them. A warrior walks through time, ignoring death and not deviating from his path. Through centuries and difficulties, they move on - the Great Warriors of the North, about whom we know so little.

We are all accustomed to considering representatives of this people as naive and peace-loving inhabitants of the Far North. They say that throughout their history the Chukchi grazed herds of deer in permafrost conditions, hunted walruses, and played tambourines as entertainment. The anecdotal image of a simpleton who keeps saying the word “however” is so far from reality that it is truly shocking. Meanwhile, the history of the Chukchi has many unexpected turns, and their way of life and customs still cause controversy among ethnographers. How are representatives of this people so different from other inhabitants of the tundra?

Call themselves real people

The Chukchi are the only people whose mythology openly justifies nationalism. The fact is that their ethnonym comes from the word “chauchu”, which in the language of the northern aborigines means the owner of a large number of deer (rich man). The Russian colonialists heard this word from them. But this is not the self-name of the people.

“Luoravetlans” is how the Chukchi call themselves, which translates as “real people.” They always treated neighboring peoples arrogantly, and considered themselves special chosen ones of the gods. In their myths, the Luoravetlans called the Evenks, Yakuts, Koryaks, and Eskimos those whom the gods created for slave labor.

According to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, the total number of Chukchi is only 15 thousand 908 people. And although this people was never numerous, skilled and formidable warriors, in difficult conditions, managed to conquer vast territories from the Indigirka River in the west to the Bering Sea in the east. Their lands are comparable in area to the territory of Kazakhstan.

Painting faces with blood

The Chukchi are divided into two groups. Some are engaged in reindeer herding (nomadic herders), others hunt sea animals, for the most part they hunt walruses, since they live on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. But these are the main activities. Reindeer herders also engage in fishing; they hunt for arctic foxes and other fur-bearing animals of the tundra.

After a successful hunt, the Chukchi paint their faces with the blood of the killed animal, while depicting the sign of their ancestral totem. These people then make a ritual sacrifice to the spirits.

Fought with the Eskimos

The Chukchi have always been skilled warriors. Imagine how much courage it takes to go out into the ocean on a boat and attack walruses? However, not only animals became victims of representatives of this people. They often made predatory expeditions against the Eskimos, moving to neighboring North America through the Bering Strait on their boats made of wood and walrus skins.

From military campaigns, skilled warriors brought not only stolen goods, but also slaves, giving preference to young women.

It is interesting that in 1947 the Chukchi once again decided to go to war against the Eskimos, then only by a miracle was it possible to avoid an international conflict between the USSR and the USA, because representatives of both peoples were officially citizens of the two superpowers.

Koryaks were robbed

Over the course of their history, the Chukchi have managed to quite annoy not only the Eskimos. So, they often attacked the Koryaks, taking away their reindeer. It is known that from 1725 to 1773 the invaders appropriated about 240 thousand (!) heads of other people's livestock. Actually, the Chukchi took up reindeer herding after they robbed their neighbors, many of whom had to hunt for food.

Having crept up to the Koryak settlement in the night, the invaders pierced their yarangas with spears, trying to immediately kill all the owners of the herd before they woke up.

Tattoos in honor of slain enemies

The Chukchi covered their bodies with tattoos dedicated to their killed enemies. After the victory, the warrior applied as many dots to the back of the wrist of his right hand as the number of opponents he sent to the next world. Some experienced fighters had so many defeated enemies that the dots merged into a line running from the wrist to the elbow.

They preferred death to captivity

Chukotka women always carried knives with them. They needed sharp blades not only in everyday life, but also in case of suicide. Since captured people automatically became slaves, the Chukchi preferred death to such a life. Having learned about the victory of the enemy (for example, the Koryaks who came to take revenge), mothers first killed their children, and then themselves. As a rule, they threw themselves with their chests on knives or spears.

Losing warriors lying on the battlefield asked their opponents for death. Moreover, they did it in an indifferent tone. My only wish was not to delay.

Won the war with Russia

The Chukchi are the only people of the Far North who fought with the Russian Empire and won. The first colonizers of those places were the Cossacks, led by Ataman Semyon Dezhnev. In 1652 they built the Anadyr fortress. Other adventurers followed them to the lands of the Arctic. The warlike northerners did not want to coexist peacefully with the Russians, much less pay taxes to the imperial treasury.

The war began in 1727 and lasted more than 30 years. Heavy fighting in difficult conditions, partisan sabotage, cunning ambushes, as well as mass suicides of Chukchi women and children - all this made the Russian troops falter. In 1763, the army units of the empire were forced to leave the Anadyr fort.

Soon British and French ships appeared off the coast of Chukotka. There is a real danger that these lands will be captured by long-time opponents, having managed to come to an agreement with the local population without a fight. Empress Catherine II decided to act more diplomatically. She provided the Chukchi with tax benefits, and literally showered their rulers with gold. The Russian residents of the Kolyma region were ordered, “... not to irritate the Chukchi in any way, under pain, otherwise, of liability in a military court.”

This peaceful approach turned out to be much more effective than a military operation. In 1778, the Chukchi, appeased by the imperial authorities, accepted Russian citizenship.

They coated the arrows with poison

The Chukchi were excellent with their bows. They smeared the arrowheads with poison; even a slight wound doomed the victim to a slow, painful and inevitable death.

Tambourines were covered with human skin

The Chukchi fought to the sound of tambourines covered not with deer (as was customary), but with human skin. Such music terrified enemies. Russian soldiers and officers who fought with the aborigines of the north spoke about this. The colonialists explained their defeat in the war by the special cruelty of the representatives of this people.

Warriors could fly

The Chukchi, during hand-to-hand combat, flew across the battlefield, landing behind enemy lines. How did they jump 20-40 meters and then be able to fight? Scientists still don't know the answer to this question. Probably, skilled warriors used special devices like trampolines. This technique often made it possible to win victories, because the opponents did not understand how to resist it.

Owned slaves

The Chukchi owned slaves until the 40s of the 20th century. Women and men from poor families were often sold for debt. They did dirty and hard work, just like the captured Eskimos, Koryaks, Evenks, and Yakuts.

Swap wives

The Chukchi entered into so-called group marriages. They included several ordinary monogamous families. Men could exchange wives. This form of social relations was an additional guarantee of survival in the harsh conditions of permafrost. If one of the participants in such a union died while hunting, then there was someone to take care of his widow and children.

A nation of comedians

The Chukchi could survive, find shelter and food, if they had the ability to make people laugh. Folk comedians moved from camp to camp, amusing everyone with their jokes. They were respected and highly valued for their talent.

Diapers were invented

The Chukchi were the first to invent the prototype of modern diapers. They used a layer of moss with reindeer hair as an absorbent material. The newborn was dressed in a kind of overalls, changing an improvised diaper several times a day. Life in the harsh north forced people to be inventive.

Changed gender by order of the spirits

Chukchi shamans could change gender at the direction of the spirits. The man began to wear women's clothes and behave accordingly, sometimes he literally got married. But the shaman, on the contrary, adopted the style of behavior of the stronger sex. According to Chukchi beliefs, spirits sometimes demanded such reincarnation from their servants.

Old people died voluntarily

Chukotka elders, not wanting to be a burden to their children, often agreed to voluntary death. The famous ethnographer Vladimir Bogoraz (1865-1936) in his book “Chukchi” noted that the reason for the emergence of such a custom was not a bad attitude towards older people, but difficult living conditions and lack of food.

Seriously ill Chukchi often chose voluntary death. As a rule, such people were killed by strangulation by their closest relatives.

We are all accustomed to considering representatives of this people as naive and peace-loving inhabitants of the Far North. They say that throughout their history the Chukchi grazed herds of deer in permafrost conditions, hunted walruses, and played tambourines as entertainment. The anecdotal image of a simpleton who keeps saying the word “however” is so far from reality that it is truly shocking. Meanwhile, the history of the Chukchi has many unexpected turns, and their way of life and customs still cause controversy among ethnographers. How are representatives of this people so different from other inhabitants of the tundra?

Call themselves real people
The Chukchi are the only people whose mythology openly justifies nationalism. The fact is that their ethnonym comes from the word “chauchu”, which in the language of the northern aborigines means the owner of a large number of deer (rich man). The Russian colonialists heard this word from them. But this is not the self-name of the people.

“Luoravetlans” is how the Chukchi call themselves, which translates as “real people.” They always treated neighboring peoples arrogantly, and considered themselves special chosen ones of the gods. In their myths, the Luoravetlans called the Evenks, Yakuts, Koryaks, and Eskimos those whom the gods created for slave labor.

According to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, the total number of Chukchi is only 15 thousand 908 people. And although this people was never numerous, skilled and formidable warriors, in difficult conditions, managed to conquer vast territories from the Indigirka River in the west to the Bering Sea in the east. Their lands are comparable in area to the territory of Kazakhstan.

Painting faces with blood
The Chukchi are divided into two groups. Some are engaged in reindeer herding (nomadic herders), others hunt sea animals, for the most part they hunt walruses, since they live on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. But these are the main activities. Reindeer herders also engage in fishing; they hunt for arctic foxes and other fur-bearing animals of the tundra.

After a successful hunt, the Chukchi paint their faces with the blood of the killed animal, while depicting the sign of their ancestral totem. These people then make a ritual sacrifice to the spirits.

Fought with the Eskimos
The Chukchi have always been skilled warriors. Imagine how much courage it takes to go out into the ocean on a boat and attack walruses? However, not only animals became victims of representatives of this people. They often made predatory expeditions against the Eskimos, moving to neighboring North America through the Bering Strait on their boats made of wood and walrus skins.

From military campaigns, skilled warriors brought not only stolen goods, but also slaves, giving preference to young women.

It is interesting that in 1947 the Chukchi once again decided to go to war against the Eskimos, then only by a miracle was it possible to avoid an international conflict between the USSR and the USA, because representatives of both peoples were officially citizens of the two superpowers.

Koryaks were robbed
Over the course of their history, the Chukchi have managed to quite annoy not only the Eskimos. So, they often attacked the Koryaks, taking away their reindeer. It is known that from 1725 to 1773 the invaders appropriated about 240 thousand (!) heads of other people's livestock. Actually, the Chukchi took up reindeer herding after they robbed their neighbors, many of whom had to hunt for food.

Having crept up to the Koryak settlement in the night, the invaders pierced their yarangas with spears, trying to immediately kill all the owners of the herd before they woke up.

Tattoos in honor of slain enemies
The Chukchi covered their bodies with tattoos dedicated to their killed enemies. After the victory, the warrior applied as many dots to the back of the wrist of his right hand as the number of opponents he sent to the next world. Some experienced fighters had so many defeated enemies that the dots merged into a line running from the wrist to the elbow.

They preferred death to captivity
Chukotka women always carried knives with them. They needed sharp blades not only in everyday life, but also in case of suicide. Since captured people automatically became slaves, the Chukchi preferred death to such a life. Having learned about the victory of the enemy (for example, the Koryaks who came to take revenge), mothers first killed their children, and then themselves. As a rule, they threw themselves with their chests on knives or spears.

Losing warriors lying on the battlefield asked their opponents for death. Moreover, they did it in an indifferent tone. My only wish was not to delay.

Won the war with Russia
The Chukchi are the only people of the Far North who fought with the Russian Empire and won. The first colonizers of those places were the Cossacks, led by Ataman Semyon Dezhnev. In 1652 they built the Anadyr fortress. Other adventurers followed them to the lands of the Arctic. The warlike northerners did not want to coexist peacefully with the Russians, much less pay taxes to the imperial treasury.

The war began in 1727 and lasted more than 30 years. Heavy fighting in difficult conditions, partisan sabotage, cunning ambushes, as well as mass suicides of Chukchi women and children - all this made the Russian troops falter. In 1763, the army units of the empire were forced to leave the Anadyr fort.

Soon British and French ships appeared off the coast of Chukotka. There is a real danger that these lands will be captured by long-time opponents, having managed to come to an agreement with the local population without a fight. Empress Catherine II decided to act more diplomatically. She provided the Chukchi with tax benefits, and literally showered their rulers with gold. The Russian residents of the Kolyma region were ordered, “... not to irritate the Chukchi in any way, under pain, otherwise, of liability in a military court.”

This peaceful approach turned out to be much more effective than a military operation. In 1778, the Chukchi, appeased by the imperial authorities, accepted Russian citizenship.

They coated the arrows with poison
The Chukchi were excellent with their bows. They smeared the arrowheads with poison; even a slight wound doomed the victim to a slow, painful and inevitable death.

Tambourines were covered with human skin
The Chukchi fought to the sound of tambourines covered not with deer (as was customary), but with human skin. Such music terrified enemies. Russian soldiers and officers who fought with the aborigines of the north spoke about this. The colonialists explained their defeat in the war by the special cruelty of the representatives of this people.

Warriors could fly
The Chukchi, during hand-to-hand combat, flew across the battlefield, landing behind enemy lines. How did they jump 20-40 meters and then be able to fight? Scientists still don't know the answer to this question. Probably, skilled warriors used special devices like trampolines. This technique often made it possible to win victories, because the opponents did not understand how to resist it.

Owned slaves
The Chukchi owned slaves until the 40s of the 20th century. Women and men from poor families were often sold for debt. They did dirty and hard work, just like the captured Eskimos, Koryaks, Evenks, and Yakuts.

Swap wives
The Chukchi entered into so-called group marriages. They included several ordinary monogamous families. Men could exchange wives. This form of social relations was an additional guarantee of survival in the harsh conditions of permafrost. If one of the participants in such a union died while hunting, then there was someone to take care of his widow and children.

A nation of comedians
The Chukchi could survive, find shelter and food, if they had the ability to make people laugh. Folk comedians moved from camp to camp, amusing everyone with their jokes. They were respected and highly valued for their talent.

Diapers were invented
The Chukchi were the first to invent the prototype of modern diapers. They used a layer of moss with reindeer hair as an absorbent material. The newborn was dressed in a kind of overalls, changing an improvised diaper several times a day. Life in the harsh north forced people to be inventive.

Changed gender by order of the spirits
Chukchi shamans could change gender at the direction of the spirits. The man began to wear women's clothes and behave accordingly, sometimes he literally got married. But the shaman, on the contrary, adopted the style of behavior of the stronger sex. According to Chukchi beliefs, spirits sometimes demanded such reincarnation from their servants.

Old people died voluntarily
Chukotka elders, not wanting to be a burden to their children, often agreed to voluntary death. The famous ethnographer Vladimir Bogoraz (1865-1936) in his book “Chukchi” noted that the reason for the emergence of such a custom was not a bad attitude towards older people, but difficult living conditions and lack of food.

Seriously ill Chukchi often chose voluntary death. As a rule, such people were killed by strangulation by their closest relatives.

There are many fables about the Chukchi. But the truth can be even more surprising than fiction.

The coming of spring - It's a good time to remember the colorful northerners. From the beginning of March to mid-April they celebrate one of the main holidays - Reindeer Herder's Day. In addition, the text printed on the page of the popular blogger Bulochnikov received a great response on the Internet - sketches from the life of the Chukchi, which shocked many.

We asked the professor to comment on some of the most surprising fragments of the text Sergei Arutyunov, who has already told our readers about some interesting traditions of the Chukchi. Over the course of his venerable 85 years, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences has organized many ethnographic expeditions around the world, including to the Far North and Siberia.

Portal to another world

Sergey Alexandrovich, is it true that the Chukchi eat rotten meat? Supposedly they bury it in clay so that it turns into a homogeneous soft mass. As Bulochnikov writes: “It stinks terribly, but this meat contains fifty percent microflora with all the vitamins, it can be eaten without teeth, it does not need to be heated.”

In Chukchi this dish is called “kopalgen”, in Eskimo it is called “tukhtak”. Just don't bury the meat in clay. A walrus is taken and cut into six parts. Large bones are cut out. Then each part (it weighs 60 - 70 kilograms) is carefully stitched with the skin outward. A dozen of these “packages” are placed in a special hole lined with stones in the fall and covered. And before the start of the new hunting season, they periodically eat this meat. It is not rotten, rather pickled. Its taste did not bring me much joy. But when there is no hunting, the bird does not fly and there is a big surf on the sea - there is nowhere to go. The meat is greenish in color and the smell is really very unpleasant. However, who cares. If you force an ordinary Japanese to smell some Limburg cheese or Dor Blue, he will probably vomit. And personally I like it!

- And here’s another thing -sounds like a tall tale. The Chukchi allegedly do not save drowning people, because they believe that the surface of the reservoir isThis is a kind of portal that transports fellow tribesmen to another world. And you cannot interfere in this process.

It's true. At least, this was the case half a century ago. I know of several cases when a canoe capsized literally a hundred or two meters from the shore near a village, but people were not pulled out. I personally knew the relatives of a Chukchi who was not saved because of this belief. But I also observed another example. Kitikha capsized a whaleboat carrying fishermen from Uelen. Since they were dressed in skins with ties at the ankles and elbows, they could survive for some time by clinging to the boat. A canoe of Eskimos from Naukan passed by. They have a similar idea of ​​​​reservoirs, but they still came to the rescue. Despite the fact that the Eskimos and the Chukchi have always not lived very friendly, they are different peoples. The drowning people were lucky that they were young people, Komsomol members. They probably figured that if they left people to drown, they would have trouble along the Komsomol line.

Is it true that experienced prisoners know very well: if you escape from a camp in Chukotka, the locals will catch you, cut off your head and exchange it with the boss for a bottle of vodka?

I heard similar reliable stories about the Komi. Only they are less bloodthirsty, they didn’t cut off their heads. If they could not be taken alive, the authorities were presented with a corpse. True, a bottle of vodka is a bit much! For a prisoner - living or dead - they were usually given a bag of potatoes. There were simply much fewer camps in Chukotka. But I admit that cases of cutting off heads also happened among the Chukchi - apparently, this is more convenient for transporting remains over long distances.

Palm strike to the heart

Let’s move on through the text: “The Chukchi and Koryaks are pathologically vindictive and vindictive. If you offend them, they won't say anything, they'll just bend over and go. But after a while the offender is found dead on the street. The killer is almost never found."

Except for the fact that the killer, as a rule, is still caught in hot pursuit because he has not yet had time to sober up, everything is true. Such crimes are committed mainly while intoxicated. As you know, the Chukchi body cannot process alcohol. Although I note that some modern inhabitants of the tundra have adapted. Unfortunately, there are many bitter drunkards, but about 30 percent have learned to drink in moderation without going on a binge.

It is especially difficult for me to believe that the Chukchi allegedly kill their old people as “worthless.” A case is described when Russian sailors, seeing bodies swarming on an ice floe, opened fire. And then it turned out that they were tied up elderly Chukchi. After that, residents of the local village swam up to them with gifts for allegedly helping their parents pass on to another world.

This is quite possible, even in our time. But the old man is not tied up. He asks himself to kill himself when life becomes unbearable - for example, due to a serious illness. This, of course, does not happen in the villages - there are police there after all. But this happens during nomadism. The old man turns to his eldest son or, perhaps, to his younger brother - they say, I’m not dying, but it’s disgusting to live.

At the appointed moment, he is left alone in the plague. He sits down on a predetermined pole (the dwelling is attached to them), with his back to the wall, which is made of tarpaulin or skins. After this, the son, who remained outside, picks up a palm tree - that’s the name of a long knife attached to a stick - and delivers a precise blow through the skins directly to the heart. And the old man goes into another world without suffering. If the supposed deliverer is not good with a spear, they make a strip of suede, put it around the parent’s neck and tighten it. But now, perhaps, this is not practiced - the palm tree is a priority. They leave no traces - within a day the bears or wolves dispose of the corpse.

- Is it true that a Chukchi who cannot cope with his masculine responsibilities“translated” into a woman and he wears a woman’s dress?

This has happened before, and quite often. Not anymore. The fact is that we are not talking about incompetent people, but about those who have problems with gender self-identification - physiological or mental. In modern urban conditions, they take hormonal pills and even change gender. I have never met such people in the North, but in India, children with similar pronounced deviations are transferred to be raised in a caste called “hitzhra”, which is considered “untouchable”.

The spouse is given to a friend

- Since we have touched on such a delicate topic, do the Chukchi have homosexuals?

They have few conditions for the emergence of homosexuality. A girl and a married woman easily gets herself a lover or an additional husband. Which, by the way, can be a good friend of the main spouse. It happens that two men agree: you will spend this summer with my wife, and I will spend this summer with yours. For fishing or hunting. And by winter we will change again. This custom is called “ngevtumgyn”: the literal translation is “wife partnership.” And a person who is in such a relationship is called “ngevtumgyt.” Previously, there was a certain ritual for such cases, but now this is no longer the case. According to their morality, jealousy is a vile feeling, unworthy possessiveness. Not giving in to your wife is even worse than not repaying a debt.

Knowing this, it’s hard to believe that the Chukchi practice incest. That very text describes a situation when a Chukchi adult takes his daughter from a boarding school: “Why does she need to study? My wife died..."

I only heard about one case of incest, but they told me about it with indignation - what a bastard. At the same time, in our modern society, it is acceptable to marry a second cousin or even a first cousin, although the church does not approve. The Chukchi do not - you can marry a second cousin only along a certain line, there are serious nuances. One guy I knew from Chukotka even began to become an alcoholic when he was not allowed such a marriage - he loved the girl very much. Here, I know, in Venezuela, near the city of Ayacucho, an Indian from the Yanomamo tribe lived with his mother, who was 15 years older than him. And even then this was not welcomed there. As for the northern peoples, I think this is not true. Let's say the Nganasans live in Taimyr. There are only one and a half thousand of them, and finding a couple is a problem. But interkinship ties are a strict taboo.

According to the above-mentioned text, before the Russians, the Chukchi washed themselves at most once a year in hot springs. When, under the influence of the Russians, they began to wash regularly, their skin allegedly began to become covered with bloody cracks. Further quote: “The sweat of the Chukchi - This is not water, but droplets of fat. They save you from the wind.” The author also mentions the strong smell from the Chukchi.

Firstly, both the Chukchi and the peoples of this region - Evens, Yakuts, Nanais, Udeges and so on - they are all washing now. There are also bathhouses in the villages. Although not very often: once every two weeks - once a month. And secondly, unlike us, they don’t stink. Their sweat does not have a strong unpleasant odor. Northern peoples have no need for deodorants. Interestingly, this is also somehow connected with earwax - it is different for them. Ours is sticky, but theirs is dry - fine powder pours out of their ears. And about droplets of fat - this, of course, is nonsense.

They eat fly agarics

Among the Chukchi, fly agaric is common as a hallucinogen, says Arutyunov. - 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! 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!