Are there Chukchi? Customs and holidays of the Chukchi

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY

HISTORY DEPARTMENT

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

Essay on ethnology

Traditional Chukchi culture

Irkutsk, 2007

Introduction

Ancestral homeland and resettlement of the Chukchi

Main activities

Social order

Life of the Chukchi

Beliefs and rituals

Conclusion

Introduction

Chukchi, (self-name, “real people”). Number of Russian Federation 15.1 thousand people, indigenous people Chukotka Aut. districts (11.9 thousand people). They also live in the north of the Koryak Autonomous Area. district (1.5 thousand people) and in the Lower Kolyma region of Yakutia (1.3 thousand people), they speak the Chukchi language.

The first mentions of the Chukchi, in Russian documents - from the 40s of the 17th century, divide them into "reindeer" and "foot". Reindeer herders roamed the tundra and on the coast of the Arctic Ocean between Alazeya and Kolyma, at Cape Shelagsky and further east to the Bering Strait. The settlements of the “foot” Chukchi, sedentary sea hunters, were located together with the Eskimos between Cape Dezhnev and the Bay of the Cross and further south in the lower reaches of Anadyr and the Kanchalan River. The number of Chukchi at the end of the 17th century. was about 8-9 thousand people.

Contacts with the Russians initially remained mainly in the lower Kolyma. Attempts to impose tribute on the Lower Kolyma Chukchi and military campaigns against them in the mid-17th century did not bring results. Due to military conflicts and the smallpox epidemic, the number of Lower Kolyma Chukchi decreased sharply, and the remainder migrated to the east. After the annexation of Kamchatka to Russia, the population of the Anadyr fort, founded in 1649, began to grow, which

Since the end of the 18th century, trade contacts between the Chukchi and the Russians intensified. According to the “Charter on the Administration of Foreigners” of 1822, the Chukchi did not bear any duties; they contributed yasak voluntarily, receiving gifts for it. The established peaceful relations with the Russians, Koryaks and Yukagirs, and the development of herding reindeer herding, contributed to the further expansion of the Chukchi territory to the west. By the 1830s, they had penetrated the river. Bolshaya Baranikha, by the 1850s - in the lower Kolyma, by the mid-1860s - in the area between the Kolyma and Indigirka rivers; to the south - the territory of the Koryaks, between Penzhina and Korfu Bay, where the Koryaks were partially assimilated. In the east, the assimilation of the Chukchi - Eskimos - intensified. In the 1850s American whalers entered into trade with the coastal Chukchi. The expansion of the territory inhabited by the Chukchi was accompanied by the final identification of territorial groups: Kolyma, Anyui, or Malo-Anyu, Chaun, Omolon, Amguem, or Amguem-Vonkarem, Kolyuchino-Mechigmen, Onmylen (inner Chukchi), Tumansk, or Vilyunei, Olyutor, Bering Sea ( Sea Chukchi) and others. In 1897, the number of Chukchi was 11,751 people. Since the end of the 19th century, due to the extermination of sea animals, the number of coastal Chukchi fell sharply, by 1926 it amounted to 30% of all Chukchi. Modern descendants Coastal Chukchi live in the villages of Sirenki, Novo Chaplino, Providence, Nunligran, Enmelen, Yanrakynnot, Inchoun, Lorino, Lavrentiya, Neshkan, Uelen, Enurmino on the eastern coast of Chukotka.

In 1930 Chukotka was formed national district(since 1977 - auto district). The ethnic development of the Chukchi in the 20th century, especially during the period of consolidation of collective farms and the formation of state farms from the 2nd half of the 50s, was characterized by consolidation and overcoming isolation separate groups

Ancestral homeland and resettlement of the Chukchi

The Chukchi were divided into reindeer - tundra nomadic reindeer herders (self-name Chauchu - "reindeer man") and coastal - sedentary hunters of sea animals (self-name Ankalyn - "coastal"), living together with the Eskimos. These groups were connected by kinship and natural exchange. Self-names based on place of residence or migration are common: uvelelyt - “Uelenians”, “chaalyt” - “Chukchi wandering along the Chaun River”. These self-names are preserved, even among residents of modern enlarged settlements. The names of smaller groups within the settlements: tapkaralyt - “living on the spit”, gynonralyt - “living in the center”, etc. Among the Western Chukchi, the self-name Chugchit (probably from Chauchu) is common.

Initially, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk was considered the ancestral home of the Chukchi, from where they moved north, assimilating part of the Yukaghirs and Eskimos. According to, modern research, the ancestors of the Chukchi and related Koryaks lived in the inner regions of Chukotka.

Occupying the area inhabited by the Eskimos, the Chukchi partially assimilated them and borrowed many features of their culture (fat lamps, canopies, the design and shape of tambourines, fishing rituals and holidays, pantomime dances, etc.). Long-term interaction with the Eskimos also affected the language and worldview of the indigenous Chukchi. As a result of contacts between land and sea hunting cultures, the Chukchi experienced an economic division of labor. Yukaghir elements also took part in the ethnogenesis of the Chukchi. Contacts with the Yukaghirs became relatively stable at the turn of the 13th-14th centuries, when the Yukaghirs, under the influence of the Evens, moved east to the Anadyr River basin. Reindeer husbandry developed among the tundra Chukchi, apparently under the influence of the Koryaks, shortly before the appearance of the Russians.

Main activities

The main occupation of the tundra Chukchi was nomadic reindeer herding, which had a pronounced meat-hide character. Sled reindeer were also used. The herds were comparatively different, large sizes, the deer were poorly trained and grazed without the help of dogs. In winter, the herds were kept in places sheltered from the wind, migrating several times during the winter; in the summer, men went with the herd into the tundra, women, old people and children lived in camps along the banks of rivers or the sea. The reindeer were not milked; sometimes the shepherds sucked the milk. Urine was used to lure deer. Deer were castrated by biting the sperm ducts.

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. They hunted seals alone, crawling up to them, camouflaging themselves and imitating the movements of the animal. The walrus was hunted in groups of several canoes. Traditional hunting weapons - harpoon with float, spear, belt net, from the 2nd floor. 19th century Firearms became widespread and hunting methods became simpler. Sometimes they shot seals at high speed from sleds.

Fishing, except for the basins of Anadyr, Kolyma and Sauna, was poorly developed. Men were engaged in fishing. Fish were caught with a net, a fishing rod, and nets. In summer - from a kayak, in winter - in an ice hole. Salmon was stored for future use.

Before the advent of firearms, wild deer and mountain sheep were hunted, which were subsequently almost completely exterminated. Under the influence of trade with the Russians, the fur trade spread. To this day, bird hunting has been preserved using “bolas” - throwing weapons made of several ropes with weights that entangled a flying bird. Previously, when hunting birds, they also used darts with a throwing plate and trap loops; eiders were beaten in the water with sticks. Women and children also collected edible plants. To dig up roots, they used a tool with a tip made of horn, and later - iron.

Traditional crafts- dressing of fur, weaving bags from fibers of fireweed and wild rye for women, processing of bone for men. Artistic carving and engraving on bone and walrus tusk, applique of fur and sealskin, and embroidery with deer hair are developed. The Chukchi ornament is characterized by small geometric pattern. In the 19th century, artisanal associations emerged on the east coast to produce carved walrus ivory items for sale. In the 20th century Thematic engraving on bone and walrus tusk developed (works by Vukvol, Vukvutagin, Gemauge, Halmo, Ichel, Ettugi, etc.). The center of bone carving art was a workshop in the village of Uelen (established in 1931).

In the 2nd half. 19th century many Chukchi began to be hired on whaling schooners and gold mines.

Social order

For social order The Chukchi, at the beginning of contacts with the Russians, were characterized by the development of a patriarchal community into a neighboring one, the development of property, and differentiation. Deer, dogs, dwellings and canoes were in private property, pastures and fishing grounds - in the community. The main social unit of the tundra Ch. was a camp of 3-4 related families; Among the poor, camps could unite unrelated families; in the camps of large reindeer herders, their workers lived with their families. Groups of 15-20 camps were connected by mutual assistance. Primorye Ch. united several families into a canoe community, headed by the owner of the canoe. Among the reindeer Ch., there were patrilineal kinship groups (varat), bound by common customs (blood feud, transfer of ritual fire, common signs on the face during sacrifices, etc.). Until the 18th century Patriarchal slavery was known. The family in the past was a large patriarchal one, to the end. 19th century - small patrilocal. Traditionally wedding ceremony, the bride, accompanied by relatives, came to the groom on her reindeer. At the yaranga, a deer was slaughtered and with its blood the bride, the groom and their relatives were marked with the groom's family marks on their faces. The child was usually given a name 2-3 weeks after birth. There were elements of group marriage ("variable marriage"), labor for the bride, and among the rich - polygamy. Many problems in reindeer Ch. arose with disproportion in the sex structure (there were fewer women than men).

Life of the Chukchi

The main dwelling of the Chukchi is a collapsible cylindrical-conical tent-yaranga made of reindeer skins for the tundra, and walrus for the coastal ones. The vault rested on three poles in the center. Inside, the yaranga was partitioned with canopies in the form of large blind fur bags stretched on poles, illuminated and heated by a stone, clay or wooden fat lamp, on which food was also prepared. They sat on skins, tree roots or deer antlers. Dogs were also kept in yarangas. The yaranga of the coastal Chukchi differed from the dwellings of the reindeer herders in the absence of a smoke hole. Until the end of the 19th century, the coastal Chukchi retained a semi-dugout, borrowed from the Eskimos (valkaran - “house of whale jaws”) - on a frame made of whale bones, covered with turf and earth. In summer it was entered through a hole in the roof, in winter - through a long corridor. The nomadic Chukchi camps consisted of 2-10 yarangas, stretched from east to west, the first yaranga from the west was the head of the community. The settlements of the coastal Chukchi numbered up to 20 or more yarangas, randomly scattered.

The tundra Chukchi moved on reindeer sleds, while the coastal Chukchi rode on dogs. In the middle of the 19th century, under the influence of the Russians, the East Siberian sled and train teams spread among the coastal Chukchi, before which dogs were harnessed with a fan. They also used walking racket skis, and in Kolyma they used sliding skis borrowed from the Evenks. They moved on the water in kayaks - boats that could accommodate from one to 20-30 people, made of walrus skins, with oars and a slanting sail.

Traditional clothing- deaf, made from the skins of deer and seals. Men wore a knee-length double tunic shirt, belted with a belt from which they hung a knife, pouch, etc., narrow double trousers, short shoes with fur stockings. Among the coastal Chukchi, clothing made from walrus intestines was common. Headdresses were rarely worn, mainly on the road. Women's clothing - fur overalls (kerker), double in winter, single in summer, knee-length fur shoes. They wore bracelets and necklaces, and facial tattoos were common: circles along the edges of the mouth for men and two stripes along the nose and forehead for women. Men cut their hair in a circle, shaving the crown, women braided it in two braids.

The main food of the “reindeer” Chukchi is venison, while that of the coastal Chukchi is the meat of sea animals. The meat was consumed raw, boiled and dried.

During the mass slaughter of deer, the contents of deer stomachs (rilkeil) were stored for future use, boiled with the addition of blood and fat. The coastal Chukchi prepared the meat of large animals - whale, walrus, beluga - for future use, fermenting it in pits (kopal-gyn), sewing it into skins. They ate the fish raw, and in Anadyr and Kolyma they made yukola from salmon.

Dwarf willow leaves, sorrel, and roots were prepared for future use - frozen, fermented, mixed with fat, blood, and rilkeil. Koloboks were made from crushed roots with meat and walrus fat. They cooked porridge from imported flour and fried cakes in seal fat. Also used seaweed and shellfish.

Beliefs and rituals

Christianization practically did not affect the Chukchi. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about 1.5 thousand Chukchi were considered Orthodox. Belief in spirits was widespread. Diseases and disasters were attributed to the action of evil spirits (kelet) hunting for human souls and bodies and devouring them. Among animals they were especially revered polar bear, whale, walrus. Each family had a set of sacred objects: a bunch of amulets, a tambourine, a device for making fire in the form of a board of a rough anthropomorphic shape with recesses in which a bow drill rotated; fire obtained in this way was considered sacred and could only be passed on among relatives along the male line. The dead were burned at the stake or left in the tundra, before being dressed in funeral clothes, usually made of white skins. Old people, and also in cases serious illness, grief, resentment, etc. voluntary death at the hands of a relative was often preferred; it was believed to ensure a better posthumous fate. Shamanism was developed. Shamans imitated the voices of animals, accompanied their actions by playing tambourines, singing or reciting, and dancing. Male shamans, who were likened to women, were especially revered, and vice versa. The shamans did not have a special costume.

Traditional holidays were associated with farms and cycles: among the “reindeer” Chukchi - with the autumn and winter slaughter of reindeer, calving, migration of the herd to the summer camp and return from there. The holidays of the coastal Chukchi are close to the Eskimos. In the spring, there is a kayak festival on the occasion of the first trip to sea. In summer there is a festival of goals to mark the end of the seal hunt. In autumn there is a sacrifice to the sea, in late autumn there is the holiday of Keretkun, the owner of sea animals, depicted as a wooden figure, which is burned at the end of the holiday. The holidays were accompanied by dancing with a tambourine, pantomime, and sacrifices. Among the “reindeer” Chukchi, deer, meat, figurines made of fat, snow, wood, etc. were sacrificed; among the coastal Chukchi, dogs were sacrificed.

Chukchi folklore includes cosmogonic myths, mythological and historical legends, tales about spirits, animals, the adventures of shamans, tales, etc. Mythology has common features with the myths of the Koryaks, Itelmens, Eskimos and North American Indians: a plot about Raven - a trickster and a demiurge, etc.

Traditional musical instruments- Jew's harp (khomus), tambourine (yarar), etc. - were made of wood, bone, whalebone. In addition to ritual dances, improvised entertaining pantomime dances were also common. The typical dance is pichainen (literally “throat singing”), accompanied by throat singing and shouting from the dancers.

Conclusion

The differences in the culture of the tundra and coastal Chukchi are gradually disappearing. At present, in the Shmitovsky, Beringovsky, Chaunsky and Anadyrsky districts they have practically disappeared. This was facilitated by the emergence and development of writing, from 1931 on the basis of Latin, and from 1936 - on the basis of Russian graphics. The first book in the Chukchi language is the primer by V.G. Bogoraz and I.S. Vdovin's "Red Letter" (1932), the first literary work is "Tales of the Chauchu" by Tynetegyn (Fedora Tinetev, 1940). Famous prose writers V. Yatyrgin, Yu. Rytkheu, poets V. Keul-kut, A. Kymytval, V. Tyneskin and others.

The first Chukchi school was created in Uelen in 1923. The teaching staff is trained by: Anadyr Pedagogical School of the Peoples of the North, Khabarovsk pedagogical institute, and others educational establishments. The Chukchi language is taught in schools, radio and television broadcasts are conducted in it, and literature is published in Magadan. In Anadyr and in many villages there are local history museums. Traditional Chukchi dances are preserved and performed by professional groups.

In the east of Chukotka, where hunting traditions are preserved, the acculturation of the coastal Chukchi is slower. Contacts with Russians and other peoples are expanding, and the number of mixed marriages is growing. Children in mixed marriages usually choose Chukotka nationality

Since the 1990s The Association of the Peoples of Chukotka is dealing with the problems of reviving the traditional culture of the Chukchi.

They did not bear any obligation; they paid tribute voluntarily, receiving gifts for it. The established peaceful relations with the Russians, Koryaks and Yukaghirs, the development of herding reindeer husbandry contributed to the further expansion of the Chukchi territory by 3: by the 1830s. they entered the river. Bolshaya Barani-kha, by the 1850s - to the lower Kolyma, to the middle. 1860s - in the area between the Kolyma and Indigirka rivers; to the south - to the territory of the Koryaks between...

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Everyone has heard the expression “naive Chukchi girl” and jokes about the Chukchi. In our understanding, this is a person far from the achievements of civilization. A symbol of naivety that borders on feeblemindedness, starting any sentence with “however” and preferring vodka to their wives. We perceive the Chukchi as a distant northern people who are interested exclusively in deer and walrus meat. Who are the Chukchi really?

They know how to stand up for themselves

Valdis Kristovskis, a Latvian politician and leader of the Unity party, in an interview with the Latvian newspaper Delfi carelessly defended the phrase “Latvians are not Chukchi.” In response to this insult, the newspaper Diena published a response from Ooi Milger, a representative of the Louravetlan people (otherwise known as “Chukchi”). He wrote: “In your opinion, it turns out that the Chukchi are not people. This offended me very much. The Louravetlans are a people of warriors. Many books have been written about this. I have my father's carbine. Latvians too small people who had to fight for survival. Where does such arrogance come from? Here are the “naive” and stupid Chukchi for you.

Chukchi and all the “rest”

The small Chukchi people are settled over a vast territory - from the Bering Sea to the Indigirka River, from the Arctic Ocean to the Anadyr River. This territory can be compared with Kazakhstan, and just over 15 thousand people live on it! (Russian census data in 2010)

The name Chukchi is the name of the people “Louratvelans” adapted for Russian people. Chukchi means “rich in deer” (chauchu) – this is how northern reindeer herders introduced themselves to Russian pioneers in the 17th century. “Loutwerans” is translated as “real people”, since in the mythology of the Far North the Chukchi are “ superior race", chosen by the gods. Chukchi mythology explains that the gods created the Evenks, Yakuts, Koryaks and Eskimos exclusively as Russian slaves, so that they would help the Chukchi trade with the Russians.

Ethnic history of the Chukchi. Briefly

The ancestors of the Chukchi settled in Chukotka at the turn of the 4th-3rd millennium BC. In such a natural-geographical environment, customs, traditions, mythology, language and racial characteristics were formed. The Chukchi have increased thermoregulation, high level hemoglobin in the blood, rapid metabolism, therefore the formation of this Arctic race took place in the conditions of the Far North, otherwise they would not have survived.

Mythology of the Chukchi. world creation

In Chukchi mythology, the raven appears - the creator, the main benefactor. Creator of the earth, sun, rivers, seas, mountains, deer. It was the raven who taught people to live in difficult natural conditions. Since, according to the Chukchi, Arctic animals participated in the creation of space and stars, the names of constellations and individual stars are associated with deer and ravens. The Capella star is a reindeer bull with a human sleigh. Two stars near the constellation Aquila - “A female deer with a fawn.” Milky Way- a river with sandy waters, with islands - pastures for deer.

The names of the months of the Chukchi calendar reflect the life of wild deer, its biological rhythms and migration patterns.

Raising children among the Chukchi

In the upbringing of Chukchi children one can trace a parallel with Indian customs. At the age of 6, the Chukchi begin the harsh education of boy warriors. From this age, boys sleep standing up, with the exception of sleeping supported by a yaranga. At the same time, adult Chukchi were raised even in their sleep - they sneaked up with a hot metal tip or a smoldering stick, so that the boy would develop a lightning-fast reaction to any sounds.

Young Chukchi ran behind reindeer teams with stones on their feet. From the age of 6, they constantly held a bow and arrow in their hands. Thanks to this eye training, the Chukchi's vision is long years remained sharp. By the way, this is why the Chukchi were excellent snipers during the Great Patriotic War. Favorite games are “football” with a ball made of reindeer hair and wrestling. Fought in special places– sometimes on walrus skin (very slippery), sometimes on ice.

Rite of passage adult life– a test for the viable. The “exam” relied on dexterity and attentiveness. For example, a father sent his son on a mission. But the task was not the main thing. The father tracked his son while he walked to carry out his task, and waited until his son lost his vigilance - then he released an arrow. The young man’s task is to instantly concentrate, react and dodge. Therefore, passing the exam means surviving. But the arrows were not smeared with poison, so there was a chance of survival after being wounded.

War as a way of life

The Chukchi have a simple attitude towards death - they are not afraid of it. If one Chukchi asks another to kill him, then the request is carried out easily, without a doubt. The Chukchi believe that each of them has 5-6 souls, and there is a whole “universe of ancestors”. But in order to get there, you must either die with dignity in battle, or die at the hands of a relative or friend. Your own death or death from old age is a luxury. Therefore, the Chukchi are excellent warriors. They are not afraid of death, they are fierce, they have a sensitive sense of smell, lightning-fast reactions, and a sharp eye. If in our culture a medal is awarded for military merits, then the Chukchi back side right palm got a dot tattoo. How more points, the more experienced and fearless warrior.

Chukchi women correspond to the harsh Chukchi men. They carry a knife with them so that in case of serious danger they can stab their children, parents, and then themselves.

"Home Shamanism"

The Chukchi have what is called “domestic shamanism.” These are echoes ancient religion louravetlanov, because now almost all Chukchi go to church and belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. But they are still “shamanizing” to this day.

During the autumn slaughter of livestock, the entire Chukotka family, including children, beats a tambourine. This ritual protects deer from disease and early death. But this is more like a game, like, for example, Sabantui - the holiday of the end of plowing among the Turkic peoples.

Writer Vladimir Bogoraz, ethnographer and researcher of the peoples of the Far North, writes that in real shamanic rituals people are cured of terrible diseases and mortal wounds are healed. Real shamans can grind a stone into crumbs in their hands and “sew up” a lacerated wound with their bare hands. The main task of shamans is to heal the sick. To do this, they fall into a trance in order to “travel between worlds.” In Chukotka, people become shamans if a Chukchi is saved in a moment of danger by a walrus, deer or wolf - thereby “transferring” ancient magic to the sorcerer.

A remarkable feature of the Chukchi shaman is that he can “gender me” at will. Men, at the behest of the spirits, become women, even get married. Bogoraz suggested that these were echoes of matriarchy.

Chukchi and humor

The Chukchi came up with the saying “laughter makes a man strong.” This phrase is considered the life credo of every Chukchi. They are not afraid of death, they kill easily, without feeling the burden. For other people, it is incomprehensible how you can first cry over the death of a loved one and then laugh? But despondency and melancholy for the Chukchi are a sign that a person has been “captured” evil spirit Kele, and this was condemned. Therefore, the Chukchi constantly joke, make fun of each other, laugh. From childhood, Chukchi are taught to be cheerful. It is believed that if a child cries for a long time, then his parents raised him poorly. Girls for marriage are also chosen according to their liking. If a girl is cheerful and has a sense of humor, she has a better chance of getting married than one who is always sad, since it is believed that a sad girl is sick and therefore dissatisfied, because she thinks about illnesses.

Chukchi and jokes

Not only the Chukchi laugh, but they also like to make fun of the Chukchi. The topic of the Chukchi in Russian jokes is one of the most extensive. People have been making jokes about the Chukchi since the times of the USSR. Alexandra Arkhipova, Associate Professor at the Center for Typology and Semiotics of the Russian State University for the Humanities, connects the beginning of the appearance of jokes with the 60s film “Chief of Chukotka.” There, the familiar Chukchi “however” sounded for the first time. The image of the Chukchi in jokes is that of someone who doesn’t know Russian well, a wild, gullible person who constantly reflects. There is also an opinion that we read the measure of our national superiority from the Chukchi. Like, the Chukchi are stupid and naive, but we are not like that. Today, the main topic of jokes has shifted towards the former Chukotka governor Roman Abramovich.

What may surprise you in the Chukchi traditions June 19th, 2018

We have already discussed history, traditions and. You can read a lot of interesting things about this people, popular in jokes. But domestic and foreign ethnographers and simply travelers, who encountered the life and customs of the Chukchi for the first time, were often shocked by some manifestations of their originality.

Many features of the Chukotka way of life are characteristic only of this people.

The first "swingers"

This is one of the most strange customs among the Chukchi, noticed back in the 18th century by a Russian scientist with German roots, Karl Heinrich Merck. Merck explored the northeastern shores of Russia, studied customs and lifestyle many northern peoples and left memories about this, published only in the 19th century.

Gender relations, according to Merk’s recollections, among the Chukchi were very peculiar - in order to consolidate friendly (business, partnership) contacts, it was not forbidden to exchange wives. This ritual was called “ngevtumgyn” (which translated means “wife friendship”), and the narrow-eyed “swinger” was called “ngevtumgyt”. A jealous Chukchi is like a Jewish reindeer herder: among representatives of a given people not giving your wife to the “corefan” was more insulting than not paying off your debts. This exchange most often arose from purely practical considerations that simplified the life of these people in the difficult conditions of the Far North.

As a modern ethnographer and researcher of the Far North, Professor Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergei Aleksandrovich Arutyunov says, this practice existed before civilization touched the Chukchi, today such “free love” does not occur.

Karl Merk was also amazed by the custom of dressing up a Chukchi shaman in women's clothing and his subsequent cohabitation (in everyday life) with the owner of the yaranga in the role of his second spouse - this is what the spirits allegedly ordered. The Chukchi also practiced levirate - younger brother the deceased elder brother was obliged to marry his widow and raise all the children of the deceased as his own.

Didn't save drowning people

This rule, strictly observed by the Chukchi, actually took place, even in the twentieth century, confirms S. A. Arutyunov. Sergei Alexandrovich says that among these people the reservoir was considered the border between the earthly and other worlds– if a person is taken away by water spirits, it is unacceptable to interfere with this. When the Chukchi boats capsized and their comrades found themselves in the water in their rather heavy clothes, none of the tribesmen rushed to help.

But the Eskimos, adds Arutyunov, did not have such a cruel custom - it happened that they saved the drowning Chukchi, despite the fact that these peoples, to put it mildly, were not friends with each other.

Only they had such “diapers”

Karl Merck spoke in his notes about in an unusual way swaddling of newborns among the Chukchi, which in its essence is a primitive prototype of a modern diaper: moss and deer hair served as absorbent material. The baby was dressed in a kind of overalls with such a “lining”, which was changed several times during the day.

It is noteworthy that this is not the only Chukchi invention from the list of those that were subsequently modernized. For example, the role of a sun visor (like in a baseball cap) among the Chukchi was played by a piece of whalebone attached to a hat - it protected from the bright and angry northern sun and blinding snow. Russian ethnographers have noticed that the Chukchi use peculiar “ sunglasses» – eye patches made of tanned deerskin with narrow slits for viewing. “Cocktail straws” also appeared among the Chukchi long before the advent of mixed drinks - these people drank liquids through the hollow bones of animals: as you know, in the cold, if you touch a metal surface with your lips, you can “stick.”

sources

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 encountered Russians for the first time back in XVII 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.

TO end of the XVIII century, the territory of the Chukchi extended from Omolon, Bolshoy and Maly Anyuy in the west to the Penzhin 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. Completely unique women's clothing, 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 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.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY

HISTORY DEPARTMENT

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHEOLOGY, ETHNOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

Essay on ethnology

Traditional Chukchi culture

Irkutsk, 2007

Introduction

Ancestral homeland and resettlement of the Chukchi

Main activities

Social order

Life of the Chukchi

Beliefs and rituals

Conclusion

Introduction

Chukchi, (self-name, “real people”). The population in the Russian Federation is 15.1 thousand people, the indigenous population of the Chukotka Autonomous Region. districts (11.9 thousand people). They also live in the north of the Koryak Autonomous Area. district (1.5 thousand people) and in the Lower Kolyma region of Yakutia (1.3 thousand people), they speak the Chukchi language.

Since the end of the 18th century, trade contacts between the Chukchi and the Russians intensified. According to the “Charter on the Administration of Foreigners” of 1822, the Chukchi did not bear any duties; they contributed yasak voluntarily, receiving gifts for it. The established peaceful relations with the Russians, Koryaks and Yukagirs, and the development of herding reindeer herding, contributed to the further expansion of the Chukchi territory to the west. By the 1830s, they had penetrated the river. Bolshaya Baranikha, by the 1850s - in the lower Kolyma, by the mid-1860s - in the area between the Kolyma and Indigirka rivers; to the south - the territory of the Koryaks, between Penzhina and Korfu Bay, where the Koryaks were partially assimilated. In the east, the assimilation of the Chukchi - Eskimos - intensified. In the 1850s American whalers entered into trade with the coastal Chukchi. The expansion of the territory inhabited by the Chukchi was accompanied by the final identification of territorial groups: Kolyma, Anyui, or Malo-Anyu, Chaun, Omolon, Amguem, or Amguem-Vonkarem, Kolyuchino-Mechigmen, Onmylen (inner Chukchi), Tumansk, or Vilyunei, Olyutor, Bering Sea ( Sea Chukchi) and others. In 1897, the number of Chukchi was 11,751 people. Since the end of the 19th century, due to the extermination of sea animals, the number of coastal Chukchi fell sharply, by 1926 it amounted to 30% of all Chukchi. Modern descendants of the coastal Chukchi live in the villages of Sirenki, Novo Chaplino, Providence, Nunligran, Enmelen, Yanrakynnot, Inchoun, Lorino, Lavrentiya, Neshkan, Uelen, Enurmino on the eastern coast of Chukotka.

In 1930, the Chukotka National Okrug was formed (since 1977 - Autonomous Okrug). The ethnic development of the Chukchi in the 20th century, especially during the period of consolidation of collective farms and the formation of state farms from the 2nd half of the 50s, was characterized by consolidation and overcoming the isolation of individual groups

Ancestral homeland and resettlement of the Chukchi

Initially, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk was considered the ancestral home of the Chukchi, from where they moved north, assimilating part of the Yukaghirs and Eskimos. According to modern research, the ancestors of the Chukchi and related Koryaks lived in the inner regions of Chukotka.

Main activities

The main occupation of the tundra Chukchi was nomadic reindeer herding, which had a pronounced meat-hide character. Sled reindeer were also used. The herds were comparatively large in size; the deer were poorly accustomed and were grazed without the help of dogs. In winter, the herds were kept in places sheltered from the wind, migrating several times during the winter; in the summer, men went with the herd into the tundra, women, old people and children lived in camps along the banks of rivers or the sea. The reindeer were not milked; sometimes the shepherds sucked the milk. Urine was used to lure deer. Deer were castrated by biting the sperm ducts.

Traditional crafts include fur dressing, weaving bags from fireweed and wild rye fibers for women, and bone processing for men. Artistic carving and engraving on bone and walrus tusk, applique of fur and sealskin, and embroidery with deer hair are developed. The Chukchi ornament is characterized by a small geometric pattern. In the 19th century, artisanal associations emerged on the east coast to produce carved walrus ivory items for sale. In the 20th century Thematic engraving on bone and walrus tusk developed (works by Vukvol, Vukvutagin, Gemauge, Halmo, Ichel, Ettugi, etc.). The center of bone carving art was a workshop in the village of Uelen (established in 1931).

In the 2nd half. 19th century many Chukchi began to be hired on whaling schooners and gold mines.

Social order

The social system of the Chukchi, at the beginning of contacts with the Russians, was characterized by the development of a patriarchal community into a neighboring one, the development of property, and differentiation. Deer, dogs, houses and canoes were privately owned, pastures and fishing grounds were communally owned. The main social unit of the tundra Ch. was a camp of 3-4 related families; Among the poor, camps could unite unrelated families; in the camps of large reindeer herders, their workers lived with their families. Groups of 15-20 camps were connected by mutual assistance. Primorye Ch. united several families into a canoe community, headed by the owner of the canoe. Among the reindeer Ch., there were patrilineal kinship groups (varat), bound by common customs (blood feud, transfer of ritual fire, common signs on the face during sacrifices, etc.). Until the 18th century Patriarchal slavery was known. The family in the past was a large patriarchal one, to the end. 19th century - small patrilocal. According to the traditional wedding ceremony, the bride, accompanied by relatives, rode her reindeer to the groom. At the yaranga, a deer was slaughtered and with its blood the bride, the groom and their relatives were marked with the groom's family marks on their faces. The child was usually given a name 2-3 weeks after birth. There were elements of group marriage ("variable marriage"), labor for the bride, and among the rich - polygamy. Many problems in reindeer Ch. arose with disproportion in the sex structure (there were fewer women than men).