The peoples of the North and their culture

Previously, ethnologists counted up to 45 different peoples inhabiting a harsh climate in the North. They live in small groups, each has its own language, traditions and religious beliefs.

Who are the northern peoples?

The notion of "the peoples of the North" is increasingly being diluted with the word "small". According to official data, those are considered to be those whose number of representatives does not exceed the threshold of 50,000 people. However, then those who still exceeded this figure will not be able to get on the lists, but they live in the North, respect the ancient traditions of their ancestors, and also profess the same religion. In the event that the peoples of the Far North are considered only by small numbers, it is to be thrown out of the list of Komi, Karelians and Yakuts. These are quite large groups.

Legislative justification

In 1995, for the first time, a more orderly list of ethnic groups and peoples of the North appeared, which not only live in this part of Russia, but also preserve cultural and everyday traditions. It includes both Komi and Yakuts, which are engaged in breeding deer. All of them live in a localized small area, differ in activities and are part of a large ethnic unit. Researchers are constantly talking about the peoples of the North and Siberia, since there are a few groups of Russians living on those lands.

In 1999, special definitions were given to special nationalities. The peoples of the North recognized those who live in their territory, where their ancestors once settled, have their own language, keeping traditions, using the same kinds of food and numbering less than fifty thousand people. In fact, scientists have erased about 30% of ethnic groups.

In 2000, for the first time, all the small peoples of the North were included in one official document. In the list of 45 well-known to the present day ethnoses. Each of them lives on its territory, engages in certain trades, while contacting the rest of the population of the Russian Federation, as a rule, through trade. At the same time, their cultural characteristics are preserved and transmitted as the wealth of their ancestors.

Almost seventeen of all listed have no more than 1500 people in their composition.

The peoples of the North are very careful about ecology. They try to master the surrounding nature, causing it minimal harm.

Many of them had to change the habitat in the course of history, but usually at the same time their ethnic environment also changed.

Earnings

For a long time, the peoples of the North only exchanged with each other. They gave the excess goods and took the one that they needed. Changed as goods for everyday use, and various fertilizers, fossils and so on.

In ancient times, they passed on to each other even flint, from which they created tools for hunting.

The main types of fishing for most of these peoples is:

• Reindeer herding;
• fishing;
• Gathering;
• horticulture.

Many have a system of seasonal migrations, during which hunting trips are made or trade with other inhabitants of these lands.

Great resettlement

The peoples of the North were significantly modified after the glaciers began to melt 10,000 years ago. During this phenomenon, part of the local ethnos, which used to live in the central or even southern part of the country, migrated to the northern territories.

They can be determined by language groups :

• Evens, Dolgans, Evenks and many other peoples of the Far North belong to the Turkic and Tungus-Manchu groups;
• Nenets, Nganasans, Selkups and Enets belong to the community of Samoyedic languages;
• Yukaghirs to the Paleo-Asiatic, combining everything that the peoples of the North and the Far East brought to their culture;
• Khanty, Saami and Mansi to a separate group of threatened Finnish languages.

Yukaghir rock carvings were found in the mountains of the Angara. And now they all live in the northern part of Russia. Many were in the Arctic Circle.

Over time, the language changed, and even the appearance of the nomads. Their body has adapted to tolerate persistent frosts.

Culture of the Peoples of the North

The culture of each ethnos is unique and unique. Despite the small number, the ethnic population studies the languages of their ancestors, preserves cultural traditions.

Each dialect, spoken by one or another nationality, is divided into several different subspecies.

For example, the Chukchi have about five different dialects. Each of them is typical for a certain area in which they live.

Folklore

Indigenous small peoples of the North carefully preserve ancient legends passed down from generation to generation. Their legends can be regarded as a unique cultural phenomenon. Researchers still record all the stories from the stories recounted by the northern peoples. With the help of them you can understand what processes have been going on with these people for many centuries.

Traditional holidays are observed from year to year throughout the history of the tribe, somewhat evolving. Song traditions, music, dance - all of them are still preserved by local communities.

Material culture

Specific ornaments on clothes serve as a dividing feature for each people. Also often on the traditional clothes of the northerners there are plots from their life, images of ancestors. You can see the water motives on the dresses of those ethnic groups who are engaged in fishing as the main industry. Images of deer appear in reindeer herders.

Each of the ethnic groups is characterized by their dwellings, built for the place of residence, working conditions. Nomadic tribes usually construct temporary structures, which can be easily disassembled in order to move to another place.

As for nutrition, the peoples of the North still have a traditional way of preserving food - to dry them. This allows us to replace the usual refrigerator. For example, the drying of deer meat, fish, various berries, mushrooms, herbs is widespread in most parts of Northern Russia.

Most of the representatives of these ethnic groups are engaged in raw diet. They do not cook meat or berries, fish or herbs, preferring to eat them raw. Naturally, this is possible due to the fact that the temperature rarely rises above zero.

Religion

In the north of Russia, there were no Christians, no Muslims, no one else. It is for this reason that primitive beliefs have been preserved here. This is of great interest to scientists and theologians. Representations of the local population are radically different from those of other peoples.

The shamans are still in high esteem. These respected people are the vehicles between the world of spirits and the environment of man. They perform the function of psychologists, doctors and religious mentors.

According to the indigenous population, nature is a living organism. Everything around has a soul and is capable of both helping and hurting. It is for this reason that all the peoples of the North worship the spirits of animals, forests, mountains and plants. The ancestors deserve special respect. With due respect, they will certainly help their relatives. In addition, they are the ones who store all the experience that the genus acquired during its existence.

It is interesting that the shamanism of the North has nothing to do with the culture of the Indians. If you draw a parallel, it will be closer to the frightening voodoo. But, unlike the latter, shamans use their knowledge exclusively for good.

Historical reference

Many believe that the cradle of the entire population of the Earth is Mesopotamia and the state of Sumerians. There is an opinion that humanity originated in Egypt. Perhaps the first people began to develop China or India. Nevertheless, exactly this can not be claimed by anybody.

But there is every reason to believe that Russia aspires to the status of one of the most ancient states. The northern peoples lived here 9,000 years ago. Rather, the found tools and household items allow you to talk about it. It is possible that more ancient evidence is simply not yet discovered.

Of particular interest in this regard are the Yukagirs. This nationality is considered the oldest and its roots can go to mythical Hyperboreans. According to another version, their ancestors should be considered Chukchi, because their way of life is ideally suited for the Arctic. In addition, in terms of technology, they are far ahead of the rest of the tribes.

If we talk about the youngest small people of the North, these are the basins. This ethnos was formed only in the middle of the 19th century, when the Russian tsars actively began to develop the lands of Ussuriysk. The assimilation of several different nationalities (Nanais, Udege, Chinese) who found themselves in isolation led to the emergence of a new group.