Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
Ethnohistorical Review ................................................................................................................... 2
The Natural Environment of the Region ......................................................................................... 6
Geoclimatic Changes of the Ob River Basin taiga ......................................................................7
Traditional Land Use ....................................................................................................................... 7
Calendar ........................................................................................................................................... 8
Traditional Knowledge in Everyday Life ...................................................................................... 12
Buildings ....................................................................................................................................12
Means of Transportation ............................................................................................................14
Household Economy ..................................................................................................................15
Traditional Food ........................................................................................................................18
Traditional Medicine..................................................................................................................19
Wordview, Rituals, and Folklore................................................................................................... 20
Adaptation Strategies for the Changing World ............................................................................. 24
Sources .......................................................................................................................................... 26
Authors .......................................................................................................................................... 27
1
Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
Ethnohistorical Review
The term ‘Ob-Ugrians’ is generally applied to two closely related peoples, the
Khanty and the Mansi (called Ostyaks and Voguls in early ethnographies). Both are
part of the Ugric group of the Uralic linguistic family and reside in the Ob River
Basin, in Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, and Tomsk oblasts. Both the Khanty and the Mansi
have an official status as indigenous ethnic minorities of the North, Siberia, and the
Far East. The historical and cultural kinship of Ob-Ugrians is characterized by the
unity of their worldview and similarities in ritual practices and traditional methods
of land use.
The Khanty are settled in the lower reaches of the Irtysh River and along the
tributaries of the middle and lower Ob River.
The Mansi are settled in the east and north-east parts of the Khanty-Mansiysk
Autonomous Okrug and also in the Central and Northern Ural Mountains
(Sverdlovsk Oblast). Small numbers of Mansi also reside in the Yamalo-Nenets
Autonomous Okrug and in the Perm Krai.
Ob-Ugrians can be divided into ethno-territorial groups according to the specific
features of their dialect and differences in material and spiritual culture. At present
the Khanty are represented by the northern and eastern groups that have retained
their native language and traditional culture. Up to the end of the nineteenth
century there was also a southern Khanty group (on the Irtysh and Demyanka
Rivers). However, by the beginning of the twentieth century the southern Khanty
were assimilated. The Mansi had been represented by four groups: northern,
southern, western, and eastern. Presently, however, only the northern and the
western Mansi retain their distinctive character, while the eastern and southern
groups have been assimilated.
There is archaeological evidence to support the idea that taiga hunters, ancestors of
the Khanty and Mansi, inhabited western Siberia as early as the Bronze Age,
around 2,000 years B.C. In the Russian chronicles of the eleventh to fifteenth
centuries, territories occupied by Khanty and Mansi were known as “Midnight
lands,” “Yugra,” and “Yugoria.” The inhabitants of these lands were called
“Yegra,” and “Yugrich.”
During the medieval period a number of Ugrian princedoms traded not only with
neighboring peoples, but also sent furs to the countries of the Middle East in
exchange for silver dishware, luxury articles, and ammunition. Ugrians also knew
blacksmithing and were able to mine deposits of bog iron.
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
During the period of the Tatar Mongol expansion, the Mongol Siberian Khanate
existed on the Irtysh River. Historic legends of the eastern Khanty tell how Tatar
Mongol bands came up to the Ob River to tax the local population; the tax was
paid in furs.
The territory occupied by the Ob-Ugrians in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries
was approximately the same territory as that on which they live today. With the
beginning of the Russian colonization in the sixteenth century, Ugrian princedoms
began to lose their independence. Only a handful of princedoms survived until the
seventeenth century. Eastern Khanty still have a legend about Prince Tonya, who
called on his neighboring warriors and kinsmen to battle with the Russian Cossack
legions. However, he was outnumbered by his enemies and captured in his
stronghold.
In the administrative documents and ethnographic literature of the pre-Soviet and
early Soviet period, Khanty were called Ostyaks and Mansi were called Voguls.
The Ob Ugrians gradually began moving to eastern and northern territories in the
eighteenth century as the Russian-speaking population in western Siberia sharply
increased. The Russian government strove to preserve the traditional forms of
economy of the native peoples of Yugra, because it was interested in receiving a
steady tax income – yasak – paid in animal furs.
Clearly, preserving the seminomadic way of life of the local hunters was aimed at
guaranteeing income from yasak. For this reason even during the reform of the
administrative law governing the peoples of Siberia, the residents of Yugra did not
lose the freedom to determine their places of settlements and hunting grounds. In
“The Statute of Ruling Over Indigenous Dwellers of Siberia” (1822), Ostyaks and
Voguls received the status of “nomadic indigenous dwellers” (“foragers”).
The Christianization of Ob Ugrians began during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. The spread of Christianity was accompanied by the cutting down of
sacred groves and public burning of “idols.” Official policy forbade coercive
measures to compel the Ugrians to be baptized, because baptized Ugrians did not
have to pay yasak. However, these policies were often disregarded by the local
military and officials. Christianization resulted in a dual faith system among the Ob
Ugrian population. The traditional pantheon was expanded through the inclusion of
new gods. Most attention was given to the images of the Holy Mother and
Nicholas the Wonderworker. The image of the Madonna and Child was associated
with the image of a Ugrian goddess, the Lifegiver. The icon of the Madonna of the
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
Seven Arrows was consistent with the belief of the Kazym Khanty (a northern
group) about a Kazym female warrior protector of the Kazym River. All across the
Yugra, Nicholas the Wonderworker was called Nikola-Torum and granted the
spiritual power of the higher god along with his son, the protector of the people.
The Soviet nationalities policy of the 1930s brought about the development of the
Khanty and Mansi writing system, the opening of boarding schools, the beginning
of the literacy, and the formation of the national class of the intelligentsia. The
indigenous population of the region received free medical support and pensions.
In 1932 the ethnic minorities of the Yugra began to be called what they have
always called themselves – Khanty and Mansi – instead of Ostyaks and Voguls.
The breakdown of the traditional forms of land use during the Soviet period had a
negative impact on the long-standing way of life of the Ob Ugrians. The creation
of collective farms was contrary to indigenous ways of subsistence, which were
based on individual (family) household economy. Prosperous members of the
indigenous population who did not wish to enter a collective farm were accused of
being class enemies, for which their property was seized and they could be sent
into exile. In this way the cultural formation of the Ob Khanty living along the Ob
River was destroyed. The administration sought to make the local residents of
Yugra shift over to a sedentary way of life. The antireligious propaganda campaign
led to a partial loss of religious values. “The Fight Against Superstition” was
conducted in a harsh manner: shrines were destroyed, clan and family relics were
taken away by force, shamans and medicine men were arrested, and traditional
religious rituals were banned. Children were often compelled to attend boarding
schools. Children would be taken away from their parents and sent to boarding
schools hundreds of kilometers away where they were not permitted to speak their
native language.
Collectivization, the forcible confiscation of property, antireligious propaganda,
and compulsory education caused protests, mass demonstrations and uprisings
among Ob Ugrians. The largest of these was the Kazym Uprising which took place
during the winter of 1933-1934, and which ended with the shooting of not only its
organizers but also of some of the local population. This tragedy was reflected in
the novel of a Khanty writer, Ye. D. Aipin, called “Mother of God in the Bloody
Snow” (2010). In the 1960s the executive branch of the government began to
actively force nomadic peoples into leading a sedentary lifestyle. For this purpose
the local industrial enterprises began to build villages with dispensaries, post
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
offices, boarding schools, and stores. However, the seminomadic economy is
incompatible with a stationary life. Those indigenous residents who agreed to
relocate to the villages received free accommodation and an opportunity to settle
into a new way of life, but the price for these innovations was the loss of traditional
culture and widespread alcohol addiction.
In the second part of the twentieth century, due to the exploitation of oil and gas
deposits in western Siberia, Ob-Ugrians were caught in the very center of industrial
development. The development of the deposits was done in the areas traditionally
occupied by the Khanty and Mansi. This has inflicted great damage on the local
ecosystem, and forced the indigenous population to relocate further from the
wellsites.
The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to significant changes in the
economic and social life of the country. These changes also influenced the
indigenous people of the northern West Siberia. The local hunting and fishing
enterprises stopped their activities, and fur farms were closed down. As a result,
commercial hunting and fishing became impossible, people were left without pay,
and enterprises were no longer supplied with free hunting and fishing tools.
Financial contraction in the sphere of public health services led to the cancellation
of annual prophylactic medical examinations in remote areas of the Khanty and
Mansi living. Intensive development of oil and gas fields, pipeline construction,
etc., threatened the indigenous population with the loss of the taiga lands. For this
reason in 1991 the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug government began to
allocate territories of traditional land use or kinship lands. The marking of their
boundaries was conducted with the participation of indigenous people. Kinship
lands were attached to the heads of those families leading a traditional way of life,
and were recorded as a free, special-purpose, lifelong ownership, entailing the right
to inherit. In practice, however, these rights are constantly violated in the interests
of industrial enterprises. In order to defend their rights and find ways of adapting to
new economic realities, the indigenous residents of Yugra began to form familykinship community associations. On the wave of the perestroika, in 1996 the Duma
of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug created the first body of political
representation for indigenous peoples in Siberia – the Assembly of the Members of
Indigenous Ethnic Minorities of the North.
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
The Natural Environment of the Region
The Ob-Irtysh River Basin occupies much of the West Siberian Plain. The central
part of the plain is located within the taiga zone in an area between 66° and 56° of
the north latitude and runs for approximately a thousand kilometers. The taiga zone
is comprised of northern, middle, and southern taiga, and birch and aspen forests.
The territory occupied by the Ob Ugrians is limited to the north and middle taiga
subzones.
The West Siberian Plain includes both the lowlands and the elevated zones up to
300 meters above sea level. The elevated zones are mainly located along the border
between north and middle taiga. The longest stretch is the Siberian Ridge which
runs from the Ob to the Yenisei and divides the West Siberian Plain into two
halves – north (Lower Ob) and south (Middle Ob). In the south the middle taiga
subzone is bordered by a moraine ridge stretching east-west.
The entire territory of the northern and middle taiga is intensely water-logged,
especially in the river valleys.
Permafrost is common in the northern part of this territory; its extent decreases in
the lower elevations where there is abundant snow, and also under large riverbeds
and under the lake basins.
Wide flood plains occupy the bottom lands of large rivers.
The rivers of the West Siberia flow north emptying into the Kara Sea. The largest
of them, the Ob with its Irtysh tributary, is among the greatest rivers on the globe.
The main right tributaries of the upper and middle Ob are the Tom, Chulym, Ket,
Tym, Vakh, Agan, Tromyegan, and Pim Rivers. The left tributaries are the Parabel,
Vasyugan, Big Yugan, Salym, and Irtysh Rivers. Tributaries of the lower Ob
include Sosva and Kazym. The largest rivers of the West Siberian north are the
Nadym, Pur, and Taz, that begin in the Siberian Ridges.
The flora of the West Siberian Plain is dominated by larch, spruce, pine, cedar,
aspen, birch, and ash trees; currant, briar, honeysuckle, ledum, billberry, red
billberry, cranberry, swamp blueberry, cloudberry, blackberry bushes; horsepine,
sedge, twinflower, beadruby, sundew, sphagnum moss, etc.
Typical representatives of the fauna:
 Mammals – brown bear, wolf, lynx, fox, wolverine, sable, weasel, ermine,
reindeer, moose (elk), muskrat, mink, otter, squirrel, arctic hare, beaver,
chipmunk;
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
 Birds – capercaillie, coachscrew, hazelhen, partridge, blackcock, fish-hawk,
white-tailed eagle, swan, wild goose, river and diving ducks, sandpiper,
three-toed woodpecker, jay, nutcracker, raven, grey crow, waxwing,
crossbill, grosbeak, redpoll, tit, etc.;
 amphibians – moor, brown, and Siberian wood frogs; European common
toad; common eft;
 reptiles – common viper and adder;
 fish – pike, perch, ruff, gudgeon, ide, roach, dace, and crucian carp.
Geoclimatic Changes of the Ob River Basin taiga
The modern period is characterized by a general rise in atmospheric temperature.
This correlates with the common planetary geoclimatic changes of Earth. In the
beginning of this century a certain decrease in the water level of the
Ob-Irtysh Basin was noticed. In Surgut region surface water levels were at their
lowest in 2012. On the Big Yugan River, a tributary of the Ob, local weather
stations report the summer temperatures in July have risen from 2004 (+21 C) to
2013 (+25.8 C) by 4 degrees C. For the past two years there has barely been any
rain in the summer, and the threat of forest fire remains. Taiga fires damage the
economies of the territories and burn houses. In 2012 the Big Yugan’s water level
dropped so much that boulders on the bottom of the river became visible, and the
river was no longer accessible even for the traditional Khanty boats. Families
living in the remote settlements in the forest quite often have to fight forest fires
themselves, digging trenches or drawing water from the river to pour on their
wooden homes.
Traditional Land Use
The traditional land use of the Ob Ugrians is based on a complex economy. Its
main branches include hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding. Which activity
predominates is defined by the landscape and climatic features of the occupied
territory.
The residents of the right bank of Ob breed reindeer for transportation as well as
for food. This kind of reindeer herding gets the name of “near the settlement”
herding since the reindeer spend most of their time near their owners’ dwellings.
This type of reindeer herding is additional to other resources. The reindeer herds
are small and kept either in unrestricted or semi-restricted pasturage. During winter
time the reindeer are fed with dried mashed fish added to other feed. In the summer
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
the owners build special structures and use smudge fires to protect the herd from
mosquitoes.
On the left bank of the Lower Ob Mansi residents practice relocating reindeer
herds to seasonal pastures. Reindeer have not only transportation but also meat
value. By the beginning of summer the reindeer herds are led to the mountain
grazing pastures of the Urals. For this purpose members of several families
combine their herds and choose herders for the summer tending of the common
herd.
Hunting is seasonal. In the fall and in the beginning of spring residents hunt large
hoofed animals such as moose (elk) and wild reindeer. During the spring and
summer period, the residents hunt water birds, and in the
fall – upland game. Throughout the winter the residents hunt fur animals, with the
exception of the otter, which is hunted both in the winter and summer seasons.
Aside from that they also hunt partridge and hare during winter and spring.
Some fishing is done in the summer, but most is done in the fall and winter period.
Calendar
The Ob Ugrian calendar system is based on the lunar cycle and reflects the
seasonal sequence of their traditional activities. This sequence was formed under
the influence of the climate and landscape features of their territories. The calendar
year is divided into four generally accepted seasons: winter, spring, summer, and
fall. These are customarily grouped into two periods – the fall-winter season, and
the spring-summer season.
Winter and summer are considered to be the main opposing seasons, and spring
and fall are considered to be transitional. In a way spring and fall are considered as
boundaries that divide nature’s dormant and wakeful states. For instance, the
eastern Khanty believe that the end of October – middle of November period is the
beginning of the “big winter,” or the “shoulder of fall.” This is the time when
nature makes its transition into winter and cold weather. They also believe that
April is tied to nature’s transition into the summer side of the year.
Each season consists of several months that today are relatively consistent with the
Gregorian calendar. Different groups of Khanty and Mansi have varying lengths
and names for the months, depending on the place of residence and on the
predominating form of economy. For instance, the reindeer herders of the Lower
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
Ob call May the “month of calf birth,” but on the tributaries of the Middle Ob it is
called the “month of fish spawning,” or the “month of the wild geese and ducks
arriving.”
At present the traditional lunar calendar no longer has the same significance for the
Khanty as before, and in the minds of the people it has merged with the modern
solar calendar. Even though the local people still mark two main periods, –
summer and winter – the new year begins with the month of January just as in the
standard calendar system.
Spring - Summer
The Spring – Summer period begins in February, which is called the “month of the
deceitful eagle.” The main attribute of the coming of the spring is the lengthening
of the daylight hours. According to the Ob Ugrian myth the days grow longer
because an eagle steals pieces from the winter sun. They consider March to be the
true spring month and call it the “month of the strong eagle.” In March, local
people relocate from their winter place to their summer camping, hunting and
fishing grounds. Another attribute of the spring season is the appearance of a thick
crust of ice that forms on the snow. This time is favorable for hunting moose (elk)
and wild reindeer by driving them toward the hunters, a technique practiced almost
everywhere in March and April. The local people also continue hunting for
partridge and hare using special traps, such as deadfalls and snares.
Waterfowl begin to arrive in May, and the birds are hunted before they start to
nest. Hunters use firearms and traps, the so-called “pereves.” By the middle of
June the hunters have completed the hunting of small water birds and switch to
hunting swans. The Pim Khanty call the period from the middle of June to the
middle of July the “month of the swan.” Aside from swans, they also hunt ducks,
otters, and moose (elk) near ponded waters.
In spring, fishing plays a secondary role, but it becomes the primary activity in the
summer. In June valuable types of fish come up the Ob to spawn and put on fat.
For this reason in several regions June is called the “fish spawning month.” When
gathering large quantities of fish, Khanty and Mansi families can go fishing to the
Ob or its large tributaries where they establish temporary fishing camps. Fish are
caught using seine nets and set nets. On smaller taiga rivers the locals set up fish
weirs with woven basket traps. After the water level falls, they fish using nets and
traps in the ponds and lakes left behind after the spring floods. Catching very large
quantities of fish is essential to prepare winter provisions. The fish is smoke-cured,
9
Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
dried into jerky, boiled out for fish oil, ground into fish powder, and fish scales are
collected to prepare fish glue.
Spring is also an important period for reindeer herding. This is the time when
reindeer complete the shedding of their antlers. Young growing antlers (velvet
antlers) are soft and covered with a velvety skin. At that time the animals are
sluggish and vulnerable, and thus require special care from their owners. In
addition, the first calving also begins in April, although May is considered the best
time for a calf's birth. Reindeer calving happens under the supervision of their
owners at the usual place of upkeep. By the end of May, after the end of the
calving, the reindeer are gathered together and driven to the village where the
owners put their marks of ownership on the newborn calves. At this time of the
year reindeer herders of the left bank of Ob take away their herds to rich grazing
pastures. By the end of May, when most of calving is complete, small individual
family herds are combined in order to drive them to the mountain taiga pastures
where they will graze. In the course of summer the reindeer are moved two or three
times depending on the weather conditions. If the summer is hot, more relocations
are required. The “mosquito time” begins in June, and smudge fires are set up for
the reindeer. Many areas have special barn-like structures called “reindeer houses.”
During this period the reindeer do not need much attention since the animals try to
stay by the smudge fires and the reindeer houses in order to escape from
mosquitoes. When the mosquitos leave, the reindeer once again begin to wander.
By August the reindeer antlers have hardened. As the time nears for driving the
herd back home (September), the herders cut off the sharp antler shoots so that the
bucks don’t hurt each other. This is also the time for castrating old and sick
reindeer bucks. All year round the reindeer spend time close to their owners’
dwellings on unrestricted or semi-restricted pasturage. In spring their movement is
confined by specially constructed wooden hobbles that are put on the reindeers’ leg
or neck.
The preparation of raw plant materials starts in the beginning of June. Birchbark
used for making boxs, baskets, dinnerware, and chum covers are prepared first.
Also in the beginning of summer the local people gather grass used for inner soles
of kisi (a special type of footware). Rushes are used for weaving mats. Cedar root,
bird cherry shoots, bracket fungus, spirea, pigweed, sphagnum moss used for
smudge fires and other household needs. At present raw plant material is not
gathered as much as before since manufactured household goods are readily
available. During the summer up to the beginning of October, the local people
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
gather berries such as cloudberry, red bilberry, blueberry, bilberry, cranberry, etc.
In areas rich in stands of cedar (Siberian stone pine), gathering of pine nuts is also
very important.
Fall – Winter
During the fall–winter period Ob Ugrians pursue various hunting and fishing
activities.
From the middle of August till the snowfall the local people hunt upland game
using traps and snares. The period from the end of August and through September
is dedicated to hunting large hoofed animals such as moose (elk), and wild and
domestic reindeer. Moose (elk) are hunted with rifles using dogs, and in some
areas historically the local people set up obstacles with crossbows, snares, and pits.
In October and November, as the snow begins to fall, the local people begin
hunting fur animals. In shallow snow they hunt with dogs and guns. As the snow
cover deepens, the hunters begin to set up various traps traps for sable and weasel
and snares for squirrels. The sable is also caught using traps and nets, while the fox
and wolverine are trapped. The hare is caught using deadfalls. Fur animal hunting
is done in remote areas and requires a great deal of endurance, attention, and
stamina. Hunters leave their settlements for one or two months to stay in special
hunting cabins. During long trips, when they must sleep in the forest, hunters can
build a balagan – a traditional lean-to shelter. In December the fur animal hunting
season ends. It recommences in February and lasts until the end of March and the
beginning of the fur animal's spring change of coat. Spring fur is less valuable than
their winter fur.
Fall – winter fishing period has its own specifics. The whitefish spawning ends in
September after which the fish leaves for the lower Ob. Some groups of Khanty
call September the “whitefish month,” while the Mansi call it the “month of the
teal.” By October the rivers and lakes are mainly left with only the common fresh
water fish, such as pike, perch, ruff, carp, and etc. During winter local people catch
fish using weirs in places where fresh water flows regularly and there has been no
winter fish-kill. The weirs are set in selected places close to the camp sites.
In September and October the reindeer herders of the left bank of Ob return the
herds from their summer pastures. At this time the reindeer go into rut. The herders
make sure that the herd stays together, and that the bucks don’t drive the does too
far away from the herd. During this period castrated bucks are separated from the
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
herd. In winter the reindeer herds stay close to the camp site feeding on reindeer
moss. The herders use hobbles in order to restrict the reindeer movement.
On the right bank of the Ob reindeer owners do not watch over the reindeer while
they are in rut because they are busy with hunting and fishing. In October they
begin to gather up the reindeer closer to the settlement, and during the winter
period the animals graze near the settlement. The owners go around the herd on
skis to check on it. The hobbles are taken off the animals only during periods of
deep snow, and are put back on in the spring.
Traditional Knowledge in Everyday Life
Buildings
The nomadic residents primarily use temporarily framed structures (the chum),
while semi-nomadic and sedentary residents prefer stationary log cabins. Different
groups of reindeer herders of the Lower Ob can live continuously in the chums at
camp sites or in winter stationary settlements with log cabins. Hunters and
fishermen of the Middle Ob use log houses at their permanent winter camp sites,
but at the seasonal spring and summer settlements they can also use huts and
chums. Sometimes they also put up winter chums as well. Buildings used for ritual
purposes are represented by log structures, built on the ground or elevated on legs,
and by earthen structures. These structures are located in the sacred areas of the
settlements.
Domestic buildings
The Hut
There are several types of the log dwellings – cabins – of the Ob Ugrians. They
differ in the construction of their roofs and the existence of an anteroom. The roof
can be a flat, overhung, or a double-pitched roof. The houses are either log or
board. Board buildings are used only as summer residence.
There is only one room in the house; the use of its space is strictly regulated by
tradition. The historical plan of the house put plank bed platforms against the wall
opposite of the entrance and along the side walls, and shelves for belongings are
put above them. The hearth is given a special place to the right of the entrance. A
traditional hearth is a clay cone-shaped stove with an open hearth. From the middle
of the twentieth century people generally began to use small metal stoves with a
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
thin chimney called “burzhuika.” The firewood is kept next to the hearth, and the
shelves with cookware are placed on the opposite side.
Every house has a sacred place. It can be in the central part of the platform beds
and include the shelf above it, or in one of the corners of the wall away from the
entrance.
Chum
The cone-shaped framework of the chum is put together using poles made from the
trunks of tall, slim trees. Their number depends on the size of the chum. The bigger
the family, the bigger the chum itself. The poles are placed so that the top part
forms a vent for smoke to pass through. The summer chum was covered with birch
bark. The local people would boil pieces of birch bark, and then sew them into
wide sheets to make roof covers for the chum. Today canvas tarpaulin is used to
cover the chums. Winter chum covers are sewn from reindeer skins. The hearth is
placed in the central part of the dwelling. In earlier days the hearth was just an
open fire, but today a metal stove is used.
Temporary Buildings
Temporary shelters were made of poles and birch bark, branches or grass; they had
the form of a semi-chum or a lean-to. Rectangular dwellings with a doublepitched, single-pitched, or round roof covered with birch bark can also be found in
hunting and fishing camps.
Household buildings
Household buildings include different kinds of storehouses, sheds, drying racks
and shelves, and also “reindeer houses.”
The reindeer barn or “reindeer house” is a plank or log building with a wide
entrance without doors, and a double-pitched or flat roof. Inside the building the
owners would set up one or several smudge fires.
Storehouse buildings (labaz) are used for storing cookware, dinnerware, and food.
It is a log structure set on four posts or legs up to two meters in height. The surface
of the posts is smoothed in order to prevent rodents from getting into the
storehouse. The walls of the labaz are made of thin logs or planks, loosely fitted
together for better ventilation. The roof is rarely flat but usually double-pitched,
made of planks or birch, and projects out over the porch of the storehouse.
Ground storehouses that are put on a covered timber foundation are less common.
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
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There are also different types of covered structures for storing skis, sleds, and
boats, and also stands and sheds for smoking and curing fish and meat.
Means of Transportation
Winter Means of Transportation
The main means of winter transportation of the Ob Ugrians are sleds and skis.
There are several types of sleds, and they are pulled by hand, by reindeer, or by
dogs, the latter built like hand-pulled type (eastern Khanty). All sleds have two
runners and cross stanchions. The steadiness of the sled depends on the number of
the stanchions. Hand-pulled sleds are long, narrow, and light, and are used
everywhere. This type of sled is used to bring food to the hunting place, and also to
carry away the game. Women’s hand sleds are usually more narrow in comparison
to the men’s and are used to transport firewood.
Reindeer sleds are also made for both men and women and can also be riding and
cargo sleds. Riding sleds are smaller in size, and their stanchions are thinner than
those of the cargo sleds, and have a wider slope angle. The women’s riding sled is
shorter and lower than the men’s, and has more stanchions since it is also used for
transporting children. Sometimes the women’s sleds are made with a backrest. In
addition they are often decorated with a braid and fringe made of dyed reindeer
skin.
A sled caravan is called an argish. The sleds in an argish are placed in a particular
order: men’s sleds in front, followed by a sacred sled, and women’s and cargo
sleds in the back.
The Khanty of Ob use different types of skis, such as hunting skis called golitsy
and podvoloki. Golitsy consist only of a wooden base and are mainly used for
moving across the spring ice cover and weak ice. The sliding surface of the
podvoloki skis is lined with reindeer, moose (elk), horse, or cow skin, with the
hair-side out and the hair laying from front to back on the bottom of the ski. The
hair provides grip on uphill surfaces. Women’s skis are not lined with moose (elk)
fur and are smaller in size. Podvoloki are used during the winter hunting season
and for watching reindeer herds.
Summer Means of Transportation
In summertime different types of boats – dugout boats, composite, and plank
boats – traditionally served as the main means of transportation. Today they are
supplemented by metal boats with outboard motors.
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
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Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
An oblas is a dugout canoe made out of a single-piece of the trunk of an aspen or
cedar (Siberian stone pine) tree. The length of a family oblas can be up to six
meters, however, a one-person oblas is usually no longer than two meters.
Composite boats (kaldanki) are sewn from three planks. This type of boat is widely
used by northern and western groups of Ob Ugrians. Kaldanki vary by size and
purpose: they are used for checking fish nets and hunting waterfowl. These boats
are navigated with one oar.
Large plank boats have a high cargo capacity. The most widely used are the
“zyryanskikh.”
Covered boats (kayuk) with an arched plank or birch bark covering and with a
place for the curtain underneath were used to transport families during summer
movements.
Household Economy
Men and women lead the household together, but their roles are different. A man’s
responsibilities are not limited to hunting and fising, but also include providing his
family with a place to live, traditional furniture, hunting and fishing tools, and
means of transportation. Women are responsible for preparing and curing fish and
meat, cleaning pelts, providing family members with clothes, cooking, and caring
for the young and the elderly members of the family. However, when necessary the
men can and do cook food, and at present there are some excellent hunters among
the women.
The children learn traditional skills and etiquette by watching the adults. From the
age of four and five little girls learn to use a needle: they thread beads and sew
dolls. From the age of ten to twelve boys accompany their father during hunting. It
is not customary to shout at the children or to punish them.
Household Items
Traditionally Ob Ugrian dwellings did not have much furniture. In semi-nomadic
households every seasonal cabin has its own set of furniture and household
inventory: a stove, tables, shelves for dishware and supplies, dishware, wall and
floor covers. In former times the floor and the walls were covered with woven rush
mats, but at present the local people use linoleum and rugs.
Commonly used dishes and cookware include items made of metal, glass, wood,
and birch and fir bark. Metalware includes cauldrons, kettles, pots and pans.
Teaware as a rule includes glass, china and faience. Platters and ladles are made of
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
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wood. Hollow-ware used for food storage is made out of tree bark. It can be either
birch bark, or composite, when the inner layer is made of birch bark and the outer
layer out of fir bark.
Knapsack-form containers usually come in different sizes for storing dry foods:
flour, salt, dried fish and meat, etc. Bark ware, such as birch or fir bark knapsackform containers, are also used to store small items. Often they are skillfully
decorated using the scraping or the application techniques. Different carriers, such
as small berry gathering purses called “nabirki,” worn around the waist, and large
boxs for keeping and transporting berries and fish are made of birchbark.
There are special boxes called “kornyevatiki” woven out cedar root, which are
used for keeping fragile ware, children’s toys, instruments, and cartridges.
Different sacks and purses are also used for storing and transporting various items.
The purses are sewn from different materials such as reindeer skins, fur, leg skins
of waterfowl. Commercial factory-made leather can also be used for making men’s
small waist purses.
Household Tools
The men traditionally work with hard materials, such as wood, bone, and metal.
They are responsible for building housing and secondary structures, making
hunting and fishing tools, wooden ware and kornyevatiki, musical instruments, and
ritual sculptures. Every head of household has his own set of tools. It includes
different sizes of knives, awls, and hand drills. For working with wood the men
also use segmental drills of different diameters, axes, an adz, and planes.
Women’s tools include devices meant to work with soft materials, such as skins,
fur, and birchbark. They include various scrapers and drawing-knives, boards used
for cutting, stretching and drying skins, and different sizes of knives for working
with leather and skins. Working with meat and fish requires using special knives
with handles of wood or bone for cleaning fish, and for cutting fish and meat. A
special board is used for cutting and cleaning the fish. In the past metal needles
were greatly valued. Working with every material requires a different kind of
needle.
Clothes
The clothes of Ob Ugrians are very well adapted to local climactic conditions. The
winter clothes are especially telling in this respect, and are represented by two
types: button-downs and pullovers. The clothes are double-layered, with gloves
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attached to the arms, and men’s clothes are always equipped with a hood. Despite a
universal cut, these winter clothes have many distinctive local features both in the
details of production and in the trimming.
Men’s Outwear
A man’s clothing reflects the activities its owner participates in. A reindeer
herder’s coat (malitsa) has a pullover cut, without slits and clasps. It’s sewn from
reindeer pelts with fur on the inside. A protective “shirt” called navershnitsa is put
over the coat. It is made out of strong cloth, usually heavy felt, and its lower hem
and arm hems can be decorated with wide strips of red, blue, or green cloth. The
coat is then tied about the waist with a belt decorated with cast metal shapes and
carved bone plates. A sheath and a waist purse are usually attached to the belt.
During long winter travels the men put on pullover clothing sewn out of reindeer
pelts with the fur on the outside (kumysh, parka). The kumysh is worn over the
malitsa. The malitsa and kumysh are widely used among Khanty and Mansi.
The short light sac is an item of the hunters’ button-down clothing. Its inner part
and collar are sewn out of water bird skins, and the top is covered with strong
cloth. The sac does not have a hood. The hunters use a hat made of young reindeer
skin as the head-dress; it covers the whole head leaving only the face open.
Women’s Outwear
Women’s costumes, especially outwear varies widely and is richly decorated. The
ornaments depend on the territorial group the woman belongs to.
Women’s outwear is always fastened with toggle buttons. Winter versions are
represented by two types of double-layered fur coat (sac, sakh, sakhi). The inner
part of the sac is made out of reindeer or hare pelt, and in some areas the swan's
down. The outer part is sewn from a reindeer’s skin and is richly decorated with a
fur mosaic and cloth inserts. A lighter version of a woman’s winter clothes is a sac
covered with cloth and decorated with beads, cotton cloth straps, and buttons.
Eastern Khanty wrap the right front of the fur coat over the left and for this reason
do not decorate the left side.
Women’s dress
A women’s dress is worn in any season. The women have retained their traditional
costume: dresses, robes, and scarfs.
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Footwear
Khanty and Mansi use traditional footwear predominantly in the winter period. It is
a double-layered footwear similar to mukluks sewn from reindeer skin and
decorated with thin cloth inserts along the stitching. These are usually worn up to
the thigh and are tied to the belt and under the knee.
Between-season and summer footwear is made of reindeer skin into one layer. As
inserts the locals use dry soft grass. Yugan and Salym Khanty footwear is shoe-like
with a cloth collar and fur head.
The Khanty living on the Yugan River have footwear decorated with a mosaic
made of reindeer skin and treated with natural dyes. Around the contours it is sewn
with reindeer hair.
Traditional Food
Ob Ugrian traditional cuisine is based on fish and meat dishes.
There are various ways of preparing fish: boiling, grilling over the fire using a
pole, and baking. Fish can also be eaten raw, sometimes when freshly caught, and
sometimes frozen, the so-called patanka. Suitable fish for eating raw are mostly
pike, roach, broad whitefish, peled, sturgeon, sterlet, muksun, and nelma. Fish is
also prepared and stored for later by drying, smoking or salting. Fish can also be
turned into fish powder and fish oil. Carp are not processed for storage but only
eaten fresh. Fish roe is seasoned, dried, roasted, and salted. Roe can be used by
itself or with other dishes. Fish broth is used for different soups, often with
addition of rye, wheat or fish flour or roe. Seasoning sometimes includes onions,
bird cherry fruit and savory leaves.
The meat of moose (elk) and reindeer (both wild and domesticated) is eaten, raw
and boiled. In certain areas there are restrictions on eating raw moose (elk) meat.
The local people also add organs, bone marrow and blood to the food. When
preparing meat for future use it is dried, salted, cured and frozen. Moose (elk) and
reindeer fat is considered valuable food product. The meat from some fur animals
(squirrel, hare, and muskrat), waterfowl and upland game birds is mostly eaten
boiled. Just like fish broth, meat broth is seasoned with flour.
Berries have a special place in Khanty and Mansi diets. Red bilberries and
cranberries are served with meat. Ground dried berries are added to boiled fish and
can be mixed with fish powder and fish oil. Red bilberries and cranberries are
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frozen for long-term use, and red and black currants, blueberries and bilberries are
served in fish oil. Dried birdcherries are used to make birdcherry flour.
From the seventeenth century starchy foods became widely popular with Ob
Ugrians. Bread is made from both sour and unfermented dough. They also make
cakes adding reindeer blood, broth, roe, fish oil, fish powder, or berries into the
dough. Pies are made with fish, meat, and berry fillings. Bread is made in
especially equipped ovens. In older days the bread oven was entirely made of clay,
but nowadays some local people often use a metal base coated with clay.
Traditional Medicine
The traditional medicine of Ob Ugrians is based on hygiene and the practical
knowledge of the healing properties of plants and various foods. Traditional
medicine is also tied to the worldview and belongs to the sphere of knowledge
aimed at promoting a healthy way of life. Knowledge of traditional medicine is
used both for healing and for preventing illnesses.
Below are the examples of traditional medicine1:








Charcoal, ground into powder, is used on skin cuts.
Perch oil is used to put on skin rashes, redness, mosquito bites, and scabs.
Bear fat is used as a warming rub for external remedies.
Meat broths, fish broth, fresh reindeer blood, and fresh reindeer liver are
considered beneficial and strengthening.
Raw pike is a tested remedy against heartburn.
Fir’s germicidal properties are widely known, and its branches are used to cover
the floor of a chum. Fir bark is used in concoctions with strips of dried otter
intestines and the mix is thrown on hot coals to make cleansing fumes.
Fir “sulphur” is used to cure eye infections. It is found by the gnarls on young
tree bark, and it looks like a droplet (“sulphur eye”). The droplet is pierced with
the “tip of a reindeer’s hair,” and the moistened hair is run along the inner part
of the lower eyelid. One procedure is enough for the healing process. Fir
sulphur can also be prepared in winter when by picking it with a special piece
of wood and in the summer it is wrapped in moss.
The chaga fungus (a woody black birch bracket fungus), when ground and
brewed as tea, is considered good for the stomach. The germicide qualities of
1
Some examples were found in the book “Khanty of the Trom-Agan River Basin: Beliefs About the World Around”
(2008) by O. V. Starodubova.
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chaga were also used for cleansing procedures. To prepare a cleansing “tonic,”
pieces of chaga would first be burned on burning coals, and then thrown into
boiling water. The brew was then cooled, and the chaga was ground into
powder while still in the water. This tonic was used for hygienic purposes
including the cleansing by sprinkling.
 Fireweed is believed to have a strengthening effect. In September when its
leaves begin to curl up, they are gathered, dried, and then brewed in boiling
water (two handfuls for one kettle), then it can be drunk as tea.
Eastern Khanty women go to the forest in the spring to gather birch saplings from
which to make fine shavings. They prepare several sacks for the whole year. In
former times such shavings were used for wiping hands and dishware. It is also an
ideal substitute for sanitary pads.
Among the Ugrians were specialists who had the knowledge of traditional
medicine and possessed skills outside the sphere of rational explanation. Their
treatment combined practical methods with no small degree of psychological
influence and was accompanied with special rituals. The body of knowledge of
these traditional specialists reflects the shamanistic worlview. During the twentieth
century the number of shamans has declined significantly for two reasons. First of
all, the shamans were persecuted during the 1930-1940s, and many were executed.
Second, today the entire traditional cultural worldview is going through a crisis,
traditional institutions are falling apart, knowledge is disintegrating and has
become fragmented.
Wordview, Rituals, and Folklore
Ob Ugrians’ wordview is based on traditional beliefs about the multilevel structure
of the universe. The Khanty and Mansi mark three main levels or worlds: the
upper, middle, and lower worlds. The upper world is inhabited by deities and
higher spirits, the middle world is the place where humans reside, and the lower
world is the dwelling place of powerful spirits of the lower world. The circle of life
goes through the lower world. The souls of the dead first go to the lower world
where they live their life backwards. Then migratory birds take the souls up to the
Father of the Heavens. After this trip the souls may return to Earth and take over
the bodies of the newborns. The worldview of Ob Ugrians retains elements from
the ancient times that reflect the idea of cyclical development of history.
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The world of the Ob Ugrian deities and spirits is extremely rich and varied, and its
members are tied by kinship and marriage. According to the traditional worldview
deities and spirits can have anthropomorphic and zoomorphic incarnations. Each
ethnoterritorial group of Khanty and Mansi has its own ritual complex based on
both common and local foundational beliefs. All gods and spirits are protectors of
clans, individual peoples, territories and natural sites.
One of the most common protectors of the Khanty is Аs-iki (The Old Man of the
Ob), who is considered to be the master of the Ob River and possess all of its
fishing reserves. The protector of the Mansi is called Nyor-oyka (The Old Man of
the Urals), the master of the territories adjacent to the northern Urals, and the
protector of the reindeer hers.
The main members of the universal pantheon of the Ob Ugrians:
Num-Torum – the god of the heavens, a supreme deity;
Mir-Vonty-Khu (Khanty) and Mir-Susnye-Khum (Mansi) – the protector of the
middle world – a god-rider on a white eight-winged horse;
Khyn-Iki (Кul-Otyr) – the protector of the lower world;
Кaltash-Imi (Кaltas-Ekva) – the Life-Giving Goddess.
Мir-Vonty-Khu in the worldview of the Ob Ugrians is represented not only as a
deity, but also as a cultural hero: he was the first hunter of moose (elk). According
to the legends there was a moose (elk) that lived in the sky, and it was very fast
because it had six legs. For a long time Mir-Vonty-Khu had to chase the animal
gliding through the sky on skis. When he caught up with the moose (elk) he cut off
one pair of the moose (elk)’s legs, thus making it possible for humans to hunt the
animal. Afterwards he killed the moose (elk) and stretched his pelt across the sky –
thus the constellation that we know as the Big Dipper was formed. The sky trail of
the six-legged moose (elk) formed the Milky Way.
The shrines are places where people can interact with their protectors – specific
family, clan, territorial, gods and spirits and those shared by all Ugrians. The
shrines are usually set up in places that stand out from their natural surroundings:
on elevated areas, islands, and on high river banks. Such places are always noted in
the oral tradition. The location of certain shrines is kept secret and visits to those
shrines are strictly limited. The shrine can be marked with a ritual sculpture
depicting local and family protectors, and by structures – special houses for gods
or spirits. Gifts, such as pieces of fabric, clothes, money, and valuable utensils are
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put into the houses. The shrines are also the places for offering sacrifice. Most
often the sacrifice is reindeer that is killed at the shrine, but some kinds of other
domestic animals can also be sacrificed. Bloodless sacrifices include metal objects
and pieces of fabric. If there are no structures at the shrine, then a cloth for the
upper gods is tied to a tall tree. The inhabitants of the lower world are presented
with a black-colored cloth, which is always tied around the tree trunk near the root,
closer to the lower world.
The shrines are a sort of small natural reserve. It is prohibited to conduct any kind
of activity there since the plants and animals of the shrine are considered to be the
property of the local deity. Women are prohibited from entering the territory of
certain shrines, and they cannot come close to the central part of the common
shrines. However, there are ritual places where women can independently perform
their rituals.
Certain trees or strangely shaped rocks, and also places where rivers meet, upper
parts of the rivers, and deep pools can also be considered sacred.
In the Khanty and Mansi worldview there is a special place for worshiping the
bear, based on the myth of its heavenly origin and the zoomorphic incarnation in
the middle world. The bear is the master of the forest and the judge in the human
world. Its paws and head are used for making especially serious oaths. All man’s
activities with regard to the bear are strictly regulated by ritual. There is a special
“bear language,” which is used by the hunters to address the bear and to talk
among themselves. It is an ancient, poetic language, based on euphemisms. For
instance, the bear is addressed as “Master.” The “bear language” is used in order to
trick the bear and to prevent him from knowing who killed him.
The ritual of worshipping the bear – the bear ceremony – is one of the most famous
elements of the Ob Ugrians’ ritual practices. After killing the bear the hunters take
the animal back to the camp site with special honors and a cleansing ceremony. In
the camp the bear is met by people who offer it food. If the bear is a male the
festival lasts for five nights, if it’s a female, then four nights. This is tied to the
belief about the different number of souls for male and female animals. Each night
of the festival begins with sacred songs and stories about the origin and life of the
bear, and continues with playful and satirical performances, general feasting, and
cleansing rituals. The theatrical part of the ceremony includes the introduction of
the spirits invited to participate in honoring the bear. Then follows theatrical incostumed performance of special myths, tales and “bear songs,” and men’s and
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women’s and collective dances. The folklore theater of the bear ceremony also
allows performing comical and erotic skits. This ritual, one of the oldest in Eurasia,
reflects ancient beliefs concerning the connections between the heavens and the
earth, the “top,” and the “bottom.” The last night of the Bear Ceremony is
concluded with offering and other ritual ceremonies. At the end the bear's head and
forepaws are preserved in a sacred place.
In 2010 the Bear Ceremony was conducted on the Maliy Yugan River. The last
Ceremony before that was conducted more than fifteen years ago, and already
there is a generation that does not know about this tradition. The last specialists
and performers of sacred songs were found through the combined effort of elders
and the Media Center of the “Yaoun-Yakh” community (project of the UNESCO
Moscow Office, 2010). The festival lasted for several days and the participants
included both adults and children. Members of the Khanty community and activists
from the Media Center filmed the whole ceremony and thus saved the unique
cultural heritage of the local community.
Up to the 1930s, Ob Ugrians did not have a writing system. An alphabet was
developed for them in 1931 on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet. The literary
heritage of these people was and still is preserved in folklore which to this day has
retained their ancient epic texts. Famous storytellers are the real “libraries” of the
Ugiran culture.
The mythological history of the Khanty and Mansi is contained in their stories and
songs. The folklore tradition also includes household and personal songs,
children’s tales, little stories, and riddles. The riddles are used to teach children to
take care of nature, and to develop associative thinking skills. An example of a
riddle: In the deep part of the forest there’s a man with a red beard. Who is it? The
answer is: A birch tree with a chaga fungus2.
Songs in the Ob Ugrian folk tradition are often performed with the accompaniment
of musical instruments such as the drum, tor-sapal-yukh (a harp-like plucking
instrument, reminiscent of a swan with an extended neck), narkas-yukha (or narsyukha) and sankvaltapa (instruments that look like a flat-bottomed boat carved
from pine, and has from three to five reindeer tendon strings). According to the
legends of the eastern Khanty, the narkas-yukh was created by the younger son of a
higher deity that met a bear in the swamp playing on a strangely formed sunken log
as if it was a musical instrument.
2
from “Mansi Riddles” by Ye. I. Rombandeeva (1996).
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There are certain songs that in the older days could only be heard by the men.
Household and personal songs often tell of family history. Thus, for instance, the
folklore archive of the Yaoun Yakh Media Center at Ugut on the Big Yugan River
has a recording of a personal song from the Kuplandeevy family (one of the oldest
Khanty families on Yugan; it was noted on the Remizov’s map in the seventeenth
century). This song was passed on from generation to generation, and tells of a rich
and money-wasting trader named Kuplandeev who got to meet the tsar.
Adaptation Strategies for the Changing World
In the last thirty to forty years Ob Ugrian culture has undergone significant
changes due to the strong influence of the industrial development of the region.
Traditional culture is becoming supplemented by new adaptive forms of household
economy and social norms. Oil and gas exploitation in West Siberia led to changes
in the landscape. Oil and gas wellsite engineering, road and pipeline building,
draining of the marshes, and creation of borrow pits led to the disruption of the
balance of the local river systems. As a result, territories productive for the
traditional land use of the local people, their hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding,
have been significantly reduced. The transition to market economy is also
extremely painfully reflected in the state of the indigenous ethnic minorities of
West Siberia. Attempts at adapting to these changes have led to disruptions in the
traditional way of life and rejection of the traditional worldview, which no longer
satisfy the indigenous people in the period of the biggest cultural and economic
crisis.
While still retaining the main principles of keeping reindeer, reindeer herds now
use modern technical equipment to look after the herd. In the winter period they
use snowmobiles in addition to skis and reindeer-drawn sleds to check on the herd.
In the summer they use small all-terrain vehicles. Reindeer vaccinations are now
mandatory. Snowmobiles are also an all-season means of transportation. On the
roads local people use off-road vehicles. On water traditional wooden boats are
supplemented by metal boats and outboard motors. The damage produced by oil
prospecting and excavation on the lands of traditional land use leads to the loss of
those lands from traditional economy. In order to pay for the damage, oil and gas
companies, with the consent of the administration, sometimes allocate access to
helicopter travel to the indigenous peoples as compensation. Reindeer herders can
call to the local administrative office for a helicopter.
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Diminishing fish resources are making the elders of communities develop new
strategies: for instance, in certain areas the practice of fish farming takes the place
of traditional fishing.
Keeping of rabbits and domestic birds, such as geese, as well as potato growing in
the camp sites (gardening) are entirely new forms of economy for northern and
eastern Khanty and for Mansi. This domestic economy has become widespread in
the last decade primarily because of the loss of hunting grounds due to oil and gas
industry, and also because of unusual summer heat and the growing number of
forest fires.
Ob Ugrians now combine modern and traditional materials for building. Summer
chums are now covered with canvas tarpaulin, and roof felt is used for building
houses. For the interior the local people use chipboard materials and linoleum, and
manufactured carpets are replacing woven mats.
Villages and camps are now provided with electricity through industrial plants or
straight from the electric lines. In remote areas on the upper parts of the rivers,
people use portable generators that work on gasoline. Some houses, especially
those in villages, are now equipped with refrigerators, washers, oil heaters, electric
stoves (however, there is still use for traditional wood stoves). With enough
electrical energy, the camps can also be provided with TVs, computers, and
internet service.
The cultural traditions of Ob Ugrians in modern conditions are celebrated by
seasonal festivals sponsored by the regional administration: The Day of the Hunter
and Reindeer Herder and the Day of the Oblas. The Day of the Hunter and
Reindeer Herder is celebrated in large villages at the end of March. The people
organize competitions in traditional sports: reindeer sled racing, sled jumping,
throwing of the lasso on the khorei (a pole used to drive reindeer), and axe
throwing. Different ethnic music groups also perform and there are small markets.
The Day of the Oblas is conducted on the day opening the fishing season. This
festival is also conducted in national villages and cities of Yugra. The only race of
the festival is rowing in an oblas (dugout canoe).
Despite the fact that the initiative for these events comes from the local
administration, these festivals still promote ethnic solidarity among Ob Ugrians
and to some extent support Ob Ugrian culture on the territory of Yugra. The 1990s
saw the beginning of a cultural revival movement among the Ugrian peoples,
initiated by the national intelligentsia of Yugra. Activists in this movement
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organize summer ethnographic children’s camps and ethnic culture festivals, and
work to revive traditional celebrations.
In 2010, a Media Center of the Khanty Community “Yaoun-Yakh” was set up in
Ugut village on the Big Yugan River as a part of the project of the UNESCO
Office in Moscow. The goal of its creation was to give members of the community
the training and the audio and video resources to independently document their
cultural traditions, identify cultural priorities, and to tell their history from their
own point of view. The Media Center is now home to the photo archive based on
family photos of the members of the community. The staff of the Center have
made a film called “In Search of the Ancient Traditions of the Bear Festival”
(Ye. Kinyamin, T. Kelmina, Yu. Kelmin, A. Kayukov). They also filmed the
illegal cutting of the cedar forest on the hunting grounds of the community
(Ye. Kinyamin).
Sources
1. The Collections of the Surgut Museum of Local History (166 items in total,
including photos by A.N. Popovich, A.V. Zaika, A.B. Sainakova and
O.V. Starodubova, pictures by A.Ya. Trufanov and E.B. Gomzyakova, and
copies of photos by А. Dunin-Gorkavich and G. Dmitriev-Sadovnikov).
2. The Photo Archive of the Assembly of Representatives of the Minority Tribal
Peoples of the North, the Duma of Khanty-Mansiysk AO-Yugra.
3. Video and Photo Archive of the Media Center of the Yugan Khanty Native
Community Association "Yaoun Yakh".
4. Personal archives of A. Wiget, O. Balalaeva, and A. Kayukov.
5. Films from the Series "Yugra Portraits": "Privet, Alyonka!" (28 min) produced
in 2003. Original film is in the Khanty language, with subtitles in Russian,
German, English, French, Czech, Finnish and Estonian. "The Master and
Evdokia" (52 min) produced in 2004. Original film is in the Khanty language,
with subtitles in Russian, German, and English. Director and screenwriter,
Olga Kornienko.
6. Mother of God in the Blood-Red Snows. Author: Ye. Aipin. Translator:
T.Bezborodova. Publisher: "Pakrus", 2006.
7. Wiget, A. and Balalaeva, O. Khanty People of the Taiga. Surviving the 20th
Century. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 2010.
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Climate Change Adaptation: Traditional Knowledge of
Indigenous Peoples Inhabiting the Arctic and Far North
Hunters of West Siberian Taiga
8. Starodubova, O. V. "Khanty of the Trom-Agan Basin: Concepts of the world
round them (from fieldwork diaries)." Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug in the Mirror of
the Past: a collection of articles. Khanty-Mansiysk, 2008.
Authors
O. Balalaeva, Cand. Phil., Finno-Ugrian Studies, ethnologist, folklorist, UNESCО
consultant
T. Isayeva, Cand. Culturology, Vice-Director for Research of the Surgut Museum
of Local History
O. Starodubova, Senior Researcher of the Department of Archaeology,
Ethnography and Natural Sciences Research of the Surgut Museum of Local
History
The authors would like to thank
 members of the staff of the Surgut Museum of Local History and its Director
Marina Selyanina Yeremei Aipin, writer and the vice-chairman of the Duma,
KhMAO-Yugra,
 Nadezhda Alekseyeva, Deputy, Member of the Assembly of the
Representatives of the Native Minority Peoples of the North, Duma, KhMAOYugra,
 the staff of the KhMAO-Yugra Duma,
 Professor Andrew Wiget, expert in comparative studies of the native peoples of
Siberia and North America,
 Yegor Kinyamin and Andrei Kayukov (Media Center of the Yugan Khanty
Native Community Association "Yaoun-Yakh") and Vladimir Kogonchin,
Chairman of the Yugan Khanty Native Community Association "Yaoun-Yakh",
 Olga Kornienko, Director of documentaries for permission to use fragments of
film,
 Nikolai Pluzhnikov, Cand. History, for his help in working on the text.
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