Where do the Evenks live? There is such a people - the Evenks. the story of the Evenks. a photo. video. Tungus on guard of Russian borders

The Evenks, who are usually associated with Siberia and the Russian Far East, also live in China. At present, according to the Russian broadcast of China Radio International, the Evenks are the only nationality in China that is engaged in reindeer herding. Also, according to the station, Evenks are also called the last hunters in China. Excerpts from the material of the Chinese foreign broadcast, from which we cited these statements, we present in the second part of this review. And in the first one, we collected all the most important things about the Evenks.

audio file #1

The Museum of Evenk Culture (pictured in Chinese Foreign Broadcasting) was opened in the village of Bayan-Tokhoi, Evenk Autonomous Khoshun (county) of the Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia, China in 1998, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the formation of the Khoshun.

In our audio file in the upper left corner of this page you can listen to the original transmission from Beijing, the Russian broadcast of "Chinese Radio International" about the Evenks (dated 09/12/2011). In the audio file, in particular, the song of the Evenks living in China sounds. “The song of the Evenks is sung by an Evenk named Mariyana. The composition tells about the huge changes that have taken place in last years with the Evenks. With this song, she expresses the joy of a better life,” said the Chinese foreign broadcaster.

Evenki. Origin

The self-name of many Evek groups sounds like Evenkil - which means "man". Evenks belong to the Mongoloids. Evenks were also called Tungus earlier. The origin of the term "Tungu" is believed to come from the Chinese name for this people - "Tunghu", which means "Eastern barbarians".

The Evenki language, along with Manchu and Yakut, belongs to the Tungus-Manchu branch of the Altaic language family.

In turn, the Tungus-Manchu language family is something intermediate between the Mongolian (Mongols belong to it) and Turkic language family (where, for example, Tuvans belong, although many do not perceive Tuvans as Turks (such as Tatars, or Turks), because Tuvans do not profess Islam, but are partly shamanists, like the Yakuts and Evenks, and partly Buddhists, like the Manchus and Mongols, It should be noted that the Manchus also partly profess Buddhism). Evenks are very close to the Manchus, but unlike them, they did not create famous state formations. And in this they are similar to the Yakuts close to them.

The total number of Evenks is no more than 80 thousand people, of which approx. 35 thousand live in the northern part of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, and many still lead a nomadic life as reindeer herders and hunters; still ok. 35,000 Evenks live in China (Inner Mongolia Region) and a few more in independent Mongolia. In addition to the Evenks, there is an almost indistinguishable people from them, the Evens, numbering about 20 thousand people, who live in Russia.

Evenks, both in Russia and in China and Mongolia, with the help of scientists from the respective countries, adapted the writing system adopted by the titular peoples of these states to record their language. In Russia, the Evenks use the Cyrillic alphabet, in Mongolia - and in China - the old Mongolian script and hieroglyphs. But this also happened recently, in the 20th century. Therefore, in the following excerpts from the material of the Chinese foreign broadcast, it is said that the Evenks do not have a written language.

Prepared by: Monitoring website, March 2012;

Chinese view of the Evenks

China Radio International in its Russian broadcast dated 09/12/2011 noted:

“Currently, the Evenks live in China and Russia. In China, they live mainly in the Evenk Autonomous Khoshun, as well as in the Khoshuns (counties of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the PRC) Arun-Qi, Chen-Barga-Qi, etc ...

Evenki" is (as they say in China) "a people living in mountain forests". Historically settled in various areas (China), the Evenks were formerly called "soluns", "Tungus", "Yakuts". In 1957, based on the wishes of the representatives of this nationality, they were given a single name - "Evenki". On August 1, 1958, the Evenk Autonomous Khoshun was formed in Inner Mongolia.

Uzhertu is a writer and scientist of the Evenk people. He noted that the Evenks are one of the ancient small peoples in northern China:

“Evenks usually settle on the banks of the river. The name of the tribe is given by the name of the river. For example, the Aoluguyam tribe lives along the banks of the river of the same name.

The ancestors of the Evenks inhabited the mountain forests in the upper reaches of the Heilongjiang (Amur) River, were engaged in fishing, hunting and reindeer herding. Subsequently, they began to move east. Now the population of the Evenks is small, but they live in fairly large territories, for the most part in the steppe regions of the western slope of the Greater Khingan.

The Evenks do not have their own written language.

Until the 60s of the last century, they led a nomadic lifestyle. They hunted, ate wild birds, animals and fish. Snowy highlands and dense forests are their home. Gu Xianglian from the Evenk tribe Aoluguya. She says:

“Evenks are a kind of people. In the past, they were mainly engaged in hunting, and at present - reindeer herding. This is an independent nation, steadily striving forward.

After the formation of new China, an insignificant part of the Evenks who inhabited the Argun somon adhered to the patriarchal-communal system of the late primitive society, lived in primitive forests in wretched yurts - “tszolotsy”, led a nomadic lifestyle. Due to the fact that they were engaged in reindeer herding, they were often called "Evenks using tamed deer." They led a primitive communal way of life, the characteristic moments of which are joint hunting and uniform distribution mining.

After the formation of new China, a number of new settlements of the Evenks were created, sedentary cattle breeding began to develop, and the nomadic way of life changed radically. (Still) in at present, it is the only nationality in China that is engaged in reindeer herding. Evenks are also called the last hunters in China.

traditional dwelling Evenki - chum - was a conical hut made of poles, covered in winter with deer skins, and in summer with birch bark. During migrations, the frame was left in place, and the material for covering the chum was taken with them. Winter camps of the Evenks consisted of 1-2 chums, summer - from 10 or more due to frequent holidays at this time of the year.

The Evenks have their own religion. Shamaism is an ancient religion of the Evenks,” says the characterization of the Evenks by the Chinese foreign language.

Evenks (Tungus) are one of the most ancient indigenous peoples of Eastern Siberia, including the Baikal region. There are two theories of their origin. According to the first, the ancestral home of the Evenks was located in the region of southern Baikal, where their culture developed from the Paleolithic era, with their subsequent settlement to the west and east. The second theory suggests that the Evenks appeared as a result of assimilation by the local (“proto-Yukagir”) population of the Uvan tribe, mountain-steppe pastoralists of the eastern spurs of the Greater Khingan.

The area of settlement of the Evenks is usually divided along the conditional border "Baikal - Lena" into western and eastern. Cultural differences between the Evenks of these territories are very significant and are fixed in many cultural components: the type of reindeer husbandry, tools, utensils, tattoo traditions, etc., anthropology (Baikal anthropological type in the east and Katangese in the west), language (western and eastern groups dialects), ethnonyms.

The Evenki language is included in the northern (Tungus) subgroup of the Tungus-Manchurian group of languages. The wide settlement of the Evenks determines the division of the language into dialect groups: northern, southern and eastern.

In the 17th century, when the Cossacks first came to Lake Baikal, the Evenki did not immediately submit to the Russian Tsar. The well-known ethnographer and naturalist I. G. Georgi wrote: “During the Russian attacks, the Tunguz showed more courage than other Siberians, and no defeat could force them to leave their places occupied by them for their dwellings. The overcome ones rebelled several times in subsequent times; and in 1640 the Lena Tunguz plucked the beards of the tax collectors. The Tunguz living on the western side of Lake Baikal submitted to Russia not earlier than in 1643, while on the eastern side and near Vitim they lived in 1657.

Tribe of the Barguzin Evenks in the middle of the 17th century. numbered about a thousand people. By occupation, they were divided into Limagirs and Balikagirs (cattle breeders), Namegirs and Pochegors (horse breeders), Kindigirs and Chilchagirs (reindeer herders), Nyakugirs (hunters and fishermen).

For centuries, the Evenks lived in clans, each of which was headed by a leader. Each Evenk knew his pedigree and always gave preference to his relative. Great power belonged to the elders of the clan, and most importantly - to the shamans. The shaman, being an intermediary between the world of people and the world of spirits, often himself became the head of the clan. Without the approval of the shaman, the clan did nothing: they turned to it in case of illness of a person or deer, asked to perform a ritual that brings good luck on the hunt, to accompany the soul of the deceased to another world.

Of great importance were the cults of spirits, trade and tribal cults, the veneration of which was in the blood of the Evenks. For example, the existing cult of the bear, the owner of the taiga, obliged each hunter to kill only a strictly limited number of bears - for exceeding this number, the greedy could pay with his life.

The Evenks still have an unwritten set of traditions and commandments that regulate social, family and inter-clan relations:

The most solemnly held among the Evenks was the spring holiday - iken, or evin, dedicated to the onset of summer - "the emergence of new life" or "renewal of life".

One of the distinguishing features of the Evenks has always been a respectful attitude towards nature. They not only considered nature to be alive, inhabited by spirits, they deified stones, springs, rocks and individual trees, but they also firmly knew the measure - they did not cut down more trees than necessary, did not kill game unnecessarily, even tried to clean up after themselves the territory where the hunting ground stood. camp.

The traditional dwelling of the Evenks - the tent - was a conical hut made of poles, covered in winter with deer skins, and in summer with birch bark. During migrations, the frame was left in place, and the material for covering the chum was taken with them. The winter camps of the Evenks consisted of 1-2 chums, the summer camps - from 10 or more due to frequent holidays at this time of the year.

The basis of traditional food is the meat of wild animals (for equestrian Evenks - horse meat) and fish, which were almost always consumed raw. In summer they drank reindeer milk, ate berries, wild garlic and onions. They borrowed baked bread from the Russians. The main drink was tea, sometimes with reindeer milk or salt.

The Evenks had developed artistic carving on bone and wood, metalworking, beadwork, among the Eastern Evenks - silk, appliqué with fur and fabric, embossing on birch bark.

The strongest blow to the traditional lifestyle of the Evenks of Transbaikalia was inflicted in the 20-30s of our century. The general collectivization and the forced change of the economic structure, carried out by the Soviet government, led to the fact that this original ethnic group was on the verge of extinction and was forced to move to the northern regions, where the natural and climatic conditions most correspond to their way of life and allow them to engage in traditional forms of economy.

On the this moment Evenks live mainly in the Irkutsk and Amur regions, Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where there are 36 thousand of them. In addition to Russia, a fairly large number of Evenks also live in Mongolia and China.

Tungus on guard Russian borders

Evenki Baunt

Religion and folk art Evenks

Christianity among the Evenks was limited only to the formal performance of rituals Orthodox Church, which were usually timed to coincide with the arrival of the priest in the taiga.

At the same time, the images of the saints of the Orthodox religion were intertwined with ancient ideas about spirits; for example, Mykola (Saint Nicholas) turned into a comrade of the master spirit of the upper world.

The religion of the Evenks is of great historical interest, since it has preserved very early archaic forms of religious beliefs.

By the beginning of our century, the religion of the Evenks contained the remnants of various stages in the development of religious ideas. The most ancient ideas include: the spiritualization of all natural phenomena, their humanization, the idea of the upper and lower worlds as our earth, ideas about the soul (omi), and some totemic ideas.

There were various magical rites associated with hunting and guarding herds. Later, these rituals were led by shamans. In connection with shamanism, the existing ideas about master spirits, the soul, and helper spirits developed, and a cosmogony with the world of the dead was created. New rituals appeared: seeing off the soul of the deceased, cleansing hunters, initiating a deer, and many rituals associated with “treatment” and the fight against hostile shamanic spirits.

According to the shamanic conception of the Yenisei Evenks, the world consists of three worlds: the upper one, located in the east, where the main shamanic river Engdekit begins, the middle world - this river itself, and the lower one - in the north, where this river flows.

This river has many tributaries with small tributaries - the rivers of individual shamans. In later ideas, the upper world became the place of residence of the owner of the upper world (seveki, exeri, main) and omi - the souls of people not yet born on earth, and the lower reaches of the main shamanic river became the world of the souls of the dead.

The ancient ideas about the origin of the earth, people and animals common to all Evenks were as follows.

Initially, there were two brothers: the older one was an evil inclination, the younger one was a good inclination, who later became the master spirit of the upper world. The older brother lived upstairs, the younger downstairs. There was water between them. The younger one had assistants: a goldeneye and a loon. Once a goldeneye dived and brought earth in its beak.

The earth was thrown onto the surface of the water. Brothers came to work for her; the younger made people and “good” animals, the older one made “bad” animals, that is, those whose meat cannot be eaten. The material for the sculpture of people was clay. According to legends, the raven (among the Ilimpi Evenks) or the dog (among all the other Evenks) was an assistant during creation.

With the development of shamanism, ideas appeared about the mass of good and evil spirits-helpers of shamans (seven, heven) inhabiting the earth.

The same seven could be kind to their shaman and evil towards other shamans. With the help of these sevens, the shaman protected members of his clan from the evil spirits-helpers of shamans of other clans. “Helpers” in protecting the territory of the clan were everywhere: in the air, in water and on land. They guarded, drove away and did not let evil spirits into their territory. If hostile spirits still managed to get into the tribal territory, people of this kind began to get sick and die. Then the shaman had to find and drive away the hostile spirits.

Helping spirits, according to the Evenks, have always been closely associated with the shaman. Together with his soul, after his death, his spirits also left.

This consciousness had a strong effect on people with a sick psyche. Usually the patient had a dream in which the spirits of the deceased shaman "came" to him and ordered him to become a shaman. So, by inheritance in each clan, often in the same family, the shamanic gift was “transmitted”.

Along with the gift, the helper spirits of the previous shaman "passed over". The shamanic gift could be “transmitted” both to the next generation and through the generation, both from men to women and vice versa, therefore, along the male and female lines. Sometimes the gift of two shamans "passed over" to one person. In rare cases, the shamanic gift was not “obtained” by inheritance.

The shaman's accessories included: a shaman's caftan (lombolon, samasik), a hat with a fringe that descended over the face; a tambourine (; ungtuvun, nimngangki) of an irregularly oval shape with a mallet (gisu), and sometimes a staff and a long belt.

In general, the costume was supposed to symbolize an animal (deer or bear). The richest in terms of the number of fringes and metal stripes, similar to a solid armor, was the shaman's caftan among the Evenks living to the west of the Lena and closer to the Yenisei.

To the east of Lena, there were fewer stripes on the shaman's caftan, and the hat was not always made of metal in the form of a crown with deer antlers, more often it was made of rovduga also in the form of a crown, while on the caftan a long rovduga fringe with bells hung between it prevailed. This caftan also differed in cut.

At the heart of the great religious ceremonies of the Evenks lay the most ancient hunting and reindeer herding rites.

There were many minor shamanistic rituals: illamechepke - “treatment of the sick”, sevenchepke - “initiation of a deer”, rituals associated with various occasions of life and addressed to one of the host spirits, and, finally, special shaman rituals - “fight” with harmful spirits , "propitiation" of their spirits, etc.

For rituals associated with large religious ceremonies, the shaman always put on a special robe; in other cases, he could perform kamlat in ordinary clothes, but all shamans had to cover their faces with a handkerchief pulled down from their heads. During the ritual, there should have been twilight in the plague, so the fire was extinguished, only coals smoldered. Each ritual began with the blows of a tambourine and the singing of the shaman, with which he called his helper spirits.

In the religious ceremonies of the Evenks there were rituals associated with the bear, its killing, the opening of the carcass and the arrangement of a special storehouse (chuki) for the burial of his head and bones.

In the legends of the Yenisei Evenks, a bear is a hero who sacrificed himself to give deer to a man.

In the Far East, fragments of the myth about the birth of a bear cub and a boy by a girl were preserved. The brothers grew up, fought among themselves, and man won.

The bear had up to 50 allegorical names. A person from a different family was always invited to skin the carcass.

Cutting the skin of a bear, they "calmed" him, saying that it was "ants running around." When cutting the carcass, it was impossible to chop or break the bones. The whole carcass was pulled apart at the joints. After eating the meat of a bear, they collected all its bones and laid them out on densely packed willow rods in the order in which they were in a living bear. Then these rods were folded and tied. Among the Western Evenks, a bunch of bones was placed “on the hind legs”, and the boy “fought” with it.

After that, a bunch of bones was “buried” - they planted it on a high stump or two stumps with its head to the north, or they laid it on a platform. Eastern Evenki "buried" the head and other bones separately; the head was impaled on the trunk, the bones were placed next to the bough of a tree or on a storage shed.

In addition to this rite, other hunting rites were preserved, in which the shaman did not participate.

Part of the steppe Trans-Baikal Evenk cattle breeders back in the 18th century.

adopted Lamaism and its ritual side. Iroi Evenks in northern Mongolia were also Lamaites.

Folk art

Evenks share all kinds of their folklore with songs-improvisations, davlavur - new songs; nimngakan (nimngakavun) - myths, stories about animals, tales such as epics; nenevkel, tagivkal - riddles; lgu ril - stories of a historical and everyday nature.

Evenks improvised songs for any reason to the motive of the musical strotsh.

The words of this musical line, which served for the rhythm (one or two 8-10-12-syllable lines) have long lost their meaning and were preserved in the form of a refrain for improvisation. Improvisation with the insertion of a syllable to preserve the rhythm is widespread among the Evenks.

The method of improvisation with the addition of these syllables was also used when creating contemporary songs and poems.

Myths reflected ancient ideas about the universe, about the origin of the earth, man, animals, individual forms of relief, gorges, terrible rapids, etc.

etc., they also reflected ideas about shamanic worlds, about the main river Engdekit, its inhabitants - various kinds of monsters, etc.

A number of myths about the first shamans, about competitions in the “art” of shamans of different families, have come down to us. Stories about animals, which in our time have become fairy tales for children, in almost all cases "explain" the origin of certain external features animals, birds and fish, as well as the character traits of some animals.

Especially many episodes in stories about animals refer to the fox.

The favorite genre of the Evenks was the epic and heroic epic. The mode of transmission of this kind of folklore is different from others.

If all other types are simply told, then epics and stories about heroes, in addition, are sung. The direct speech of the hero is conveyed by recitative or singing. The narrator, having sung the words of the hero, sometimes repeats them, and the listeners sing along with him. The narration of epics took place in the dark. It usually began in the evening and often lasted all night until morning. Sometimes the story of long adventures did not end in one night, it continued and ended in the following nights.

Separate Evenk groups had their own sonings - heroes. Thus, among the Ilimpi Evenks, the favorite soning was Uren, among the Evenks of the Podkamennaya Tunguska basin - Khevake, etc. Sonings were usually drawn to the imagination of the Evenks as ideal people with all the features that a primitive hunter could aspire to: “he threw bears over his head”, “He didn’t let the chirping, cooing overhead fly - he shot everyone,” etc.

All legends describe the fights of heroes. Usually the victor takes as his wife the sister or wife of the defeated opponent. In the legends of the Eastern Evenks, the Sonings collide with the Sonings of other tribes - Sivir, Kedan, Keyan, Okha, etc., who have deer and horses, but differ in appearance and life from the Evenks.

Some of them live in octagonal semi-underground dwellings with an exit through a smoke hole or in square houses. The Evenks had stories about monsters and cannibals hostile to people (chulugdy, evetyl, iletyl, deptygir).

Historical stories reflect the phenomena of relatively recent times.

They already talk about the emergence of wealth among individual ancestors, give certain generic names that still exist. Such stories talk a lot about inter-clan clashes. A number of legends reflect the relationship of the Evenks with merchants, Russian peasants, and the tsarist authorities.

The topics of everyday stories include incidents on the hunt, ridicule of human shortcomings (laziness, stupidity, cunning).

Such are the numerous stories about Ivula (among the Westerners) or Mivche (among the Eastern Evenks), built on a play on words. Ivul has a smart older brother. This brother sends Ivul to bring willow roots (ngingtel) necessary for the manufacture of the boat. Ivul instead kills children and brings children's heels (neinetyl). The brother asks him to bring clamps for the boat (ninakir), Ivul brings dogs (nginakir). He is sent for ribs for the boat, and he brings the ribs of the mother he killed. The brother asks to migrate and put a chum on a steep bank (nezh), Ivul puts a chum on a platform - a storehouse (neku); he is asked to arrange a parking lot by the river (biradu), he tries to put a chum on the river, etc.

Among the Evenks, who lived adjacent to other nationalities, there were fairy tales and legends, in a peculiar interweaving with motifs, and sometimes plots of their own folklore, that had penetrated from their neighbors. These include, for example, Russian fairy tales about “Ivanushka the Fool”, called by the Evenks Uchanai-Tonganai, the Buryat legend about “Khani-Khubun-Kheher-Bogdo”, etc.

Number in the Russian Federation- 35,525 (All-Russian census 2010) Number in the Irkutsk region - 1,431
Language– Evenki
Religion- religious beliefs of the Evenks are associated with animism and shamanism. The religion of the modern Evenki family is a mixture of Orthodoxy and belief in some spirits (mostly without shamans).

population and distribution.
Evenks are one of the most ancient indigenous peoples of Eastern Siberia, including the Baikal region.

Self-name - Evenki (became the official ethnonym in 1931), the old name is Tungus. Separate groups of Evenks were known as Orochens, Birars, Manegri, Solons.

The Evenks live from the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk in the east to the Yenisei in the west, from the North Arctic Ocean in the north to the Baikal region and the Amur River in the south. Administratively, the Evenks are settled within the borders of the Irkutsk, Amur, Sakhalin regions, the republics of Yakutia and Buryatia, the Krasnoyarsk, Trans-Baikal and Khabarovsk territories.

Evenks are also present in the Tomsk and Tyumen regions. Evenks in these areas do not constitute the majority of the population anywhere, they live in the same settlements together with Russians, Yakuts, Buryats and other peoples.
A characteristic feature in the settlement of the Evenks is dispersion. The country has about a hundred settlements where they live, but in most settlements their numbers range from a few dozen to 150-200 people.

There are few settlements where Evenks live in relatively large compact groups.

In 1930-2006 there was an Evenk autonomous region, in 1931-1938 - the Vitimo-Olekma National District, created in areas densely populated by Evenks.

Language.
The language is Evenki, belongs to the Tungus-Manchurian group of the Altai language family.

There are three groups of dialects: northern, southern and eastern. Each dialect is subdivided into dialects.

According to the results of the 2010 census, 37,843 Evenks live in Russia, of which 4,802 people speak the Evenki language, which is less than 13%. The number of mother tongue speakers varies by region.
Bilingualism of Evenks (Russian and Evenki) is observed everywhere, in some cases - trilingualism (Russian, Evenki and additionally Buryat or Yakut).
Many Evenki living in Yakutia, having adopted the Yakut language, have almost completely lost Evenki.

The language of the Evenks living in Buryatia is significantly influenced by the Buryat language. A small number of Yakuts, Buryats and Russians who live with the Evenks know or understand the Evenki language.
Loss of the Evenks mother tongue noted everywhere. The language continues to be used in everyday life only in some areas densely populated by Evenks by representatives of the older and middle generations.

Traditional economic structure.
In economic terms, the Evenks differ markedly from other peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East.

First of all, they are hunters-reindeer herders.
The main occupations of the Evenki for many centuries were hunting, reindeer herding and, to a lesser extent, fishing, which led to a nomadic lifestyle.

These three activities were closely related and mutually complemented each other. Evenks from time immemorial were engaged in reindeer herding, and they used reindeer for riding. Reindeer breeding of the Evenks is taiga, pack and riding. Practiced free grazing, milking cows.
Evenks led a predominantly nomadic lifestyle - in search of new pastures, they wandered through the taiga to a new pasture for deer, to a place of winter fishing and back, or to a summer camp.

The length of nomadic hunters-reindeer herders reached hundreds of kilometers a year. Individual families covered distances of a thousand kilometers.
Evenki did not attach importance to anything stationary, permanent. All the property of the family fit on a sled - a sled, or in bags attached to a cargo pack saddle. Each reindeer had a load of up to 30 kg. The Evenki used to say: “The taiga feeds the deer, and the deer feeds the Evenk.”

Reindeer for the Evenk was not only transport, but food (healing and nutritious milk, butter), however, domestic deer were very cherished and tried not to slaughter for meat, and if they did this, then only in case of emergency: when there was no animal in the taiga or the deer was sick, or when it was necessary to make a sacrifice to the spirits.
The whole life of the Evenki was built around deer, and even the structure of society depended on the number of deer.

The living conditions of the Evenks depended on the number of deer and food for them, on hunting luck, and the presence of game animals and fish. Living conditions in wild nature brought up a special character of the Evenks: they are physically hardened, observant.

Hunting played a leading role in most Evenk territorial groups. Evenks were called "forest people" or "children of the taiga".

Where do the Evenks live?

In the spring, the Evenks approached the rivers and fished until autumn, in the fall they went deep into the taiga, and throughout the winter they were engaged in hunting.
Each family and closely related neighboring families had their own, traditionally established places for hunting and fishing, which were preserved and passed down from generation to generation.

The hunt had a double meaning:
a) provided food, material for clothing and housing
b) brought a product that has high cost when exchanging
Until the 19th century some Evenk groups hunted with bows and arrows. In the 19th century flintlock gun became the most important hunting weapon.

Of the hunting equipment, it should be noted such items as a palm tree - a stick with a wide-blade knife, a ponyaga - a wooden board on straps for carrying weights behind the shoulders, a sled-drag. They hunted in special hunting clothes, moved on skis (usually without sticks). There was definitely a dog.
Fishing was mainly a summer trade, although the Evenks also knew winter ice fishing.

They caught with the help of "muzzles", nets, beaten with spears, the archaic way of hunting fish with a bow and arrows was preserved. Boats were made of wood, usually rowed with one oar with a wide blade.
Hunting and fishing determined the diet. Meat and fish were eaten fresh, boiled or fried and harvested for future use (dried, dried), in the summer they drank reindeer milk. From the Russians, the Evenks learned how to cook flour products (cakes, etc.)

n.) replacing bread. Everything necessary for life in the taiga was done by ourselves. From reindeer skins, thin suede "rovduga" was made. Blacksmithing was known to every Evenk, but there were also blacksmiths - professionals.

Lifestyle and provision system
The traditional economy of the Evenks after collectivization and many other reorganizations in the Soviet period by the beginning of the 90s.

existed in two main variants: commercial hunting and transport reindeer husbandry, characteristic of a number of regions of Siberia and some regions of Yakutia, and a large-herd reindeer breeding and commercial economy. The first type of economy developed within the framework of cooperative and state fishing enterprises (state industrial farms, coop animal farms), the second - within the framework of reindeer-breeding state farms, oriented towards the production of marketable meat products. Fur trade in them was of secondary importance.

The monopoly of state industrial enterprises in the field of hunting led to the rejection of the Evenks from this type of economic activity.

The main place in it was occupied by the newcomer population. As a result of uncontrolled mining, the number of fur-bearing animals has decreased. The construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline had a detrimental effect on the economic life of the Evenks.

Some Evenks of Buryatia were even forced to migrate to the Chita region.

To date, the economic structure that has developed in the Soviet period has greatly changed everywhere. All state industrial farms and coop animal farms were corporatized, on the basis of state farms numerous communal ("farm") farms, national enterprises and other economic entities arose.

Deprived of state support, thrown into the sea of market elements, they found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. Due to high transport tariffs and the lack of a domestic market, the products of these farms do not find a market, and are sold at bargain prices to visiting resellers.

The number of reindeer is declining catastrophically. In the Evenk Autonomous Okrug, it decreased by 78%, in the Khabarovsk Territory - by 63%.

The traditional dwelling of the Evenks.
Evenki hunters, leading a mobile lifestyle, lived in light portable dwellings - tents (du). Depending on the season, nature lived in one camp from 1-2 days to a week.

2-3 plagues were located at a great distance from each other (about 10 m). The chum was collapsible, during migrations it easily fit on two sleds.

When migrating, the frame was left in place, transporting only covers. Birch bark, rovduga nyuks and larch bark served as covers.
The chum was installed quite simply and quickly - if two women put it on, it took 20 minutes. The plagues were painted with images of deer, reindeer herds, and hunting scenes. A place of honor in the chum for a guest or for the owner was right in front of the entrance.
The stationary winter type of dwelling, characteristic of the semi-sedentary Evenk hunters and fishermen, is holo-pyramidal or truncated-pyramidal in shape.

A bark quadrangular dwelling made of poles or logs with a gable roof served as a summer permanent home for hunters and fishermen.

Southern Evenks, nomadic pastoralists of Transbaikalia lived in portable yurts of the Buryat and Mongolian type.
Summer and winter huts covered with bark were common. As a rule, in most cases, larch bark was used. Birch bark and hay could be used as a covering for the conical hut.
As a rule, the frame of huts during migrations was transported by Evenks from one place to another.

The Evenk hut was built from 25 poles. In finished form, it had a diameter of 2 m, a height of 2-3 m. The skeleton of a portable hut was covered on top with special tires. In the past, a hearth was arranged inside the huts - a fire in the center of the plague, above it - a horizontal pole for the boiler.

The heating system was a fireplace. AT late XIX and the beginning of the 20th century. an iron stove was installed, a hole was left for the chimney pipe on the left side of the front facade pillar.
Log cabins with a gable roof, covered with bark, were also used. In some places, half-dugouts were also known, timber-framed dwellings borrowed from Russians, the Yakut yurt-booth, in Transbaikalia - the Buryat yurt, among the settled Birars of the Amur Region - a quadrangular log dwelling of the fanza type.
At present, the majority of Evenks live in modern standard log houses.

Traditional dwellings are used only in crafts.
In modern conditions, the plague was replaced with a beam - a mobile trailer, a house on skids. In the beam, as in a railway compartment, there is an iron stove, a table, retractable shelves (bunks), under them there are boxes for storing property. It has doors, a window, the floor is raised above ground level.

Evenki

Evenks (Tungus) (self-name: Evenkil) are a small Siberian indigenous people, related to the Manchus and speaking the language of the Tungus-Manchu group. They live in Russia, China and Mongolia. According to the results of the 2002 census, Russian Federation 35,527 Evenks lived. Of these, about half (18,232) lived in the Republic of Sakha. Where and when the people called Evenks appeared is still unclear. It is believed that the process of its formation dates back to the 1st millennium AD.

e. by mixing the local population of Eastern Siberia with the Tungus tribes who came from the Baikal and Transbaikalia. As a result, various economic and cultural types of Evenks were formed - "foot" (hunters), Orochen - "deer" (reindeer herders) and Murchen - "horse" (horse breeders).

Evenks began to penetrate the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory from the 10th-11th centuries. from the Baikal region, descending along the Nizhnyaya Tunguska and Angara rivers. In the XVIII century. Angara Evenks migrated to the north, to the Podkamennaya Tunguska region.

Other groups migrated westward, reaching the Yenisei. Then they turned north, settling along the Yenisei tributaries (the rivers Sym, Turukhan), up to Khantai Lake in the southwest of the Taimyr Peninsula.

In the past, the Evenks were widely settled throughout Taimyr, but in the 19th century.

part of the clans became part of the emerging Dolgan people. The Evenks hunted in special hunting clothes, moved on skis, usually without sticks. There was definitely a dog. Reindeer breeding in the economic complex of the Evenks played an auxiliary role. Deer were mainly used as a means of transport.

On them, the Evenks migrated within the taiga of Siberia to the place of winter fishing and back, to the place of summer parking.

They milked the sack. Deer were very cherished and tried not to slaughter for meat. Fishing was mainly a summer trade, although the Evenks also knew winter ice fishing. They caught with the help of "muzzles", nets, beaten with a spear, the archaic way of hunting fish with a bow and arrows was preserved. Boats were made of wood, usually rowed with one oar with a wide blade.

Evenk hunting and fishing determined the diet. Meat and fish were eaten fresh, boiled or fried and harvested for future use - dried, dried, in the summer they drank reindeer milk.

Evenki: going across the ridges

From the Russians, the Evenks learned how to cook flour products - flat cakes that replaced bread. Evenks did everything necessary for life in the taiga themselves. From reindeer skins, thin suede "rovduga" was made. Blacksmithing was known to every Evenk, but there were also blacksmiths - professionals.

Evenk hunters, leading a mobile lifestyle, lived in light portable dwellings - chum or du.

The stationary winter type of dwelling of the Evenks of Siberia, characteristic of the semi-sedentary Evenk hunters and fishermen, is a bare pyramidal or truncated pyramidal shape. A bark quadrangular dwelling made of poles or logs with a gable roof served as a summer permanent home for hunters and fishermen.

Southern Evenks, nomadic pastoralists of Transbaikalia lived in portable yurts of the Buryat and Mongolian type. Summer and winter huts covered with bark were common. As a rule, in most cases, larch bark was used. Birch bark and hay could be used as a covering for the conical hut.

Winter huts were built from boards in the form of a multifaceted pyramid, covered with earth, felt, nyuks sewn from deer skins or rovduga.

At the end of the XIX century. Evenks were dominated by a small family. Property was inherited through the male line. Parents usually stayed with their youngest son. Marriage was accompanied by the payment of bride price (teri) or labor for the bride.

Marriage was preceded by courtship, the period between them sometimes reached one year. Until the beginning of the 20th century. levirate (marriage to the widow of an older brother) was known, in rich families - polygamy (up to 5 wives). Evenk folklore included improvisational songs, mythological and historical epos, fairy tales about animals, historical and everyday legends. The epic was read in recitative, usually during the night.

Often listeners took part in the performance, repeating individual lines after the narrator. Separate groups of Evenks had their own epic heroes (soning) - for example, Uren among the Ilimpi Evenks, Heveke - on Podkamennaya Tunguska. Of the musical instruments known are jew's harps (wooden and bone), a tambourine, a musical bow, etc.; Of the dances among the Yenisei Evenks, a circular round dance (“Ekharye”), performed to song improvisation, is popular.

The games were in the nature of a competition in wrestling, shooting, running, etc.

To the list of nationalities

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TRADITIONAL CULTURE OF THE EVENKI

The Evenks (the old name is "Tungus") are one of the most ancient peoples of Buryatia. According to a number of scientists, they appeared in the lower reaches of the Selenga River about 3-4 thousand years ago.
Being a relatively small ethnic group, the Evenks far exceed all other indigenous Siberian peoples in terms of the size of the territory they develop. And this is a natural surprise.

It seems almost unbelievable how the tribes that stood at such a level could conquer colossal spaces, overcome the difficulties of many months, and sometimes even many years of travel. But in fact, the further into the depths of history, the less value has a distance factor. Everywhere, wherever the Evenk went in the taiga wanderings, he found reindeer moss for his deer, animals for hunting, bark and poles for plagues: everywhere he could satisfy his simple needs with equal success. And the easier it was for him to launch into long way, since at that time the time factor did not play any role, acquiring such great importance with the development of civilization.

Years spent in one place, years spent on campaigns in new places - all this did not change anything in the usual way of life.
The first mention of the Trans-Baikal people Uvan, engaged in reindeer herding and living in tents, dates back to the 7th century.

BC. Modern Tungus reindeer herders. The Amur region still call themselves Uvan-khi. However, according to ancient chronicles, the Uvans also bred horses and "black sheep", hunted, lived in felt yurts, and migrated on horses harnessed to carts. Many Tungus legends and some ethnographic elements (a saddle with a girth) that are still preserved tell about the existence of horses among the Evenks of Transbaikalia in the past.
The period of intense interaction of the Tungus of Transbaikalia with the Mongols of Genghis Khan and his successors is reflected in the ancient legends about manga.

At the same time, moving north, the ancestors of the Evenks found some local peoples in new places, with whom they either fought or established good neighborly relations, but eventually assimilated all of them.

Among such aborigines are called Mekachuns and Kaltachs, who lived in the forests of Northern Baikal. The Evenk clan Kaltagir (from Kaltachi) was met by Russian Cossacks in the middle of the 17th century.

Similarly, it is said about the Barguts who lived in the Barguzin before the arrival of the Tungus.
In the 17th century the Tungus (Evenks) of Transbaikalia and the Baikal region occupied a wider geographical area than now. Even in the XVIII - early XIX centuries. individual Evenk nomad camps could be found not only along the entire coast of Lake Baikal, but also in the taiga massifs of Khamar-Daban, Tunka, Zakamna, Barguzin, Baunt and North Baikal.
The tribal composition of the Barguzin Evenks in the 18th century consisted of Limagirs, Balikagers, Namyasins (Namegtirs), Pochegors, Kindygirs, Chilchagirs and Nyakugirs, but the documents indicate mainly two clans: Balikagir and Limagir.
From the end of the 1st half of XIX in.

there was a general decrease in the number of Evenks assigned to the Barguzin foreign administration, although their tribal composition still remained unchanged. This fact was caused by the migration of part of the reindeer herders to their Baunt relatives.
The Tunkinsko-Khamardaban (Armak) Evenks-Kumkagirs occupied the southern region of the nomadic Tungus even before the arrival of the Russians, but among them there was a strong displacement with the Buryats.

After the border between Russia and China was established, they were resettled in the valley of the Dzhida River, where they formed the Armak foreign administration. They were engaged in horse breeding, fur trade and carried border service.
Part of the Evenks lived near the Kabansky prison, representing 6 clans that once roamed in the Selenga River basin and were at enmity with the Barguzin relatives.

After an internecine skirmish on the Itantse River, the Selenga Evenks asked the Russians to build a prison, which was built in 1666 (guard winter hut) at the mouth of the Uda River (future Verkhneudinsk). The Evenks assimilated by the Buryats were also found along Chikoy.
Northern Baikal and Baunt Evenki, attributed in the 17th century.

to the Verkhneudinsky Ostrozhka, made up two generic groups: Kindygirs and Chilchagirs. According to ancient legends, the Kindygirs were the first to come to Baikal from the Amur, having heard about the lands rich in animals and fish, inhabited by tribes wearing soft cloth and having beautiful women. Migration of the Evenks took place in several waves along different routes: Down the Vitim to the mouth of the Mui and further to the upper reaches of the Upper Angara, along which they reached Baikal.

Aborigines - Mayogirs - put up strong resistance along the entire route of the aliens. However, in the end, the Kindygirs occupied vast territories in the north of Transbaikalia and represented the most numerous genus of reindeer Tungus among the Evenks.
The Chilchagirs roamed mainly in the Baunt taiga and, for the convenience of management, were divided in the 18th century.

into two large groups: the 1st and 2nd administrative clans. Vekoroi Mayoghirs received a subordinate significance to them. The youngest ethnic groups of the Northern Evenks are the Sologon, Naikanchir, Khamene, Ngodiaril, Nanagir, Amunkagir, Daligir, Kogir, Samagir, etc. clans, totaling 20. natives of the area.
The resettlement of the Buryats in the valley had positive influence on the economy and culture of the Evenks.

According to available information, the Evenks, following the example of the Buryats, began to pay great attention to the development of cattle breeding and widely practice the exchange and purchase of livestock. Hunting gradually ceased to play a major role in their occupations.
Close economic and cultural ties between the Evenks and the Buryats have existed for a long time. Evenks and Buryats often "visited" each other. "Guest" was expressed in the exchange of household items, clothing and weapons.

The existence of close contacts between the Evenks and the Buryats was known to the first explorers. So, for example, a serviceman Vasily Vlasyev, in a reply dated 1641, reported that to the west of Lake Baikal "Tunguses with brotherly people drink and eat together."
The Russian peasants who settled in the neighborhood also had a great influence on the economy and culture of the Evenks. From them, the Evenks learned agriculture.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the fur trade had ceased to be the leading branch of the entire complex economy of the Evenks, but its role in their economy still remained significant.

Income from fur trade in relation to the total income from the economy among the Evenks was up to 30%, while among the Buryats it was only 10%. The income from fishing per capita, according to official data, was 4 rubles 50 kopecks among the Evenks, and only 58 kopecks among the Buryats.
By this period, the marketability of the economy increased among the nomadic Evenks. In the market of Barguzin, Suvo, Bodon, they brought meat, butter, arushen, wool, leather, home-made products: light leather shoes (Kungur boots), woolen socks, fur mittens, mittens and more.

The proximity of peasant villages, close contact with the Russian and Buryat population created more favorable conditions for the Evenks living in the lower reaches of the Barguzin to sell their products on the market, exchange and purchase goods.
With the annexation of Transbaikalia to Russia, the Evenks had the opportunity to communicate closely with the working Russian people.

Following the example of the settlers, they began to engage in a new type of economy - agriculture, which was an incentive for the settlement of Evenk families - former nomads. Agricultural products enriched their diet. The Evenks got the opportunity to exchange furs for the necessary things, to purchase products produced by peasants.

The influence of the Russians was reflected in the appearance of new fishing tools: firearms, metal traps (traps, loops), nets for catching sables, nets and seines. Following the example of the Russians, the Barguzin Evenks built their houses (winter roads) and outbuildings (sheds, barns), widely used agricultural tools: plows, harrows, sickles, scythes, pitchforks, used the experience of Russians in the manufacture of sledges and light Koschevkas, carts and harnesses, borrowed household items: tables, chairs, dishes.
The long communication of the Evenks with the newcomer Russian peasants grew into friendship.

A striking example of this is the marriages between them, the formation of many Russian-Evenki families. At the beginning of the 19th century, 93 people from the Barguzin Evenks were singled out as a special category of "sedentary farmers". Such families were, as it were, intermediate links for a more active mutual influence of cultures. In mixed families, the entire household and economic structure usually combined the traditions of both peoples.
The Russian peasants who lived next door to the Evenks, in turn, borrowed from the last hunting tools (kulems, crossbows), hunting utensils (sleds, skis, horn powder flasks, birch bark flasks), clothes and shoes, mittens and jackets, leggings (aramus ), light leather shoes, woolen socks and mittens, and other household items.
Evenki camps during the migrations consisted of several chums, and their inhabitants roamed in most cases together.

In the camps (salt licks, fishing areas), adult men hunted and fished together, and the prey went to a common boiler. Women ran the household, raised children, and sewed clothes and shoes. Such social organization, consisting of blood relatives, fully corresponded to the entire production activity of the Evenks. It was easier and more productive for a group of men, consisting of 2-4 people or more, to hunt for meat and fur animals, covering a large area of land, and for women and teenagers to look after deer.
Various researchers of Siberia, describing the craft of the Evenks, very successfully noticed this aspect of their social organization.

“The hunter is trying to shoot the beast,” Orlov wrote, “in order to have food both for his family and for those Tungus who roam with him.” Local historian N.M. Dobromyslov, who visited the Baunt Evenks at the beginning of the 20th century, wrote: “The Evenks roam, although they roam around the vast taiga, but among themselves they form, as it were, one family ... in family life, the Orochons strictly keep family ties, but in order to occupy a larger area for hunting, brothers and in general separate families roam in difference.
First, a few words should be said in general about the material culture of the Evenks.

The fact is that the Evenki, who settled in the neighborhood of various peoples, learned and adopted a lot of new things, while preserving their traditions. Many researchers noted that, depending on the places where they lived, they had differences in food, clothing, methods of slaughtering deer, etc.
Evenks in some places, in addition to tents, had dugouts, log houses (Aldan), in others felt yurts, log houses (Nerchinsk Tunguses).

In addition, even plagues differed in the way the skeleton was attached. Utensils also differed in material and shape.
Least of all, only the Pribaikalsky Evenks, who lived more or less isolated, were less affected by the influence of neighboring small peoples, communicating less with both other groups and other foreign-speaking peoples of the North and the Far East.

But, nevertheless, there are a lot of similarities in material culture, which, apparently, speaks of past connections.
For example, only our North Baikal Evenks made a rug from seal skins and called it “kumalan” (from the word “kuma” - seal).

But this name has also spread in those places where there is no seal at all (Baunt, Chita, Tungiro-Olekma and Evenki Krasnoyarsk Territory).
All material culture was adapted to nomadic life.

It was presented exclusively from wood, leather, birch bark, which the Evenki knew how to carefully process.
Evenki reindeer herders for the summer camp chose a place in a dry forest and always by the river,
Where there was a common flat area on which all their deer could fit.

Unlike other peoples of the North and the Far East, they did not settle along large rivers, which once again speaks of their reindeer breeding and hunting economy.
After the period of calving, the deer migrated to mountain moss pastures or to the mountains, where they broke their plagues in the forest, where trees grew at the head of streams.

Plagues were placed side by side, and if several families gathered, then in a semicircle. In front of the entrance, fires were lit for cooking. The reindeer also arranged shady canopies made of leather. For this, low larches were placed in a semicircle and connected with crowns. The size of the shade canopy depended on the size of the herd.
The Evenks roamed in groups of kindred families for convenience in reindeer herding and hunting.
All winter and unnecessary for summer wanderings were left on pile storage sheds.

These are scaffolds with a bark roof, which were set up in dry forest valleys on the territory of winter hunting.
The main dwelling of the deer Evenks was a conical tent, they did not have other structures (dugouts, log houses, semi-dugouts). All parts of the plague had their own name, for example: sonna - a smoke hole, turu - the main poles of the skeleton, chimka - the middle pole, which was installed inside the plague, etc.
It should be said that one group of Podlemorsky Evenks did not have deer.

They were called seated.
Inside the plague was everything you need. Near the entrance along the wall they made small coasters for dishes - tables made of shreds. To the left of the door, a bag with tools for skins was tied to a pole, a leather grinder was on the floor, next to it was a needle bed. The cradle, when the child was sleeping, stood on the floor next to the needle bed. On a transverse pole above the hearth, an oldon was hung - a metal hook for a boiler or a copper kettle, a dryer for meat, fish, and nuts was immediately hung.
Opposite the entrance, behind the fire, a place of honor for guests is small.

Nearby is the place of the owner and the most necessary things for hunting: the patronage of their sealskin, a handbag, a knife with a sheath on a belt, a pouch. To the right and left of the small sleeping bags and reindeer skins - "bed".
Household utensils were adapted to nomadic life. It was distinguished by its strength, lightness and small size, for ease of transportation, since the Trans-Baikal Evenki did not know the sled and rode only on horseback.

It should be noted that the Trans-Baikal deer were taller and fit for riding compared to the deer of the Arctic. Each family had the minimum necessary for the constant use of utensils.

Tungus. (History of Siberia from ancient times to the present day).

In addition to hard utensils, there were soft utensils in the dwelling: kumalan rugs and a “bed”. Rugs-kumalans usually served as tires for packs, but they were used in everyday life.
A deer skin served as a camp bed. The more prosperous Evenki sewed a bed of bear and hare skins, similar to modern sleeping bags.

For hunting supplies, they used a leather bag - "natru". Natruska was sewn from the legs of a deer and ornamented.
Along with new household items that have firmly entered the life of the Evenk family, old utensils are preserved: birch bark utensils, which are used to store flour, cereals; "guyaun" - a cue ball for picking berries, tuyaski of different sizes for storing tea, salt.

Of the soft utensils, kumalans-rugs have been preserved, which serve as decorations - they are hung on the wall and laid on chairs.

Among the old Evenki, you can also find needle cases - “avsa”, where they store their items for needlework.
In the early 1990s, in the wake of democratic reforms, national cultural centers began to be created. Republican center of Evenk culture "Arun" was established in 1992.

The main goals of which were the revival, preservation and development of the spiritual and material culture of the Evenks of Buryatia.
From the day the center was founded, the director was Viktor Stepanovich Gonchikov, the first Evenki composer, a talented son of the Evenki people, in whose musical works the soul of the people is embodied.
In 1993, the presentation of the first collection of songs "Guluvun" - "Bonfire" was held at the National Library, which reflected Evenk folklore, songs and dances.
Together with the editors of the magazine "Swallow" in 1995.

The magazine "Velika" was prepared and published in the Evenki language. In close cooperation with the All-Buryat Association for the Development of Culture, the Gulamta newspaper was published, in which materials from the history of the Evenki people were published, as well as fragments from the lyrics of the Evenki poet A.

Nemtushkin.
An employee of the center Afanasyeva E.F., candidate of philological sciences, senior lecturer of BSU compiled and published an Evenki dictionary in the Barguzin dialect. He left a good memory of himself V.V. Belikov, who published Evenk folklore in his book "Birakan". At the cultural center, classes are conducted to study the native language, a student ensemble "Guluvun" has been created, whose members are propagandists of Evenki art.

The center and the ensemble are participants in many exhibitions, festivals and competitions. Awarded with awards, diplomas for participation and success in the republican festival "On the land of Geser", dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the Buryat epic (1995), in the festival of cultures of national minorities and festivals "Wreath of Friendship".

Ensemble "Guluvun" is an annual participant of the festival "Student Spring". Decree of the Government of the Republic of Buryatia No. 185 dated 06/06/2000 resolves the issue of creating a state professional Evenki song and dance ensemble.
At the initiative of the Republican Center of Evenk Culture "Arun", since 1995.

on the radio studio "Birakan", and since 1996 on the TV show "Ulgur", for the first time programs in the Evenki language sounded.
A good gift for kids and schoolchildren was a new collection of songs by V.S. Gonchikov "Evedy Davlavur" ("Evenk Songs", 1997). This collection, which has explanations for the pronunciation of words, musical performance, as well as interlinear translation, will serve the Evenk people as a tool for the speedy development of their native language.
With the active assistance of the Evenk cultural center "Arun", the national holiday "Bolder" ("Meeting") is held, which has become traditional.

The participants of this holiday are representatives of the northern regions, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Evenk Autonomous Okrug, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Chita Region, the Khulunbuyr aimag of the Evenk Khoshun Autonomous Republic Inner Mongolia China.
At the present stage, RCEC "Arun" is doing a lot of work to implement the state national policy of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Buryatia, as well as to strengthen and strengthen interethnic harmony and peace, the unity of the integrity of Russia.

Establishes close contacts with other cultural centers in the republic for mutual enrichment.
In 2000, an information and coordination center was created on the basis of the RCEC "Arun", which will allow establishing public, educational, educational and research activities in the field of nature protection. History, culture, language of the Evenki population living in the republic.

A project has been developed to create the Evenk ethno-cultural complex "Arun", the implementation of which will lay the foundation for the unification and consolidation of the indigenous peoples of the North of the Republic of Buryatia, as well as ensure the development partnerships with regional authorities to solve the problems of the region, will provide all possible assistance to the preservation of the heritage of the Evenk people and culture, the sustainable development of traditional types of management.
Undoubtedly, the ethno-cultural complex will take its rightful place among other cultural and educational centers G.

Ulan-Ude and will become one of the main public, national, political and resource centers of the Republic of Buryatia.
In Buryat State University the department of the Evenki language was opened, which has already released 2 streams of teachers. The Evenki language is taught by E.F. Afanasiev.
The Buryat Institute for Advanced Studies of Educational Workers (BIPCRO) annually conducts rating courses for teachers of the Evenk language and workers additional education organized by the teacher BIPCRO Mironova E.D.

Badmaeva

Article: Evenks as a people, their customs and traditions

Evenki culture (family and marriage relations, rituals, traditions)

Exogamy was mainly observed by the Evenks, but it was broken when the increased genus broke up into a number of independent groupings. For example, a man could marry a girl from the same clan, but from other family groups. Women from other clans of the Evenks were also called mata.

There was a custom of levirate - inheritance by the younger brother of the widow of the elder. The marriage transaction was made by buying and selling, which was of three types: the first was the payment for the bride of a certain amount of deer, money or other valuables; the second is the exchange of girls; the third - working off for the bride. Kalym was taken either in kind, or in kind and in money, translated into deer (from 10 to 100 deer).

Usually a large kalym was paid over several years. A significant part of the kalym, especially deer, was at the disposal of the newlyweds, and the rest went to their relatives. The exchange of brides was less common and most often practiced among the poor Evenks.

In the family there was a peculiar division of labor between women and men. Fishing was the work of men, while the processing of prey was done by women. The work of the woman was hard, and the attitude towards her was dismissive. She had no right to participate in the conversation of men, and even more so to advise or express her opinion. Her adult sons did not listen to her voice either. The best food was given to the man. Beliefs were humiliating for a woman, according to which she was considered not clean and therefore should not have touched her hands with her husband’s hunting and weapons.

Groups of families of the same clan, wandering at a distance from each other, always retained their family ties. Often, separate related families united in one group and roamed together. There was a custom - nimat gratuitous transfer of their prey to their relatives. The most convenient place in the chum on the opposite side of the door was intended only for guests and was called "malu".

Murder, deceit, theft and other acts committed out of selfish motives were considered a grave crime against society. A witty and cheerful interlocutor always enjoyed great prestige among his relatives and served as a role model for young people.

In a person, they valued intelligence, courage, prowess, honesty, devotion to their people.

The funeral and memorial traditions of the Evenks were closely intertwined with their religious beliefs. The Evenks explained death by the departure of a person to the other world and at the same time tried to strictly observe all the canons of the funeral rite.

It was strictly forbidden to make noise, cry and lament at the funeral. Be sure to kill a sacrificial deer near the burial, the skin and head of which were hung on a specially constructed crossbar. According to the Evenks, the deceased must leave this world. All personal belongings and weapons of the deceased were placed in the coffin. After the funeral, the Evenki went to the camp without looking back and silently, and then migrated to another place.

Special commemorations were not arranged and no more visits were made to the graves of even close relatives.

Evenks (Tungus) are one of the most ancient indigenous peoples of Eastern Siberia, including the Baikal region. There are two theories of their origin. According to the first, the ancestral home of the Evenks was located in the region of southern Baikal, where their culture developed from the Paleolithic era, with their subsequent settlement to the west and east. The second theory assumes that the Evenks appeared as a result of assimilation by the local ("proto-Yukagir") population of the Uvan tribe, the mountain-steppe pastoralists of the eastern spurs of the Greater Khingan.

The Evenks still have an unwritten set of traditions and commandments that regulate social, family and inter-clan relations:

"nimat" - the custom of donating one's prey to one's relatives.

“malu” is the law of hospitality, according to which the most comfortable place in the chum is intended only for guests. Anyone who crossed the "threshold" of the plague was considered a guest.

"levirate" - the custom of inheritance by the younger brother of the widow of the older brother.

"tori" - a marriage transaction, which was made in one of three ways: by paying a certain amount of deer, money or other valuables for the bride; girl exchange; working for the bride.

The most solemnly held among the Evenks was the spring holiday - iken, or evin, dedicated to the onset of summer - "the appearance of new life" or "renewal of life".

The Evenks developed art carving on bone and wood, metalworking, beadwork, the Eastern Evenks - silk, appliqué with fur and fabric, embossing on birch bark.

At the moment, Evenks live mainly in the Irkutsk and Amur regions, Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, where there are 36 thousand of them. In addition to Russia, a fairly large number of Evenks also live in Mongolia and China.

The Evenks (the name Tungus was also used earlier) are one of the most ancient indigenous peoples of Eastern Siberia, in particular the Baikal region. In this article, we will not reveal sentimental secrets, because the history of the Evenks is probably so ancient that they themselves have long forgotten the beginning. They write about their original legends and traditions, but apparently these legends do not clearly reveal the secret of the origin of life on planet Earth either. Therefore, we narrate without sensationalism, maybe someone will come in handy.

There are two theories about the origin of the Evenks.

According to the first, the ancestral home of the Evenks was located in the region of southern Baikal, where their culture developed from the Paleolithic era, with their subsequent settlement to the west and east.

The second theory suggests that the Evenks appeared as a result of assimilation by the local population of the Uvan tribe, mountain-steppe pastoralists of the eastern spurs of the Greater Khingan. Uvan literally - "people living in mountain forests"

They call themselves modestly - Orochons, which in translation means "a man who owns a deer."

Evenki hunter. photo 1905.

According to the anthropological type, the Evenks are pronounced Mongoloids.

The Evenk ethnic group can be entered in the Guinness Book of Records. By the 17th century, with a population of only 30,000 people, they had mastered an incredibly vast territory - from the Yenisei to Kamchatka, and from the Arctic Ocean to the border with China. It turns out that on average, one Evenk has about twenty-five square kilometers. They constantly wandered, so they were said about them: Evenki everywhere and nowhere. At the beginning of the 20th century, their number was about 63 thousand people, and now it has again decreased to 30 thousand.

Politically, before meeting with the Russians, the Evenki depended on China and Manchuria.

The history of Russian-Evenki contacts dates back to the middle of the 17th century - to the time of the famous Evenki prince Gantimur, who took the side of the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and led his fellow tribesmen. He and his squad guarded the Russian borders. And the Evenks living in China guarded their country. So the Evenks became a divided people.

But first of all, they ask for iPads as a gift - a report by the MK special correspondent from the most remote region of Russia

Endless taiga, deer, plagues. You can get to some villages of Evenkia only by helicopter (or by snowmobile on frozen rivers). There is no internet and no cell phones. Bank cards? Yes, no one here has ever seen them! In general, all measures big world, to which we are accustomed, do not fit here and only interfere ...

But civilization still insidiously penetrated even here: a couple of TV channels operate on electricity generated by oil. It is TV, and even vodka and wolves that are the main evil for the locals. Because of them, they lose the most precious thing - deer. And because of them, Evenks are increasingly dreaming of leaving for the mainland.

How the indigenous peoples of Evenkia live and survive today and how they celebrate their most important day of the year - the MK reporter found out.

At the edge of the earth

“A fascinating journey to one of the most depressing corners of the planet awaits you,” said our guide Sergey. He was both right and wrong at the same time.

We are going to Evenkia, or rather, to the tiny and in its own way unique village of Surinda. It takes about 5 hours to fly from Krasnoyarsk to Surinda (with a stop at the oil workers for refueling), but not everything is so simple. Evenkia did not let us in the first time: the helicopter did not reach its destination due to bad weather, getting stuck in the middle of the taiga. A common thing in this area. And this year, due to the oddities of winter (the ice was weak, the snow melted quickly), it was not possible to continue winter roads everywhere. So the Evenks actually found themselves in complete isolation. And this is their pain and salvation at the same time.

“Who knows if these people would have survived if trains or helicopters flew from there to Krasnoyarsk every day?” Sergey sighs.

- And in general, many are drawn to the city? I ask the guide.

- The youth. Moreover, admission to universities for representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North is preferential. Not everyone comes back after graduation. You can work in the village only in the reindeer farm. You can also engage in dressing skins, making decorative items. As they say, there is not much choice. Although, maybe it's just good, what is it? The Evenks will save themselves if they work as reindeer herders. And by the way, local guys have the opportunity to do an alternative service in the army... reindeer herders!

We were warned that the beginning of the celebration of the Day of the Reindeer Herder will begin in the early morning and last until almost evening. The holiday will end ... with a disco, where, as in the famous film, "everyone dances." In general, the Day of the Reindeer Herder means more to the local population than to us. New Year. On the eve of the holiday, men return from the taiga along with deer, women and children run out to meet them - in general, everything is like in the old days ... True, in the Evenki village now they live not in plagues, but in ordinary one-story houses. But you can’t take a house with you into the taiga, so you can’t go anywhere without a plague anyway. And directly on the Day of the reindeer breeder, you can see it everywhere. In one tent, treats are prepared, in another they treat guests, in the third they tell the kids stories about ... deer, who else!

A reindeer herder's day without a reindeer sled race is like New Year's without Santa Claus and a Christmas tree. But the most beautiful competitions are not on sleds, but on horseback reindeer. And by the way, the Evenks are generally the only people who ride a deer just like a horse! But this time in Surinda, it was mostly children who took part in the horse races. They weigh less, and, therefore, it is easier for deer.

“They took pity on the reindeer because they got hurt last season,” the Evenks sigh. — There was a strong heat in the summer, the streams dried up. The deer did not have enough food, they were weakened. And the wolves used it and attacked more often.

Vodka, wolves and free will

There were once almost 90,000 deer in Surinda. Now there are about three thousand. How the locals treat them is hard to convey. Reverence? No, not this. Delight? Again, not that. They treat them like life in general. And they accept life in this harsh land as it is, do not grumble at it and consider it their duty to protect it, because otherwise the law of balance will be violated. The Evenk language contains about 20 deer names depending on gender, age, character, etc. Just think - 20 names for one animal! This is because the deer is both a breadwinner, a doctor, and ... all taken together.

What do you think Surinda still wear clothes and shoes from? The one we are used to, of course, is in the village store. But, firstly, it is very expensive because of the delivery. Secondly, it is impractical.

What do you think the Evenks prepare their breakfast, lunch and dinner from? That's right, venison. In different performance. Reindeer meat skewers, isamna (stew with reindeer fat in its own juice), boiled tongues, sile soup... all the deer dishes are beyond list. Evenks sometimes drink deer blood and eat raw liver, because they know that there are a lot of vitamins and microelements, and this will save you from scurvy. The body of local residents is generally not well adapted for the food that we eat. Recently, children were taken to an event in the city, there was a festive table with fruits and vegetables. So, the teachers strictly watched so that the children only tried the dishes, but did not eat up. Otherwise - poisoning, pain, hospital. This has all been done many times already. And by the way, when medicine is powerless, the same deer may well come to the rescue: from its horns an excellent cure for many ailments is obtained. And the deer is also a breadwinner in the sense that the state gives subsidies for it as part of the program to support indigenous peoples.

When the reindeer were last counted, almost a third were missing. Wolves in these parts are not the size of a dog, but almost the size of a calf and attack in whole packs. And it's hard to shoot them. From a helicopter it is insanely expensive (80 thousand rubles is an hour of flight time for Mi-8, Mi-2), from the ground it is dangerous.

“That's why they charged a good price for the skin of a wolf,” says the head of the village, Tatyana Savvateeva. - In total, up to 20 thousand can be obtained for a female. We have hunters in more than one generation. They know special methods to lure a wolf. One of them went skiing on predators, killed 5 wolves last year, for which we rewarded him with a rubber boat at the holiday.

5 wolves - for the inhabitants of the village, this seems like a lot. In total, in recent months, only 8 gray predators have been destroyed by land-based methods. The Evenks even called out for help to Krasnoyarsk extreme hunters. They asked them to come and hunt, even if only out of pure sporting interest. They promised to reward everyone who gets a wolf with local souvenirs and talismans (and here they are made of incredible beauty). They didn't come...

“We are often asked if it is not difficult for us to live without hot water,” the Evenks say. - What nonsense! Is that a problem? Wolves are the problem!

In addition to wolves, vodka brings trouble to local residents, but they themselves do not like to talk about it. The fact that such nationalities are, in principle, prone to drunkenness is a well-known fact. And then there is this isolation, a feeling of hopelessness sometimes rolls over, so that the Evenks reach for the bottle. In one of the villages, they tried to ban the sale of vodka in stores, but this did not lead to anything good: the residents were indignant, switched to tinctures.

- Specifically, in Surinda, we did not introduce any bans on alcohol, - says Tatyana Arkadyevna. - But we limit its sale to certain periods (when the animals are calving, etc.). And before the Day of the reindeer breeder, they also limited it.

On the threshold of Heaven

Now 462 residents live in Surinda, of which 449 are representatives of the indigenous nationality. It would seem that everyone here should know the Evenki language. So thought and scientists who recently conducted research. A whole expedition of employees of the Research Center of Moscow State University and the Research Center for National-Language Relations (NRC NNR) of the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences went to Surinda.

“The village maintains a reindeer herding economy, which should also contribute to the preservation of the language,” the scientists write. “Nevertheless, the sociolinguistic survey we conducted showed that the children no longer use the Evenki language, as their parents speak Russian to them. At school, Evenki is taught as a subject, but "according to the residual principle." The media also played their deplorable role. Among young people, knowledge of the Evenki language is passive (as a rule, they understand, but do not speak). We talked to 18-year-olds who were considered the best in terms of proficiency ethnic language among peers, however, all they could do was remember a certain number of words (about 15% of the list we presented). The language shift in Surinda began relatively recently - 10-15 years ago. At the same time, there are several people in the older generation who hardly speak Russian (all of them are over 80).”

The key to this study is the influence of the media. There are no newspapers in the village, but there is television. And the locals sit for hours at the blue screen watching serials. As a result, they have a kind of mixing of reality. What they see on TV clearly does not match the lifestyle they lead. And so they are drawn to the city, dreaming about it, about that other life, where instead of deer - "BMW", instead of tents - mansions, instead of the taiga - clubs and restaurants. And so the Evenki asked to send them gifts for the holiday - iPads. And they don't even understand what to do with these "toys" in the taiga, where there is no mobile Internet...

“We imagined an ideal picture of the future: all deer are marked with chips or in electronic collars,” says Alexander Salman, head of the scientific enterprise. “And the reindeer herder sits in the tent with a tablet, watching their movements. But if you think about it, it will completely destroy their way of life. So technology here is rather evil.

Alexander himself brought several collars to the festival to track the migration routes of wild deer. I wanted to show the reindeer herders how environmentalists would put them on the "savage" this summer. The scientist says that no one has studied reindeer migration since Soviet times. Therefore, it happens that Evenk hunters in the taiga spend their time in vain, waiting for a meeting with wild deer. As a result, they are left without prey ...

The only thing that TV could not kill in the Evenks was their belief in the spirits of nature. It seems that there are no shamans in the village of Surinda, but there are descendants of those who were once considered great Spirit Guides. And people are drawn to them... Christianity in Evenkia did not particularly take root. It turned out to be lifeless here, where the taiga is all around and everything is controlled by nature. Here, for example, is the case described by the researchers: a child fell ill, his grandmother took him from the hospital to the taiga, where she sang for a long time at the icon of Jesus Christ and rang the bell so that the Russian God would hear the Evenki prayer. Then they brought a deer - so that the girl inhaled his breath. And in order for the disease to finally go away, the deer was sacrificed in front of the icon of the Savior. What is most interesting - the child survived. Either thanks to prayers, or to a sacrificial deer ... Or maybe just thanks to the purest taiga air and a strong body.

And the Evenks did not lose them in something naive, but such captivating simplicity and kindness. An Evenki can take off his talisman (which he inherited from his great-grandmother and protected him for many years) and give it to a stranger. Simply because he felt that he needed it more. This is probably why crime is low in Evenkia, although almost every house has a gun. “You bring Muscovites to us for re-education,” the Evenks joke. Not such a bad idea...