Why did Nganasan shamans disappear? Hermeneutic possibilities of their Siberian religious systems and modern challenges
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2019-4-40-54
Abstract
The Nganasans (previously called the Samoyeds or the Tawhiti) are an indigenous Samoyedic people inhabiting the Taymyr Peninsula in north Siberia. The 2010 Russian census counted 862 Nganasans living in Russia. The Nganasans are thought to be the descendants of Paleo-Siberian peoples who were culturally assimilated by Samoyedic peoples. The Nganasans were traditionally a nomads whose main form of subsistence was wild reindeer hunting. They lived relatively independently, until the 1950-1960s when they were settled in the villages they live in today (Ust-Avam, Volochanka, Novaya), which are at the southern edges of the Nganasans' historical nomadic routes. The traditional religion of the Nganasans is shamanism, it has remained relatively free of Russian influence due to the Nganasans' geographic isolation until recent history.
Nganasan culture and shamanism has been well researched in 1920-1990s by Russian ethnologists Andrey Popov, Boris Dolgikh, Yuriy Simchenko, Galina Gracheva, Eugen Helimski and others. The most studied is the shamanic tradition of Ngamtusuo (Kosterkiny) clan. After the death of two last shamans from Ngamtusuo clan, brothers Demnime (1913-1980) and Tubyaku (1921-1989), Nganasan shamanic tradition disappeared. One can listen shamanic ritual chants only in the performance of national folk group ("folklore on stage"). Why did it happen? What are the internal and external causes of the disappearance of the shamanic tradition? May be the cause is the influence of Russian culture, linguistic and cultural assimilation? Or the fight against religion during the Soviet era? I argue that there are a number of reasons, and the main factor is the change in the type of economy and, accordingly, lifestyle. It happened in the 1950-1960s, when the Soviet government massively resettled semi-nomadic hunters in villages.
About the Author
O. B. Khristoforova
Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Olga B. Khristoforova, Dr. of Sci. (Philology)
bldg. 1, bld. 82, Vernadskii av., Moscow, 119571
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Review
For citations:
Khristoforova O.B. Why did Nganasan shamans disappear? Hermeneutic possibilities of their Siberian religious systems and modern challenges. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2019;(4):40-54. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2019-4-40-54
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