Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
1) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Anuchin Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Mokhovaya st., 11, Moscow, 125009, Russia; 2) Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromse, Norway
Murashko O.A., e-mail: murashko.olga@gmail.com; Dallmann V.K., e-mail: dallmann@npolar.no
Introduction. The paper analyzes data collected during the project «Monitoring of Development of Traditional Indigenous Land Use Areas in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), NW Russia». Project leader V.K. Dallmann, Norwegian Polar Institute. The project was implemented in cooperation with indigenous organizations, the Association of Nenets People Yasavey and the author of the article. http://npolar.no/ipy-nenets In NAO aggressive development of oil and gas deposits has been under way for over 40 years. At the same time, the maps of reindeer herding have a schematic character, they are obsolete and do not reflect modern state of the traditional land use. As a result, companies often disregard the interests of indigenous peoples. The whole of the territory of NAO is comprised of the lands of traditional communal holdings. Annual nomadic migrations of reindeer herders from the South to the North and back amount to nearly one thousand kilometers. The reindeer herders face the situations where the routes of annual nomadic migrations of reindeer herders are cut by pipelines, open pits, the sites of drilling rigs, massive tracks left by heavy machinery, turning tundra into impassible obstacles for the reindeer herds. Objectives and methods . One of the main tasks and methods of presenting the project data was mapping of all the objects of traditional land use in their interaction with the objects of oil and gas industry. Another task was interviewing indigenous people, in order to find out their opinion about the consequences of industrial development for the traditional way of life, the problems of interaction with oilmen. The third task was to find out the real dependency of incomes of indigenous people and their life necessities on the results of traditional land use. The questionnaire contains simple questions about all types of traditional land use – reindeer herding, hunting, gathering, processing and procurement of products. The respondents were also asked how much products of reindeer herding, hunting and fishing their families consume daily, how many times a week they eat fish and meat during different seasons. What amount of products purchased in shops their families consume, about the monetary incomes of households, consisting of salaries, social benefits, the cost of surrendered traditional products. Among the respondents were 64 reindeer herders, working in APC and in communities, 17 retired reindeer herders, the remaining (22 respondents) were fishermen, hunters, agricultural specialists, representatives of administration of settlements, unemployed. Discussion of the results. The results of the analysis of questionnaires and tests showed that traditional products comprise according to the respondents from 62% tо 84% of their ration; traditional husbandry provides from 65% tо 100% of employment of the working respondents. The reindeer herders with a high income from the sold meat: 200-500 thousand rubles annually per family (villages Kanin, Krasnoje, Khorei-Ver), ration the food containing animal proteins and fats prevails. The respondents not involved in reindeer herding (villages Nelmin-Nos, Indiga, Kolguev), with low incomes, nearly 50 thousand annually, traditional protein food is, obviously substituted by purchased, predominantly farinaceous products. The materials of questionnaires and tests showed that the amount of the consumed reindeer meat annually per person is from 50 to 250 kg, the annual amount of fish is from 60 to 300 kg, provided it is eaten from 2 to 7 times a week depending on the season. Conclusion. In respondents replies about the threats to the means of subsistence, the respondents named ecological and social threats, such as pasture degradation, quality of water, locations of gathering berries, reduction of the number of fish and game animals, connected with oil production. The main threats, in the opinion of the respondents, are unemployment, alcoholism, difficulties in obtaining education, the loss of occupational prestige by reindeer herding. But they have no intentions to drastically change their way of life. General tendency, characteristic for all the respondents concerning replies to the questions about who determines the future of their families or community, lies in the fact that they believe, that they should rely only on themselves. These opinions testify to self-confidence of the respondents leading traditional way of life, as well as to a high degree of victimization of their consciousness and isolation from the rest of the socium. The answers to the questionnaire survey clearly pointed to a high degree of dependency of the respondents on the traditional land use. It shows that if the industrial use of the lands leads to further reduction of the possibility to be involved in traditional land use, it may have dramatic consequences for their welfare.
Nenets Autonomous Okrug, indigenous peoples, reindeer herding, transformation, traditional lifestyles and nutrition, desadaptation
Цит.: Murashko O.A., Dallmann V.K. Transformation of traditional lifestyles and nutrition of indigenous Nenets in Nenets Autonomous District // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2011; 4/2011; с. 4-24
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