Scholarly record

NORTHERN REINDEER HERDING IN YAKUTIA - MAIN SECTOR OF THE AGRICULTURE FOR PRESERVING OF ETHNOS

FILIPPOVA, V., SAVVINOVA, A., GNATYUK, G.

Abstract

Reindeer herding is not only the sector of agriculture, but a life style of reindeer herders. With reindeer husbandry related a cultural traditions and ancestral activities of indigenous minorities of the North – the Evenks, Evens, Yukaghirs, Dolgan and the Chukchi people living on the territory of Yakutia. According to the Government Decree 2009 – the 21 districts in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) relates to the areas of traditional residence and traditional activities, including reindeer herding. As a result of adaptation of indigenous peoples of the North to the features of natural areas of Yakutia with an area of 3.1 million square kilometers, historically several areas of doing reindeer farming. Tundra type of reindeer herding was characterized by a large size of herds, reindeer were used for food and for sewing clothes. In taiga type of reindeer herding historically reindeers used for transportation, herds were small, there was no long migrations, reindeer herding was combined with hunting and fishing. Development of reindeer husbandry requires large areas of land. The state policy of the USSR aimed at improving the lives of Northern peoples included the relocation of the nomadic population to a sedentary lifestyle, the creation of compact settlements, the establishment of large agricultural enterprises (kolkhozes and sovkhozes). This led to the forced migration of herders from remote nomads to the bigger cities. As a result, traditional nature use was forced to coexist with other forms of land use. In the 1990s, following the collapse of the state farm and collective-farm system with the advent of laws on indigenous peoples of the North and nomadic tribal community, many peoples return to the nomadic way of life. Currently the Northern tundra, mountain-tundra and mountain-taiga complexes which comprise 90,3\% of the total area of Yakutia, live 59.2\% of the indigenous peoples of the North from their total population in Yakutia. In this territories also there are 86.5\% of all livestock deer Republic and 60,1\% of the total number of nomadic communities. The southern part of the Republic, where he actively goes through the process of industrial development of the district is characterized by a significant number of nomadic tribal communities with a small area of reindeer pastures (about 10\%) with a large value of reindeer capacity. On this territory in 2010 lived 13.0\% of the indigenous peoples of the North from their total number in the Republic. The study of the processes occurring in the development of reindeer husbandry in some areas of Yakutia shows a strong correlation with socio-economic conditions of the indigenous peoples of the North, their culture and lifestyle from the development of reindeer herding. Resettlement of indigenous peoples of the North in Yakutia is characterized primarily by features of their placement and quality of reindeer pastures.

Publication Impact Profile

• Captures
• Mendeley - Readers: 4

PLUMX see details

DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/SGEMSOCIAL2015/B23/S7.076

Publication details

Back to publication list