FROM THE HISTORY OF FIELD ETHNOGRAPHY OF SOUTH-WESTERN SIBERIA: THE TELEUTS AND ETHNOGRAPHERS

The article analyzes the history of relations between ethnographers and the indigenous population of southern Siberia. It traces how these traditions were formed and developed since the 18th century. The decisive impact of the Altai spiritual mission, as well as that of the prominent ethnographers of the 19th — early 20th century (V. I. Verbitsky, V. V. Radlov, G. N. Potanin, A. V. Anokhin), are described. Attention is also paid to the interaction of missionaries and ethnographers and their humanitarian and scientific cooperation in communicating with the indigenous population. Ethnographers’ relations with one of the small Turkic peoples of Siberia — the Teleuts — are considered in detail. These relations were always based on mutual respect and mutual trust. During the state anti-religious campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s Teleut shamans and shamanists sought and often found protection and support from ethnographers, although cases of researchers’ violation of Teleut sacred traditions are also cited. Attention is paid to the specifics of Siberian field ethnography in the post-Soviet period. In addition to the scholarly literature and archival documents, materials collected by the author during more than 20 field expeditions to the Teleuts and other South Siberian peoples are used in preparation of the article.