E-mail: stepanova67@mail.ru Tel.: +7 (911) 999-32-92
3, Universitetskaya emb., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
PhD in History, Senior Researcher, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences
This article is devoted to Reindeer Herder’s Day, the main national holiday of the northern Selkups, a Samoyedic speaking Uralic ethnic group native to Siberia. It aims to consider the holiday in a comprehensive way and to identify its meanings. The main material for the study was collected in the Krasnoselkupsky district of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region on Reindeer Herder Days in 2016 and 2024. The modern Selkup Reindeer Herder’s Day took over from a similar holiday in Soviet times, but at the same time changed significantly: its prize fund has been significantly increased and its organization and structure have been improved. Today’s Selkups look forwrd to the holiday all year, prepare for it collectively, in advance, and “from the heart.” The organizer and coordinator of the holiday is the district administration that has turned it into a vibrant demonstration of national Selkup culture. Reindeer Herder’s Day unites the Selkups and contributes to the rise of Selkup self-awareness; it also helps improve relations between the authorities and the indigenous people living in the region. Thanks to the substantial prize fund, Reindeer Herder Day serves as an important source of income for many Selkup families. The holiday reflects the state of Selkup reindeer husbandry: the number of sleds taking part in the reindeer race indicates the number of local reindeer farms; the celebration ceases in villages where reindeer husbandry has died out. The most important function of Reindeer Herder’s Day is to preserve and present traditional culture in new forms that correspond to current realities. The holiday itself and all of its forms of celebration — the reindeer race, tents hosting guests, ethnic cuisine, national fashion shows, souvenir and food exhibitions and sales — reflect new forms of traditional Selkup culture and have great significance for modern Selkups.
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