Nomadic and sedentary households of the Yamal Nenetses in the late 20's - the first half of the 30-ies.XX century

Today more than half of the nomadic population of the Russian Federation is the Nenetses of Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, residing mainly in three areas of tundra: Priural'skii, Taz and Yamal. The essential part of the All-Russian reindeer concentrates in their households. The issue of time referring the Nenetses to nomads closely connects with the development of the large reindeer herds among them. According to the general opinion of scientists, it was the leading form of Nenets economy at the beginning of 20 century, with the set of characteristic of concepts and methods of management. In this period of formation of new branch of economy appeared the traditional rule became as the axiom for the Nenetses about that everyone »sedentary» tundra fishermen and hunter who can not be a nomad, strove to «get up» (podnyatsya na kaslanie), i.e. to increase the number of reindeer, become a reindeer herder and live a «real life». This article discusses the cultural and socio-economic mechanisms caused choice of nomadic or sedentary lifestyle by the Nenetses. In this connection we have decided to use the sources of the late of 20th — first half of the 30s years of the 20 century which characterized traditional relationships within the Nenets community about reindeer and nomadism. They are the census of Yamal Regional Executive Committee 1932-1933, household census of Administration of People and Household Accounting of RSFSR 1934-1935.), land-management expedition of 1934-1935 in the Yamal region, containing the characteristics of Nenets households on the eve of activities aimed at eliminating their cultural and economic backwardness (collectivization, transfer to a sedentary life, etc.). After analyzing the size of the domestic herds, the traditional and new ways of increasing of head of livestock in this period, favoured sedentary and semi-sedentary households to become nomadic, we conclude that the determining factor in the choice of lifestyle for the Nenetses was an economic benefits. In the late 20's — the first half of the 30-es years of the 20 century the existence of reindeer satisfied the needs of the family for food, clothing, dwelling, but also obtained a good profit from hunting and carrier's trade, which considerably increased the income of the reindeer family, compared to the fishing. Therefore, despite the reduction of the number of reindeer and a high percentage of small herds households which were in the Yamal region in this period, the expansion of the scope of using of reindeer and intensive use them provided the comfortable existence for family. Created favorable conditions for increasing the herd (credits and cash earnings) only stimulated the transition of semi-settled and sedentary farming to nomadic way of life in accordance with traditional cultural rule, responsive to the socio-economic changes. They show enterprise of Nenetses.

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