Koryaks are the indigenous population of the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula, who managed to carry their identity and cultural characteristics through the centuries. Yes, their way of life has become more modern, and some unusual traditions have faded into the background. However, despite the small number and limited region of residence, they managed to maintain their basic customs.

The most accurate translation of the term "Koryaks" will be "owning deer", which fully reflects the essence of the main occupation of the people. One version of ethnologists says that people got this name from the Russian Cossacks, who came to the peninsula in the 17th century. According to another theory, the Yukaghirs called them "Koryaks".

Koryak fishermen and Koryak reindeer herders

The Koryak tribes were not always nomadic. Initially, they were engaged in fishing and led a settled life. The need to separate from the main group arose extremely rarely - during the years of poor catch, when the men were forced to go deep into the peninsula to hunt and stay there for a long time. This was the beginning of the division of the Koryaks into two main branches: nomadic tundra and sedentary coastal.

Remarkably, the people themselves never called themselves "Koryaks". Other terms have been used in opposition to this term. "Namylan" and "ankalan" for sedentary inhabitants, "chavchuven" and "chauchu" for nomadic representatives.

In addition to hunting and fishing, other industries were well developed in the villages. The Koryaks have always wisely disposed of the gifts of nature. Killed animals were used not only for food. From reindeer skins, warm closed shirts “kukhlyanka” were sewn, which were decorated with ornate patterns from the fur of fur-bearing animals. For the manufacture of traditional fur boots, whole skins of walruses and seals were selected.

The processing of soft materials, in particular sewing and embroidery, was considered an exclusively female occupation. Men were engaged in harder work: they made figurines, snuff boxes and decorations from walrus tusks; processed metal, stone and wood.

Cut off from civilization, the Koryaks even came up with a kind of diaper. They were built from the softest skins of deer calves and equipped with a special buttoned pocket, which was convenient to unbutton and fasten without taking off your clothes. A special kind of moss was placed in the pocket, which absorbs liquids well and prevents the appearance of diaper rash.

Yarangi - traditional dwelling of the Koryaks

The personification of the home for any Koryak is the yaranga. In structure, it looks like a small yurt covered with deer skins. The warmest place in the yaranga is the canopy or bedroom, which is a small square "room" in the center, covered on all sides with deerskin fur inside. Previously, the whole family climbed there and, lighting the “zhirnik” (a lamp based on seal fat), they went to bed for the night. Then it became so hot in the canopy that on even the frostiest nights one could sleep without clothes.

In addition to the yarangas, the Koryaks built semi-underground dwellings from logs. The buildings had two entrances: the lower one, leading inside through the vestibule, and the upper one, which in parallel served as a chimney. The first was used in the summer, until the building was covered with snow. But as soon as the snow cover became so high that most of the house was hidden under it, the Koryaks climbed inside through the winter entrance. The stairs were very steep and looked more like a pillar with indented steps for the feet. Some ethnologists are of the opinion that such northern dugouts were built long before the appearance of yarangas. However, to our time, not a single whole semi-underground house has been preserved in natural conditions, so you can see them only in museums.

What did the Koryaks worship?

The Koryaks believed that every thing and the surrounding object had a soul. They animated not only animals, but the whole the world: celestial bodies, sea, mountains, forest. Each community chose its own sacred place - appapel - which was worshiped and sacrificed animals. Often these were deer, less often dogs and marine life.

The most magnificent celebrations were held in honor of the main crafts - hunting and fishing. The Koryaks solemnly “welcomed” and “escorted” the prey (deer, killer whales, whales), performed rituals with the skin, noses and some other parts of the carcasses, which, after the ritual, were necessarily put in a place of honor, most often next to family totems. Other cult objects were anyapels (fortune-telling stones), miniature figurines symbolizing ancestors, and boards with anthropomorphic figurines for making fire by friction.

With great honor, the people treated death and the rituals of preparing the body associated with it. Premature death was considered the intrigues of evil spirits, so the Koryaks regularly performed ritual sacrifices and turned to shamans for protective amulets. Funeral clothing was an obligatory element of the funeral and memorial rites. They began to sew it during their lifetime, but in no case did they finish it on their own. According to legend, having completed the funeral attire with his own hands, a person called upon himself an untimely death.

For several centuries, the main method of burial was burning on a fire made of cedar wood. The dead were treated as if they were alive: they had sedate conversations and passed gifts through them to previously deceased relatives, laid food, personal belongings, and weapons on the fire. However, from about the 18th century, traditional rites began to be intertwined with Orthodox ones. funeral traditions and gradually forgotten.

Koryak folklore: myths and fairy tales, folk music

Koryak writing is one of the youngest. It was created on the basis of the Latin alphabet in 1930, but in this form it lasted a little more than five years (from 1930 to 1936). After the language began to be written in the Russian alphabet. The ubiquity of the Russian language had a negative impact on the native literature of the Koryaks: there were practically no authentic writers left, each new generation knew the language worse and worse. The situation worsened after the teaching of the Koryak language was stopped in Kamchatka schools, excluding it from the educational program.

Nevertheless, there are many interesting things in the folklore of the Koryaks. Even without understanding the language, listen historical legends and legends, tales, myths and songs are very interesting. Melodies are performed in recitative to the rhythmic accompaniment of a round national tambourine with an internal cruciform handle - “g’eynechg’yn”. It should be noted that this term is common to all Koryak musical instruments. They also designate a pipe made of birch bark, and a kind of flute with an external hole, and feather squeakers, and even wind instruments.

The stories reflect real events: inter-tribal skirmishes of the Koryaks, wars of the people with the Evens and Chukchis. Many narrations are centered around "Kuikynyak" - the Raven, who in the Koryak culture appears at the same time as a creator, a prankster and a joker. Some tunes are passed down from generation to generation and are considered generic. In the children's epic, fairy tales are popular, the main characters of which are animals: dogs, bears, mice and marine life.

Modern Koryaks: what are they?

Today, the Koryaks still lead an isolated way of life, not leaving their habitual habitats. And they even have their own autonomy - the Koryak district. According to the 2010 census, the population is about 9,000 people. Moreover, two-thirds of the people live in the Kamchatka Territory, the rest - in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and the Magadan Region.

The prevailing majority of modern Koryaks speak Russian and profess Orthodox Christianity. Only certain tribes adhere to shamanism, in which the traditional beliefs of their ancestors are strong. A similar situation exists with the Koryak language - it is preserved by no more than 2,000 people, and about 1,000 more people speak Alyutor.

In an effort to protect the interests of the indigenous population of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, Russian government strongly supports public organizations and the nationalization of villages. On local radio and television, various programs in the Koryak language are regularly released. In schools, along with Russian, the native language for the Koryaks is necessarily taught, and circles are organized on the traditional way of life and forms of management.

It remains only to add that Kamchatka is one of.

- Navaga does not want to play tambourine because she is stupid, but flounder does not want to, because she is flat, and her eyes are in different directions ...,- Lidia Innokentievna Chechulina translates for us an old Koryak song - well, it's a very long song, but I'd rather sing others for you.

Lidia Innokentievna is a real representative of the coastal Koryaks, who once densely inhabited the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. As a child, Lydia Innokentievna was brought up in the traditions of her people, and lived all her childhood on the shores of the Bering Sea in the small village of Anapka.

The word "Koryak" in translation means "being with deer" or "owning deer". According to one version, the Russian Cossacks first called the Koryaks in this way at the end of the 17th century, having heard this word from their Yukaghir neighbors.

Two branches - one origin

There are two main branches of the Koryaks: coastal settled and tundra nomadic. The former called themselves "namalan", which translates as "village dweller", or seaside resident "ankalan", while the latter borrowed their name "chauchu" from their neighbors, the Chukchi, which translates as "rich in deer". Ethnographers suggest that the tundra Koryaks separated from the coastal ones when, during the years of poor fishing, men had to go deep into the peninsula for deer hunting for a long time. Thus began the nomadic life of the Koryaks and the domestication of deer.

Our interlocutor recalls that in her free time from school, she and her grandmother often went to the tundra to collect medicinal herbs and berries, and on holidays the whole family gathered at the hearth and one of the elders sang a family song or told a fairy tale about the creator and prankster Kuikynnyaku.

The crow god Kuykynnyak is traditionally revered in different parts of the Far East: among the Itelmens it is Kutkh, among the Kereks it is Kukki, and among the Chukchi it is Kurkyl. Even the Eskimos and Northwest Indians know the raven god. Scientists argue about the relationship of these peoples to this day, however, general mythology indicates a certain similarity. Many scientists believe that the Koryaks and other peoples of the Far East came to this region with Eastern Siberia over 15,000 years ago. Further, the settlers divided: one part remained on the mainland, and the other went to the American continent along a thin ice isthmus - and this is how the North American Indians appeared. This theory is only beginning to be supported by the results of genetic tests, which have been actively carried out over the past two decades, but there are still too many questions before science.

Reconstruction on the map early migrations peoples according to DNA research: the green arrow leading from Eurasia to America indicates the path of the ancient ancestors of the modern Far Eastern peoples and Indians.

Clothing: from birth to death

Putting on traditional clothes made of deer skin and fur, Lidia Innokentievna seems to be transported hundreds of years ago, to a time when her strong and courageous ancestors went on difficult sea voyages to hunt bearded seal or other sea animal.

Since ancient times, the Koryaks have been sewing clothes from the skins and furs of deer. Coastal Koryaks also used the skins of marine animals and fish for these purposes. For example, a fairly durable raincoat called kamleyka. Koryaks have always decorated any clothes with patterns made from the fur of fur-bearing animals. Ornaments and patterns on clothes almost always have a certain symbolism and protect against various diseases and evil spirits. Drawing on clothes can even simply depict mountains, rivers, tundra or native camp.

Lydia Innokentievna is wearing a long blind shirt made of deer skins. kukhlyanka, which is included in the obligatory set of Koryak traditional clothes. Women also sewed double overalls for the winter. kerker from deer fur, over which a warm winter kukhlyanka was necessarily put on.

The photo shows traditional winter fur "boots" - torbasa, the soles of which are made from the skin of a seal or walrus. Russian Cossacks brought beads to Kamchatka

- The Koryaks have always wisely used the gifts of nature, - says Lydia Innokentievna, taking out some kind of moss from a canvas bag. - Previously, children from infancy were sewn from the skins of deer calves into fur overalls, in which they put this moss instead of diapers, and the kids never had any diaper rash. The jumpsuit had a special fastener between the legs, so changing the moss was very convenient.

In the drawings published in the work of the famous ethnographer V.I. Yokhelson, from left to right are depicted: a man in a winter kukhlyanka, children in overalls with a fastener for changing moss, and a woman in winter clothes carrying a child in the traditional way with a head strap. Archaeologists also found such a nomadic method of carrying heavy loads in the drawings of the Indians. ancient mexico.

Each Koryak throughout his life sewed a funeral kukhlyanka for himself, which was hastily finished by the person's relatives only after his death. Finishing the funeral kukhlyanka yourself is a bad omen.

Koryak cuisine

- Here, try the flour cakes. Previously, we did not have it, but with the advent of the Russians it appeared, and we slowly began to use it, - our hospitable hostess of the yaranga with deft movements manages a frying pan heated on fire, humming a rhythmic Koryak song. The language is very melodic and, at first glance, complex. - And in general, before we had neither sugar nor salt, we somehow lived without bread, ate yukola, mashed porridge ... my grandmother had all her teeth at the age of 112!

Fish fresh and dried in the sun (yukola), as well as boiled deer, lakhtach, and sometimes whale meat - these are the main food of the small peoples of Kamchatka. Bone marrow, kidneys, cartilage, tendons, fat, and even the larvae living in the skin of a deer - everything was eaten with great pleasure raw immediately after cutting the carcass.

Like their progenitor Kuikynnyaku, the Koryaks have always loved berries, various herbs and the roots that were used to make mashed porridge. The recipe for porridge is simple and unpretentious: fireweed powder (ivan tea) is mixed with various berries and melted seal fat, ground caviar or any other fish. In general, Koryaks have been very unpretentious and moderate in food since ancient times.

Koryak house in the tundra and on the shore

A strong wind is blowing outside, but we are not at all cold: we are sitting on skins in a warm yaranga around a burning hearth. Despite the fact that it is almost May, spring has not yet set foot on the peninsula.

The yaranga in the Kainyran ethnic camp, where we met Lidia Innokentievna, is now covered with a simple tarpaulin, since the outer skins have become very worn out. This is a summer housing option, but in the near future the owners ethnocultural center hope to buy new warm reindeer skins.

As a rule, nomadic Koryaks lived in the yarangas, while the houses of the seaside residents were built more thoroughly.

To begin with, let's take a look at how the yaranga differs from the Nenets plague or, for example, from the nomadic Central Asian yurt. A yaranga is similar in structure to a yurt, but it is usually smaller in size, since it is much more difficult to heat a room in the cold than in the relatively mild Central Asian steppe weather. The covering is also different: the yurt is usually covered with felt, and the yaranga with deer skins. The yaranga is also similar to the chum, but its design is more complex and massive. The Nenets plague is easily assembled, transported, and very quickly completely warmed up by the hearth. In yaranga, the warmest place is the bedroom or canopy - a small square room, completely covered with skins and fur inside, where the whole family climbed at night. Inside, a lamp was lit on the basis of seal fat - “grease”, and then it became so warm in the canopy that even in the most severe frosts, the owners could sleep without clothes.

From left to right: chum, yaranga and yurt.

Coastal Koryaks have been building semi-underground log dwellings of an unusual shape since ancient times. The wooden house has a winter (upper) entrance on the roof, which also serves as a chimney, and a summer (lower) entrance leading from the street through the canopy. Closer to winter, the summer entrance is completely covered with snow, and then you can get into the dwelling only by going down the stairs through the upper entrance. The staircase is more like a pillar with many leg holes. Ethnographers believe that such semi-underground houses were invented much earlier than the yaranga, but, unfortunately, in the modern world, these buildings can only be found in museums.

The custom of building dugouts is also found among the Chukchi, Northwestern Indians, Eskimos, and Ainu. The remains of similar buildings were also found on Sakhalin, in Greenland, and even on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Apparently, many thousands of years ago, a similar climate and living conditions contributed to such a wide distribution of this particular type of dwelling.

Closer to modern times, the cultural boundaries within the people themselves began to blur, and now it is the yaranga that is the personification of the native and beloved home for any Koryak.

In the Soviet Union, the Koryaks were relocated from their homes to specially organized settlements, where there was always a school and a hospital.

Young writing

In the early 30s of the 20th century, the Koryak script was created on the basis of the Latin alphabet, and subsequently the language began to be written in the Russian alphabet. Thanks to this, Koryak writers appeared, such as Ketsai Kekketyn, and a little later Koyanto, through whose efforts the general public got to know the culture and customs of this ancient people more deeply, penetrated into his thoughts. But since the 50s of the 20th century, the Koryak language has been disappearing from the educational program of Kamchatka schools. It had a bad effect on further development literary creativity and led to native language began to be slowly forgotten among young people, but people like Lidia Innokentievna cherish their native culture and try by all means to pass it on to the younger generation.

-You know, but Lidia Innokentievna is a real star, the head of the ensemble, public figure and great specialist!- a little later, Irina, the keeper of the Kaynyran ethnic camp, told us. - Lidia Innokentievna is even invited abroad to help their specialists learn the Koryak language. She recently returned from Japan, where she is regularly invited as a consultant to compile a Koryak-Japanese dictionary. They are very interested in the culture of the peoples of Kamchatka.

And here is how the Koryak language sounds live:

In the video, Lidia Innokentievna performs rhythmic Koryak songs and fairy tales for us, one of which is her generic melody.

Dog - bosom friend

Irina shows us the camp and tells us about the unusual and very hardy breed of Kamchadal dogs. "Kaynyran" is also a kennel of sled dogs, which not only carry everyone, but also participate in the legendary race of mushers (driver of dogs harnessed to a sled) called "Beringia".

- We have our own dog kindergarten". Here we raise future champions. Sled dogs are happy when they are pulling a team, as they have a natural need to run with a load. Each dog in the kennel is unique, each has its own character: someone is naughty, someone becomes the leader from childhood, and someone hides behind the mother all the time. We really want to revive the traditions of Kamchatka dog breeding, because our ancestors could not imagine life without dogs. - Irina says with inspiration. - And here we have a half-wolf. He was given to us as a puppy. See how he caresses you, turning his back, see? Fawning, trying to find a contact. It's such a wolf habit Irina explains.

A dog in Kamchatka is not just a respectable animal, but a mystical one. The Koryaks believe that dogs guard the entrance to realm of the dead. It will be bad for those who treated dogs badly during their lifetime, and therefore the Koryaks protect their pets from ancient times, feed them well (mainly fish) and bring them up exclusively with affection.

- Sled dogs are distinguished by their special devotion to their pack, especially when standing in a harness,- continues Irina - here is our famous Agate, a clear example of this. During one of the races, gangrene began on his paw. Despite the fact that we take care of dogs very much, we put on special socks for them while running, there are still such cases ...- Irina strokes the proud Agate, who, by the way, has all four paws in place. - We decided to leave Agat in the nearest village along the way and pick him up on the way back, leaving money for the veterinarian for treatment, but when the team set off, Agat, hearing the howl of his flock, simply cut through the rope and returned to the sled. And what do you think? He even had to be put in a team sometimes, since he absolutely did not want to ride sitting in a sled.- Irina recalls with a shudder. - We constantly lubricated his paws with special ointments and, as it turned out, running on clean snow did him good. We are so happy that everything ended well!

Agate - typical representative Kamchatka sled dog

10 Peculiarities of the Koryaks, Irrevocably Gone in the Past

1. The names of the months in the Koryak language were dictated by nature itself.. For example, the first month of the year - December was called "the month of cold winds", February - "the month of the false udder", and November - "the month of estrus of mountain sheep". Now the Koryaks use the same calendar as all the inhabitants of Russia.

2. The Koryaks were outstanding warriors. In particular, the Primorye Koryaks were excellent archers. This feature is explained by the fact that in ancient times the Koryaks constantly had to fight with their Chukchi neighbors for the possession of deer herds. Sometimes the wars were bloody and large-scale. Starting from the end of the 17th century, the Koryaks began to desperately resist the conquering Cossacks. The defense held out until the middle of the next century. After the conquest of the Far East by the Russians, peace reigned between the indigenous peoples. Now old bows and arrows are passed down from generation to generation as a family treasure.

3. In the past, Koryak men sometimes used dried fly agaric as an intoxicant.. Alcohol appeared only with the arrival of the Russians, and yet, many Koryaks continued to use fly agarics, since the consequences of them, such as a hangover, are not as painful as from vodka.

4. The Koryaks tattooed their faces by passing a needle with a thread lubricated with fat and coal under the skin.. So both women and men were tattooed as a special protection in ancient times. For example, women believed that a tattoo with several stripes along the nose would help with infertility.

5. Koryaks are skilled craftsmen, blacksmiths, stone cutters and even sculptors.. The figurines that the Koryaks made from animal bones and a walrus tusk are particularly lively and artistic. Art was especially developed among the coastal Koryaks. Fine art is still alive, but the Koryaks no longer have to forge weapons and make arrowheads.

6. The Koryaks have been a chaste people since ancient times.. Previously, girls before marriage were not supposed to have any relationship with men: it was forbidden even to touch unmarried girl, and if a young man asked her, for example, to bring him a drink of water, then the girl’s relatives could force the gentleman to lead her down the aisle. Now such strict morals are already a thing of the past, but chastity is still valuable.

7. Koryak grooms worked out the bride from six months to three years. Yes, yes, not only was it impossible to hug your beloved girl without condemnation, you also need to work it out from her relatives. To a young man who seriously decided to marry had to pass a serious test of endurance, perseverance, dexterity, devotion and diligence, performing the most difficult and dirty work for a long time. Living in the house of the future father-in-law, the young man could see his future wife only after her father said that the work was over.

8. A young man couldn't get a bride without a fight. And now the period of working off is over, but here a new test fell on the shoulders of the Koryak youth: to catch the bride, cut her deaf jumpsuit and grab her genitals. The bride had to desperately resist her future husband, which proves her innocence. Resistance could last from several hours to several weeks. If the bridegroom did not like the bride, then her relatives and friends helped her to hide.

9. The hearth was considered the main patron of the family and was under strict taboo for outsiders, as well as the generic tambourine.

10. The Koryaks had polygamy and polyandry. Polygamous unions, as a rule, were formed if one of the relatives died. For example, if the elder brother died and he had a wife, then she passed to the wife of the younger brother. If such a wife was too old to have children, then the man married the young woman. The same goes for polyandry. The custom of inheriting wives or husbands is closely connected with the kinship of several families and the cessation of blood feuds. A successfully concluded marriage between people from warring clans could put an end to long-term hostility not only on earth, but also among the deceased ancestors. Thus, the inheritance of wives and husbands did not allow the ties between clans to break. It also happened that, for the same reasons, a Koryak, for example, after the death of his wife, went to her native village to marry her relative.

Having become acquainted with the culture of the Koryaks, you understand that they managed to carry their originality through the milestones of time. Some customs undoubtedly faded into the background, the way of life became more modern, but their traditions are alive. And if you look at the scale of the Koryak population in Russia, it becomes clear that since the beginning of the 20th century, the Koryaks have not decreased, and therefore there is hope that only the best awaits this people ahead.

   population- 9,242 people (as of 2001).
   Language- Chukchi-Kamchatka family of languages.
   resettlement- Koryak Autonomous District of the Kamchatka Region.

By the beginning of contact with the Russians in the eighteenth century. Koryaks were divided into nomadic (self-name chav'chu - "reindeer herder") and sedentary (nymylyo - "inhabitants", "settlers"), in turn subdivided into several separate groups: Karaginians (karan'ynyl'o), Parentsy (poytylyo), Kamenets (vaykynelo), etc. Nomadic settled in the interior of Kamchatka and on the adjacent mainland, sedentary (coastal) - on the eastern and western coasts of Kamchatka, as well as in the Penzhina Bay and the Taigonos Peninsula.

Writing has existed since 1931 in Latin, and since 1936 - on a Russian graphic basis.

Nomadic Koryaks - Chavchuvens are characterized by large herd reindeer herding with a herd of 400 to 2000 heads. During the year, they made four main migrations: in spring (before calving) - to reindeer pastures, in summer - to places where there are fewer midges (mosquitoes, midges, etc.), in autumn - closer to the camps where deer were slaughtered, and in winter - short migrations near camps. The main tools of the shepherds were a staff, a lasso (chav'at) - a long rope with a loop for catching deer, as well as a stick in the form of a boomerang ( in a special way curved and after a throw returning to the shepherd), with the help of which they collected the stray part of the herd. In winter, the Chavchuven hunted fur-bearing animals.

Elder I. Kechgelhut opens the feast

Nomadic Koryaks lived in summer and winter in portable frame yarangs (yayana), the basis of which was three poles 3.5-5 m high, set in the form of a tripod and tied at the top with a belt. Around them, in the lower part of the yaranga, forming an irregular circle with a diameter of 4-10 m, low tripods were strengthened, tied with a belt and connected by transverse crossbars. The upper conical part of the yaranga consisted of inclined poles resting on transverse crossbars, the tops of tripods and the upper ends of the three main poles. On the skeleton of the yaranga, a tire was pulled, sewn from sheared or worn deer skins with fur outward. Inside, along the walls, fur sleeping canopies (yoyon) were tied to additional poles, shaped like a box turned upside down 1.3-1.5 m high, 2-4 m long, 1.3-2 m wide. The number of canopies was determined by the number of family couples living in yaranga. The floor under the canopy was covered with willow or cedar branches and deer skins.

The economy of the nymylo - settled Koryaks - combined marine hunting, fishing, land hunting and gathering. Sea fur hunting is the main occupation of the inhabitants of the Penzhina Bay (Itkans, Parents and Kamenets). He also played important role among the Apukians and Karaginians, to a lesser extent - among the Palans. Hunting for a sea animal in the spring was individual, and in the fall - a collective character, began in late May - early June and continued until October. The main tools were the harpoon (v’emek) and nets. They traveled on leather canoes (kultaytvyyt - “a boat made of bearded seal skins”) and single-seat kayaks (mytyv). They caught bearded seals, seals, akiba, spotted seals, and lionfish. Until the middle of the nineteenth century. settled Koryaks of the Penzhina Bay hunted cetaceans. The Apukians and Karaginians were engaged in walrus hunting. By the end of the nineteenth century. as a result of the extermination of whales and walruses by American whalers, the fishery of these animals declined, and fishing began to play a paramount role in the economy. From spring to autumn, huge shoals of salmon fish went from the sea to the rivers of the eastern coast of Kamchatka: char, sockeye salmon, chinook salmon, chum salmon, pink salmon, coho salmon, kunzhi; in February-March, smelt, saffron cod entered the bays, in April-May the waters off the coast "boiled" from herring, which came for spawning. For catching fish, they used locks, nets of a set and net type, fishing rods and hooks on a long strap resembling a harpoon. Fishing was supplemented by hunting birds, ungulates and fur-bearing animals, gathering wild berries and edible roots. Of the hunting tools, traps, crossbows, nets, pressure-type traps (the alert breaks and the log crushes the animal), cherkans, etc., were common, and from the end of the 18th century. began to use firearms. The Karagins and Palans mastered gardening and cattle breeding.

The ritual is accompanied by wooden masks

The predominant type of dwelling among settled Koryaks was a semi-dugout (lymgyyan, yayana) up to 15 m long, up to 12 m wide and up to 7 m high. During its construction, eight vertical pillars and four - in the center. Between the outer pillars, two rows of logs sawn along were driven in, forming the walls of the dwelling, fastened from above with transverse beams. From the square frame connecting the four central pillars and forming the upper entrance and smoke hole, eight-slope roof blocks went to the upper transverse beams of the walls. To protect against snow drifts, the Koryaks of the western coast built a funnel-shaped bell of poles and blocks around the hole, and the Koryaks of the east coast built a barrier of twigs or mats. To one of the walls facing the sea, a corridor deepened into the ground with a flat roof was attached. Walls covered with dry grass or moss, the roof and the corridor of the dwelling were covered with earth from above. The hearth, consisting of two oblong stones, was located at a distance of 50 cm from the central log with notches, along which in winter they got into the dwelling through the upper hole. During the fishing season, a side corridor served as the entrance. Inside such a dugout, on the side opposite the corridor, a platform was installed for receiving guests. Sleeping curtains made of worn deer skins or worn fur clothes were hung along the side walls.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century. under the influence of Russian settlers, log huts appeared among the Palants, Karagins, Apukins and Koryaks of the northwestern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. By the end of the nineteenth century. The Karaginians and partly the Palans began to build surface dwellings of the Yakut type (booth), in which the windows were covered with the intestines of sea animals or a bear. An iron or brick stove with a chimney was installed in the center of such dwellings, and wooden bunks were built along the walls.

The clothes of the hunter and the shepherd are pulled together with a belt. The "bubble" closure allows you to freely raise your arms

The clothes of all groups of Koryaks were of dull cut. The Chavchuvens usually sewed it from deer skins, while the seaside, along with deer, used the skins of marine animals. The fur of dogs and fur-bearing animals served as decoration. In winter they wore double clothes (with fur inside and out), in summer they wore single clothes. The "all-weather" men's set consisted of a fur kukhlyanka shirt with a hood and a bib, fur pants, a headdress and shoes. Upper trousers were sewn from thin reindeer skin or reindeer skins, lower and summer trousers were made from rovduga or leather cut from an old yaranga tire. Until the end of the nineteenth century. coastal Koryak hunters during the fishing season wore trousers made of sealskins.

Protecting kukhlyanka from snow, they put on a wide shirt - kamleyka - with a hood made of rovduga or fabric, which was also worn in summer in dry weather. For rainy weather, a kamlika made of rovduga, treated with urine and smoked with smoke, served.

Winter and summer men's shoes - shoe-shaped cut with a long (knee-length) or short (ankle-length) top. Winter clothes were sewn from reindeer skins with the fur outside, summer clothes were made from thin deer, dog, seal or seal skins, rovduga or waterproof, smoked deer skin with trimmed pile. The sole was made from bearded seal skin, walrus skin, deer brushes (part of the skin with long hair from the deer's leg above the hoof).

To the camp

A fur men's headdress - a hood-shaped malachai with headphones - was worn in winter and summer. Included in winter menswear included double or single mittens (lilit) made of deer kamus.

Women sewed for themselves double fur overalls to the knees. For the lower overalls, the chavchuvenki picked up plain thin skins of young deer, for the upper they preferred variegated ones. Among Primorsky Koryak women, alternating white and dark stripes of deer kamus and fur mosaics predominate in clothing. Summer overalls were made from smoky deer skin or rovduga, decorated with strips of red fabric inserted into the seams. Over the overalls, women wore a double or single kukhlyanka in winter, similar to men's, and in spring, summer and autumn - a gagaglu (kagav'lyon) fur shirt with fur inside, much longer than the men's kukhlyanka. The front and back of the gagagli were decorated with a fringe of thin straps, pendants made of dyed seal fur, and beads. There were no special headdresses for women. During the migrations, the women of the reindeer Koryaks wore men's malachai. Women's shoes were decorated with appliqués made of thin white leather from the necks of dogs, but they were identical in cut and materials to men's shoes. In winter, women wore fur double mittens.

In traditional dress, old and young

Until the age of five or six, a child was sewn a jumpsuit with a hood (kalny'ykey, kekey): in winter - double, and in summer - single. The sleeves and legs of the overalls were sewn up, and after the child began to walk, fur or rovduk shoes were sewn to the legs. In the clothes of children of five or six years of age, its purpose by gender difference was already clearly visible.

Reindeer Koryaks ate reindeer meat, most often boiled, they also used willow bark and seaweed. Coastal inhabitants ate the meat of sea animals, fish. Since the eighteenth century purchased products appeared: flour, rice, crackers, bread and tea. Flour porridge was boiled in water, deer or seal blood, and rice porridge was eaten with seal or deer fat.

basis social life there was a large patriarchal (from Latin pater - father, arche - power) family community, uniting relatives, and for deer - sometimes distant relatives on the paternal side. At its head was oldest man. Marriage was preceded by a trial period for the groom working off the farm of the future father-in-law. At the end of it, the so-called rite of "grasping" followed (the groom had to catch the fleeing bride and touch her body). This gave them the right to marry. The transition to the husband's house was accompanied by rituals of introducing the wife to the hearth and family cult. Until the beginning of the twentieth century. the customs of levirate (from lat. levir - brother-in-law, husband's brother) were preserved: if an older brother died, the younger one had to marry his wife and take care of her and her children, as well as sororate (from lat. soror - sister): a widower must marry on the sister of the deceased wife.

A typical coastal Koryak settlement united several related families. There were production associations, including canoe associations (using one canoe), the core of which was a large patriarchal family. Around her grouped other relatives engaged in fishing. The camp of reindeer herders, the head of which owned most of the reindeer herd and led not only economic but also social life, consisted of two to six yarangas. Within the camp, connections were based on the joint herding of deer, sealed by family and marriage ties, and supported by ancient traditions and rituals. Starting from the eighteenth century. among nomadic Koryaks, property division (stratification) due to the development private property on deer, led to the appearance of poor farm laborers, who might not be related to other residents of the camp.

At the beginning of the twentieth century. there is a destruction of patriarchal-communal relations among the settled Koryaks. This is due to the transition to individual types of economic activity: the extraction of small sea animals, fur hunting, and fishing.

sacred bird

The main rites and holidays of the settled Koryaks of the 19th - early 20th centuries. devoted to the fishery of marine animals. Their main moments are the solemn meeting and seeing off of the hunted animals (whale, killer whale, etc.). After the performance of the ritual, the skins, noses, and paws of the killed animals replenished the bundle of family “guardians”.

The main autumn holiday of the nomadic Koryaks - Koyanaitatyk - "To drive the deer" - was arranged after the return of the herds from the summer pastures. After the winter solstice, reindeer herders celebrated the "return of the sun". On this day, they competed in reindeer sled racing, wrestling, running with sticks, throwing a lasso on a target moving in a circle, climbing an icy pillar.

The Koryaks also developed rituals life cycle accompanying weddings, births, funerals.

Shaman

To protect against illness and death, they turned to shamans, made various sacrifices, wore amulets. Premature death was considered the intrigues of evil spirits, ideas about which were reflected in funeral and memorial rituals. Funerary clothes were prepared during their lifetime, but they left them unfinished, fearing that the one who had already ready-made clothes will die earlier. It was finished with a large, ugly seam while the deceased was in the dwelling. During this time, sleeping was strictly forbidden. The main method of burial is burning on a fire made of cedar elfin. With the deceased, his personal belongings, basic necessities, bow and arrows, food, gifts to previously deceased relatives were laid on the fire. Among the coastal Koryaks of the southern groups, baptized as early as the 18th century, the Orthodox funeral and memorial rite was intertwined with traditional customs: burning the dead, making funeral clothes, treating the dead as if they were alive.

The main genres of narrative folklore of the Koryaks are myths and fairy tales (lymnylo), historical traditions and legends (panenatvo), as well as incantations, riddles, songs. The most widely represented myths and tales about Kuikynyaku (Kutkynyaku) - Crow. He appears both as a creator and as a trickster-prankster. Animal stories are popular. The characters in them are most often mice, bears, dogs, fish, sea animals. Historical narratives reflect the real events of the past (the wars of the Koryaks with the Chukchi, with the Evens, inter-tribal skirmishes). In folklore, traces of borrowings from other peoples (Evens, Russians) are noticeable.

Music is represented by singing, recitatives, throat wheezing on inhalation and exhalation. The lyrical ones include “name song” and “ancestral song”, reproducing local and family melodies.

The common Koryak name for musical instruments is g'eynechg'yn. The same word denotes a wind instrument similar to an oboe, with a feather squeaker and a birch bark bell, as well as a flute from a hogweed plant with an external slot without playing holes, and a squeaker from a bird feather, and a birch bark trumpet. Also characteristic are a lamellar harp and a round tambourine with a flat shell and an internal cruciform handle with vertebrae on a bracket on the inside of the shell.

Page of the textbook of the Nymylan language by S.N. Stebnitsky

There are 18 national villages in the Koryak Autonomous Okrug. Indigenous people still engaged in reindeer herding, hunting, fishing, processing of meat and fish, as well as sewing fur products. In schools, children learn their native language. In the village Palana opened a school of arts. A folklore group, a circle of the Koryak language and a national dance group"Weem" ("River").

Local television and radio broadcasts in the Koryak language.

To protect the interests of the indigenous people of the district formed public organization“Indigenous Peoples of the North of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug”, in all national villages, as well as in the Tigilsky and Karaginsky districts, there are its primary cells. In the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, laws are being passed that should help preserve and revive the national way of life and traditional forms of management.

As a special ethnographic group of the Koryaks, for a long time, the Alyutors, Olyutors, Alyutors (in Koryak and Chukchi - alutalyu, elutalu) were considered. In Russian sources, they are first mentioned from the beginning of the 18th century. as a special people. The 1989 census singled them out as an independent people.

Named after p. Alyut (modern Alutorskoye), according to another version - from the Eskimo alutor - "an enchanted place." The self-name is nymylyu, the same as that of various groups of coastal Koryaks.

Number of 3500 people. They live mainly in the eastern part of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug - in villages along the coast of the Bering Sea, from Korfa Bay in the north to the village. Tymlat in the south, and along the middle course of the river. Vivnik, as well as on the western coast of Kamchatka, in the village. Rekkiniki. They speak the Alyutor dialect, which is close to the southern branch of the Coastal Koryak dialects. Some linguists regard the Alutor dialect as independent language.

By type of business and traditional culture The Alyutors are very close to the coastal Koryaks: they were also engaged in marine hunting, including hunting cetaceans and walruses, fishing, gathering, hunting, from the 19th century. - reindeer breeding. Reindeer were exchanged for sea products and essential goods, reindeer transport was used for migrations (dog teams - for everyday household needs, when examining traps and traps during the hunting season).

The Alyutorians had dwellings and clothes similar to those of the Koryak; one of the features of the latter was waterproof kamlikas made from walrus intestines; Alyutors were also distinguished by the habit of sewing trousers made of reindeer skins to winter torbashes.

The beliefs and rituals of the Alyutors differed little from those of the Koryak. Christianity, which had spread among them since the beginning of the 18th century, was not accepted by them.

The Alyutor people still continue to preserve a number of local ethnographic features.

In March 2000, by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, they were included in the Unified List of Indigenous Minorities of the Russian Federation.

article from the encyclopedia "The Arctic is my home"

   BOOKS ABOUT THE KORYAKS
Antropova V.V. Culture and life of the Koryaks. L., 1971.
Vdovin I.S. Essays ethnic history Koryakov. L., 1973.
History and culture of the Koryaks. L., 1994.
Slyunin N.V. Okhotsk-Kamchatsky region. Natural-historical description. SPb., 1900. T. 1.
Stebnitsky S.N. Lymnylo-Nymylansky (Koryak) fairy tales. L., 1938.

Like other Paleo-Asiatic peoples of North-Eastern Siberia, they belong to the mainland group of populations of the Arctic Mongoloid race.

Koryak language

Koryak language belongs to the Chukchi-Kamchatka group of Paleo-Asiatic languages, the closest Chukchi , which is explained by the commonality of the linguistic substrate, from which languages ​​were separated at different times modern peoples Northeast Siberia. At first it was the Itelmen language, which developed autonomously for a long time, and then the Chukchi and Koryak languages, which coexisted in conditions of fairly active contacts between these peoples. The cultural and economic diversity of the Koryaks is reflected in the dialects whose names correspond to the distinguished groupings: Chavchuvensky, Kamensky, Apukinsky, Parensky, Itkansky, Olyutorsky, Karaginsky, Palansky, Kereksky. In connection with the opinion about the possibility of endowing alyutors And kerekov the status of an independent ethnic community, their dialects also receive the status of independent languages.

economy

In cultural and economic terms, the Koryaks are divided into 2 groups. Reindeer herders (Chavchuvens), culturally monolithic, are represented by several territorial groups that roamed in the mainland tundra from the Kamchatka Isthmus to the upper reaches of the left tributaries of the Kolyma. The coastal Koryaks (Nymylans), who are more culturally and economically diverse, are sometimes referred to as ethnoterritorial groups: Kamenets, Parents, Itkintsy (the coast of the Penzhinskaya Bay of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk), Apukintsy (the Bering Sea coast of Kamchatka, north of the Pakhachi River basin). Further to the north are the Kereks (currently they are counted as an independent people of about 100 people). In the south, along the eastern coast of Kamchatka, the Karagians live, and parallel to them, on the western coast, the Palans live. It is more difficult to determine the cultural and economic status of the Alyutors, who are settled on the east coast from the Gulf of Corfu to the south and have settlements on the coast of Okhotsk. Their economy combines reindeer herding, fishing and hunting. Now the Alyutors are singled out as an independent people. Differences between the listed groups are fixed in the language at the level of dialects, and in culture - in the ratio of the main types of economic activity (for example, fishing prevails among the Padans, and hunting for sea animals among the Kamenets).

Story

The history of the Koryaks is associated with the autochthonous basis for the formation of their culture. In the basin of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, archaeologists have identified sites of the so-called Okhotsk culture (I millennium AD, the culture of marine hunters, fishermen and hunters of wild deer), in which features of the Koryak cultural traditions are traced, in relative chronological continuity preserved until the ancient Koryak settlements of the XVI -XVII centuries. The basis of the Okhotsk culture was formed by intracontinental Neolithic traditions (the Baikal region) and southeastern components (the Amur region). The Koryaks interacted most closely with the Itelmens, which is recorded in almost all spheres of culture. Since the 17th century Koryak-Russian ties become the most significant factor determining the appearance of Koryak culture. Direct contacts with the Russians changed their economy and life, especially the coastal Koryaks. Reindeer Koryaks to a greater extent retained the features of their culture. Thus, the shape of the ethnic culture of the Koryaks was influenced by both regional factors in the formation of Paleo-Asiatic peoples and ethno-cultural ties with neighbors.

By the time they met the Russians, the Koryaks had no tribal organization. Settlements of settled Koryaks already in the 17th century. were formed as territorial-communal associations that did not have exogamous features. At the end of the XIX century. in the field of production and distribution, the features of primitive collectivism were preserved. The Parents, Itkants, Kamenets had special collectives - “canoe associations”, where tools and labor were united for the time of sea hunting. "Canoe associations" were organized on the basis of a kindred principle. They not only performed production functions, but were stable social structures, the internal life of which was regulated by the norms of customary law, traditions and rituals. There were no unified rules for the distribution of fishery production. The most pronounced form of egalitarian distribution took place during whale hunting. The captured whale became the property of all the inhabitants of the village. In the summer, groups of relatives would come together to fish together. The spoils were divided equally. The industrial and social life of reindeer Koryaks was concentrated in the camp, where several smaller reindeer herders were usually grouped around the farm of a large reindeer herder. The inhabitants of the camp were connected by relations of kinship and property. The population of the camp sometimes reached 50-70 people. The owner of most of the herd was considered the head, that is, the manager of the economic life of the camp. Several camps roaming in a certain territory united in groups connected by blood, marriage or economic relations and headed by elders. Forms of ownership - communal for pastures and private for reindeer herds. Reindeer farming of the Chavchuvens before its change into Soviet period remained patriarchal-natural with noticeable features of primitive communal relations.

outlook

The traditional worldview is associated with animism. The Koryaks inspired the whole world around them: mountains, stones, plants, the sea, heavenly bodies. The universe was presented in the form of 5 worlds: the earth inhabited by people, 2 worlds above it and 2 underground. The upper world is the abode of the Supreme Being, which was identified with the sun, dawn, nature, the universe. The upper of the underground worlds was represented as inhabited by evil spirits, and the lower - the abode of the shadows of the dead. The worlds that make up the universe are mutually permeable. There was professional and family shamanism. The Koryaks did not have special shamanic clothes. The worship of sacred places - appapels (hills, capes, cliffs) is widespread. Dog and deer sacrifices are practiced. There are cult objects - anyapels (special stones for divination, sacred boards in the form of anthropomorphic figurines for making fire by friction, amulets symbolizing totemic ancestors, etc.).

Family

Basic economic unit of all groups of Koryaks in the 19th - early 20th centuries. was a large patriarchal family. Polygamy is known, although at the end of the 19th century. it was not widespread. Marriages took place within one local group. The marriage system of the Koryaks excluded cousins; in the case of a patrilocal marriage, working off for a wife was practiced. The customs of levirate and sororate were observed. There was a strict sexual division of labor.

Koryak culture

The ethnic culture of the Koryaks is represented by 2 economic and cultural types. The basis of the economy of the Koryaks-Chavchuvens is reindeer herding, which is supplemented by hunting and fishing. The settled Koryaks were engaged in fishing, sea and land hunting, but for different territorial groups of settled Koryaks, the significance of these types of economy was not the same. Among the Alyutors, reindeer husbandry is combined with an additional commercial complex. Reindeer husbandry of the Koryaks-Chavchuvens is a large herd and in organization and productive orientation corresponds to the Samoyed. Regional differences consist in shorter routes of seasonal migrations, summer grazing in the mountains and division of the camp, and the absence of a shepherd dog. The Alyutor people are characterized by a smaller number of deer in the economy and the cooperation of small-deer farms, a larger proportion of crafts. The Koryak reindeer herders had a highly specialized reindeer transport. The basis of the economy of the settled Koryaks was fishing (Karaginians, Alyutors, Palantsy), sea fur hunting (Penzhins, Apukins). At the beginning of the XX century. 63% of Koryak households were engaged in hunting marine animals. Fur hunting before the arrival of the Russians was not of great importance, the Koryaks hunted a bear, a mountain sheep, a wild deer. The peculiarities of the culture of the settled Koryaks were draft dog breeding and more diverse means of transportation on water, which have much in common with the Chukchi and Eskimo.

fishing

The specifics of the fishery determined the nature of the settlement. The only type of settlement for reindeer herders was a camp, consisting of several dwellings - yarangas. Yaranga was a frame frame made of poles, which was covered with a tire sewn from deer skins with sheared fur with the inside inside. The yaranga was about 10 m in diameter and 4 m high. Inside the yaranga, fur sleeping canopies were attached to the walls, each for one family. Adult unmarried men and unmarried women lived in separate canopies. The number of inhabitants of one yaranga at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries reached 25 people. The Chavchuvens did not have outbuildings. Among the settled Koryaks, the predominant form of dwelling was a semi-dugout with an original funnel-shaped structure on the roof. The walls were made of wooden boards. There was a hearth in the center of the dwelling. They entered the dugout in winter through a smoke hole, in summer through a special attached corridor with a flat roof. The settled Koryaks, like reindeer herders, slept in fur curtains. Most of the settlements of settled Koryaks were located at the mouths of rivers, on the seashore, they lived in them in winter and summer. The Palants had winter settlements far from the places of fishing, in the summer they moved to the coast in summer dwellings. The settlements differed in the number of inhabitants: the settlements of the Palans numbered 200 people or more. Most of the villages of the Apukians consisted of 1 semi-dugout. Outbuildings - booths covered with dry grass gave a peculiar look to the settlements of settled Koryaks. Under the influence of the Russians, some groups of Koryaks already in the middle of the 18th century. log houses began to appear.

Cloth

Traditional winter clothing consisted of a kukhlyanka fur shirt, trousers and a hood. Winter clothes are double: the lower one is with fur to the body, the upper one is with the fur out. Most kukhlyanka with a hood, pants in length reached the ankles. Men's winter shoes with long and short tops were sewn from reindeer skins with the fur on the outside. The soles were usually made from lakhtak skins. Fur siskin stockings were put inside the shoes. On the road, they put on a kamleyka over the kukhlyanka - a wide shirt made of rovduga or fabric. Women's winter shoes were distinguished by high tops. The set of women's winter clothing also included overalls (kerker), a fur shirt (gagagla), the hood of which replaced the headdress. Overalls served as children's clothing. Koryak summer clothes had the same cut as winter clothes, but were made from lighter materials - rovduga, deer skins with sheared fur, dog skins, purchased fabrics, and were always single. The Koryaks did not have any special trade clothing, they only preferred dog skins or rovduga. Distinctive features of ritual clothing (funeral and dance) were a rich and characteristic ornament, as well as the color of the fur.

Traditional Koryak clothes were decorated with ornaments and pendants. Bracelets, earrings, pendants, which were made from old copper and silver items, served as decorations. Many jewelry played the role of amulets. magical meaning had hair and female tattoo. Men cut their hair, leaving only a circle on the crown or a narrow rim around the head. Women combed their hair in a straight parting and braided it into 2 tight braids, which were decorated with a string of beads.

Koryak food

The main food of reindeer herders is reindeer meat, mostly boiled. Kidneys, brain, cartilage were eaten raw. Soup was cooked from the blood and stomach contents. Dried meat was used to prepare ritual dishes - pushers (meat was rubbed with a pestle, adding roots, fat and berries). Frozen meat was eaten on the road. The hooves were sour in the blood, the young shoots of the horns were eaten boiled. As an aid to meat food, yukola was prepared, and in the summer they diversified the diet with fresh fish. Fish, meat and fat of marine animals were the main food of the settled Koryaks. Most of the fish was consumed in the form of salmon yukola.

The meat of marine animals was boiled or frozen. The fat of marine animals was valued, it was eaten raw or baked with meat or yukola. Gathering products were used everywhere: edible plants, berries, nuts. Fly agaric was used as an aphrodisiac and intoxicant. From the end of the 19th century purchased products began to become more widespread: flour, cereals, tea, sugar, tobacco.

Decorative and applied art of the Koryaks

Folk arts and crafts of the Koryaks is presented artistic processing soft materials (female occupation) and the manufacture of products from stone, bone, wood and metal (male). Koryak craftswomen are virtuosos of the northern fur mosaic, skillfully selecting combinations of light and dark tones of fur. Fur mosaic stripes are sewn onto the hems of kukhlyankas in the form of a wide border (opuvan). The ornament is predominantly geometric, less often vegetative. Realistic figurines of animals, scenes from their life are often embroidered. In embroidery, the satin stitch technique prevails. The backs of gagaglis were especially richly ornamented. Special area female art Koryakov - decoration fur carpets. The technique for making their decor is grinding pieces of light and dark fur, and embroidery with colored threads on the fur was also used.

In woodcarving, male carvers used an ornament of a complex shape, also characteristic of the ancient Paleo-Asians: curls, paired spirals on a stem (“ram's horns”). Miniature figurines of people and animals were carved from walrus tusk and horn, bone earrings, necklaces, snuff boxes, smoking pipes, decorated with engraved ornaments and drawings. great art the parensky blacksmiths distinguished themselves in the manufacture of metal products.

Koryak armor

Holidays

Traditional Koryak holidays are seasonal. In the spring, when the herd is driven to the camp after calving, the reindeer herders celebrated the feast of the horns (kilvei), in the fall - the feast of the slaughter of deer. Before the beginning of the spring sea fishing, the coastal hunters organized a holiday for the descent of canoes, at the end of the autumn season (in November) - a seal holiday - hololo (olo-lo). There were holidays of the “first fish”, “first seal”. Both coastal and reindeer Koryaks held special religious ceremonies on the occasion of the hunting of a bear, a ram, and others. In families where twins were born, a special “wolf holiday” was arranged, since the twins were considered relatives of wolves. Ritual dances were performed during the holidays, representing a naturalistic imitation of the movements of animals and birds: seals, bears, deer, ravens. traditional dance mlavytyn was accompanied by characteristic guttural hoarse singing. On holidays, games and competitions were arranged (wrestling, running competitions, deer or dog racing, tossing bearded seal on the skin). From musical instruments, along with a narrow-rimmed tambourine, a jew's harp (the so-called dental tambourine in the form of a bone or iron plate) is common. In recent decades, there has been a successful development professional culture, mainly in the field of choreography (national dance ensemble "Mengo") and fine arts. Associations of amateur artists and writers have been created in the Koryak Autonomous Okrug. The artist Kirill Kilpalin and the writer Koyanto (VV Kosygin) are especially famous.

Palana 1212

Tymlat village 706

Manila village 565

Sedanka village 446

Lesnaya village 384

Vyvenka village 362

Ossora 351

Tilichiki village 329

Karaga village 289

Slautnoye village 254

Talovka village 254

city ​​of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 245

Tigil village 203

Khailino village 201

Voyampolka village 163

Ivashka village 162

Khayryuzovo village 102

Magadan Region:

Upper Paren village 262

town Evensk 234

Topolovka village 160

Place of residence- Koryak Autonomous Okrug, Kamchatka Region.

Language- Chukchi-Kamchatka family of languages.

Self-name; resettlement. By the beginning of contact with the Russians in the 18th century, the Koryaks were divided into nomadic (self-designation chaw'chu- "reindeer herder") and settled ( nymylo- "residents", "settlers"), in turn subdivided into several separate groups: Karaginians ( Karan'ynylyo), Parentsy ( poytylo), Kamenets ( vaykynelo), etc. Nomadic settled in the interior of Kamchatka and on the adjacent mainland, sedentary (coastal) - on the eastern and western coasts of Kamchatka, as well as in the Penzhina Bay and the Taigonos Peninsula.

Writing exists since 1931 in Latin, and since 1936 - in Russian graphic basis.

Crafts, craft tools and tools, means of transportation. Nomadic Koryaks - Chavchuvens are characterized by large herd reindeer herding with a herd of 400 to 2000 heads. During the year, they made four main migrations: in spring (before calving) - to reindeer pastures, in summer - to places where there are fewer midges (mosquitoes, midges, etc.), in autumn - closer to the camps where deer were slaughtered, and in winter - short migrations near camps. The main tools of the shepherds were the staff, lasso ( chav'at) - a long rope with a loop for catching deer, as well as a stick in the form of a boomerang (curved in a special way and returning to the shepherd after a throw), with which the stray part of the herd was collected. In winter, the Chavchuven hunted fur-bearing animals.

The economy of the nymylo - settled Koryaks combined marine hunting, fishing, land hunting and gathering.

Sea fur hunting is the main occupation of the inhabitants of the Penzhina Bay (Itkans, Parents and Kamenets). It also played an important role among the Apukians and Karaginians, and to a lesser extent among the Palans. Hunting for a sea animal in the spring was individual, and in the fall - a collective character, began in late May - early June and continued until October. The main weapons were the harpoon ( v'emek) and networks. Traveled on leather canoes ( kultaytvyyt- "boat made of bearded seal skins") and single canoes-kayaks ( washing). They caught bearded seals, seals, akiba, spotted seals, and lionfish. Before mid-nineteenth centuries, the settled Koryaks of the Penzhina Bay hunted cetaceans. The Apukians and Karaginians were engaged in walrus hunting.

By the end of the 19th century, as a result of the extermination of whales and walruses by American whalers, the fishery of these animals was reduced, and fishing began to play a paramount role in the economy. From spring to autumn, huge shoals of salmon fish went from the sea to the rivers of the eastern coast of Kamchatka: char, sockeye salmon, coho, salmon; in February - March, smelt and saffron cod entered the bays; in April - May, the waters off the coast "boiled" from herring, which came for spawning. For catching fish, they used locks, nets of a set and net type, fishing rods and hooks on a long strap resembling a harpoon. Fishing was supplemented by hunting birds, ungulates and fur-bearing animals, gathering wild berries and edible roots. Of the hunting tools, traps, crossbows, nets, crushing-type traps (the guard breaks down and the log presses the animal), scribbles and the like, and with late XVIII century began to use firearms.

The Karagins and Palans mastered gardening and cattle breeding.

Dwellings. Nomadic Koryaks lived in summer and winter in portable frame yarangas ( yayana), the basis of which was three poles 3.5–5 meters high, set in the form of a tripod and tied at the top with a belt. Around them, in the lower part of the yaranga, forming an irregular circle with a diameter of 4–10 meters, low tripods were strengthened, tied with a belt and connected by transverse crossbars. The upper conical part of the yaranga consisted of inclined poles resting on transverse crossbars, the tops of tripods and the upper ends of the three main poles. On the skeleton of the yaranga, a tire was pulled, sewn from sheared or worn deer skins, with fur outward. Inside, fur sleeping canopies were tied to additional poles along the walls ( yoyona), shaped like a box turned upside down, 1.3–1.5 meters high, 2–4 meters long, 1.3–2 meters wide. The number of canopies was determined by the number of married couples living in a yaranga. The floor under the canopy was covered with willow or cedar branches and deer skins.

Among the settled Koryaks, the predominant type of dwelling was a semi-dugout ( lymgyyan, yayana) up to 15 meters long, up to 12 meters wide and up to 7 meters high. During its construction, eight vertical pillars and four in the center were dug into a round pit 1–1.5 meters deep around the circumference. Between the outer pillars, two rows of logs sawn along were driven in, forming the walls of the dwelling, fastened from above with transverse beams. From the square frame connecting the four central pillars and forming the upper entrance and smoke hole, eight-slope roof blocks went to the upper transverse beams of the walls. To protect against snow drifts, the Koryaks of the western coast built a funnel-shaped bell of poles and blocks around the hole, and the Koryaks of the east coast built a barrier of twigs or mats. To one of the walls facing the sea, a corridor deepened into the ground with a flat roof was attached. Walls covered with dry grass or moss, the roof and the corridor of the dwelling were covered with earth from above. The hearth, consisting of two oblong stones, was located at a distance of 50 centimeters from the central log with notches, along which in winter they got into the dwelling through the upper hole. During the fishing season, a side corridor served as the entrance. Inside such a dugout, on the side opposite the corridor, a platform was installed for receiving guests. Sleeping curtains made of worn deer skins or worn fur clothes were hung along the side walls.

IN early XIX century, under the influence of Russian settlers, log huts appeared among the Palants, Karagins, Apukins and Koryaks of the northwestern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. By the end of the 19th century, the Karagins and partly the Palans began to build surface dwellings of the Yakut type (booth), in which the windows were covered with the intestines of sea animals or a bear. An iron or brick stove with a chimney was installed in the center of such dwellings, and wooden bunks were built along the walls.

Cloth. In all groups, the clothes of the Koryaks were of a deaf cut. The Chavchuvens usually sewed it from reindeer skins, the seaside ones used, along with deer skins, the skins of marine animals. The fur of dogs and fur-bearing animals served as decoration. In winter they wore double clothes (with fur inside and out), in summer they wore single clothes. The "all-weather" men's set consisted of a fur kukhlyanka shirt with a hood and a bib, fur pants, a headdress and shoes. Upper trousers were sewn from thin reindeer skin or reindeer skins, lower and summer trousers were made from rovduga or leather cut from an old yaranga tire. Until the end of the 19th century, coastal Koryak hunters wore sealskin trousers during the fishing season.

Protecting kukhlyanka from snow, they put on a wide shirt - kamleyka - with a hood made of rovduga or fabric, which was also worn in summer in dry weather. For rainy weather, a kamlika made of rovduga, treated with urine and smoked with smoke, served.

Winter and summer men's shoes - shoe-shaped cut with a long (knee-length) or short (ankle-length) top. Winter clothes were sewn from reindeer skins with the fur outside, summer clothes were made from thin deer, dog, seal or seal skins, rovduga or waterproof, smoked deer skin with trimmed pile. The sole was made from bearded seal skin, walrus skin, deer brushes (part of the skin with long hair from the deer's leg above the hoof).

A fur men's headdress - a hood-shaped malachai with headphones - was worn in winter and summer. The set of winter men's clothing included double or single mittens ( lilith) from deer skins.

Women sewed for themselves double fur overalls to the knees. For the lower overalls, the chavchuvenki picked up plain thin skins of young ones, for the upper they preferred variegated ones. Among Primorsky Koryak women, alternating white and dark stripes of deer kamus and fur mosaics predominate in clothing. Summer overalls were made from smoky deer skin or rovduga, decorated with strips of red fabric inserted into the seams. Over the overalls, women wore a double or single kukhlyanka in winter, similar to men's, and in spring, summer and autumn - a gagaglu fur shirt ( kagav'lyon) with fur inside, much longer than the male kukhlyanka. The front and back of the gagagli were decorated with a fringe of thin straps, pendants made of dyed seal fur, and beads. There were no special headdresses for women. During the migrations, the women of the reindeer Koryaks wore men's malachai. Women's shoes were decorated with appliqués made of thin white leather from the necks of dogs, but they were identical in cut and materials to men's shoes. In winter, women wore fur double mittens.

Until the age of five or six, the child was sewn a jumpsuit with a hood ( kalny’ykey, kekei): in winter - double, and in summer - single. The sleeves and legs of the overalls were sewn up, and after the child began to walk, fur or rovduk shoes were sewn to the legs. In the clothes of children of five or six years of age, its purpose by gender difference was already clearly visible.

Food. Reindeer Koryaks ate reindeer meat, most often boiled, they also used willow bark and seaweed. Coastal inhabitants ate the meat of sea animals, fish. Since the 18th century, purchased products have appeared: flour, rice, crackers, bread and tea. Flour porridge was boiled in water, deer or seal blood, and rice porridge was eaten with seal or deer fat.

Social life, power, marriage, family. The basis of social life was a large patriarchal (from lat. Pater- "father", arche- "power") a family community that united relatives, and for deer - sometimes distant relatives on the paternal side. It was headed by an older man. Marriage was preceded by a trial period for the groom working off the farm of the future father-in-law. At the end of it, the so-called rite of "grasping" followed (the groom had to catch the fleeing bride and touch her body). This gave them the right to marry. The transition to the husband's house was accompanied by rituals of introducing the wife to the hearth and family cult. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the customs of the levirate (from lat. levir- "brother-in-law, husband's brother"): if the elder brother died, the younger one had to marry his wife and take care of her and her children, as well as sororate (from lat. soror- "sister"): a widower must marry the sister of his deceased wife.

A typical coastal Koryak settlement united several related families. There were production associations, including canoe associations (using one canoe), the core of which was a large patriarchal family. Around her grouped other relatives engaged in fishing.

The camp of reindeer herders, the head of which owned most of the reindeer herd and led not only economic but also social life, consisted of two to six yarangas. Within the camp, connections were based on the joint herding of deer, sealed by family and marriage ties, and supported by ancient traditions and rituals. Starting from the 18th century, among the nomadic Koryaks, property division (stratification), due to the development of private ownership of deer, led to the emergence of poor farm laborers, who might not be related to other residents of the camp.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a destruction of patriarchal-communal relations among the settled Koryaks. This was caused by the transition to individual types of economic activity: the extraction of small sea animals, fur hunting, and fishing.

Holidays, rituals. The main rituals and holidays of the settled Koryaks of the 19th - early 20th centuries were dedicated to the fishing of marine animals. Their main moments are the solemn meeting and seeing off of the hunted animals (whale, killer whale, etc.). After the performance of the ritual, the skins, noses, and paws of the killed animals filled up the bundle of family "guardians".

The main autumn holiday of nomadic Koryaks Koyanaitatyk- "To drive the deer" - arranged after the return of the herds from the summer pastures. After the winter solstice, reindeer herders celebrated the "return of the sun". On this day, they competed in reindeer sled racing, wrestling, running with sticks, throwing a lasso on a target moving in a circle, climbing an icy pillar.

The Koryaks also developed rituals of the life cycle that accompanied weddings, the birth of children, and funerals.

To protect against illness and death, they turned to shamans, made various sacrifices, wore amulets. Premature death was considered the intrigues of evil spirits, ideas about which were reflected in funeral and memorial rituals. Funeral clothes were prepared while still alive, but they left them unfinished, fearing that those who had already finished clothes would die earlier. It was finished with a large, ugly seam while the deceased was in the dwelling. During this time, sleeping was strictly forbidden. The main method of burial is burning on a fire made of cedar elfin. With the deceased, his personal belongings, basic necessities, bow and arrows, food, gifts to previously deceased relatives were laid on the fire. Among the coastal Koryaks of the southern groups, baptized in the 18th century, the Orthodox funeral and memorial rite was intertwined with traditional customs: burning the dead, making funeral clothes, treating the dead as if they were alive.

Folklore, musical instruments. The main genres of narrative folklore of the Koryaks are myths and fairy tales ( flickered), historical traditions and legends ( pan-natvo), as well as conspiracies, riddles, songs. The most widely represented myths and tales about Kuikynyaku (Kutkynyaku) - Crow. He appears both as a creator and as a trickster-prankster. Animal stories are popular. The characters in them are most often mice, bears, dogs, fish, sea animals. Historical narratives reflect real events of the past (Koryak wars with, with, tribal skirmishes). In folklore, traces of borrowings from other peoples (, Russians) are noticeable.

Music is represented by singing, recitatives, throat wheezing on inhalation and exhalation. The lyrical ones include "name song" and "ancestral song", reproducing local and family melodies.

The common Koryak name for musical instruments is g'eynechg'yn. The same word denotes a wind instrument similar to an oboe, with a feather squeaker and a birch bark bell, as well as a flute from a hogweed plant with an external slot without playing holes, and a squeaker from a bird feather, and a birch bark trumpet. Also characteristic are a lamellar harp and a round tambourine with a flat shell and an internal cruciform handle with vertebrae on a bracket on the inside of the shell.

contemporary cultural life. In schools, children learn their native language. An art school has been opened in the village of Palana. A folklore group, a circle of the Koryak language and a national dance group "Weem" ("River") work at the House of Culture. Local television and radio broadcasts in the Koryak language.

To protect the interests of the indigenous inhabitants of the Okrug, a public organization "Indigenous Peoples of the North of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug" was formed, in all national villages, as well as in the Tigilsky and Karaginsky districts, there are its primary cells. In the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, laws are being passed that should help preserve and revive the national way of life and traditional forms of management.

About the Alyutors. As a special ethnographic group of the Koryaks, the Alyutors, Olyutors, Alyutors (in Koryak and Chukchi - alutalhu, elutalu). In Russian sources, they are first mentioned since the beginning of the 18th century as a special people. The 1989 census identified them as an independent people.

Named after the village of Alyut, according to another version - from the Eskimo alutor- "an enchanted place". Self-name - nymyl, the same as for various groups of coastal Koryak.

Number of 3500 people. They live mainly in the eastern part of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug - in villages along the coast of the Bering Sea, from Korfa Bay in the north to the village of Tymlat in the south, and along the middle course of the Vivnik River, as well as on the western coast of Kamchatka, in the village of Rekkinniki. They speak the Alyutor dialect, which is close to the southern branch of the Coastal Koryak dialects. Some linguists consider the Alutor dialect as an independent language. By type of management and traditional culture, the Alyutors are very close to the coastal Koryaks: they were also engaged in marine hunting, including hunting cetaceans and walruses, fishing, gathering, hunting, and reindeer breeding since the 19th century. Reindeer were exchanged for sea products and essential goods, reindeer transport was used for migrations (dog teams - for everyday household needs, when examining traps and traps during the hunting season).

The Alyutorians had dwellings and clothes similar to those of the Koryak; one of the features of the latter was waterproof kamlikas made from walrus intestines; Alyutors were also distinguished by the habit of sewing trousers made of reindeer skins to winter torbashes.

The beliefs and rituals of the Alyutors differed little from those of the Koryak. Christianity, which had spread among them since the beginning of the 18th century, was not accepted by them. The Alyutor people still continue to preserve a number of local ethnographic features.

In March 2000, by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, they were included in the Unified List of Indigenous Minorities of the Russian Federation.