Translate this page:
Please select your language to translate the article


You can just close the window to don't translate
Library
Your profile

Back to contents

Man and Culture
Reference:

The phenomenon of viability in modern society of the culture of hunters, fishermen and gatherers (on the example of the Essene Yakuts)

Gogolev Anatolii Ignat'evich

Doctor of History

Professor, Department of World, National History, Ethnology, Archeology, Northeastern Federal University named after M.K.Ammosov

677000, Russia, respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk, ul. Belinskogo, 58, of. 603

foiea_if@s-vfu.ru
Struchkova Natal'ya Anatol'evna

PhD in History

Associate Professor, Department of World, National History, Ethnology and Archeology, Northeastern Federal University named after M. K. Ammosov;

677000, Russia, respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk, ul. Belinskogo, 58, of. 603

struna2006@mail.ru
Yakovleva Kapitolina Maksimovna

PhD in History

Associate Professor, Department of World, Russian History, Ethnology and Archeology, Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K.Ammosov

677000, Russia, respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), g. Yakutsk, ul. Belinskogo, 58, of. 603

kapa1985@list.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8744.2022.3.38058

Received:

13-05-2022


Published:

15-06-2022


Abstract: The subject of the study is the viability of the tradition of hunters and fishermen in modern society in the conditions of the Extreme North. This article substantiates the features of the viability of the Essene Yakuts in the context of the historical development of mechanisms of self-regulation, adaptation and cultural reproduction. The object of the study is the Essene Yakuts living in the village of Essey of the Evenki National District of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The Essene Yakuts are a unique local group of Yakuts, as they have preserved the Yakut language and self-consciousness in a modern and non-ethnic environment. In the conditions of the Extreme North, the Yakuts of Essey successfully switched to reindeer husbandry, fishing and hunting, hence the difference in the culture of life support from the Yakuts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The main conclusions of the study are the identification of mechanisms for countering instability, as a result of which a new stability arises. The Essene Yakuts were able to preserve elements of the traditional culture of the Yakuts, while transforming it under new living conditions. And if in the pre-XXI century the Essenes felt their remoteness, then with the development of the information society, mass media, messengers, they joined the "Yakut world", which contributed to the transformation of the unique culture of the Essenes. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is that personal field materials collected in 2014 in Essey and Tura settlements of the Krasnoyarsk Territory were used. The novelty of the research is the revealed mechanisms for the preservation of traditional culture, as well as previously unpublished field materials.


Keywords:

adaptation, archaic community, culture, Essene Yakuts, yakuts, Essene, ecology, hunting, fishing, ethnic group

This article is automatically translated.

 

The relevance of research. The classical concept of a community of hunters, fishermen, and gatherers in historical science is associated with the study of the oldest period in the history of mankind - the formation and development of primitive society. The study of the culture of hunters, fishermen and gatherers almost always implies the study of archaic aspects of culture that developed in conditions preceding the traditional society in which the classical foundations of economics, writing and the state were formed. Even when the object of study is the synpolitical primitive societies living in Australia, America, Africa, Oceania, their culture seems almost the same as in ancient times. In principle, this is what they are attractive to modern researchers - the fact that they have managed to preserve special elements of material and spiritual culture close to the primitive environment – the economic way of life, economic ties, forms of marriage and family relations, power structures, rituals, mythology, legends and much more.

In foreign social anthropology, the study of hunters and gatherers began as a separate direction in the 60s of the XIX century. The appeal to this topic is due to the fact that these peoples are the most adapted to the natural environment and are successful in their development in the most extreme conditions of life. The first conference at which primitive societies were considered was held in Chicago in 1966. The materials were published in a well–known work – "The Hunter Man" (1968). Currently, the academic community has held a total of 9 international conferences on the study of hunters and gatherers.

In Russia, a conference with a similar theme was held in 1993. In Russian ethnology, the evolutionary approach was most developed in the nineteenth century. In the late XIX - early XX centuries, thanks to the works of A.N.Maksimov, a period of critical attitude begins in Russian science. The Soviet period of ethnological science is characterized by a great intensity in the field of research of the early stages of social evolution, many theoretical postulates of which were to form the basis of the Marxist theory of the development of history and society. As a consequence, the methodological basis was the understanding of development  as a progressive progressive process. The preservation and prevalence of certain archaic elements in the culture of modern ethnic groups was considered as an indicator of the underdevelopment of society itself. Thus, the well-known unevenness of historical and geographical development has allowed some societies of hunters, fishermen and gatherers to survive in modern times. But the culture of hunters, fishermen and gatherers was a priori considered by many to be archaic. And in terms of the peculiarities of studying the culture of hunters and fishermen, there is a predominance and interest in the biological foundations of human activity. In this regard, the works of the Soviet period related to the formation of social relations, the formation of culture, art, religion are interesting. Thus, the research interest in the communities of hunters, fishermen, and gatherers was in some way "applied".

However, these "archaic cultures" have shown and proved their amazing viability. The relevance of studying the phenomenon of the vital activity of hunters, fishermen and gatherers in modern conditions lies in the need to study social evolution, search for new solutions to the problem of preserving traditional culture, preserving endangered ethnic groups, studying the mechanisms of adaptation and establishing social communications in the modern world.

The real purpose of this article is to consider the phenomenon of preserving the ability to function effectively in modern society of the culture of hunters, fishermen and gatherers (using the example of the Essene Yakuts).

Materials and methods of research. In 1972, the collection "Hunters, gatherers, fishermen: Problems of socio-economic relations in pre-agricultural society" was published. Editor A.M. Reshetov. Institute of Ethnography named after N.N. Miklukho-Maklay of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 19 articles are devoted to the study of such basic problems of the life of hunters, gatherers and fishermen as economic collectives, social organization and types of ethnic community in the pre-agricultural era. Regionally, it represents the most diverse peoples of the world - from Australia and Southeast Asia to Siberia, from Africa to America. In terms of time, it covers both primitive societies of primitive hunters and gatherers, leading an undifferentiated, complex hunting-gathering type economy, and already more developed, modern societies of hunters, gatherers, fishermen, in which the specialization of the economy has reached considerable perfection.

Since the 90s, Russian scientists have been actively conducting field research on the territory of foreign countries, regardless of geographical and political features. The rapprochement with Western scientists is also based on a joint study of ethnographic material presented by a number of Russian territories inhabited by peoples whose cultures correlate with the culture of hunters, fishermen and gatherers.In 2002, a scientific work dedicated specifically to the study of hunter culture in theoretical terms was published. This is a scientific monograph by A.A.Kazankov "Aggression in archaic societies", which examines hunting and gathering groups, or rather an aspect of culture associated with conflict situations regarding the relationship between people and people and nature. The object of research is Kalahari Bushmen, aborigines of Australia, Shoshone Indians of America. In 2009, the monograph of the famous ethnologist O.Y.Artemova "The Tribe of Esau. Hunters, fishermen, gatherers:(The experience of studying alternative social systems)", which presents the results of a study of the forms of social organization of hunters, gatherers and fishermen of Australia, Africa and South Asia [1]. The author offers original approaches to the study of the problems of social evolution.

The study of the Essene Yakuts is associated with the name of Sergei Alexandrovich Bakhtin and the project "The problem of identification of the Essene Yakuts in connection with the determination of the status of Indigenous small peoples" [2]. In addition to S.A. Bakhtin, M.I. Berezhnova and N.N.Pimenova are engaged in the history of indigenous ethnic groups of the North and Siberia [3]. In the presented studies, the Essenes are a unique ethnic and cultural group of the Essenes Yakuts (Krasnoyarsk Territory), who live in isolation from the main Yakut ethno-cultural group in the Sakha Republic.

For the scientific community, the most interesting object of study was the culture of the Essene Yakuts. So, in 1989, 1991 and 2010, A.I.Savvinov conducted a study of the life, language and cultural characteristics of the Essene Yakuts. The result of his work was the publication of articles, in 2002 – the monograph "Dehei sakhalaryn folklore" ("Folklore of the Essene Yakuts") under the authorship of A.I. Savvinov and N.V. Yemelyanov based on the research of the 1959 expedition of N.V. Yemelyanov and M. Voronkin. In 2011, the "Brief Thematic Dictionary of the Essene Dialect" by A.I. Savvinov and P.H. Chordu was published. In the 2000s, T.I.Argunova-Low, an anthropologist at the University of Aberdeen, was studying the history and culture of the Essene Yakuts. The field material of this study was collected in 2014, during the ethnographic expedition of the NEFU named after M.K.Ammosov, the head is Associate Professor, Ph.D. of the Faculty of History A.A.Alekseev.

Essene Yakuts (retrospective analysis). One of the little-studied territories inhabited by peoples who can be attributed to the group of hunters and fishermen is the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Evenki National District, where the Yakut local population group lives in the village of Essey, equated in rights to the small peoples of the North. The number of Essene Yakuts is no more than 1 thousand people. The uniqueness of the example of the Essene Yakuts lies in the fact that this group of Yakuts has lived locally for a fairly long historical time from the rest of the so-called "central" Yakuts, surrounded by a non-ethnic Tunguska and Russian cultural environment.

The settlement has the same name with Lake Essey, which is 30 km long and 27 km wide. 5 rivers and many streams flow into the lake, and one SiikeiSen River flows out. The Essenes are very respectful of their lake, it is for them the main source of life, the basis of the life system. Spiritually, the lake and the surrounding natural landscape represent a special picture of the world, with which many ancient myths and legends are associated. The history of the village of Essey has been known since the development of Siberia by Russian pioneers. A prison was built here to collect yasak from the Tunguska tribes [2, p. 336]. The Yakuts began to penetrate into this territory from the XVII century and by the XVIII century accounted for 80% of the total population of Essenes [3, p. 6].

In the conditions of the far North, the Yakuts of Essea successfully switched to reindeer husbandry, fishing and hunting. The Essenes hunted fur-bearing animals, wild deer, and wolves. Essenes was also famous for its fishing grounds. At the same time, fishing was mainly carried out by those who did not have their own deer. The number of domestic deer, at one time, was a direct indicator of the viability of a particular family or clan. The deer was a means of transportation, a source of food, warm clothing. Old people remember with admiration the times when everyone had thousands of herds of deer. Each family had its own pastures and practically no one lived in the village (trading post), but only came to buy goods. Deer were widely used as transport, kept special transport deer that transported goods. This phenomenon is known as transport reindeer husbandry. Among the Yakuts, in a number of Vilyui districts, until the early 1970s, transport reindeer husbandry was considered an important and irreplaceable economic direction [4, p. 157].

Among the Essene Yakuts, one of the special directions of economic management was the organization of the transportation of goods to the central settlement of the district, the so-called "tardy". The cargo was transported in reindeer sleds, often because of the frequent passes it was necessary to drag the sled on yourself. During the "tardy" people were born and died, the transition lasted for 3-4 months. "Tardy" took place almost until the end of the first half of the twentieth century. Many living old people remember and were direct participants in this action. Fish and meat were transported in the same way for the front during the 1941-45 war.

  In the Soviet period - in the 30-80s, the production infrastructure was actively developing, fur farms for breeding arctic foxes appeared, a fish processing plant and a sewing workshop for sewing fur clothing and equipment for hunters and reindeer herders worked. Almost all residents of the village were involved in one or another field of activity. In 1945, the collective farm on the territory of the Essene "Lenin's Way" became a millionaire collective farm  Evenki. In recent decades, with the destruction of the Soviet economic system, the state of economic life of modern Essene Yakuts has changed – the work of all the above-mentioned organizations and enterprises has been suspended. As for reindeer husbandry, only one herd of domestic deer of 75 heads, belonging to Evdokia Osogostok, is preserved on the territory of Essey. According to a local expert on the history and culture of the Essenes, P.H. Chordu:  "deer continue to be kept more for the soul and for funeral services, since the patriarchal traditions of sacrificing deer to accompany the souls of the deceased to the other world have still been preserved"[3, p. 27]

 Hunting for wild deer and fishing became the predominant type of farming. Hunting for the "wild" is the main economic basis of the Essenes. The modern hunter is distinguished by his improved uniforms, equipment and means of hunting. The Essene Yakut hunter has a new technical means - a blizzard (and not one), several guns, walkie-talkies, etc. No one moves on deer anymore, although this, as the old people say, is the best form of transport that will never fail in tundra conditions. However, when hunters are forced to travel long distances in pursuit of wild deer migration, mechanized equipment has become indispensable. Summer is fishing time. Lake Essey and the nearby rivers sufficiently provide fish as a food product and an object of trade. People have a special time allotted by natural cycles for hunting and fishing. They are ready for these cycles, preparation means the quality of the result. Within a certain time, funds, hunting tools are being prepared, equipment is being purchased, and the best hunting sites are being negotiated.  Thus, the hunting and fishing type of economy is more predictable, manageable and understandable.

Thus, the Essene Yakuts, despite the traditional cattle-breeding type of economy historically developed among the Yakuts, having fallen into natural and climatic conditions different from the central Yakuts and, becoming a separate ethnic group in the territory of residence, made the transition to more adapted to this territory types of economy – hunting and fishing, allowing to receive a regular consumer product.The Essene Yakuts in extreme natural and socio-economic conditions chose the most acceptable way of survival from their point of view. In scientific terms, they showed a high degree of self-organization in the conditions of a "catastrophe".

 For many years, this system of self-organization of society has been the only development strategy. M. Salins' concept of the "society of initial abundance" is well-known, according to which the degree of material need has become decisive for achieving satisfaction. The very specifics of hunting, which largely depends on luck, luck and collisions of a natural nature makes it possible for people to quickly get material benefits.

At the same time, the Essenes understand other economic opportunities of hunting, in addition to obtaining a regular product for daily consumption. The size and quality of material needs are gradually going beyond the established understanding in the past. So, until recently, the main value was deer, their number and the size of the catch during fishing. People remember with pride and nostalgia the huge herds of deer and the results of hunting for the season. However, the current generation of Essenes is very active in commodity-money relations. The hunting economy of the Essene Yakuts has not quite a classic character - hunting mobility is reduced, there is no asceticism inherent in hunting life. For example, the houses of the Essene hunters are the best in the settlement, strong and beautiful, the interior decoration is as close as possible to comfortable urban living conditions, all objects and materials correspond or are close to advanced technologies. Commercial organizations have emerged, for example, LLC "Sever", where the population sells fish, meat and furs. It is possible to get up to 2 thousand rubles for a sable skin. For Essenes, this is a real and practically the only opportunity to earn money. The company provides hunters with the necessary equipment, guns, cartridges and gasoline on account of salaries.

Essene Yakuts at the beginning of the XXI century. Recently, due to climate change and the actions of man himself, great difficulties have begun to arise in this type of economy. The big change was the disruption of the migration of wild deer, which can seriously undermine the main economic basis of the life of the Essene Yakuts. At present, in our opinion, the economic structure of the Essene Yakuts, closely related to the ecological system, is at the stage of bifurcation, that is, the search and emergence of a new solution in a critical state of development parameters.

 Any stable structure, i.e. some existing order, organization, is not eternal and the stability of any system can be violated [5, p.111]. The main thing is that these changes did not affect the entire system of self-organization of the community. As long as natural and climatic conditions allow and there have been no global changes in the ecological system, the way of life will be stable. This is what happens, because despite all the difficulties, the Essenes continue to hunt, moreover, a generation is growing who are ready and want to be professional hunters. During the fishing season, you can earn about 150 thousand rubles on the sale of furs. This money is considered sufficient to support the family, and traditional economic activities are the only "right" ones. The need for education is limited to training related to obtaining the necessary professional skills. In Essene, we can observe how the continuing geographical locality determines its own rules of behavior of members of the community, where the "real" qualities of a man are perceived primarily as the presence of hunter skills and the ability to hunt successfully.  Interviews conducted with representatives of the younger generation of the village about future professions showed that the choice is made in favor of the type of activity that does not require special, complex scientific and educational training. 

The hunting and fishing nature of the economy determined in ancient times equal opportunities for men and women. Until recently, women could also go hunting for a certain animal and catch fish. But with the complication of the social conditions of the hunter's activity – for example, the purchase of a hunting ticket, the rights to a motorboat, a car and a hunting license, a rifle - men's work has come to the fore as a priority. Essene women are mainly employed in education or trade. Although they have a great degree of freedom in their daily activities, it is aimed at ensuring and supporting the traditional way of life. Essene women farm all year round almost by themselves, since men are constantly in the taiga. They themselves are engaged in heating houses, water supply, purchasing food and goods for the family, raising children and controlling the family budget.

The modern hunter is distinguished by his improved uniforms, equipment and means of hunting. The Essene Yakut hunter has a new technical means - a blizzard (and not one), several guns, walkie-talkies, etc. No one moves on deer anymore, although, as the old people say, this is the best form of transport that will never fail in tundra conditions [4]. However, when hunters are forced to travel long distances in pursuit of wild deer migration, machine technology is indispensable. Great difficulties in this type of economy are associated with the fact that there is a huge dependence of these activities on natural conditions. For example, the migration of wild deer has been changing in recent years, which can seriously undermine the main economic basis of the life of the Essene Yakuts. Despite all the difficulties, the Essenes continue to hunt, moreover, young people who have just graduated from school want to be professional hunters. For example, one of the graduates of the 11th grade of the Essene school told us about his future plans for life. He is not going to enter either a higher educational institution or a secondary higher institution, but wants to continue his father's work and become a hunter. During this season, he himself earned about 150 thousand rubles on the sale of furs, killed a wolf and two wolverines. The young man believes that he is obliged to support his family and earn money, and education is a waste of time [4]. In this particular example, we can observe the continuing locality of the Essene Yakuts and their social choice, when his young male generation needs to show the "right" qualities of a man to enter "their" society, in particular the ability and skills of a hunter.

However, as for domestic reindeer husbandry, only one herd of 75 heads, belonging to grandmother Evdokia Osogostok, is preserved on the territory of Essey. She is the only one who keeps a herd and not for economic gain, but to satisfy the need to maintain a habitual way of life. Grandmother Evdokia (Ogdo) lives alone in the taiga with deer and is confident in her choice, believes that this lifestyle is the most correct. At the same time, she does not give up the benefits of civilization - she has a tablet for reading books, listening to music and watching movies, a generator, a cell phone, and travels long distances only on snowstorms [4]. Elderly residents of Essey are upset that domestic reindeer husbandry has ceased to exist, they look with envy at the reindeer herders of Yamal. There are ideas and even developed programs to increase the number of domestic deer in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, but today hunting has become the most profitable occupation in economic terms.

The processes that we have outlined reflect the development of the hunting and fishing society towards increasing labor efficiency through the use of new tools, the use of new technologies. But the main factor in preserving the viability of the traditional economic way of life is also the society itself, or rather its ability to transmit and consolidate traditional knowledge and skills.

Thus, the Yakuts of the Essene preserve and actively practice the tradition of "abyraty", according to which society will never leave a person who is in trouble. Elderly people are helped with food – they share meat and fish, as well as attention [9]. This tradition of giving benevolence and assistance, in our opinion, helps the Essenes to feel like a single community with firm values that help them in the process of development and survival.  There are no orphans among the Essene Yakuts, which is always noted by the local administration of the district. The child is immediately adopted, no matter whose it is. Even in young families there are adopted children or children of relatives who cannot be looked after.

In our opinion, the main role in the reproduction of an ethnic group belongs to the national language. The Yakut language in Essea began to play a more ethnically forming function, the status of the language is not just a tool of verbal communication, but an indicator of ethnic identification. A Yakut is considered primarily one who speaks the Yakut language, and also has roots in Essenes. The Essenes are practically the only Yakuts who have preserved generic surnames unusual for modern Yakuts: Botulu, Espek, Osogostok, Beti, Chordu, Uodai, Maymaga [9], which almost completely coincide with the names of villages in Namsky, Verkhneviluysky, Vilyuysky and Ust-Aldan districts. From generation to generation, knowledge is passed on about the totems of genera – patron spirits in the form of birds: Maymaga – swan, Osogostok – black raven, Chordu – Andes.For centuries, these seven genera have formed the basis of the village. The Essenes claim that over the past hundred years they have preserved the culture and language of the Sakha people in its original form, which contributes to maintaining the ethnic identity of the people.

It is very interesting that the Essene Yakuts, surrounded by a foreign-speaking environment, really retained their language and even now some of them do not speak Russian. Most likely, this is due to the above phenomenon among the Essene Yakuts. According to the 2010 survey, 91.7% of respondents recognized the Yakut language as their native language, 8.3% recognized the Yakut language as their native language on a par with Russian. No one chose Russian as the only native language [6, p.167]. The Essenes themselves believe that they have preserved the original Yakut language, so modified on the territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). For example, concepts that have disappeared from the live colloquial speech of the central Yakuts are still used:  bass – head, buttah – skin with hair, as – hair, younger brother – balys [9].  However, recent studies show that the transformation processes have seriously changed the traditional way of life, material and spiritual culture. So the Essenes have Russianisms in the language, especially in the verbs: present to the rich, dance to the rich, etc. [9]. Perhaps this refers to the folding of a special dialect.

The Essene Yakuts have preserved animistic pagan ideas, worship the spirit of the lake and nature. The offering to nature is called "belekhtenii" (offering as a gift), but at the same time, in one of the rituals shown by the informant [7], there is an element of the Orthodox cross (so tea mixed with salt is scattered as a gift to the spirits of nature) and the holy Trinity (there should be three such crosses). Tea, salt, sweets and cigarettes are brought as gifts, apparently, something that was a rarity or a festive meal - "magan as" (white food). Perhaps under the general name "belekhtenii" several different types of ritual actions are meant. So, according to informants, the Essene Yakuts used to have a concept – "belekhtenii", when they hang colorful rags [7]. "If there are difficult moments in life, you need to go to the forest and find 2 trees, on which a rope is stretched at a distance of 1 and 1.5 m, on which an odd number of rags are hung to flutter. You can't pass under it." Among the so-called "central" Yakuts living on the historical territory, offerings to land and water are usually made with a flatbread (bread) with butter, the Essene Yakuts do not have such a practice, it can be completely different items. So, the traditional gift in the form of pancakes in some cases is perceived as wrong and may, on the contrary, have a negative impact. At the same time, common elements of traditional beliefs have been preserved - the use of horsehair in the rite of sacrifice, the threefold nature of actions, the performance of circular actions [7].  Feeding and veneration of fire remains a special, vital rite.This rite is also performed in domestic conditions – a stove or stove.

 The transformation of the complex mythological picture of the Yakuts into the ritual actions of "belekhteniya" can be explained not only from the point of view of the loss of some cultural elements during resettlement, but also by the transition to a hunting lifestyle and lifestyle. The flexibility and variability of the hunting lifestyle make themselves felt even in the religious and mythological sphere and in ideological categories [8, p.154]. In Essea, many adopted Orthodox Christianity, which is due to the fact that the first Yakut settlers were already baptized. Many houses have icons (old and new). There are practically no manifestations of shamanism anywhere, the population cannot even remember the names of famous shamans, if they remember, then only Tunguska ones. Despite this, Essenes continue to believe in the miraculous power of shamans, they go to the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for special treatment to people practicing shamanic practices. In general, we can talk about the loss of the traditions of the Yakut ysyakh - the main ritual holiday of the Yakuts transformed into a national holiday and all its accompanying elements. The practice of performing the circular dance "osuohai", the tradition of establishing a hitching post "serge" (a ritual pillar analogous to the World Tree), and the performance of folk songs has also not been preserved, but is gradually reviving. The restoration of cultural traditions in the Essene goes by projecting and repeating the cultural achievements of the "central" Yakuts [9].

On November 13, 2009, a program was created to renew ties, study the socio-economic situation, the peculiarities of culture and language, and to form a unified information space with the Yakuts living outside Yakutia. As a result, in 2010, the Public Coordinating Council "Tassakhalar" ("Yakuts outside Yakutia") was formed, the purpose, tasks and activities were developed. The Coordinating Council included journalists of the newspapers "Kyym", "Sakha Sire" and the magazine "Ilin", ethnographers, historians, cultural scientists, writers, teachers and engineers.

In 2014, a new kindergarten was opened in the village, and in 2015 – a new two-story stone school, which accepted 189 students and a new teacher of the Yakut language. The cultural club moved to a temporary school building. A female folklore ensemble performing songs in the Yakut language was organized in the Tour, which Essey plans to visit.  Since 2013, a period of active revival of traditions began, in 2015, the Essene Yakuts organized the "Ysyakh" holiday for the first time in the Tour. Thus, the phenomenon of viability of modern communities of hunters, fishermen and gatherers (on the example of the Essene Yakuts) is influenced by a number of factors - historically existing and continuing cultural isolation in the mono-national village of Essey, the presence of a sufficiently effective way of managing in the Far North, the ability of cultural reproduction.

Conclusions. An important factor was the action of the mechanism of countering instability, as a result of which a new stability arises. Thus, the displaced Yakuts, finding themselves in a non-ethnic environment, managed to preserve socio-religious invariants, which played their supporting unifying role in extreme conditions of development.  Preserving the memory of the original homeland, the inhabitants perceive the land of Essenes as their native territory, where a kind of stable way of life and behavior has developed throughout historical time. The process of ethnic identification currently allows them to perceive themselves as a separate ethnic group of the Essene Yakuts – a community of hunters, fishermen. In 2013, the Essene Yakuts received the status of indigenous small-numbered peoples at the level of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

In general, the historical study of the peculiarity of the culture of the Essene Yakuts shows that the form and content of the traditional elements of the spiritual and material culture of the ethnos have undergone significant changes. In the spiritual and material culture of the Essene Yakuts, there is a departure from the ancient traditions of ritual practice, a decrease in the activity of celebrating folk holidays and the development of certain areas of festive culture – folk dances, folk songs, music. Reproduction of the ethnic culture of the Essene Yakuts is experiencing difficulties every year. However, due to the fact that during the XX century the changes in the way of life of the Essenes were of an evolutionary nature and occurred over a long period of time, this allowed them to preserve the main ethno-forming elements and on this basis successfully adapt to changing conditions. At the same time, the pace of development of the information society in the XXI century, accompanied by the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, the growth of economic development and the social sphere has seriously accelerated the transformation processes. If we also take into account the problems that humanity has faced with changes in natural and climatic changes, the Essene Yakuts at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries found themselves in a situation of historical choice of their fate. Are they able to go through the next stage of adaptation, do they need the modern world? Large-scale plans for the economic development of new territories, the development of modern infrastructure in Siberia and the North of the Russian Federation should be preceded by an in-depth analysis of the readiness of its population for changes and the development of a state policy that takes into account all the peculiarities of regional development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

Review of the article "The phenomenon of viability in modern society of the culture of hunters, fishermen and gatherers (on the example of the Essene Yakuts)" Interest in the traditional culture of the peoples of the country, in the traditional life support system of the peoples of our country has always been of considerable interest to Soviet and Russian science. In the early 1990s, a new stage of studying the traditional culture of the peoples of our country began, due to transformational processes and a "return to the archaic" in social life and in the life support system. Research shows that the archaic has not disappeared, it has been preserved and is present in the lives of peoples engaged in hunting, fishing, and gathering. Moreover, it should be noted that in the context of transformations of social relations, traditional forms of culture, as well as the life support system (hunting, fishing, gathering and cattle breeding – in its traditional extensive form) have shown their viability and importance. And accordingly, the interest in traditional culture, the study of archaic elements in these cultures is of considerable interest in theoretical and practical terms. The subject of the article is the study of the causes and factors of preserving the ability to function effectively in modern society of the culture of hunters, fishermen and gatherers (using the example of the Essene Yakuts). The author in his article is based on such methods as historical comparative analysis, analysis of literary sources. The epirical material for the study was collected in 2014 during an ethnographic expedition among the Essene Yakuts. The text of the article consists of several parts: relevance; materials and research methods; Essene Yakuts (retrospective analysis); Essene Yakuts at the beginning of the XXI century; conclusions. The author clearly and clearly states the relevance of the topic and the tasks set in the article. He notes that the study of the traditional culture of peoples engaged in hunting, fishing and gathering is due to the importance of studying the principles of social evolution, social institutions, finding solutions to the problem of preserving traditional culture, small ethnic groups in modern conditions, identifying mechanisms of adaptation and social communication in the context of modern challenges of globalism. The materials and research methods section is informative. The author notes that the cooperation of Russian and Western researchers in recent decades has brought methodologies closer together and introduced a new stream into the study of this problem. He notes the works of Russian researchers devoted to various issues of traditional culture, prepared recently on the materials of Australia, Africa, South Asia, etc. The author notes the works of Russian scientists on this topic, published in recent years and devoted to various issues of traditional culture of the peoples of Australia, Africa, South Asia, etc. The author of the article is well acquainted with the works on the Essene Yakuts prepared by Russian researchers. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the very formulation of the topic and the analysis of the works of predecessors and colleagues, literary sources and their own empirical material collected during the 2014 expedition. The structure of the work is logical and thoughtful, and is aimed at revealing the topic. The style of the article is scientific, there are elements of descriptive and journalistic, but this makes the material presented in the work understandable not only for specialists, but also interesting for a wide readership. The bibliography of the work is small and consists of 9 positions, but nevertheless, the text of the article shows that the author has a high theoretical background, and the bibliography reflects only those works that were necessary for writing this particular article. The appeal to the opponents is presented in the analysis of the material collected by the author, the author's high theoretical training and good knowledge of the subject of research. The author's conclusions are logical and follow from the author's analysis of sources and literature during the work on the article. The article will be of interest to historians, sociologists, cultural scientists, ecologists, philosophers, etc., as well as to a wide range of readers. The article was prepared professionally, the analysis of the material is comprehensive and in-depth and is recommended for publication. The appeal to the opponents is presented in the identification of the problem at the level of the collected information identified by the author during the work on the research topic.