Khanty, People of the Taiga: Surviving the 20th Century

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University of Alaska Press, May 15, 2011 - Social Science - 496 pages
Drawing on nearly twenty years of fieldwork, as well as ethnohistory, politics, and economics, this volume takes a close look at changes in the lives of the indigenous Siberian Khanty people and draws crucial connections between those changes and the social, cultural, and political transformation that swept Russia during the transition to democracy. Delving deeply into the history of the Khanty—who were almost completely isolated prior to the Russian revolution—the authors show how the customs, traditions, and knowledge of indigenous people interact with and are threatened by events in the larger world.
 

Contents

1 Iugra
1
2 Iakh and Sir
59
3 Traditions
103
4 Transformations
155
Taiga Hunter
193
Muskeg Reindeer Herder
239
7 Black Snow
265
8 Land Leadership and Community
309
9 Accommodation Resistance and Resilience
339
Bibliography
367
Index
379
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About the author (2011)

Andrew Wiget is professor of English and director of the New Mexico Heritage Center at New Mexico State University. Olga Balalaeva is a folklorist and specialist in Finno-Ugric studies who has been working in Siberia since 1988.

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