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BULLETINS OF INFORMATION CENTER OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF THE ALTAI REPUBLIC

News, facts, events
Territories of Traditional Landuse Information on ethnic composition of the Altai Republic is prepared by the State Committee of Statistics of the Russian Federation (Goskomstat RF) in the Altai Republic by request of the Altai Republic Government. On the base of this information Ministry of economic development, trade and business of the Altai Republic (Minekonomrazvitia RA) will adopt a Government regulation on ascription of villages and districts of compact settlements of the indigenous small-numbered people to territories of traditional landuse (TTP). According to preliminary data to TTP Kosh-Agachsky, Ulagansky, Turochaksky, Choisky districts and a part of Maiminsky district will be inscribed. But because of imperfectness of the federal law on TTP great work should be done on development of practical mechanisms in the republic for the law implementation. Source of information: Minekonomrazvitia RA.

Altai Republic Bulletin #1

Meeting of Interns with Landuse Committee Chairman At May 18 a meeting with Aleksei L. Fillipov, Chairman of the Committee on Landuse of the Altai Republic was hold. Mr. Fillipov amazed our group with his professionalism, sincerity, decency. Thereby being very distinguished from the majority of officials. Our meeting was conducted in questions - answers regime. To all our questions we got clear, distinct and comprehensible answers.

- How to draw up certificate on registration of property right on land lot?

- Extract made from record of decisions on privatization, practically substitutes for certificate of registration. Altai Republic Government recommends to bodies of self-governance to approve proposed recommendations from the government a form of certificate. In order that it has to have documented character, with giving individual numbers, use of region and district numbers, agricultural enterprise and etc. And give these extracts to citizens in accordance to the article 18 of the federal law "On land turnover". According to this law citizens who have share property lands may refer to the district administration with written statement for obtaining such extract. If the district administration will refuse it is needed apply for court. For instance in the Usk-Koksinsky district there were court proceedings held and made the district administration to give extracts. But here is a big "but" those decisions of the bodies of self governance on land transfer for private property not stand up to lawful criticism. There is no property participants by name, but anyway it is understood that land lot is given to general property i.e. the fact of right establishment has been done however to implement their rights citizens according to this regulation is complicated. Therfore it is recommended by the government not just make writing out forms but also to put corrections into corresponding regulation and enclose lists to them. Lists with correct names, patronymic, land lot size, passport information. These corrections are necessary for citizens to be able to realize their rights.

- How to register officially this concrete lad lot toward land share?

- Federal Law of the Russian Federation №101 "On turnover" in article 13. order of formation of land shareowner, his/her land lot is protected. Presenting statement to mass media about intentions specifying land location and indicating possible compensation. Claims are registered in the district administration. Claims could be given by only that person who is in the lists i.e. owner of land share. Agreement process with the district administration is necessary to form land record file i.e. claims absence is one of the factors of agreement of land borders with other neighbors formation. And act of such agreement is a letter of the district that no objections available i.e. fixation of the fact.
So, what is needed to become land owner:
Obtain extract;
Give a statement on intentions to mass media: e.g. "Zvezda Altaya" and "Altayding Cholmony" newspapers;
If there is no objections, to take a receipt in the district administration;
To refer to commercial contracting agency, to prepare land surveying file, it is needed to have coordinates of land lot, description of borders, cartographical reflection which should be done with technical terms.
All this documentation is given further to put on cadastre register and further a citizen is fixed in unified state register of land;
To take a extract from unified state register;
To register in registrar of justice.
You become owner of land lot formed toward your proper land share.

There is a second method of land lot formation. It could be used if an agricultural enterprise has been preserved which twenty percent of the gathered at the general meeting 2/3 voting may decide a question on variant of use of land lot in general property. This mechanism is inscribed in 14th article of 101 Federal law "On turnover". It regulates a variant of general joint use of land lot in general property.

There is a third variant, it is use of lot by appearance sequence (i.e. if this lot has no owner), duly pay taxes and use it during 15 years, but in 15 years in court you may get a right of property on statute of limitation.

These all you should register officially till January 1, 2006, if your lot will remain unclaimed it is allowed to Governments of the Russian Federation subjects or administrations or executive powers of the subjects to form land lots from unclaimed land lots and recognize them in court to their property rights i.e. land will become state property.

Further property right to land lot could be approved only in courts. Pastures for mowing for citizens without right of privatization are given for 49 years of rent according to procedure order and criteria established by a district. Actually rent relations in this dimension not adjusted at all i.e. methodology of calculation of rent payment is not regulated. This payment is fixed by executive bodies of power, but in the Civil Code it is written that size of rent payment is determined in agreements. On law "On turnover" if renter uses land lot during of 3 years it may give application to bodies of self-governance and buy a land lot on market cost which is determined by independent appraiser.

Altai Republic Bulletin #2

Customs and Rituals: Tying up a D'alama Every year territory of Altai Republic is visited by many guests, tourists, and when they see on a pass on lower tree branches lots of tied cloth ribbons they do the same without any sense. I want to tell about the custom of worship to a mountain. Altai people are tightly connected with the nature. They revere a nature as a living man and believe that every object in nature has its master - a Spirit. In Altai people's notion the world is divided into three parts: the upper level - God Ulgen, the medium level - ground surface, the underground level - Erlik. Indissoluble connection of a man with nature, its animation made a man dependent on nature and instilled fear of powers of nature. Some failures of a man made his dependence on nature even stronger. Each of Altai peoples has its own mountain: Tubalars' mountain of worship is Choptoo, Cusens' one is Solog, etc. Worship to a spirit of a mountain is widely spread, and tying up the white ribbons on the passes is connected with it. These ribbons were tied up in certain places, as in ancient time every traveller knew which way he would follow, past what mountains and passes, and prepared these ribbons beforehand. The ribbons (d'alama) must be tied up in a proper way. Nowadays, when rituals, traditions and beliefs are being revived, the white ribbons are tied up everywhere. Some people do it in accordance with certain rules which they know, but some just imitate what they see. For a long time in ritual of ribbon tying people differ two terms: kiyra and d'alama. Altai people tied up the white ribbons not only on the passes but also at the springs (kara-soo, arjan-soo) which are not frozen in winter and are considered to be healing and the places of their location to be sacred; also at the places where juniper (archin) grows. The main purport of the ribbon tying ritual is that the man swears to keep Altai nature, traditions and customs of the people and keep loyalty to the people. Tying the ribbon, the man asks his Altai, Altai Master (Altai Aazi) to be gracious to him. By this ritual the man expresses his love to Altai nature. There are certain rules which must be known and observed by everyone tying a ribbon: the ribbon must be of new white cloth. While tying a male must take off his head-dress, no laugh must be there during the ceremony, a man who is tying a ribbon must express his wish, his request to the Master of the mountain, ask him about a good journey, safety and health and tell the desire:

My Altai is with the Moon,
The Sun and the Sky. With forest and taiga.
Heating and shining Sun,
Raising full and bright Moon,
I ask you to bless me,
Take misfortune away from my way,
Let my people be lauded,
I am grateful to you, my Altai.

The ribbon is tied to the branch with one knot carefully so that not to damage the branch bark. After tying the performer must turn to the East and bend staying on his knees and extend both his hands forward or only the right hand.
There is nothing indecent if you only tie the ribbon without bending. In sacred places nobody can speak loudly, use foul words or brawl. Those who do not observe the rules will be punished by nature themselves or their family and close people. Those who tie coloured, striped or black ribbons are considered to worship Erlik - the Master of the other world.
If you haven't prepared a ribbon you'd better not tie anything, there is nothing bad in it. If you don't have a white ribbon, you can use a monochromatic yellow, green, blue or red one. The white colour is devoted to the Master of Altai, yellow to the Sun and steppes of Altai, blue to the sky, red to the fire and green to the fields and forests of Altai.
A tree with white ribbons must not be cut, its branches must not be broken. All the gifts and riches of Altai serve the man and the man uses them, keeps and protects Altai.


Irina Solodukha, Tubalar

Problems of Development

Problems of Development of Balyktuyul' Village My village Balyktuyul' is one of the biggest villages in Ulagan Region of Gorny Altai. The population of the village is more than 2.5 thousand people. 2 km away from my village there are world known Pazyryk Tumuluses of ancient skifs. The name of the village comes from the Telengit words 'balyk' - fish and 'tuyul' - river. Old inhabitants of the village say that some time ago there was so much grayling fish in the river that after floods children picked graylings from the ground. But now owing to the ecological situation the fish became small in size and in amount.
This river is the only source of clean water for household needs. In winter time the river is covered with thick ice up to 5 meters. The ice comes up to a sheep-fold and toilets, and in spring this water carries away all the waste into river, goes into the Ulaganchik River, Bashkaus River, Chulyshman River and to the Teletskoye Lake. From the Teletskoye Lake the river Biya begins which together with the Katun form the beauty of Siberia - the Ob' and run into the Karskoye Sea. So, we can conclude that all the infections from our village that get into our river infect with different intestinal diseases almost all Siberia.
But there is a solution for the villages how to provide people with clean drinking water - making wells and water-pumps. This would also help to get water safely in winter time, because ice-hole 5 meters in depth on the river is dangerous and not acceptable for everyone. And in spring, when the level of water goes up and the ice is melting it's very risky to go on the river.
Deputies of regional Councils, Head of the village Administration, officials of sanitary and epidemiological stations must urgently solve this problem. Such situation of the village inhabitants has not improved for decades.

Marina Konunova, Telengit

Indigenous peoples of the Altai Republic

Tubalars and Telengits According to the results of Population Census of Russia in 2002 in Russian Federation there were 3 thousand Kumandins, 3 thousand Telengits, 3 thousand Teleuts, 2 thousand Tubalars, 0.9 thousand Chelkans, 17 thousand Shor people, 67 thousand Altai people, 655 thousand Kazakhs and 115896 thousand Russians.

THE TUBALARS OF TUROCHAK REGION
Altai Republic is a wonderful picturesque spot on the globe. It is one of the rare places where the nature is still primordial. On its territory there are lots of clean rivers, lakes, silver springs, forests and mountains, glaciers which don't melt in summer. Altai has very rich fauna, diversity of animals. All these things together let the people who come here for rest and local people admire the beauty of nature and breathe fresh air. In our industrial century fresh clean air is not everywhere.
Altai Republic is multinational. The Tubalars are one of its indigenous ethnic groups. According to the latest data of population census there are 2000 Tubalars in Altai Republic. These people live on banks of the Teletskoye Lake since ancient times. On the right side of the lake there is Artybash village, on the left side - Iogach village, both villages are connected with a bridge. The Tubalars have saved their culture, customs, traditional activities: fishing, hunting, agriculture, picking officinal herbs, handicraft.
But for the last decades all the subjects at school are taught in Russian. Russian and German languages are compulsory, but they don't teach in Tubalar language. Tubalar language is in danger of disappearance. In nurseries and kindergartens there are no groups where children are educated not only in Russian but in their native Tubalar language. We all understand, if the language is lost, the culture will be lost. Like natural law of minority swallowed up by majority.
That's why we have an idea to establish Tubalar Center which would have an exhibition hall showing artifacts, national dresses, souvenirs, literature on Tubalar culture, customs, traditions and lifestyle of Tubalar people. The building should be spacious and light, and teacher of arts should work there with children teaching them ethnic dances and songs, national plays. In this way the small indigenous group could have the possibility not only to save their culture but to show it to other people. At present Altai is subsidized republic, and how long it will continue we don't know. If anybody wants to help us in this charity - creation of the Center - please, reply.
About international organizations for rights of indigenous peoples of the world and about the decade of indigenous peoples I've learned only here during the interns' courses in Gorno-Altaisk. It's so good that there are people who could found the Information Center where indigenous peoples can learn international, federal and regional laws concerning their rights and claim them.
In Turochak Region the land problem is very actual for a long time. During Head of the region N. Boltukhin's managing lands have been sold and are still being sold, this man never considered local people's opinion. He has sold helicopter ground. But he'd better earn money with his brains, not by selling people's lands, he must feel ashamed for that. At the same time on Artybash Administration desk there is a pack of applications from indigenous population of the village asking about lands for houses constructing.
And it's painful to talk on what is happening on our lake. Many rich people use the lake as a source for profit. They have brought many boats and take tourists aboard for a walk. The boats are old, they are painted right here, as usual they don't meet sanitary requirements and make irretrievable harm to the Teletskoye Lake. The boats are filled anyhow anywhere all the summer, the lake is covered with big spots of fuel and lubricants. Most of the boats are not legal. And the Head of the region N. Boltukhin doesn't care. Probably he agreed with the owners of the boats leaving poisoned water for local people, he himself doesn't drink it. He leaves the Teletskoye Lake to die despite it is called the World Heritage.

Ludmila Kydatova, Tubalar

Telengits of Kosh-Agach Region 2 thousand meters above sea level on the crossing of four state borders (Russia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan) Telengit people live. They are the people who have been keeping carefully their original culture and language, traditions and customs of the ancestors for centuries. The land where they live they call with love 'Ere-Chui'. Telengits like their fathers worship to the Earth, the Sky, spirits of Ancestors, Water, Fire, Mountains, they ask them about forgiveness and blessing. They worship to the Highest God - Altai Kudai, who gave life to everything in the world. And all these spirits and Gods have holy aureole - sacralness. From generation to generation Telengits have been creating their philosophy comprehending the secrets of the universe, living in harmony with the Nature, being a part of it.
Telengits are devided into 'seoks' - clans, and each seok has its sacred mountain and totem. For example, clan of Sagals have Sailugem-Iyik, Koboks have Kok-Iyik, Mools - Irbistoo, etc.
With the beginning of technical civilization Telengits are loosing their connection with land. The animals they were hunting are exterminated, fish and birds are disappearing, forests are being cut down. Thousands of hectares of land were ploughed and abandoned after the USSR disintegration, now only stones are left on these places. Hundreds of tumuluses are dug out, hundreds of stone graven images are brought out. Some time ago they were a striking part of the landscape, now profaned they are lying under sand and wormwood.
Telengits have never disturbed rest of ancestors, they tried to avoid such places. Even now they don't visit without necessity the places where the bodies of those who went to the other world are buried.
Telengits consider the defilement of nature and their historical past is the reason of suicides, which became frequent especially among youth, and of nature cataclysms. The connecting thread is broken, the harmony between the Man and the Nature is destroyed, as result sacredness of the environment is lost and inner values that formed during many thousands years are lost.
People who think they are more educated than Telengits in the field of ecology and other sciences consider such explanation with irony. But it is worth thinking about, our ancestors were wiser us, that's why from generation to generation they passed the knowledge given them by Nature. If we loose our connection with nature we will loose our originality and will become "mankurts".
Collective farms are destroyed, this caused mass unemployment. In the villages most of the families live off children allowances and gardening. Young strong men are not busy because they cannot find a job as there is no manufactures. According to the latest statistical data the average life length of men in the region is 37 years. Kosh-Agach Region is one of extremely uncomfortable for living regions.
By its severe climate Kosh-Agach Region is included in the list of places which have conditions equal to North territory. Only north subsidies help us to live, and this is the only significant assistance that Telengits of our region receive from the government.

Maya Erlenbayeva, Telengit

My Native Village Kebezen' On the way to the UNESCO World Nature Heritage, the famous Teletskoye Lake, in 140 km away from the center of Altai Republic Gorno-Altaisk city there is a village called Kebezen'. From Altai language its name is translated as "Hello, boat!", 'kebe' means "a boat" and 'ezen' - "hello".
Kebezen is one of the big villages of Turochak Region. There live Tubalars, Kumandins, Russians and very few people of other nations. In the village we have a 2-floor school built of bricks, a House of Culture, Practitioner's and Obstetrician's Center, some private shops and saw-mills, one private bakery. The village consists of two parts: Kebezen and Upper Kebezen (we call it 'Stariy (old) Kebezen'). I will tell you about Old Kebezen where I was born. Old Kebezen is located 1.5 km away from the center of the village. This part of the village is surrounded with high mountains covered mostly with conifers: cedar, pines, firs; and when autumn comes on the green backgrounds there are bright coloured spots of aspen, guelder rose, rowan-tree, birch. In winter time local people prepare birch-bark for lighting stoves and firewood of birch which are considered the hottest.
On the outskirts of the village there runs a small river Kebezenka. Petty fish abound in this river. During the spring flood it becomes rapid, turbid and demolishes everything on its way.
Our forests are rich with diversity of berries: wild strawberry, bilberry, raspberry, cranberry, black and red currant, red whortleberry, blackberry, guelder rose; the names of mushrooms and especially officinal herbs are endless. Among wild animals here are wolves, bears, foxes, hares, musk-deer, squirrels, etc.
In the Soviet period the greatest part of the population worked in a collective farm. The farm was not prosperous, but the people were employed and got salary. In early 90ties a fire killed most of the milk cows. After that the farm didn't exist any more.
We also had industrial wood processing forestry. After the collective farm and the forestry had finished their work, part of the property, lands, equipment were divided among former workers and pensioners. Many families moved to other regions. At present the greatest part of population of the village live owing to the children allowances, pensions and gardening. Mass unemployment prevails in this place now. Only pensioners have more or less stable income, they get pension from the State. Youth are not in demand and they become drunkards. But among them there are many talented guys. The interest to the higher education is growing, but only very few can leave for study.
We always have had the problem with water. There is an old well which freezes in winter, and every spring dirty water from puddles floods it. For drinking water we have to go to the edge of the village and walk down the steep clay slope of ravine. The water that doesn't meet sanitary standards can cause intestinal diseases.
Every spring the local people go for earnings to taiga to the collectors of fern. They pick fern by whole families. This work is hard and low paid, but they don't have other choice.
We are not lucky with our Head of the village. Before taking this position people promise a lot but the results are deplorable. Each of them succeeds only in his personal purposes. And these people have always lived with us...

Irina Solodukha, Tubalar

Kumandins For many years I have wanted to learn in details history, culture, traditions of my people - the Kumandins. Passing through internship in the Information Centre of Indigenous People of the Altai Republic, by a chance I got the book of the explorer of Siberia, Yadrintsev Nikolai Mikhailovich: "Siberian Non-Russians" where he describes the period of colonization of the Siberian people. I am sure that people of my generation do not know events of those years, as the history of krai (region) at school is not studied and people of old generation do not remember or do not want to tell.
Kumandins represented one of the most advanced groups among the Siberian aboriginals as they earlier than others have left a nomadic way of life. In the past they were divided into two big administratively-territorial groups: upper and lower Kumandins. That part where the upper group lived by is current of the river Biya, since a mouth of the Lebed River close to the village Makaryevka were called the upper; and located lower by Biya current and system of the rivers Nenja, Kozha, Isha, Suzop were called lowers. The majority of the upper Kumandins settlements and villages were located along the coast of Biya. Lowers lived mainly in foothills of Altai which were presented by lands rich in haying and arable fields. These facts are confirmed in some extent by the famous mountain engineer Piotr Frolov who wrote in his official report in 1820, that upper and lower Kumandinskaya, Kuznetskaya, Komlazhskaya, Ynaja, Kerkezhskaja volosts occupied territories between the rivers of Biya and Katun down to the Teletskoe Lake.
The tribal structure of Kumandins at the beginning of the 18-th century, at the moment of joining Kumandins to the Russian state was presented by four tribes: Kumandins, Solu, Chabat and Kersagal. Kumandins, mainly, were engaged in hunting, farming, blacksmith's trade, cattle breeding, fishing and also picking and preparation of wild edible plants and especially of cedar nuts.
Territory occupied by the Kumandins was the lower reaches of the Biya and Katun rivers which attracted attention with the riches. Still the Tobolsk voevode (governor of province) Peter Godunov in his list "Sketches of the Siberian Land of 1672", in the initial edition of the text to the sketches pointed: "…at the creek of the rivers Biya and Katun places are red and welcome to the Great Majesty to build a fenced fort and a town because there are places arable and with animal, sables, foxes and rivers with beavers…". Later in the description of Siberia of 1683 it was also underlined "…that on tops of Boyar and Katun, lands are plentiful in forests and fields; blackness of the soil is of a man height. Plenty of any wild animals, fishes and birds of any kind". Therefore the first settlements appeared just in lower reaches of the rivers Biya and Katun, soon after foundation of a stockaded town Biysky in 1718.
Colonization of the Kumandins happened in a barbarian way. People were expelled of their traditional places of living thus using any methods even violence. Colonization of the right bank of the river Biya occurred due to construction of the Cossack line (border land) Bijsky from Kuznetsk in the east to the Irtysh river in the west. Along the whole length of this line there were founded military points which in consequence developed into settlements of usual type, population was not only the Russian, but also the Kumandin and Teleut. As the border land pursued military aims it was officially forbidden for the Russians to cross a border land for settling as the whole left bank of the Katun river to the beginning of 19-th century was settled by the Kumandin and Teleut.
In 1801 - 1802 a part of the Kumandins who lived on the right bank addressed the petition to the Tobolsk Chamber with a request to permit resettlement to their relatives beyond "line". It was allowed to move and to choose places for residence on left bank of Biya and lower reaches of Katun. Those years the Russian peasants also received an answer for their petition with the permission to cross border land but only to sow bread and to store hay. It was forbidden to build lodging and outdoor constructions. When the border land was broken settlement of huge territories in foothills of Altai began. Big and brutal colonization started. Inspite of prohibition, Russians penetrated into the territories where settlement was not authorized. The best pastures and lands were settled by factory peasants. Developing new lands the Russian peasants provided local garrisons with foodstuffs and rage therefore the administration of the Kolyvano-Voskresensky factories winked at outrages and unauthorized captures. Instead of bringing in order resettlement of peasants, they started long and unnecessary correspondence which usually ended with new peasants stay at those places but local population expel without help. Aboriginals besides of hard fighting and destruction during resistance to conquests, weakened by invasion Russians, become subjects for attacks of the Asian and Chinese rivals so they lost abilities to defend and became defenseless crowds. Traveler V.V.Radlov wrote that he had seen in Altai some signs of the riches and sizable herds some years ago, but now they have disappeared, getting in hands of the Russian manufacturers. Well-fare of the Altaians, as the traveler Zamyatin writes: "... has strongly suffered, you will meet very rarely an aboriginal who has a plenty of cattle". The area on which lived indigenous Kumandins and Teleuts was getting narrower and Russians' - larger. As a result of land reduction for trapping, hunting, fishing and cutting of pastures also livelihoods and means for life decreased that resulted in impoverishment and extinction.
Today the Kumandin people are considered as indigenous small numbered people which population is about three thousand. In modern administrative divisions they live in the Soltonsky, Krasnogorsky districts of the Altasky krai and partly in the Turochaksky district of the Altai Republic. Considerable part of them lives in the Tashtagol'sky district of the Kemerovsky region, in towns of Biysk and Gorno-Altaisk. These days the majority of them inspite of technical progress are engaged in hunting, farming, cattle breeding, fishing, picking and storing wild edible plants and cedar nuts.
Ensuring of access to the land and natural resources is the key issue for the indigenous peoples. Problem of land rights goes out of traditional dispute about property rights and usual land ownership. Really, the right on getting control above your territories and its management remains in shade of land reform processes. Time has come to turn this tendency, to supply and promote with the government the land laws creation which will properly take into consideration mutual relations of the indigenous with the land. And such relations should be based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and mutual trust. In forms of close cooperation and regular exchange based on equal rights basis, taking into account historical realities.

Kamila Shermatova

Articles of our interns

Without Land = Without Roots Since ancient times my ancestors have lived on the territory of the Teletskaya taiga and on the coast of the Teletskoe Lake, in the mountains covered by black taiga. The main activities of the Tubalars were hunting, fishing, cattle breeding, farming and berry gathering. There where people settled, they cleared away, rooted out taiga, cultivated lands, planted barley, mowed hay, were occupied with cattle breeding, but they could not have big herds because there were no pastures. Hunting and fishing, picking fed us.
We have been gently, unwittingly displaced for last 30 years, our hunters have remained without hunting plots, and they told us that we all are poachers. Though there are lands. Territories are huge, hunters can not pass round half of their lands, many of them simply stopped hunting, granted on lease their lands, and those who rents, gives half of their preys. Some hunters took their lands on lease for 49 years, constructed tourist complexes, engaged in commercial hunting. That's why they do not give licenses for shooting marals (Altai stag), elks, bears to our hunters. Anyhow we must live and keep our families so we need to take on lease lands of those who do not hunt. Or go for poaching. Simply under the formed circumstances we are put in such conditions.
Our hunters' applications to take the land on lease lay not examined for many years at the Chairman of Hunting Society B. Staroverov or he gives lands to our hunters on cleared spaces and in other inconvenient places. Now they have decided to organize an Open Joint-stock company, to work out the charter, not having informed the majority of hunters. There were no announcements in such settlements as Artybash and Novotroitsk. Thus they have violated the federal law on "Information and Protection of the information" article 24 and the Constitution of the Russian Federation the articles 69 and 72 about "Protection of a primordial habitat and a traditional way of life of indigenous small numbered communities". Also the federal law "On territories of traditional land use of indigenous small numbered people of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation for leading of traditional land use and a traditional way of life in these territories" was violated. In the articles 6 and 7 of this law it is spoken, that territories of traditional land use are founded on the basis of appeals of the persons related to small numbered peoples, communities of small numbered peoples or their authorized representatives by executive authorities of subjects of the Russian Federation.
It is necessary to find the proper mechanisms of financial deductions, measures for protection of small numbered peoples' traditional life. Many of them do not understand economy in its modern conception. It is not economy, but their everyday life. The stage of their development is far from market. Then the decisions should be based on such priorities as ethnos, a way of life and all exotic contents of their everyday life. Bodies of executive power get off with formal replies or silence to our applications. Unhealthy conditions of suspiciousness and mistrust are created. It occurs now when lands of the Forest fund are leased for 49 years. We also know that leasing is a hidden sale of land. As the lease holder has a right of priority redemption, it turns out that we remain without land! And we have no choice but apply to courts. We hope that the executive/legislative autorities hear us and we can find compromise decisions of our problem up to 01.01.2006. It is clear that implementation of the good initiatives and desires on arrangement of life of indigenous small numbered people will fail, if the state does not take reliable support including in legislation. And here is a fair reproach of all indigenous small numbered people of the Altai Republic to the deputies who have not given yet "start in life" to the important legislation acts on territories of traditional land use in order they correlate and correspond to "Forest code" and "Land code".

Galina Sapkina

Cedar Tree Nut - Source of Income for Population and Problems for Nature Cedar tree nut in the Altai Mountains grows from times immemorial. Cedar (Pinus Sibirica) has its periodicity in fructification. In average in two, three years cedar gives cones and the same period of time takes rest. In old times peoples of Altai did not harvest nut in such big quantities. They gathered nuts only for personal use especially in hungry years of the past wars. After the World War II with gradual growth of wealth nuts were not gathered at all.
But situation radically changed in last 4-5 years. Bottomless market of "Under the skies" (China) required cedar nuts in industrial quantities. Right here chains of second hand dealers appeared. Though the price was two times less than in Novosibirsk market, it was decent. People were crept with "nut fever". People started to climb to the taiga with whole families even there are cases when old people went for nuts though it is a hard work.
In itself this social phenomena helped to the Altai Republic population very much. People have got an opportunity to earn decent money for short time. Many families which have not possibilities now they can buy something for their houses, clothes for their children and etc.
It would be a good thing. Local population lives on at the expense of nature, dealers grow rich on percentage, and customers make oil, medicine, multiply their wealth. But problems have appeared here as always.
One of them is price instability. Dealers together set too low price. If some touring merchant buys on higher price they make him set lower price at once. For this purpose even officials and representatives of law-enforcement agencies are engaged. Besides there are many other important problems.
It happened so that the Altai people have a special outlook to environment. Altai man considers himself as an inseparable part of nature. He deifies and takes care of it, considers it alive to greater extent than it is accepted by other peoples and even to considerable degree as conscious.
Not long ago, the elder generation, being in the taiga, keep themselves from shouting, drinking and even saying a swear-word. But now crowds of prospectors behave differently in the taiga. For nuts they start to come from other regions: Novosibirsk, Altaisky krai and Kemerovo.
They come not only themselves but also bring crowds of the homeless from dumps, whom they supply with foodstuff, spirit and "drop off" to the taiga. But they gather cons for their bosses for paltry pay or for just being fed. And all these folks with some local representatives not respecting and appreciating nature came with an only purpose to "snatch a large sum" and do destroy the taiga. Heavy cross-country vehicles leave such deep tracks that land can not heal for a long time. Everywhere garbage scattered, iron wires, plastic packages, tins. These wastes of the civilization decay very long. Location of vegetation of the cedar - the taiga, is a traditional summer distant-pasture. Garbage and tins are very dangerous for legs of the horse and cow. If they injure themselves hard people have to slaughter them only.
Some gatherers even cut the cedar trees to take cons, struck with heavy hummers tearing off the bark and making harm to a tree. In season of cons harvesting forest fires happen more often. But recently it has become a practice to give big cedar forest lots for rent to the rich people. They put their guard with machine-carbine and riffle around the perimeter, and that is all. For a man who has lived his life on this land whose ancestors are buried here can not trespass to this territory.
So the cedar nut harvesting cuts both ways. From one side it is some money for population; from other, it causes substantial harm to nature. Therefore it is needed to develop a general strategy of efficient approach to solution of this problem with involvement of local communities and authorities. May be it is needed to establish volunteer teams for forest conservation in periods of harvesting. On the level of authorities to consider a possibility of contracting directly with nut consumers in order to keep prices stable.
Archyn Argymaev
Altai Republic Bulletin #3

About Tourism in the Ust-Koksinsky District Summer has come. This time our republic becomes an attractive location as recreational for numerous tourists. Of course with such primeval beauty of nature, with its unique natural sites like the Altyn-Kel Lake (Teletzkoye), the Uch-Sumer Mountain (Belukha), the Katun River our republic has been and will be an object of tourist attention. The fact that the Altai Republic is visited by big quantity of tourists has small pluses and big minuses today. One may ask: "why big minuses?" The matter is that, saying honestly, our tourism is not developed, not regulated, there is no relevant services and many other problems. I am concerned with problem related with tourism as a resident of the Ust-Koksinsky district not lees than all the residents of the Chemalsky district. Because our district is one of the attractive places for tourists.
The matter is that tourists visit our district and do not leave any profits for the local budget after them. I.e. everything happens easily, tourists come on their own accord, live, make night's lodgings where they like, set fires, leave piles of garbage and that is all. In my opinion, tourism should be on organized level in order not to have so-called "wild tourists". In order our population can get revenue from tourists' use of our natural richness. Our district has great quantity of the jobless and regulating relations in tourism sphere we can give job opportunities to population. It should be considered that quantity of tourists in our republic territory is not so big today but in one year this number will grow. In the future we will meet this problem anyway but it will be very critical then. Why not regulate tourism today? Why our Republic Government, municipality administrations not solve this problem?
But there are countries, which profits from tourism are main state incomes. On my opinion, such system could be worked out even on district level. The main thing is "commitment" of leaders and understanding of the district population.

Ermak Katynov
Altai Republic Bulletin #3

A word about Tourist Altai The Altai Mountain Region inhabited by key peoples of Eurasia: Turkic and Slavonic, being on the joint of the Russian Orthodox (Russia), Islamic (Kazakhstan), Buddhist-Lamaist (Mongolia), Confucian (China) civilizations is the ethno cultural centre of Eurasia. Peculiarity and uniqueness of Altai is that more than 1/5 of its territory is occupied by units of the World Natural Heritage; federal reserves, preserves, regional natural parks, nature monuments, pictorial mountain peaks, passes, caves, lakes, springs and landscape plots.
The Republic Altai is characterized by small number of the population, sparsely settled and low development of the territory. Indexes of life quality are not high and short expectation of the life of local population, low consumer abilities, acute deficiency of the qualified specialists; all these have an effect on weak socio-economic development of the region. Industry of tourism is chosen as one of the strategic directions of the Republic development, rest and recreation, as this is a new branch of economy and it is capable to attract investors, to give fast return of capital investments, to use more effectively the potential of this territory while conserving ecological and cultural balance. It is pleasant that the choice of tourism as a leading branch of the Republic Altai economy specialization is now accepted by the government of the republic.
Today there are than 110 tourist enterprises, 139 tourist trails, more than 250 tax payers on a budget line "tourism", large tourist centers, ready to accept more than 350 persons simultaneously, dozens of new comfortable complexes in Gorny Altai (another name for the Altai Mountains). Even in the remote places of the republic there are new tourist centers. Taxes in the republic budget for last four years have been doubled: from 5, 2 million rubles up to 10, 6 million rubles for 2000-2003. The number of the tourists visited Altai, increased from 40 thousand person (1991) up to 400 thousand persons (2003), i.e. groups of tourists has increased in ten times.
It is possible to develop more than 30 types and trends of tourism in Altai: water, trekking, caving, horse riding, skiing, adventure, archeological and other kinds of tourism all year around. Tourism has started its development and today it is necessary to work out multilevel system of education and retraining of personnel, qualified experts in this branch. Quite often organizers of tourist business engage for summer season even chambermaids, kitchen workers without saying about managers beyond the bounds of the republic.
It is advisable to train guides, excursioners, and other staff of employees for tourist centers from the indigenous people of the republic who know well and love nature, history, culture, customs and traditions of his homeland.
Summing up my article I underline once again more important points:
1. After disintegration of the USSR and loss of All-Union health resorts (Crimea, the Black, Baltic, Caspian Sea coasts, Issyk Kul, the Western Ukraine etc.) Altai becomes a Mecca of tourism for Russia and adjacent countries.
2. It is necessary to recognize that industry of tourism (recreation, health resorts, treatment, rest and sport) is one of the strategic lines for development of the Altai Republic.
3. Such choice is dictated by rich recreational resources and terms of more efficient use of the territory potential while conserving ecological and cultural balance.
4. The crucial question is ecological tourism based on unconditional maintenance of strict requirements to conserve environment and to adjust anthropogenic impact. We need cultural, civilized tourism which will conserve nature.
5. At last, tourism should be considered not only as an economic category, but also as a social factor and as the important means of tourists' education to feel respect to the history, language, culture, art, style of life, national character, traditions of local people - "owners", people - the subject and the carrier of these values in the given territory.

Makosheva Ajana

Telengits' Khanate In the middle of the training our group met Innokentii Sergeevich Tengerekov. This man is a very versatile person. Having the economic education he writes the verses and the historical books. On the first day Innokentii Sergeevich told us about the real history which isn't teached at our schools and institutes. The history (which he had told) is confirmed by the various reliable sources of different years and centuries. The modern population of Altai in the past had its own state, documents and written language and the given state was called as Telengit's khanate which by its own sizes and abilities could compete with Dgungarsk's khanate.
Along the territory the given Khanate occupied modern Republic Altai, Altai territory, a part of Novosibirsk area, Kemerovo area and some frontiers territories. The Khanate was uniform and entire had its own language and written language in the beginning of its own development that the petroglyphs confirm and etc. It was informally divided into parts through the variety of reasons and was amalgamated together again.
The small settlements left the leadership into the adjoining Khanate. The periods of the development, decline and partition of khanate have been described very exactly and consistently. All problems our trainees interested have been touched upon right up to 20 century.
Then Telengits were already divided into Аk - Telengeter, Аri-, Altai-, Altin Kol - and Тuu - Telengeter. Nowadays Altai people divide into Kumandins, Tubalars and etc. Some people have their own benefit from it.
On the second day Innokentii Sergeevich brought a video cassette with the record about the Altai's Princess. There are two versions: the Russian one and the Belgian one released by English TV of the BBC Company. The Russian variant speaks that princess belongs to purely European race. The Belgian variant contends that princess belongs to the Asian type of people and adduces proofs of the Swiss anthropologists. It is interesting, what Chinese scientists say, concerning the similar find of the ancient woman's body in territory of the Altai Mountains (the Altai district SUAR - China.) Probably they confirm that she belonged to the Chinese type of people and adduce their own proofs.
We, trainees think that Altai was a crossroad of ancient cultures, civilizations and "the boiling boiler" of different races and ethnoses. As well as the Princess Ukoka, "pazirikses" then already they belonged to the mixed race (a civilization). Household goods, ornaments of the felt and wooden products, the rests are identical the ones Altai people have today. Can't we ignore the given facts? We understand it became not the scientific, but political norm of the Scientifics of different countries to deny the real facts. But all their scientific theories have the right to existence.
Now all the scientific laurels, money, world glory received by archeologists and scientists, whether it is time to recover our cultural heritage in the homeland. All these disputes about the racial belonging do not solve the question of returning the Princess to the homeland. In general, the meeting with Innokentii Sergeevich was very interesting and cognitive. The most of us found out that they wanted to know during many years, but some found out they didn't expect to.

Nikolay Tengerekov

Cultural heritage of indigenous peoples of Altai

The Telengit's tea I want to note especially our favorite tea which Telengit people call as "the talkandu tea". Every Ulagan man dreams to drink "the talkandu tea" cooked by his mother when he has left his ail. Every morning mistresses of ail cooks "the talkandu tea" for her relatives, children and her husband. It's a whole ceremony to cook "the talkandu tea". You need special utensils (it is desirable a cauldron), living fire (for smell of smoke), some fresh cow's milk, salt, talkan, kaimak, сарjу. There are some kinds of talkan: barley, wheaten, oaten. For tea you can use different native-grasses such as bulonat, cholbuk, chanda which Telengit people had cooked by the special way earlier.
After the manner of the preparation Telengit's tea can be: Kurtmashtu tea cooked in a special case when the great visitors arrive (for example on a wedding day, a holiday); Suttu, Kaimakty tea cooked for a daily use; Chaktym tea is cooked by lazy mistresses and poor people; Kara ustu tea cooked either by hunters or people who leave their home for a long time. The additional components for tea are сарjу (a melted butter), kaimak (cream) and tonus (roasted fatty tail's lard of a mail sheep).
By tea's taste a visitor determines mistress's merits and demerits of her character. The old people can make a remark regarding the cooked tea, and the young people must accept and correct their mistakes or enjoy their success in tea cooking.
Cooking of tea "kelina" (brides) are show up on the common review and note the special importance on a wedding day. For this ceremony elderly women prepare a table and sit around it, wait and estimate how a bride will cook tea.
Having cooked tea, she pours out it into all cups and elderly women having drunk a cup of tea thank her and give the good - wishes to her, happiness for the young mistress, bread and salt.
If someone caught a cold the mistress should cook a medical tea. It must be hot; the spoon of melted butter is added in it. The patient must wrap himself up, go to bed and drink slowly, this time the person sweats, in such way an illness goes away.
Certainly, the talkandu tea is a basic and daily meal for Telengit people. Sometimes people of the other nationality joke that "Telengit's soup" includes all: oil, salt, milk, water, tea, talkan and sometimes bacon. But for us it stays a remarkable meal which connects us with our ancestors and does not allow forgetting about our way of life.
The culture of the tea submission is closely connected with culture of people relations, their behavior, and seniority. For example: When the visitor comes in the house, the mistress must serve hot tea as a sign of hospitality. Who is the first time guest in this house he must drink tea as a sign of respect. And young people who are single must drink two cups of tea that later they will not live alone. The mistress should spill tea firstly to visitors of male sex and only then to women and her husband. When only men sit at the table the woman does not sit at it.
She spills tea for herself and sits some distance away from them and waits when they would have drunk that to offer else.
The person who has drunk tea says: "Toigon tok toly kyryi" and closes up a cup of tea with his palm. The mistress mustn't pour into a cracked cup it means a deep insult. The taste of tea is directly concerned with a knack of cooking it.
Each woman cooks tea in her own way.
Sometimes it happens that, all components are identical, but taste of tea different mistress differs. In village, there are mistresses who know everything because they have a very tasty tea.
Knowing their skill, they always tried to cook a good tea and they were invited to the weddings, holidays, celebrations.
Sometimes they cannot cook a good tea; it's with milk of bluish color. It means that ancestors offended on the mistress because she began to forget them, they say: "Menin chaiim kyzip koidi".
They pour tea from right to left away from oneself during a funeral. As if they pour to dead men. The main component for this tea is talkan.
Again it's a whole ceremony how tea is cooked. Therefore a telengit's each dish has a cult, a fixed inventory and the special conditions.
Lately the talkandy tea has cooked only in Ulagan's region and only in some villages.

My Kumandin people. Very long time ago, during the Flood, Kumandin's tribes arrived by rafts and moored to the tops of mountains. Water was landing slowly and the huge rafts remained at tops of mountains. People settled on those mountainsides. Mountains are sacred places for an each tribe. Since then in the nation they say Kumandin people are children of mountains.
I decided to start my article with this legend. The article is about people belonging to the Turkic group of the Altai languages family. I belong to these indigenous peoples too. And certainly, we have our own history, language, traditions, customs. But I would like to write about the rich folk art of Kumandin people.
And it's not accidentally this theme is interesting for me and because it is still poorly investigated.
The folk art of Kumandin people differs by a diversity of the genres and the contents.
We had heroic epos, different legends and stories, fairy tales, songs, proverbs, sayings, riddles. The heroic epos enjoyed wide popularity and love by Kumandin people. The legends and stories of Kumandin people differ by the contents. There are historical, hunting, legends about the origin of different the seoks, one or another economic affair (for example beekeeping). Because hunting occupied the big place in the last life of Kumandins therefore it received a rather full reflection and in the folk art.
Among Kumandins there are legends about the creation of the world, a Flood, about the Milky Way, etc. Legends about the origin of seoks: ore kumandi, tastar, toon, shabat and others are interesting. Kumandin's fairy tales remain the least investigated genre, as well as the epos. Some publications of fairy tales have appeared only over the last years. There are also the tape recordings of Kumandin's songs. In 1936 N.P.Dyrenkova made the sound-recording of 40 takpaks (schastooshkas) in Kubija and Sarikovo villages which are the most widespread type Kumadin's songs. Every takpak represents a quatrain or an octave. Before pass on to fine art, it is significant that it was not almost investigated. Now the investigation of this question represents the certain difficulty whereas many subjects reflecting this art have disappeared for ever from life of Kumandin people.
I have stopped only on arts and crafts briefly as it is more known. I notice that the wood engraving has not received the development with the Kumandin people, despite of their skills to manufacture from it the various utensils and dishes. Some distribution of a carved ornament could be met on platbands and eaves of the separate houses which once belonged to byiams or to fists, but this form of carving the Kumandin people adopted from the Russian masters, as well as a house-building. It is possible earlier Kumandin people were known other forms of the wood engraving also but a data about it is absent. Kumandin people made the wooden sculptural images only with a religious purpose. They were anthropomorphous figures of the different spirits, for example the patron of hunting Shaliga, etc. Besides, the sculptural images of the anthropomorphous type have been cut out on the handles of tambourines.
There are also guidelines that Kumandin people had the ornaments on the objects of a harness in the past. The various iron and brass metal plates decorated the belts of a bridle, a breast-collar and a crupper, a leather shabrack etc.
The widest circulation the ornament found on the objects of the household. It served as a mean of an ornament of a felt mattress, clothes, a coverlet, crude domestic cloth. The dressing gowns, shekpen, etc. had sewed from it too.
The ornament on the clothes and on the large felt mat was subdivided into five types by techniques: an ornament executed by applique' work, knitted and embroidered, woven and wattled. The patterns executed in techniques by applique' work are met only on felt mattresses (kiis). These patterns belong to a flora ornament.
The ornament on the knitted products consisted of all kinds of hooks, rhombuses with the branch pieces which called as aiash - a cup, an ektesh - hook, a kolon- yarn, etc. Those ornaments were executed in the form of rectilinear geometrical lines and by them were decorated a wrist of mittens and female stockings. They were met with and on the textile goods basically on belts. The ends of towels were basically decorated with embroidered ornament.
Motifs of the embroidery were different. Sometimes the embroidery was situated on three strips: the narrow one the wide one and the bottom one. The basic character of the big patterns is floral. The large octactinal rosettes and the others flowery motifs are sharply stand out against a white background. The ornament on the top and the bottom of belts is geometrical or (the bottom belt) stylized, flora; colors - black and red. On the other embroideries the pattern has a geometrical character. Fine rosettes remind the flowery patterns. Colors are black and red. Besides in embroidery there are also flowery motifs as the octactinal rosettes between which fine, square, whole and vague rosettes are placed.
On all products of kumandin people were prevailed the geometrical ornament. It usually was designed on a rectangular square grid. Dark places are stand out against a background by the special technique of a fabric. The largest patterns represent the cruciform crossed squares. The other elements of an ornament consist of squares and the rectangles of the various sizes located on a direct grid.
The second motive on products of a similar sort the ornament was designed on a slanting square grid. By an element of the figuration are the large aliasing squares injected into each other of different colors: yellow, violet, orange, light green, dark blue and white. The similar textile goods were served as a coverlet for a bed or were used as a blanket. They were weaved in four, eight or twelve spun threads.
Kumundin people tatted by hand the waistbands decorated with large step squares and other geometrical patterns from painted in different colors woolen threads.
The brief review of kumandin folk arts allows to judge in some degrees about its original distinctive features.
Summing up, we could say that unfortunately, a great deal of all had already lost and forgotten nowadays. And my generation of Kumundins knows neither language nor customs nor a history any more. I hope that my article will help to realize to young people (especially Kumandins) how important to know our own roots. As our ethnos existence depends on it.









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Опубликовано на: 2006-09-30 (8339 Прочтено)

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