Environmental Knowledgeof the North

[Self-designation чав’чу, нымылгын] The Koryaks live in the central and northern parts of Kamchatka and are composed of two groups. The Nymylans / Alyutors live on the coasts, where they mainly hunt marine mammals and fish. The Chavchuvens, on the other hand, stay with their reindeer herds in the interior of the peninsula. For both groups, fur trapping and hunting of land animals are important, with the snow sheep being particularly preferred as game. The gathering and preservation of plants and berries ensure a balanced, vitamin-rich diet throughout the year. Through seasonal reconciliation festivals with nature, they express their special respect for other living beings.

[Self-designation Sámi, Samit, Samek oder Sápmelaš] The Sámi live in their ancestral territory of Sápmi, which stretches across the northern peninsula of Scandinavia to northwestern Russia. To this day, for many Saami, hunting and gathering as well as fishing on the many lakes and coasts of the north contribute to their livelihood. During the last centuries, reindeer herding was another important source of subsistence. Industrial projects, which the Sámi actively oppose, as well as the effects of climate change, are impairing grazing conditions for reindeer. Sámi living along the coasts are also feeling the impacts of increasing environmental changes.

[Self-designation ханти, хантэ, хантах, кантэк, кантэх, кантага-ех, канта-ях, кант] The Khanty (formerly also known as Ostyaks) are linguistically most closely related to Hungarian. They live in Western Siberia, in a region of intensive oil and gas extraction. Some of them practice reindeer herding with small herds. They also sustain themselves through fishing, hunting, and gathering plants and berries. In the Khanty worldview and rituals, the bear plays a special role as a mediator for living in harmony with nature.

[Self-designation эвэсэл] The Even are a Tungusic people who originally spread from the northern Amur region across large parts of northeastern Siberia, from Yakutia to Chukotka. Between 1830 and 1840, they migrated from the north to Kamchatka, where they settled in the central part of the peninsula. Originally hunters who used reindeer as a means of transportation, they developed reindeer herding over the past century, which has since become an important source of livelihood for them. Today, the Even live in northern Kamchatka as well as in the settlements of Esso and Anavgay in the Bystrinsky District in the central part of Kamchatka. 

[Self-designation Одул, Вадул] The Yukaghir are a Paleo-Siberian people living in the northeast of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), where the coldest regions of Siberia are located. Due to the increasing expansion of the Even and Sakha (Yakut) populations, they now inhabit only parts of their former territory. Their main sources of livelihood are fishing, hunting, and reindeer herding, with reindeer primarily used as sled animals.  See also Yukaghir tales by A.I. Struchkova and I. Kurilov.