Choreographic Performance of a Bear Festival of the Even People

As part of workshops preparing Even dance ensembles from Esso for tours in Germany, former ritual practices were choreographically reinterpreted to spark young people's interest in their cultural heritage. Natal’ya Grigor’eva interviewed her older relatives and wrote the script for a theatrical performance in which the ensemble Nulgur portrays important elements of the Bear Festival through dance. Initially, the ritual hunt is enacted, followed by the precise dismembering of the bear and the adornment of certain body parts, which also play a role in the initiation of the young hunter. Finally, the bones and skull are carefully collected and laid out. In this way, the bear is prepared for the long journey of its soul into the world beyond, so that he may remember the respectful treatment by humans. As in the past, this serious ritual would conclude with cheerful and exuberant dances.