Language laboratory of national languages of the Turukhansk district - 1,5 years!

This laboratory started its work after the order of the district Head, S.G.Yurchenko at January 8, 2003. But just a few know how much time and strength it required to realize this idea. Even just one problem - absence of specialists from indigenous peoples of the district - could break all our plans. Without saying a word about the second problem - absence of financing in a subsidized region of the Far North. But the laboratory has appeared, here it is! We congratulate Head Zoya Vasilievna Maksunova for the small collective and the methodologist on national languages Lyudmila Yurievna Mayorova, we also congratulate all of us! What is done for short period by "newborn" laboratory? About this Z.V.Maksunova reports in № 11 of " Word of Peoples of the North " (monthly supplement to the regional newspaper "Lighthouse of the North "). The objective of the laboratory - preservation of the spoken languages of indigenous small numbered peoples of the North of the Turukhansk district. At the first stage for realization of the idea a questioning of the indigenous population: Ketos, Selkups, Evenkis of the district was conducted. Preparation for inquiry questioning has helped to prepare with high level of reliability questionnaires for adult population and children. For adults three questionnaires were prepared where questions about family-tree, level of native language knowledge and development programs "Children of the North" of federal, regional and regional levels were included. In children's questionnaires orientation to education, awareness on chosen profession and level of native language knowledge were taken into account. Questioning covered 4 settlements with the Keto residents: Kellog - 81 people, Surgutikha - 52, Vereshagino - 15, Baklanikha - 19. Great interest was caused with a question about family-tree. According to Z.V.Maksunova opinion this knowledge allows "to develop interest to life of relatives, to their past" and to realize their role in preservation of people's traditions. During work on questionnaires sad feelings did not leave Zoya Vasilievna which were felt and described by the Hanty writer Eremei Danilovich Aipin in his short story "And my people is going away". Before her, she writes, "persons appear and as if I hear checked from tears a voice of people who filled questionnaires. How many people they had to recall who sunk, frozen, shot by themselves and died seldom a natural death". Nobody accuses anybody in some deeds. But people is disappearing, agree that one can not but be concerned with level of responsibility for a man, life of his family (the most valuable, that has everyone), for life of the whole people at different historical stages. Who needed drastic changes which broke human destinies and resulted with chaos? One of the reasons of appearance of indigenous peoples' "lost generation" Zoya Vasilievna identifies education: "Existing model of the modern school does not take into account needs of the ethnic groups, derivating a paradoxical situation: the more a child studies, the more he moves away from his culture and people. He is torn away from his roots and he is forgetting his native language at all.... Among children of indigenous nationality weak interest is observed to results of educational process because of absence of vital reference points and as a result of it, there are no prospects for the future. It results with indifference to destiny". Knowledge of native language is an element of culture. Polling questionnaires on language included 30 points which allowed understanding whether a person had known it from childhood, school years or today. At the same time social and economic, age and marital status of a person were taken into consideration. The data have shown: in Kellog from 81 questioned informants in perfection 42 persons know native language, understand and speak little 33, do not know language 7; in Surgutiha from 52 answered 15 speak native language, understand and speak little 8, and 29 do not speak at all; from 15 person questioned in Vereshagino only 2 know language, understand 6, do not know 7; in Baklanikha - know language - 2, understand and speak - 13, do not know language - 4. The general result specifies, that 100 % of the questioned informants specify direct connection of language knowledge and place of living. As a dividing moment was called that Russian prevails in all spheres of life even in national settlements (91 %). 87 % supports idea of teaching not only children native language, but also adult population. Solution of the created situation for preservation of the Keto language 70 % called intensive teaching at school, facultative studying by adults (circles, clubs, parental courses in indigenous centers) and the edition of the literature in national languages. In this connection there is a necessity for development of the programs providing teaching of native languages together with Russian. School should recognize equality in studying languages and become a partner in this noble matter. National legislation allows do this. Matter is in will. Interaction of two languages can stimulate progress in education at school: a person will feel respect for his native culture and language, way of life. Abilities of a person for study are boundless, but they should be developed. Indigenous peoples - a social group of population of the Far North, who are far below of poverty line and an only source of their existence - territories of traditional land use. Our state is social, and support of its citizens for raising standards of living is natural. Indicator of state attention to problems of indigenous people in places of their traditional habitat became answers in questionnaires about programs of state support of different levels. Questioning was held about three programs: "Socio-economic support of development indigenous small numbered people of the Turukhansk district" (local), "Socio-economic development of territories of living of indigenous small numbered people of the Krasnoyarsk region" (regional), "Children of the North" (federal). It was all about concrete help to concrete people. In Kellog and Surgutikha from 108 questioned about the regional program 100 persons knew and have received help, 8 persons did not know anything about it. 94 did not know about regional program, 14 knew and have got support. 107 persons did not hear, did not know about the federal program "Children of the North", 1 got help from it. Analysis of held questionnaire shows, that theme of state care through programs to indigenous small numbered people is a separate and worthy of attention topic, more serious than brief description in this article. Lack of knowledge about these programs depends on the structures involved into these problems including Associations of indigenous small numbered people of the North of local, regional and federal levels. Special meaning has absence of competent representation of indigenous peoples in authorities, so acceptance of decisions on vital issues at this level is happening without their participation. Responsibility is assigned to state structures, which make decisions for us: how to live, to study or not, to preserve language, culture of people or to be oriented to self-governance after all losses … The laboratory has prepared two works the Keto language for the edition: a handbook for teaching children in family, kindergarten and a methodical manual for teachers and schoolboys "Use of cases of nouns at the initial stage of teaching the Keto language". New ideas now are being implemented: a package of documents for creation of platforms in national settlements under the project "Labour preparation of children of indigenous small numbered people at school" is being prepared, there is a structure of one of them, staff of participants, financial-technical base, the stage-by-stage plan-diagram; in a stage of development the curriculum on organization preschool and elementary education to native language. In experiment the following issues will be investigated: adaptable opportunities of traditional crafts development and national-applied art in modern situation, organizational-pedagogical conditions for creation of alternative school with labour training focused on life and culture of indigenous people with obligatory participation of adult blearier of traditional knowledge, experience in preschool and school educational institutions. Essential tasks are being solved: elimination of gap between school and family, generations of children and fathers, traditional way of life and modern socio-economic conditions. The most important achievement of the experiment, Z.V.Maksunova thinks, is putting of moral values of indigenous people for service of education and up-bringing in school. It should respond to a policy of state. Good luck to you!

From box of granny Enuki

There are such people which idle and talk, But their spirits are in size of a fish eye: they have sunk in lie, larceny. It is necessary to work at self-improvement to let it grow. The big spirit - the great person! Everyone looks at life from height of tree or why we should refuse of Alel-bam? The Keto families have always had a lot of children: in taiga hands, legs, mind, strength and dexterity are necessary to work in house. Children must be only healthy. There are no shops and hospitals and it is possible to survive just because of taiga. In extreme freeze and heat with swarm of midge and mosquitoes, work was always waiting for us: hunting, berries gathering, fishing, cleaning of a huge quantity of fish directly in "vetka" (light small boats gouged from the whole tree), products preparation for storage, fire wood or yew for chum (covering for dwellings from bark which preparation takes much time and is exhausting process), clothes sewing…What we find, make ourselves that we will have after. Work does wait for the lazy person. Parents brought up us 8 children very strictly: there was no time to be nursed. 5-7 years old girl were for the chum mistress while parents prepared food in the forest or river, and they were sure that daughter could cope with her duties: chum cleaning, fish preparation, taking care of younger brothers and sisters …" you want to know how to do this? Take a sit and look", - mother was saying me. Sons of this age worked together with parents in taiga. Mostly their names were of the Keto: Malya, Pohol', Sytn', Tyblen… My name was Enuka ("En' "- a flying squirrel). At those times we still lived at settlement in earth-house or chums. We moved to houses only in 50-ies. We played much and different games: pebbles, thread … Dolls we made from bones of animals: for baby-dolls we used squirrel bones, and for adult-dolls - bones of bigger animals. We invented games ourselves, learned from others; especially at seasonal fairs. In a season of "nut harvesting" (cedar tree nuts gathering) we organized competitions of the most dexterous and the fastest: to reach top of the highest cedar, to knock down more nuts and that was the winner. He was respected, people listened to him and even the elders took his opinion into consideration. At the top of tree different views opened for each of us: some saw only branches, some - open space of boundless taiga or blue crook of the Elogui River. It felt so great and freedom took our breath away! So, responsible people were revealed in childhood already. Later in adult life they could always make correct decisions to save a settlement from hunger, diseases… From height of a tree each person looks at nowadays life. It has changed. It has become older with us. It has become better? Sometimes there is a desire to return to earth-house, chums, taiga where nobody is except your family and relatives. So much strength, wit a person needs to comprehend a new life. Sometimes absolutely unnecessary things, e.g. what the voucher and privatization are for to a hunter? The taiga belongs to everybody, also river, air, sky … But we do need to make new steps on the path of new life. How not to forget laws of our ancestors? Why not live and honor our alel-bam (family guardian) and why we should throw it away as the Evangelist Christians insist in our settlement? How can one catch two sables in taiga running after them? I think, now the youth should learn how to combine everything. They will not become oligarchs, but can obtain education and they should. Studying is also a work: prey comes to hands of a clever and patient hunter. What is to start with? Make yourself study. For this you should not be able only speak but also to agree, to come to accord, joint decision on difficult questions, to develop common " rules of game ", to learn to live by these rules. We should learn to get needed support if we are not able to cope ourselves. We should forget "fire-water". For this we need friends, colleague, united and reliable family. We, everyone, should learn to make decision for oneself and for people which is important not only for one, but also for others. Sometimes it is made independently; sometimes it depends on interests and opportunities of the surrounding world. It is important the confidence a person gets here: "I can change rules of game". Only making independent decisions, a person becomes different from others, so he becomes mature and responsible. Then he can correctly evaluate the past and plan the future. These are the first steps for self-development and not to be in discord with oneself and to achieve respect and recognition of others. Here is a start to success. The Keto men have their own "dit' " (women have no right to touch it) which brings a good luck in hunting. Let it always be with you, boys! All of us are teachers in this life and pupils at the same time. Better than others we know ourselves and therefore we should wish to others what we want for ourselves. We will see what not seen for others, learn to listen and be heard, think, work and trust in ourselves. Today we together restore chum. It has been absent in our lands for more than 30 years. This is a very easy lodging which can be useful not only for the Keto hunters, but also for other temporary forest people: for geologists, ecologists … it is warm and cosy, snow will not fall on your head. Tomorrow we will elect a master of the settlement to whom we will entrust ourselves and our families, and he will make the best to make our life better. Because we want it and are making everything for this. Klavdia Harlamievna Baldina, the group consultant on traditional knowledge, 70 years old

Indigenous peoples of Turukhansk

To question about sustainable development and traditional land use of the Turukhansk North because interns of the first group has come namely from there. Turukhansk district - area of extreme North, which occupies exclusive position in administrative-territorial system of the Krasnoyarsk krai: this is its most northern district. District center, village of Turukhansk is located from Krasnoyarsk in distance of 1100 км and 1440 км along river of Enisei. 28 its settlements in average are in distance of 400 км from Turukhansk and 7 of them are located on the inflows of Enisei. General length of water and land roads to settlements makes 1860 км, along side small rivers - 1060 км. Main rivers are inflows of Enisei: Podkamennaya Tunguska, Elogui, Nizhnaya Tunguska, Turuhan, Kureika. Duration of navigation along Enisei on the district territory is about 4 months, along inflows - from 7 to 20 days because of sand banks. There are no railway or motor roads. Sveltogorsk, a village of town type and administratively subordinated to it Igarka village are located in the area of the district. Total area of the district is 214 thousand square км. Not big population (about 13 thousand people) without Svetlogorsk determinates low density of population on 1 sq. km. - 0,057man. For 28 settlements this makes an urgent problem for transport accessibility to provide even minimal conditions of vital activities of the district population. Transportation is fulfilled by small aviation (helicopters available for 9 to 12 months) and water transportation (4 months per year). Travel from village of Kellog to district center Turukhansk makes 1500 rubles, from Turukhansk to Krasnoyarsk - 3000 rubles. Total amount for two way travel makes up 9000 rubles. Average local salary is 3000 rubles. In 15 from 28 settlements representatives of indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North: the Ketos (816), the Selkoops (369) and the Evenkis (188), totally 1373 people, live (11.08% from the district population). The Evenkis inhabit the most discomfort zone of northern part of the district, the Ketos and the Selkoops live in extremely discomfort zone of middle and southern parts of the district (border in latitude 64 North). These are their natural habitat. Developing of the district started at the beginning of XVII century because of its richest biological resources, due to that many-centuries history and culture of aborigine people of the district has been built. Today they have returned to their natural economies: fishery, fur-trade, berry gathering and deer-raising, which has been preserved after 75-year Soviet period by the Evenki people only. These are numbers which can tell about state of health of the indigenous of the location. Average lifetime makes 61 ages; aborigines' life expectancy is - 39 years, whose only 6,3% representatives live till pension time. Main reason is very low social level of life and alcohol dependence, which causes great number of accidents and suicides. Diseases of respiration organs, blood circulation and malignant neoplasm have increased recently. Capable to work aborigines make 51%, which only 13% are officially registered as unemployed. But factually the unemployed are 3-4 times more, as majority of people of remote settlements being jobless have never been registered officially as unemployed. Lyubov Baldina, Keto

A letter from the Keto elder woman

"… Why they forbid me to hunt, fish, gather cranberries, there where my brothers were born, where my grandpa shot a wandering bear, which kept all our homes thrilled all winter along? On those lands my clan has always lived. This is a hunting land of an outsider man now. I will complain to the United Nations on such injustice!" (A Keto hunter from the Turukhansk district) For my long life I have often listened to such talks of my counterparts on the river Elogui, when with sticks we were fishing small eels, or gathered cranberries in taiga by autumns. I do not know why but a wise Russian fairytale about wooden and ice houses of a hare and a fox comes always to my mind. I did not know how to answer not to hurt them and to help them somehow to learn answers to all complains. To my four daughters I could answer saying that they have to study, study and study. Now I give a piece of advice to you also: learn to protect yourselves, your rights to a life on lands of your ancestors. Life has never been without obstacles. It is a dark forest. As in a forest you can easily be lost, and forget which trail to go. In childhood the deer's trails saved us: they always lead to chums. Now we have nor chums neither deer… People of the Keto, just fewer of them left. Those who speak in our language about a hundred left. Your chum - it is knowledge! Speak about us to people wishing by heart to learn and take culture of our peoples, who made severe region of earth - North their homes. Today one may and have to learn to live again, but much was lost. The past with all its joy and unhappiness has gone anyway. Sometimes it comes back as a sorrow, disobedience, but sometimes as intention not to solve problems wisely and peacefully. But one should be able to forgive. But our society also needs to learn really civilized relations, where respect to the elder generations and care for children will find their place. Nobody will do our work for us. Remember: useful information - not secret, but it makes a life of a man more interesting, jolly and fuller. A man without it is like a boat on land. Knowledge is necessary to be a worthy partner in conversations with life. Teach yourselves to live, share your knowledge with counterparts in everyday life, and keep traditions and customs of your peoples on earth which is always called by us Home. Keep your human dignity! Do not forget to thank you each other, remember, that nether less I HAVE REMAINED A MAN, who lives in good relations with people of different believes and nationalities. To be sure of this, a simple Keto prayer will help you: Thank you, Mother Nature, for giving children to people! Sun that warms our land after a long winter! River that gives us to drink pure water and enjoys with fish! Moon that lights a road for hunter in taiga! Wind that expels wicked spirits away and brings good news! Fire that with its warmth and jolly dance gathers family around fireplace! Doors of our House are always open for kind people! Our mind and heart are always open for friendship! Klavdia Kharlampievna Baldina, Keto, 70 years old, Village of Kellog, Turukhansk district Krasnoyarsk region

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Опубликовано на: 2006-10-30 (898 Прочтено)