Eskimos (a group of indigenous peoples that make up the indigenous population of the territory from Greenland and Canada to Alaska (USA) and the eastern edge of Chukotka (Russia). Number - about 170 thousand people. The languages belong to the Eskimo branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family. Anthropologists believe that the Eskimos - Mongoloids of the Arctic type. Their main self-name is “Inuit”. The word “Eskimo” (Eskimantzig - “raw eater”, “one who eats raw fish”) belongs to the language of the Abenaki and Athabaskan Indian tribes. From the name of the American Eskimos, this word turned into a self-name both American and Asian Eskimos.
Story
The everyday culture of the Eskimos is unusually adapted to the Arctic. They invented a rotating harpoon to hunt sea animals, a kayak, an igloo snow house, a yarangu skin house, and special closed clothing made of fur and skins. The ancient culture of the Eskimos is unique. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. Characterized by a combination of hunting sea animals and caribou, living in territorial communities.
In the 19th century, the Eskimos did not have (except, perhaps, the Bering Sea) clan and developed tribal organization. As a result of contacts with the newcomer population, great changes occurred in the life of foreign Eskimos. A significant part of them switched from sea fishing to hunting arctic foxes, and in Greenland to commercial fishing. Many Eskimos, especially in Greenland, became wage laborers. The local petty bourgeoisie also appeared here. The Eskimos of Western Greenland formed into a separate people - Greenlanders who do not consider themselves Eskimos. The Eskimos of eastern Greenland are Angmassalik. In Labrador, the Eskimos mixed to a large extent with the older population of European origin. Everywhere, remnants of traditional Eskimo culture are rapidly disappearing.
Language and culture
Language: Eskimo, Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. The Eskimo languages are divided into two large groups - Yupik (western) and Inupik (eastern). On the Chukotka Peninsula, Yupik is divided into Sireniki, Central Siberian, or Chaplin and Naukan dialects. The Eskimos of Chukotka, along with their native languages, speak Russian and Chukotka.
The origins of the Eskimos are controversial. The Eskimos are the direct descendants of an ancient culture widespread from the end of the first millennium BC. along the shores of the Bering Sea. The earliest Eskimo culture is the Old Bering Sea (before the 8th century AD). It is characterized by the prey of marine mammals, the use of multi-person leather kayaks, and complex harpoons. From the 7th century AD until the XIII-XV centuries. whaling was developing, and in the more northern regions of Alaska and Chukotka - hunting for small pinnipeds.
Traditionally, Eskimos are animists. Eskimos believe in spirits living in various natural phenomena; they see the connection between man and the world of objects and living beings around him. Many believe in a single creator, Silya, who controls everything that happens in the world, all phenomena and laws. The goddess who bestows the Eskimos with the riches of the deep sea is called Sedna. There are also ideas about evil spirits, which appeared to the Eskimos in the form of incredible and terrible creatures. The shaman who lives in every Eskimo village is an intermediary who establishes contact between the world of spirits and the world of people. The tambourine is a sacred object for the Eskimos. The traditional greeting, called the "Eskimo kiss", has become a world famous gesture.
Eskimos in Russia
In Russia, Eskimos are a small ethnic group (according to the 1970 census - 1356 people, according to the 2002 census - 1750 people), living mixed or in close proximity with the Chukchi in a number of settlements on the eastern coast of Chukotka and on Wrangel Island. Their traditional occupations are sea hunting, reindeer herding, and hunting. The Eskimos of Chukotka call themselves “yuk” (“man”), “yuit”, “yugyt”, “yupik” (“real person”). Number of Eskimos in Russia:
Number of Eskimos in populated areas in 2002:
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug:
village Novoye Chaplino 279
Sireniki village 265
Lavrentia village 214
Provideniya village 174
Anadyr city 153
Uelkal village 131
Ethnic and ethnographic groups
In the 18th century, Asian Eskimos were divided into a number of tribes - Uelenians, Naukans, Chaplinians, Sireniki Eskimos, which differed linguistically and in some cultural features. In a later period, in connection with the processes of integration of the cultures of the Eskimos and the coastal Chukchi, the Eskimos retained the group characteristics of the language in the form of the Naukan, Sirenikov and Chaplin dialects.
Along with the Koryaks and Itelmens, they form the so-called “continental” group of populations of the Arctic race, which by origin is related to the Pacific Mongoloids. The main features of the Arctic race are presented in the northeast of Siberia in paleoanthropological material from the turn of the new era.
Writing
In 1848, the Russian missionary N. Tyzhnov published a primer of the Eskimo language. Modern writing based on Latin script was created in 1932, when the first Eskimo (Yuit) primer was published. In 1937 it was translated into Russian graphics. There is modern Eskimo prose and poetry (Aivangu and others). The most famous Eskimo poet is Yu. M. Anko.
Modern Eskimo alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet: A a, B b, V c, G g, D d, E e, Ё ё, Жж, Зз, И и, й й, К к, Лл, Лълъ, М m, N n, N' n', O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U y, Ў ў, F f, X x, C c, Ch h, Sh w, Shch, ъ, S s, ь, E uh, Yu yu, I I.
There is a variant of the Eskimo alphabet based on the Canadian syllabary for the indigenous languages of Canada.
Eskimos in Canada
The Eskimo people of Canada, known in this country as the Inuit, achieved their autonomy with the creation of the territory of Nunavut on April 1, 1999, carved out of the Northwest Territories.
The Eskimos of the Labrador Peninsula now also have their own autonomy: in the Quebec part of the peninsula, the Eskimo district of Nunavik is gradually increasing its level of autonomy, and in 2005, the Eskimo Autonomous District of Nunatsiavut was also formed in the part of the peninsula included in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Inuit receive official payments from the government for living in harsh climatic conditions.
Eskimos in Greenland
Greenlanders (Eskimos of Greenland) are the Eskimo people, the indigenous population of Greenland. In Greenland, between 44 and 50 thousand people consider themselves “kalaallit”, which is 80-88% of the island’s population. In addition, about 7.1 thousand Greenlanders live in Denmark (2006 estimate). The Greenlandic language is spoken, and Danish is also widely spoken. The believers are mostly Lutherans.
They live mainly along the southwestern coast of Greenland. There are three main groups:
Western Greenlanders (Kalaallit proper) – southwest coast;
eastern Greenlanders (angmassalik, tunumiit) - on the east coast, where the climate is mildest; 3.8 thousand people;
northern (polar) Greenlanders – 850 people. on the northwest coast; The world's northernmost indigenous group.
Historically, the self-designation "Kalaallit" applied only to West Greenlanders. The East and North Greenlanders called themselves only by their self-names, and the dialect of the North Greenlanders is closer to the dialects of the Inuit of Canada than to the West and East Greenlandic dialects.
Eskimo cuisine
The Eskimo cuisine consists of products obtained by hunting and gathering; the basis of the diet is meat, walrus, seal, beluga whale, deer, polar bears, musk oxen, poultry, as well as their eggs.
Since farming is impossible in the Arctic climate, Eskimos collect tubers, roots, stems, algae, berries and either eat them or store them for future use. Eskimos believe that a diet consisting mainly of meat is healthy, makes the body healthy and strong and helps to keep warm.
The Eskimos believe that their cuisine is much healthier than the “white man’s” cuisine.
One example is the consumption of seal blood. After eating seal blood and meat, the veins increase in size and darken. The Eskimos believe that the blood of seals strengthens the blood of the eater by replacing depleted nutrients and renewing the blood flow; blood is an essential element of the Eskimo diet.
In addition, the Eskimos believe that a meat diet will insulate you if you constantly eat Eskimo style. One Eskimo, Oleetoa, who ate a mixture of Eskimo and Western food, said that when he compared his strength, heat and energy with that of his cousin, who ate only Eskimo food, he found that his brother was stronger and more resilient. Eskimos in general tend to blame their illnesses on a lack of Eskimo food.
Eskimos choose food products by analyzing three connections: between animals and people, between body, soul and health, between the blood of animals and people; and also in accordance with the chosen diet. Eskimos are very superstitious about food and its preparation and eating. They believe that a healthy human body is obtained by mixing human blood with the blood of prey.
For example, the Eskimos believe that they have entered into an agreement with the seals: the hunter kills the seal only to feed his family, and the seal sacrifices itself in order to become part of the hunter’s body, and if people stop following the ancient agreements and covenants of their ancestors, the animals will be insulted and will stop reproducing.
The usual way to preserve meat after a hunt is to freeze it. Hunters eat part of the prey right on the spot. A special tradition is associated with fish: fish cannot be cooked within a day's travel from the place of fishing.
The Eskimos are known for the fact that each hunter shares all the catch with everyone in the settlement. This practice was first documented in 1910.
Eating meat, fat or other parts of the animal is preceded by laying out large pieces on a piece of metal, plastic or cardboard on the floor, from where anyone in the family can take a portion. Since Eskimos eat only when they are hungry, family members should not go “to the table,” although it happens that everyone in the settlement is invited to eat: a woman goes out into the street and shouts: “The meat is ready!”
Food after a hunt differs from a regular meal: when a seal is brought into the house, the hunters gather around it and are the first to receive portions as they are the hungriest and coolest after the hunt. The seal is butchered in a special way, the belly is cut open so that hunters can cut off a piece of the liver or pour blood into a mug. In addition, the fat and brain are mixed and eaten with the meat.
Children and women eat after the hunters. First of all, the intestines and remains of the liver are selected for consumption, and then the ribs, spine and remaining meat are distributed throughout the settlement.
Sharing food was necessary for the survival of the entire settlement; young couples give part of the catch and meat to the elderly, most often their parents. It is believed that by eating together, people become bound by bonds of cooperation.
Traditional Eskimo dwelling
An igloo is a typical Eskimo residence. This type of building is a building that has a dome shape. The diameter of the dwelling is 3-4 meters, and its height is approximately 2 meters. Igloos are usually built from ice blocks or wind-compacted snow blocks. Also, the needle is cut from snowdrifts, which are suitable in density and also in size.
If the snow is deep enough, then an entrance is made in the floor, and a corridor to the entrance is also dug. If the snow is still not deep, the front door is cut into the wall, and a separate corridor built of snow bricks is attached to the front door. It is very important that the entrance door to such a dwelling is located below the floor level, since this ensures good and proper ventilation of the room and also retains heat inside the igloo.
Lighting comes into the home thanks to snow walls, but sometimes windows are also made. As a rule, they are also constructed from ice or seal intestines. In some Eskimo tribes, entire villages of igloos are common, which are connected to each other by passages.
The inside of the igloo is covered with skins, and sometimes the walls of the igloo are also covered with them. To provide even more lighting, as well as more heat, special devices are used. Due to heating, part of the walls inside the igloo may melt, but the walls themselves do not melt, due to the fact that the snow helps remove excess heat outside. Thanks to this, the home is maintained at a temperature that is comfortable for people to live in. As for moisture, the walls also absorb it, and because of this, the inside of the igloo is dry.
The first non-Eskimo to build an igloo was Villamur Stefanson. This happened in 1914, and he talks about this event in many articles and his own book. The unique strength of this type of housing lies in the use of uniquely shaped slabs. They allow you to fold the hut in the form of a kind of snail, which gradually narrows towards the top. It is also very important to consider the method of installing these improvised bricks, which involves supporting the next slab on the previous brick at three points simultaneously. To make the structure more stable, the finished hut is also watered from the outside.
The multimedia project “Faces of Russia” has existed since 2006, telling about Russian civilization, the most important feature of which is the ability to live together while remaining different - this motto is especially relevant for countries throughout the post-Soviet space. From 2006 to 2012, as part of the project, we created 60 documentaries about representatives of different Russian ethnic groups. Also, 2 cycles of radio programs “Music and Songs of the Peoples of Russia” were created - more than 40 programs. Illustrated almanacs were published to support the first series of films. Now we are halfway to creating a unique multimedia encyclopedia of the peoples of our country, a snapshot that will allow the residents of Russia to recognize themselves and leave a legacy for posterity with a picture of what they were like.
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Series of audio lectures “Peoples of Russia” - Eskimos
General information
ESKIMS,- one of the indigenous northern peoples, an ethnic community, a group of peoples in the USA (in Alaska - 38 thousand people), in the north of Canada (28 thousand people), in Denmark (Greenland island - 47 thousand) and the Russian Federation (Chukchi Autonomous district of the Magadan region - 1.5 thousand people). Eskimos inhabit the territory from the eastern edge of Chukotka to Greenland. The total number is 115 thousand people (less than 90 thousand people in 2000). In Russia, Eskimos are a small ethnic group - according to the 2002 Census, the number of Eskimos living in Russia is 19 thousand people, according to the 2010 Census - 1738 people - living mixed or in close proximity with the Chukchi in several settlements on the east coast Chukotka and Wrangel Island.
The languages of the Eskimo-Aleut family are divided into two groups: Inupik (closely related dialects of the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait, northern Alaska and Canada, Labrador and Greenland) and Yupik - a group of three languages (Central Yupik, Siberian Yupik and Sugpiak, or Alutiiq) with dialects spoken in western and southwestern Alaska, St. Lawrence Island, and the Chukchi Peninsula.
They formed as an ethnic group in the Bering Sea region until the end of the 2nd millennium BC. In the 1st millennium AD, the ancestors of the Eskimos, carriers of the archaeological Thule culture, settled in Chukotka and along the Arctic coast of America to Greenland.
The Eskimos are divided into 15 ethnocultural groups: The Eskimos of southern Alaska, on the coast of Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island, were subject to strong Russian influence during the period of the Russian-American Company (late 18th - mid-19th centuries); The Eskimos of western Alaska preserve their language and traditional way of life to the greatest extent; Siberian Eskimos, including the Eskimos of St. Lawrence Island and the Diomede Islands; The Eskimos of northwest Alaska, living along the coast from Norton Sound to the US-Canadian border and in the interior of northern Alaska; The Mackenzie Eskimos are a mixed group on the northern coast of Canada around the mouth of the Mackenzie River, formed in the late 14th and early 20th centuries from indigenous people and Nunaliit Eskimos - migrants from northern Alaska; Copper Eskimos, named for tools made of native copper, made by cold hammering, live on the northern coast of Canada along Coronation Sound and on Banks and Victoria Islands; Netsilik Eskimos in Northern Canada, on the coast of the Boothia and Adelaide peninsulas, King William Island and in the lower reaches of the Buck River; close to them are the Igloolik Eskimos - inhabitants of the Melville Peninsula, the northern part of Baffin Island and Southampton Island; Eskimo Caribou, living in the interior tundra of Canada west of Hudson Bay mixed with other Eskimos; Eskimos of Baffin Island in the central and southern parts of the island of the same name; The Eskimos of Quebec and the Eskimos of Labrador, respectively, in the north - northeast and west - southwest, up to the island of Newfoundland and the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the coast of the Labrador Peninsula, in the 19th century participated in the formation of the mestizo group of "settlers" (descendants from marriages between Eskimos women and white hunters and settlers); The Eskimos of western Greenland are the largest group of Eskimos and have been subject to European (Danish) colonization and Christianization since the early 18th century; polar Eskimos - the northernmost group of indigenous people on Earth in the extreme north-west of Greenland; The Eskimos of eastern Greenland, later than others (at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries), encountered European influence.
Throughout their history, the Eskimos created forms of culture adapted to life in the Arctic: a harpoon with a rotating tip, a hunting boat-kayak, thick fur clothing, a half-dugout and a domed dwelling made of snow (igloo), a fat lamp for cooking food, lighting and heating the home, and etc. The Eskimos were characterized by an unformed tribal organization and the absence of clans in the 19th century (except, apparently, the Bering Sea Eskimos). Although some groups were Christianized (18th century), the Eskimos actually retained animistic ideas, shamanism.
The traditional occupations of the Eskimos are sea hunting, reindeer herding, and hunting.
The Eskimos have five economic and cultural complexes: hunting large sea animals - walruses and whales (Eskimos of Chukotka, St. Lawrence Island, the coast of northwestern Alaska, the ancient population of western Greenland); seal hunting (northwestern and eastern Greenland, islands of the Canadian Arctic archipelago); fishing (Eskimos of western and southwestern Alaska); wandering caribou hunting (Eskimo Caribou, part of the Eskimos of northern Alaska); a combination of caribou hunting with sea hunting (most of the Eskimos of Canada, part of the Eskimos of northern Alaska). After the Eskimos were drawn into the orbit of market relations, a significant part of them switched to commercial fur hunting (trapping), and in Greenland - to commercial fishing. Many work in construction, iron ore mines, oil fields, in Arctic trading posts, etc. The Greenlanders and Eskimos of Alaska have a wealthy stratum and a national intelligentsia.
By the middle of the 20th century, four independent ethnopolitical communities of Eskimos had formed.
1) Eskimos of Greenland - see Greenlanders. 2) Eskimos of Canada (self-name - Inuit). Since the 1950s, the Canadian government began to pursue a policy of concentrating the indigenous population and building large settlements. They retain their language; English and French are also common (Eskimos of Quebec). Since the end of the 19th century they have written on the basis of the syllabic alphabet. 3) The Eskimos of Alaska, largely English-speaking, are Christianized. Since the 1960s they have been fighting for economic and political rights. There are strong trends towards national and cultural consolidation. 4) Asian (Siberian) Eskimos, Yupigyt, or Yugyt (self-name - “real people”; Yuits - the official name in the 1930s). The language belongs to the Yupik group, the dialects are Sirenik, Central Siberian, or Chaplin, and Naukan. Writing since 1932 based on the Chaplin dialect. The Russian language is widespread. Settled on the coast of the Chukotka Peninsula from the Bering Strait in the north to Cross Bay in the west. The main groups are: Navukagmit (“Naukanians”), living in the territory from the village of Inchoun to the village of Lawrence; Ungasigmit (“Chaplinians”), settled from the Senyavin Strait to Providence Bay and in the village of Uelkal; Sirenigmit ("Sirenikians"), residents of the village of Sireniki.
The main traditional activity is hunting sea animals, mainly walrus and seal. Whale production, developed until the mid-19th century, then declined due to its extermination by commercial whalers. The animals were killed on rookeries, on ice, in the water from boats - with darts, spears and harpoons with a detachable bone tip. They also hunted reindeer and mountain sheep with bows and arrows. Since the mid-19th century, firearms have spread, and the commercial value of fur hunting for fox and arctic fox has increased. Bird hunting techniques were close to those of Chukchi (darts, bird balls, etc.). They also engaged in fishing and gathering. They bred sled dogs. Natural exchange was developed with the reindeer Chukchi and the American Eskimos, and trade trips to Alaska and St. Lawrence Island were regularly made.
The main food is walrus, seal and whale meat - frozen, pickled, dried, boiled. Venison was highly prized. Vegetable foods, seaweed, and shellfish were used as seasonings.
Initially, they lived in large settlements in half-dugouts (now "lyu"), which existed until the mid-19th century. In the 17-18 centuries, under the influence of the Chukchi, frame yarangas made of reindeer skins (myn "tyg" ak") became the main winter dwelling. The walls of the yarang were often covered with turf and made of stones or boards. The summer dwelling is quadrangular, made of walrus skins on a wooden frame, with a sloping roof. Until the beginning of the 19th century, community houses remained - large half-dugouts in which several people lived. families, as well as meetings and celebrations.
The main means of transportation in winter were dog sleds and foot skis, and in open water - leather kayak boats. The sledges, like the Chukchi ones, were, until the mid-19th century, arched and drawn by a fan, then the East Siberian sledge with a train harness spread. The kayak was a lattice frame, covered with leather except for a small round hole at the top, which was tightened around the rower's belt. Rowing with one two-blade or two single-blade oars. There were also multi-oared canoes of the Chukchi type for 20-30 oarsmen (an "yapik").
Until the end of the 19th century, Eskimos wore closed clothing - a kukhlyanka, sewn from bird skins with feathers inside. With the development of exchange with the Chukchi reindeer herders, clothing began to be made from reindeer fur. Women's clothing is a double fur overalls (k'alyvagyn) of the same cut as those of the Chukchi. Summer clothing, both men's and women's, was a closed kamleika, sewn from seal intestines, and later from purchased fabrics. Traditional shoes are fur high boots (kamgyk) with a cut sole and often with an obliquely cut boot, men's - to the middle of the shin, women's - to the knee; leather pistons with a toe cut much larger than the instep of the leg in the form of a “bubble.” Women braided their hair in two braids, men shaved it , leaving a circle or several strands on the top of the head. Tattoos for men are circles near the corners of the mouth (a relic of the custom of wearing a lip sleeve), for women - complex geometric patterns on the face and hands. To protect against diseases, face painting with ocher and graphite was also used.
Traditional decorative art - fur mosaic, embroidery with colored sinew threads on rovduga, beads, carving on walrus tusk.
The Eskimos were dominated by a patrilineal account of kinship, patrilocal marriage with labor for the bride. There were canoe artels (an "yam ima), which consisted of the owner of the canoe and his closest relatives and in the past occupied one half-dugout. Its members divided the hunting catch among themselves. Property inequality developed, especially with the development of barter trade; large traders stood out, who sometimes became at the head of the settlements ("owners of the land").
The Eskimos invented a rotatable harpoon to hunt sea animals, a kayak, an igloo, and special clothing made from fur and skins. The Eskimo language belongs to the Eskimo branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family. The Russian Eskimos have a textbook of this language. There is also a dictionary: Eskimo-Russian and Russian-Eskimo. Broadcasts in the Eskimo language are produced by the Chukotka State Television and Radio Company. Eskimo songs have become increasingly popular lately. And largely thanks to the Ergyron ensemble.
Anthropologists believe that the Eskimos are Mongoloids of the Arctic type. The word “Eskimo” (“raw eater”, “one who eats raw fish”) belongs to the language of the Abnaki and Athabascan Indian tribes. From the name of the American Eskimos, this word turned into the self-name of both American and Asian Eskimos.
Eskimos are people with their own ancient worldview. They live in unity with nature. Despite the fact that some groups of Eskimos were Christianized back in the 18th century, this people retained animistic ideas and shamanism.
Eskimos believe in the master spirits of all animate and inanimate objects, natural phenomena, localities, wind directions, and various human states. Eskimos believe in the kinship between a person and some animal or object. Evil spirits are represented as giants and dwarfs.
To protect against diseases, Eskimos have amulets: family and personal. There are also cults of the wolf, raven and killer whale. Among the Eskimos, the shaman acts as an intermediary between the world of spirits and the world of people. Not every Eskimo can become a shaman, but only those who are lucky enough to hear the voice of a helping spirit. After this, the shaman meets alone with the spirits he hears and enters into some kind of alliance of mediation with them.
The Eskimos believed in good and harmful spirits. Of the animals, the killer whale was especially revered, considered the patron saint of sea hunting; she was depicted on kayaks, and hunters wore her wooden image on their belts. The main character of cosmogonic legends is Raven (Koshkli), the main plots of fairy tales are related to the whale. The main rituals were associated with fishing cults: the festival of Heads, dedicated to the hunt for walruses, the festival of Kita (Polya), etc. Shamanism was developed. After the 1930s, the Eskimos organized fishing farms. Traditional activities and culture began to disappear. Traditional beliefs, shamanism, bone carving, songs and dances are preserved. With the creation of writing, the intelligentsia was formed. Modern Eskimos are experiencing a rise in national self-awareness.
N.V. Kocheshkov, L.A. Feinberg
‘ENTS, enneche (self-name - “man”), people in the Russian Federation, indigenous population of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug (103 people). The total number is 209 people. According to survey data, the number is about 340 people (in the census data, part of the Entsy people are recorded as Nenets and Nganasans). According to the 2002 Census, the number of Enets living in Russia is 237 people, according to the 2010 census. - 227 people..
The name "Enets" was adopted in the 1930s. In pre-revolutionary literature, the Enets were called Yenisei Samoyeds, or Khantai (tundra Enets) and Karasin (forest Enets) Samoyeds, after the names of the camps where yasak was paid.
Settlement - Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. They live in Taimyr, live in the Ust-Yenisei and Dudinsky districts of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The language is Enets, the dialects are Tundra, or Somatu, Khantai (Madu-Baza), and Forest, or Pe-Bai, Karasin (Bai-Baza), the Samoyed branch of the Ural-Yukaghir family of languages. Russian (75% speak fluently, 38% of Enets consider it their native language) and Nenets languages are also widespread.
Both the local population, reindeer hunters, and the Samoyeds who assimilated them - newcomers from the south of Siberia and the middle Tomsk region - took part in the ethnogenesis of the Ents. In Russian sources, the Enets have been mentioned since the end of the 15th century as Molgonzei - from the name of the Mongkasi family, or Muggadi (hence the name of the Russian fort Mangazeya). In the 18th - early 19th centuries they were referred to as Yenisei Samoyeds. The Enets were divided into tundra, or madu, somata, Khantai Samoyeds, and forest, or pe-bai, Karasin Samoyeds. In the 17th century, madu roamed between the lower reaches of the Yenisei and Taz, pe-bai - on the upper and middle reaches of the Taz and Yenisei and on the right bank of the Yenisei in the basins of the Khantaika, Kureika and Lower Tunguska rivers. The number of Ents at the end of the 17th century was about 900 people. From the end of the 17th century, under pressure from the Nenets from the west and the Selkups from the south, they retreated to the lower Yenisei and its eastern tributaries. Some of the Ents were assimilated. Since the 1830s, groups of tundra and forest Enets began to roam together. Their total number at the end of the 19th century was 477 people. They were part of the right bank (eastern coast of the Yenisei Bay) and forest-tundra (Dudinka and Luzino region) territorial communities.
The main traditional activity is reindeer hunting. Fur hunting was also developed, and fishing on the Yenisei. Reindeer herding was widespread, mainly pack reindeer herding; harness reindeer herding was also borrowed from the Nenets. The Enets sledges were somewhat different from the Nenets. In the 1930s, the Enets were organized into reindeer herding and fishing farms.
The traditional dwelling is a conical tent, close to the Nganasan one and differing from the Nenets one in details of construction and covering. In the 20th century, they adopted the Nenets type of chum, and from the Dolgans - the sled chum-beam. Modern Enets live mainly in permanent settlements.
Winter men's clothing - double parka with a hood, fur pants, high shoes made of reindeer skins, fur stockings. The women's parka, unlike the men's, had a swing parka. Underneath they wore a sleeveless jumpsuit, sewn with fur inside, with sewn copper decorations: crescent-shaped plaques on the chest, rings, chains, tubes on the hips; a needle case, a bag for flint, etc. were also sewn onto it. Women's shoes were shorter than men's. The women's winter hat was also sewn in two layers: the bottom layer with the fur inside, the top layer with the fur outside. From the 2nd half of the 19th century the forest Enets and from the 20th century the tundra Enets adopted Nenets clothing.
Traditional food is fresh and frozen meat, in summer - fresh fish. Yukola and fish meal - porsa - were prepared from fish.
Until the 18th century, the Enets had clans (among the tundra Enets - Malk-madu, Sazo, Solda, etc., among the forest Enets - Yuchi, Bai, Muggadi). Since the end of the 17th century, due to the resettlement to the east and the destruction of traditional tribal land use, they have broken up into smaller exogamous groups. Until the 19th century, large families, polygamy, levirate, and marriage with the payment of bride price were preserved. Since the end of the 19th century, neighboring camp communities have become the main form of social organization.
The forest Enets were officially converted to Christianity. The cults of master spirits, ancestors, and shamanism are preserved. Folklore includes mythological and historical legends, tales about animals, and fairy tales. Artistic appliqué on fur and cloth and bone carving are developed.
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The easternmost people of the country. Live in the northeast Russia, on the Chukotka Peninsula. The self-name is yuk - “man”, yugyt, or yupik - “real person”. The Eskimo languages are divided into two large groups - Yupik (western) and Inupik (eastern). On the Chukotka Peninsula, Yupik is divided into Sireniki, Central Siberian, or Chaplin and Naukan dialects. Eskimos Chukotka residents, along with their native languages, speak Russian and Chukotka.
The origins of the Eskimos are controversial. Eskimos are the direct heirs of an ancient culture widespread from the end of the first millennium BC. along the shores of the Bering Sea. The earliest Eskimo culture is the Old Bering Sea (before the 8th century AD). It is characterized by the prey of marine mammals, the use of multi-person leather kayaks, and complex harpoons. From the 7th century AD until the XIII-XV centuries. was going on development whaling, and in the more northern regions of Alaska and Chukotka - hunting for small pinnipeds.
The main type of economic activity was marine hunting. Until the middle of the 19th century. The main hunting tools were a spear with a double-edged arrow-shaped tip (pana), a rotating harpoon (ung'ak') with a detachable bone tip. To travel on water they used canoes and kayaks. A kayak (anyapik) is light, fast and stable on the water. Its wooden frame was covered with walrus skin. There were different types of kayaks - from single-seaters to huge 25-seater sailboats.
They moved on land on arc-dust sledges. The dogs were harnessed with a fan. From the middle of the 19th century. The sleds were pulled by dogs drawn by a train (an East Siberian type team). Short, dust-free sleighs with runners made of walrus tusks (kanrak) were also used. They walked on snow on “racket” skis (in the form of a frame of two slats with fastened ends and transverse struts, intertwined with sealskin straps and lined with bone plates at the bottom), on ice with the help of special bone spikes attached to shoes.
The method of hunting sea animals depended on their seasonal migrations. Two hunting seasons for whales corresponded to the time of their passage through the Bering Strait: in the spring to the north, in the fall - to the south. Whales were shot with harpoons from several canoes, and later with harpoon cannons.
The most important hunting object was the walrus. Since the end of the 19th century. new fishing weapons and equipment appeared. Hunting for fur-bearing animals spread. The production of walruses and seals replaced whaling, which had fallen into decline. When there was not enough meat from sea animals, they shot wild deer and mountain sheep, birds with a bow, and caught fish.
The settlements were located so that it was convenient to observe the movement of sea animals - at the base of pebble spits protruding into the sea, on elevated places. The most ancient type of dwelling is a stone building with a floor sunk into the ground. The walls were made of stones and whale ribs. The frame was covered with deer skins, covered with a layer of turf and stones, and then covered with skins again.
Before XVIII century, and in some places later, they lived in semi-underground frame dwellings (nyn'lyu). In the XVII-XVIII centuries. frame buildings (myn'tyg'ak) appeared, similar to the Chukchi yaranga. The summer dwelling was a quadrangular tent (pylyuk), shaped like an obliquely truncated pyramid, and the wall with the entrance was higher than the opposite one. The frame of this dwelling was built from logs and poles and covered with walrus skins. Since the end of the 19th century. light plank houses with a gable roof and windows appeared.
The clothing of the Asian Eskimos is made from deer and seal skins. Back in the 19th century. They also made clothes from bird skins.
Fur stockings and seal torbas (kamgyk) were put on the legs. Waterproof shoes were made from tanned seal skins without wool. Fur hats and mittens were worn only when moving (migration). Clothes were decorated with embroidery or fur mosaics. Until the 18th century Eskimos, piercing the nasal septum or lower lip, they hung walrus teeth, bone rings and glass beads.
Men's tattoo - circles in the corners of the mouth, women's - straight or concave parallel lines on the forehead, nose and chin. A more complex geometric pattern was applied to the cheeks. They covered their arms, hands, and forearms with tattoos.
Traditional food is meat and fat of seals, walruses and whales. The meat was eaten raw, dried, dried, frozen, boiled, and stored for the winter: fermented in pits and eaten with fat, sometimes half-cooked. Raw whale oil with a layer of cartilaginous skin (mantak) was considered a delicacy. The fish was dried and dried, and eaten fresh frozen in winter. Venison was highly valued and was exchanged among the Chukchi for the skins of sea animals.
Kinship was calculated on the paternal side, and marriage was patrilocal. Each settlement consisted of several groups of related families, which in winter occupied a separate half-dugout, in which each family had its own canopy. In the summer, families lived in separate tents. Facts of working for a wife were known, there were customs of wooing children, marrying a boy to an adult girl, the custom of “marriage partnership”, when two men exchanged wives as a sign of friendship (hospitable hetaerism). There was no marriage ceremony as such. Polygamy occurred in wealthy families.
Eskimos were practically not Christianized. They believed in spirits, the masters of all animate and inanimate objects, natural phenomena, localities, wind directions, various human states, and in the kinship of a person with any animal or object. There were ideas about the creator of the world, they called him Sila. He was the creator and master of the universe, and ensured that the customs of his ancestors were observed. The main sea deity, the mistress of sea animals, was Sedna, who sent prey to people. Evil spirits were represented in the form of giants or dwarfs, or other fantastic creatures that sent illness and misfortune to people.
In every village there lived a shaman (usually a man, but female shamans are also known), who acted as an intermediary between evil spirits and people. Only one who heard the voice of a helping spirit could become a shaman. After this, the future shaman had to meet privately with the spirits and enter into an alliance with them regarding mediation.
Fishing holidays were dedicated to the hunt for large animals. Especially famous are the holidays on the occasion of whale catching, which were held either in the fall, at the end of the hunting season - “seeing off the whale”, or in the spring - “meeting the whale”. There were also holidays for the beginning of sea hunting, or “launching the canoes” and a holiday for “walrus heads,” dedicated to the results of the spring-summer fishery.
Eskimo folklore is rich and varied. All types of oral creativity are divided into unipak - “message”, “news” and unipamsyuk - stories about events in the past, heroic legends, fairy tales or myths. Among fairy tales, a special place is occupied by the cycle about the raven Kutha, the demiurge and trickster who creates and develops the universe.
The earliest stages of the development of the Eskimo Arctic culture include bone carving: sculptural miniatures, and artistic bone engraving. Hunting equipment and household items were covered with ornaments; images of animals and fantastic creatures served as amulets and decorations.
Music (aingananga) is predominantly vocal. The songs are divided into "large" public ones - hymn songs, which are sung by ensembles and " small“intimate - “songs of the soul.” They are performed solo, sometimes accompanied by a tambourine.
The tambourine is a personal and family shrine (sometimes used by shamans). It occupies a central place in
Where do Eskimos live? and got the best answer
Reply from User deleted[master]
Greenland, North America,
Answer from Evgeniy Kuadzhe[guru]
In yurts and yarangas if they are nomadic.
Answer from Maria Travina[expert]
In yurts and yarangas.
Answer from User deleted[expert]
Eskimos are an indigenous people inhabiting territories from the eastern edge of Chukotka to Greenland.
Answer from Vitalik ido[guru]
in the refrigerator with popsicle
Answer from Guter[newbie]
In yurts
Answer from >Egorkina<
[expert]
In Eskimosia. -)
Answer from Nikolay[guru]
where do they make popsicles on a stick :)
Answer from Of course[guru]
Geographically - Greenland Island, North Canada, Alaska (USA)
Type of housing - portable huts made of poles and skins of sea animals, most often walrus skins. Also often, in winter, houses made of ice, called “igloos,” are built. To do this, cube-shaped pieces are cut out of the ice mass and laid in a spiral, layer by layer, always leaving them in the ceiling of this hemispherical structure. t hole is a chimney, the entrance is usually directed to the south, or on the leeward side.
Modern Eskimos prefer comfortable, well-equipped housing of the European type (ordinary houses)
Answer from User deleted[active]
in the tundra
Answer from Chimera[guru]
Eskimos are an indigenous people inhabiting territories from the eastern edge of Chukotka to Greenland. In total - less than 90 thousand people (as of 2000, approximately). The languages belong to the Eskimo branch of the Eskimo-Aleut family.
Anthropologists believe that the Eskimos are Mongoloids of the Arctic type. Their main self-name is “Inuit”. The word “Eskimo” (“raw eater”, “one who eats raw fish”, “one who comes from another land”, “one who speaks a foreign language”) belongs to the language of the Abnaki and Athabascan Indian tribes. From the name of the American Eskimos, this word turned into the self-name of both American and Asian Eskimos.
In the Russian Federation, the number of nationalities is 1,718 people. The language is the Esco-Aleut family of languages. Settlement - Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Magadan Region.
The easternmost people of the country. They live in the northeast of Russia, on the Chukotka Peninsula. The self-name is yuk - “man”, yugyt, or yupik - “real person”.
But if we proceed from one translation option for the meaning of ESCIMOS, namely “one who speaks a foreign language,” I myself have a fair question =)
WHERE do Eskimos live?
Probably in an igloo, yaranga, chum, depending on the location.
When you hear the word “Eskimo,” your imagination pictures a plague among snowy expanses and little men wrapped from head to toe in reindeer skins. Some people associate this term with ice cream on a stick. Few people know that the Eskimos are an ancient people who lived in the northern regions before our era. They have a unique culture and traditions passed on from generation to generation. Some of the customs of these northern people are so different from ours that they can even cause shock.
Nation
The Eskimos are an indigenous people living in the far north. They occupy the territory of Greenland, their settlements are in Canada (Nunavut), Alaska, and the Chukotka Peninsula. Scientists classify this people as a group of Arctic-type Mongoloids. They are also called the term “Inuit” (from the English word inuit), which is a politically correct name for the nation. Together with other indigenous peoples of Kamchatka, they form the continental Arctic race. The origin of the word "Eskimo" goes back to the Indian name Eskimantzig, that is, “a person who eats raw fish.” This name, coined by the natives of America, is still in use today. Groups of indigenous peoples living in Chukotka, the Far Eastern islands, and various areas of Alaska call themselves “Yupik,” which translates as “real people.” All representatives of this nation speak Escaleut languages, which are a collection of related dialects.
Number
Taken together, all representatives of this northern people living on different continents amount to only 170,000 people. Most of them are located in Greenland (about 56,000) and Alaska (48,000). The rest settle in Chukotka, the islands of St. Lawrence, Wrangel, and Canadian Nunavut. Some tribes live in northern Europe (in Denmark and other countries). Approximately 1,500 people live on Russian territory.
Appearance
Representatives of this people look like typical Mongoloids. They are characterized by the following features:
- dark skin;
- narrow eye shape;
- wide nose;
- black hair;
- round shaped face.
Women, like men, have a stocky build. They are a short race, Europeans are much taller than the average Eskimo. Girls wear long hair, which is braided.
Story
To designate the ancient ancestors of modern Eskimos, anthropologists proposed the term “Paleo-Eskimos,” which is conventional. Scientists distinguish among them the cultures of Saqqaq and Dorset. In parallel with them, the Independence culture developed, divided into I and II (according to time periods). The oldest of them is Saqqaq, which existed from approximately 2500 to 800 BC. BC. In her time there was Independence I. It is believed that the modern Chukchi and Saqqaq people share the same prehistoric ancestors. An ancient Paleo-Eskimo site was found on Wrangel Island in the 70s of the last century. A harpoon was discovered there, which, according to archaeologists, had lain in the ground for more than 3,300 years.
Later is the Dorset culture. People belonging to it inhabited the northern regions of Canada back in the first millennium BC. Hunters of these ancient tribes used spears and forts to hunt animals. At the site of the remains of dwellings, stone lamps were found that ran on seal oil. Representatives of Dorset knew how to carve figures from seal tusks and decorate them with patterns. There were tribes near Dorset dating back to Independence II. From their mixing in the 8th century AD, peoples called “Thule” were formed - the ancestors of modern Eskimos. In order to draw such conclusions, scientists took DNA samples from the remains of ancient people who lived in the northern territories. Representatives of the Thule occupied Canadian territories in the ninth century, displacing more backward tribes from them. In the 13th century they moved to Greenland.
Life
Eskimos form communities that include residents of one settlement (winter). They consist of many families in which everyone has certain duties. A family can include not only a husband and wife and their children, but also immediate relatives. Several families often live in one dwelling. Married couples sleep with their children in the center of the house. Lonely members of the community take seats at the edges. For the most part, marriages are monogamous, with each man having one wife. However, no one forbids him to marry two girls or get a divorce. But this rarely happens, since the way of life of the people is aimed at preserving the well-being of the family and society as a whole.
The Eskimo way of life involves close cooperation, which requires high consciousness from each member of society. They hunt together and use items belonging to the entire village. Residents constantly communicate with each other, there are unspoken laws between them. The postulates are expressed in the following rules:
- Strangers do not have the right to build a house inside the settlement without the consent of all its residents.
- Each settler takes a certain small portion of the spoils for himself. In this case, the members of the successful hunter’s family receive the meat and fish first. Thanks to this, none of the villagers go hungry.
- Each person can live and hunt outside the community if he wants.
- If someone finds any objects or things and their owner is not found, the finder takes them for himself.
- When none of the hunters have any luck in the hunt for a long time, the richest families invite others to dine with them.
The Eskimos do not have any self-government organizations. All problems are discussed within society and resolved immediately. Scandals and quarrels on any occasion are prohibited. This rule is dictated by the need for peaceful coexistence in a small territory. The languages of these peoples do not have swear words. With this lifestyle, there is practically no crime among the population. If a murder occurs (which is extremely rare), this requires retaliation according to the law of blood feud. The person who committed this act must be killed by a relative of the murdered person. When vengeance is taken, relatives are notified.
Women
Girls in Eskimo families accept a subordinate position. In order to get married, you need the permission of both parents. When there are boys (brothers) in the family, they must also give their consent. If the parents do not want to let their daughter go, she will stay with them. A man can take a girl to be his wife by force if her parents (but not she) agree to this. There are no marriage ceremonies. The girl simply comes to a new house, taking with her clothes, sewing supplies, and a knife.
The wife has no voice in the family, she must obey her husband and mother-in-law. A man can hit his wife for any offense. But their children are never punished. In the event that a husband decides to have another wife, the first one still remains the main one. As a rule, a second girl is needed for procreation if the first wife cannot have children for some reason.
Men
The male half of the population is mainly engaged in food production. This is their main responsibility. Every man of working age should hunt and fish until his strength leaves him. He is obliged to accustom his sons to this from childhood. Men often hunt in an organized manner, so there should be friendly relations between them. Because of this, there are no disputes over mining. If two hunters simultaneously harpoon a seal or game, the meat is divided in half. Whales are hunted communally and are initially considered common prey.
When hunters take things from each other (harpoons, arrows, guns), no compensation is paid if they are lost. If one person sets traps for an animal or fish and then neglects to keep an eye on them, other hunters can take the prey for themselves. It goes to the one who first found them, repaired them, and began to take care of them. Such rules are determined by concern for the preservation of their kind.
Housing
By the standards of a civilized person, the houses of the Eskimos are very unusual. They have two types of dwellings: summer and winter. Summer ones look like a tent or a tent. The design is very simple. Several long poles are fastened at the top, and their ends rest against the ground, forming a circle. Then they are covered with deer skins, sewn together into large panels. On one side, the skins are pushed aside, forming a passage.
Winter houses have different structures, depending on the region where the tribes live. In Greenland these are traditional snow buildings called "igloos". Eskimos living in Chukotka build houses from boards, earth, and bones. In countries like Denmark, housing is made of stones and wood. The entrance to them is very narrow and low. A long corridor leads to a large room in which several families live.
Greenlandic Eskimos build igloos out of snow. First, rectangular blocks up to half a meter in length are molded from the snow mass. Mark a circle of the desired diameter and lay snow parallelepipeds around the circumference. The blocks are tilted slightly toward the center to form a cone. At the top they are rounded, forming a dome. The very top of the needle is not covered, leaving a hole for the smoke to escape. In the very center of the house there is a fireplace.
The round room is divided into parts, each of which is occupied by one family. There is no furniture there, only a bed for sleeping. There is a lamp nearby. The average diameter of a house is 3-4 meters. 10-12 people live in it. Sometimes they make an igloo with a diameter of 15-20 meters for 8-10 families. Tunnels are laid between dwellings in order to move from one to another without getting exposed to frost.
Clothing and household items
Women and men wear approximately the same clothes. These are long jackets made of reindeer skins with a hood trimmed with arctic fox or sable fur. They are decorated with national ornaments, tails, and fur inserts of contrasting colors. On their feet they wear high boots - thick boots made of deer or dog skins with the fur facing out. Hands are protected from frost with warm mittens.
Eskimos have very few household items. They do not accumulate property. These are sedentary tribes that live for some time in one place, and then leave and move to another. They transport the tents on sleighs along with the utensils. These people stock up only on food. At the same time, the richest families do not store food for more than a year. Tents, sleighs, boats, dog sleds, and dishes are considered the common property of all families living in the same dwelling. Personal items may include:
- Clothes.
- Tools.
- Sewing accessories.
- Weapon.
- Fishing equipment.
Eskimos can exchange certain things with other tribes. These are mainly animal skins, seal tusks and fangs, and whalebone.
Classes
The two main activities of this northern people are hunting and fishing. They also engage in marine fishing - catching walruses and seals. Tribes living in Canada and Kamchatka hunt deer, arctic foxes, and game. With the advent of civilization in Greenland and the formation of cities there, many Eskimos became hired workers. They get jobs on fishing boats and do the same thing, receiving a salary. Those people who are engaged in their own fishing have the following equipment:
- wooden boats covered with seal skins - kayaks;
- waterproof kayaker jacket;
- harpoons, spears;
- sleighs, dog sleds;
- traps, traps.
Hunters make special protective suits for hunting wild animals, which can be compared to body armor or knightly armor. Thin plates of walrus tusks are connected to each other with leather laces. The armor is distributed on the body in such a way as to protect vital organs. It is light and does not restrict movement.
Seals are very important to the Eskimos, as their meat forms a large part of the menu. Some species of these animals are hunted all year round. Special traps are placed on the ice to warn of the approach of a seal. When he emerges from the water, he is killed with harpoons. Before death, the animal is given a drink of water to appease the water spirit, the mistress of sea animals, Sedna. Walruses and whales are hunted in groups as they are very large animals. There is enough bowhead whale meat to feed an entire village for a year. Therefore, catching him is a great success.
Food
Eskimos mainly eat the meat of animals they hunt. For the most part this is:
- seals
- walruses
- seals
- deer
- White bears
The Eskimo style of eating is even called a meat diet, due to the predominance of this product in it. The rest of the diet consists of sea and freshwater fish and sometimes game. People are unable to engage in farming because they are surrounded by permafrost. Sometimes women collect roots and berries if plants are found near the winter hut. Seaweed is also eaten. People of this nationality are of the opinion that it is the meat diet that gives them strength, makes them healthy, and helps them accumulate energy in conditions of constant cold.
Animal fats and proteins found in meat replace the Eskimos with all the vitamins and minerals that the majority of people take from a wide variety of natural products. Medical research has revealed that a meat diet provokes cardiovascular diseases, vein thrombosis, and strokes. The mortality rate from apoplexy among this people is twice as high as among the white population. Eskimos eat all edible parts of the body of fish and animals, so they compensate for the lack of vitamins. Retinol and calciferol are present in the liver of fish and mammals, and ascorbic acid is found in seaweed, seal skin and brain.
A special feature of the diet is that foods are consumed raw. In this case, no spices are used. After cutting the animal, pieces are cut off and placed on metal or cardboard plates. Brains, entrails, fat are eaten along with meat. If people have not eaten for a long time, then the entire settlement is invited to the table. The concept of “lunch” or “dinner” does not exist, since food is taken when hunger is felt, and not at a certain time. The female half of the population and children eat after the men, since hunters need a lot of strength to engage in hunting.
In addition to eating animal entrails, Eskimos also drink their blood. They consider it extremely beneficial for health. The benefit is explained by the fact that the nutrients contained in the animal’s blood saturate the human blood with the missing elements. This gives strength, endurance, and helps withstand abnormal cold.
Popular Eskimo dishes:
- Akutak. The dish consists of seal or walrus fat mixed with berries and fish fillets. Sometimes roots and edible plant leaves are added there.
- Anllek. It is considered a delicacy dish. It is done like this: when it is possible to find supplies of voles collecting seeds and grains in their burrows, they are taken away and some other food is put in return. The grains are eaten raw or mixed with meat and fat.
- Igunak. This is the carcass of a killed animal (deer, seal, walrus, etc.), buried in the ground and lying there for some time. Fermentation occurs inside it, as well as partial decomposition. The meat contains cadaveric poison, so Europeans cannot eat such dishes. Eskimos are immune to it due to the fact that the food has been present in the diet for many generations.
- Maktak. This is a whale skin with a fat layer, previously frozen.
Dish Akutak Religion
The appearance of white people greatly influenced the lives of server peoples. This also affected religious beliefs. Therefore, some tribes now profess Christianity, but this is a consequence of the intervention of civilization. The main religion of the Eskimo tribes is animism. This is a belief in spirits that can help or harm a person, so they need to be worshiped and brought gifts. Nature is considered to be animate, and all animals are considered to have a soul.
The entire world is ruled by a creator, under whose command are various deities. For example, the goddess of the sea and animals is Sedna. She also rules the kingdom of the dead. Each settlement has its own shaman. This is a person who has the gift of penetrating the world of spirits. He mediates between people and gods. The shaman performs rituals to appease the spirits and tells mortals about the plans of the gods. They are also folk healers. In difficult situations, they are asked for advice and asked to resolve a dispute.
Religion obliges people to treat animals with respect. You can kill them only for food and never for idle fun. There is a legend among the Eskimos that they agreed with Sedna that they would destroy walruses and seals only for food in order to survive the species. The goddess commanded sea animals to sacrifice themselves so that after death they would become part of the human body and thereby continue the human race. To do this, she gave them the ability to create offspring.
Traditions
Some features of the life of the Eskimos are not entirely clear to white people. Exchanging wives for a time is a common practice among representatives of this nationality. There are situations when a woman must accompany her husband on a trip, prepare food for him, take care of him, but for health reasons or other reasons it will be difficult for her to do this. Then the man borrows his wife from another settler. After completing the planned task, the woman returns to her former husband.
Eskimos do not kiss their loved ones. Instead, they rub noses together. Europeans believe that this is due to negative weather conditions. There is a danger of frostbite on the lips, since moisturized areas of the body are immediately covered with ice. Often the lower part of the face is completely closed, as icicles appear under the nose from warm breath. And for men, the beard can become completely frozen.
Eskimos have no opportunity to wash themselves due to the extreme cold. They smear their bodies with seal or bear fat and rub their faces with fish oil. This helps resist frost and reduces the possibility of skin frostbite. Representatives of tribes living in Europe and America wash themselves once a year, in the summer.
Now travel agencies organize excursions to Eskimo villages for those who want to get acquainted with the life and customs of this people. You can even rent an ice house and spend the night in it. For thrill-seekers, they can bathe in a heated bathtub, which is installed in the middle of a snow house.
