Living within the Primorsky Territory along the shores and on the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the one hand in the vicinity of the Tungus, on the other - with the Chukchi. The first information about the Koryaks appeared at the beginning of the 17th century, after campaigns on. At the same time, the ethnonym “Koryak” first appeared. It probably goes back to the Koryak word khora (“deer”). According to their way of life, the Koryaks are divided into sedentary and wandering (sedentary and nomadic).

The type of Koryaks is in many ways different from the Mongolian: a somewhat flattened head, a round face, small cheekbones, small, lively and bold eyes, a long nose, often humpbacked, a large mouth, a dark complexion, a sparse beard, black hair, cut short in men, women - braided in two braids; the height is moderate, the physique is strong and slender, especially among the Olyutorians.

The Koryak language, generally similar to the Chukchi language, is divided into 5 dialects. Sedentary Koryaks profess Orthodoxy, the majority of nomads belong to shamanism. Koryak idolaters, to appease their gods, sacrifice either deer, placing their heads on large stones facing the east, or dogs, hanging them on high poles around their huts. Among the animals, the wolf (servant of the evil spirit) is revered, whose skin plays an important role in shamanic rituals.

The traditional dwelling of sedentary Koryaks is part of the house, the dwelling of nomads is huts, the conical pole frame of which is covered with reindeer skins. Traditional clothing: kuklyanka - a kind of shirt made of deer skin (with short hair in summer), tied at the waist with a belt, trimmed at the hem with black fur, decorated with beads and metal plates; fur pants, high boots made of deer skin and a large wolf hat; sometimes the hat is replaced by a hood sewn to the doll. The women's festive dress is trimmed with otter and wolverine fur and embroidered with beads.

Sedentary Koryaks are engaged in hunting and fishing. Boats for hunting (canoes) are very light; their wooden frame is covered with seal skins. The meat is used for food, the furs are sold. Dogs are also kept for driving. Some of the sedentary Koryaks prepare warm winter clothes from reindeer skins for sale to visiting traders; They also make items needed in the everyday life of foreigners from iron and walrus tusks (spoons, pipes).

The nomadic Koryaks are engaged almost exclusively in reindeer herding; Some nomads hunt fur-bearing animals. In summer, some Koryaks are busy collecting roots, especially saran bulbs (Lilium). Their main food is reindeer meat and yukola.

They speak the Koryak language, the writing is based on Russian. Some Koryak believers are Orthodox. Traditional beliefs are also common: shamanism, trade cults.

- Navaga doesn’t want to play tambourine, because she’s stupid, and flounder doesn’t want to, because she’s flat, and her eyes are in different directions...,- Lidia Innokentievna Chechulina translates for us an old Koryak song - well, this is a very long song, but I’d better sing you another one.

Lidia Innokentievna is a real representative of the coastal Koryaks, who once densely inhabited the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. As a child, Lydia Innokentievna was brought up in the traditions of her people, and lived her entire childhood on the shores of the Bering Sea in the small village of Anapka.

The word “Koryak” translated means “being with deer” or “owning deer.” According to one version, the Koryaks were first called this by the Russian Cossacks at the end of the 17th century, having heard this word from their neighbors the Yukaghirs.

Two branches - one origin

There are two main branches of the Koryaks: coastal sedentary and tundra nomadic. The former called themselves “Namalan,” which translates as “village dweller,” or the seaside resident “ankalan,” while the latter borrowed their name “Chauchu” from their neighbors the Chukchi, which translates as “rich in deer.” Ethnographers suggest that the tundra Koryaks separated from the coastal Koryaks when, in years of poor catch, men had to go deep into the peninsula for a long time to hunt deer. Thus began the nomadic life of the Koryaks and the domestication of reindeer.

Our interlocutor recalls that in her free time from school, she and her grandmother often went to the tundra to collect medicinal herbs and berries, and on holidays the whole family gathered around the fireplace and one of the elders sang a family song or told a fairy tale about the creator and prankster Kuikynnyaku.

The raven god Kuikynnyaku is traditionally revered in different parts of the Far East: among the Itelmen it is Kutkh, among the Kereks it is Kukki, and among the Chukchi it is Kurkyl. Even the Eskimos and Northwestern Indians know the Raven God. Scientists still argue about the kinship of these peoples, but common mythology indicates a certain similarity. Many scientists believe that the Koryaks and other peoples of the Far East came to this region from Eastern Siberia more than 15,000 years ago. Then the settlers divided: one part remained on the mainland, and the other went along a thin icy isthmus to the American continent - and this is how the North American Indians appeared. This theory is just beginning to be supported by the results of genetic tests, which have been actively carried out over the past two decades, but science still faces too many questions.

On the map there is a reconstruction of the early migrations of peoples according to DNA research: a green arrow leading from Eurasia to America indicates the path of the ancient ancestors of modern Far Eastern peoples and Indians.

Clothing: from birth to death

Putting on traditional clothes made of reindeer skin and fur, Lydia Innokentievna seems to be transported hundreds of years ago, to a time when her strong and courageous ancestors went on difficult sea voyages to catch sealed seals or other sea animals.

Since ancient times, the Koryaks have sewn clothes from deer skins and fur. Coastal Koryaks also used the skins of sea animals and fish for these purposes. For example, fish skins were used to make a fairly durable raincoat called Kamleika. The Koryaks always decorated any clothes with patterns made from the fur of fur-bearing animals. Ornaments and patterns on clothing almost always have certain symbolism and protect against various diseases and evil spirits. The design on clothing can even simply depict mountains, rivers, tundra or a native camp.

Lydia Innokentyevna is wearing a long, closed shirt made of deer skins Kukhlyanka, which is included in the mandatory set of Koryak traditional clothing. Women also sewed double overalls for the winter. kerker made of reindeer fur, over which a warm winter jacket was always worn.

The photo shows traditional winter fur “felt boots” - torbasa, the soles of which are made from seal or walrus skin. Russian Cossacks brought beads to Kamchatka

- The Koryaks have always wisely used the gifts of nature, - says Lydia Innokentievna, taking out some moss from a canvas bag. - Previously, from infancy, children were sewn from the skins of reindeer calves into fur overalls, in which they put this moss instead of diapers, and the babies never had any diaper rash. The overalls had a special fastener between the legs, so it was very convenient to change the moss.

In the drawings published in the work of the famous ethnographer V.I. Jochelson, from left to right are depicted: a man in a winter jacket, children in overalls with a fastener for changing moss, and a woman in winter clothes carrying a child in the traditional way using a head strap. Archaeologists also discovered such a nomadic way of carrying heavy loads in the drawings of the Indians of ancient Mexico.

Each Koryak sewed a funeral kukhlyanka throughout his life, which was hastily completed by the person’s relatives only after his death. Finishing the funeral kukhlyanka yourself is a bad omen.

Koryak cuisine

- Here, try the flour tortillas. We didn’t have it before, but with the arrival of the Russians it appeared, and we slowly began to use it, - our hospitable hostess of the yaranga deftly controls a frying pan heated on the fire, singing a rhythmic Koryak song. The language is very melodic and, at first glance, complex. - And in general, before we had neither sugar nor salt, we somehow lived without bread, ate yukola, porridge... my grandmother, at 112 years old, had all her teeth!

Fresh and sun-dried fish (yukola), as well as boiled deer, bearded seal, and sometimes whale meat - this is the main food of the small peoples of Kamchatka. Bone marrow, kidneys, cartilage, tendons, fat, and even larvae living in the skin of a deer - everything was eaten with great pleasure raw immediately after cutting the carcass.

Like their ancestor Kuikynnyaku, the Koryaks always loved berries, various herbs and roots, which they used to prepare porridge. The porridge recipe is simple and unpretentious: fireweed powder (fireweed) is mixed with various berries and melted seal fat, ground caviar or any other fish. In general, the Koryaks have been very unpretentious and moderate in food since ancient times.

Koryak house in the tundra and on the shore

A strong wind is blowing outside, but we are not cold at all: we are sitting on skins in a warm yaranga around a burning fireplace. Despite the fact that it is almost May, spring has not yet had time to set foot on the peninsula.

The yaranga in the Kainyran ethnic camp, where we met Lydia Innokentyevna, is now covered with a simple tarpaulin, since the outer skins are very worn out. This is a summer housing option, but in the near future the owners of the ethnocultural center hope to purchase new warm reindeer skins.

As a rule, nomadic Koryaks lived in yarangas, while the houses of coastal residents were built more thoroughly.

First, let's understand a little how the yaranga differs from the Nenets chum or, for example, from the nomadic Central Asian yurt. A yaranga is similar in structure to a yurt, but it is usually smaller in size, since heating a room in the cold is much more difficult than in the relatively mild steppe weather of Central Asia. The covering also differs: the yurt is usually covered with felt, and the yaranga with reindeer skins. Yaranga is also similar to the chum, but its design is more complex and massive. The Nenets chum is easily assembled, transported, and very quickly completely warmed by the hearth. In the yaranga, the warmest place is the bedroom or canopy - a small square room, entirely covered with skins and fur inside, where the whole family would go at night. Inside, they lit a lamp made from seal oil - a “zhirnik”, and then it became so warm in the canopy that even in the most severe frosts, the owners could sleep without clothes.

From left to right: tent, yaranga and yurt.

Since ancient times, coastal Koryaks built semi-underground log dwellings of unusual shapes. The wooden house has a winter (upper) entrance on the roof, which also serves as a chimney, and a summer (lower) entrance leading from the street through the entryway. Closer to winter, the summer entrance is completely covered with snow and then you can only get into the home by going down the stairs through the upper entrance. The staircase is more like a pillar with many holes for the feet. Ethnographers believe that such semi-underground houses were invented much earlier than the yaranga, but, unfortunately, in the modern world these buildings can only be found in museums.

The custom of building dugouts is also found among the Chukchi, Northwestern Indians, Eskimos, and Ainu. Remains of similar structures were also found on Sakhalin, Greenland, and even on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Apparently, many thousands of years ago, similar climate and living conditions contributed to such a wide distribution of this particular type of housing.

Closer to modern times, cultural boundaries within the people themselves began to blur, and now it is the yaranga that is the personification of the native and beloved home for any Koryak.

In the Soviet Union, Koryaks were relocated from their homes to specially organized settlements, where there was always a school and a hospital.

Young writing

In the early 30s of the 20th century, Koryak writing was created based on the Latin alphabet, and subsequently the language began to be written in the Russian alphabet. Thanks to this, Koryak writers appeared, such as Ketsay Kekketyn, and a little later Koyanto, through whose efforts the general public became more deeply aware of the culture and customs of this ancient people and penetrated their thoughts. But since the 50s of the 20th century, the Koryak language has disappeared from the educational program of Kamchatka schools. This had a bad effect on the further development of literary creativity and led to the fact that the native language began to be slowly forgotten among young people, but people like Lidiya Innokentievna cherish their native culture and try in every way to pass it on to the younger generation.

-You know, Lidia Innokentievna is our real star, the leader of the ensemble, a public figure and a great specialist!- Irina, the keeper of the Kainyran ethnic camp, told us a little later. - Lidia Innokentievna is even called abroad to help their specialists study the Koryak language. She recently returned from Japan, where she is regularly invited as a consultant to compile a Koryak-Japanese dictionary. They are very interested in the culture of the peoples of Kamchatka.

And here’s what the Koryak language sounds like live:

In the video, Lidia Innokentievna performs for us rhythmic Koryak songs and fairy tales, one of which is her family melody.

The dog is a bosom friend

Irina shows us the camp and tells us about the unusual and very hardy breed of Kamchadal dogs. “Kaynyran” is also a nursery for sled dogs, which not only carry everyone, but also participate in the legendary musher race (musher of dogs harnessed to a sled) called “Beringia”.

- We have our own doggy “kindergarten”. Here we raise future champions. Sled dogs are happiest when pulling a team, as they have a natural need to run hard. Each dog in the kennel is unique, they all have their own character: some are naughty, some become leaders from childhood, and some always hide behind their mother. We really want to revive the traditions of Kamchatka dog breeding, because our ancestors could not imagine life without dogs. - Irina says with inspiration. - But here we have a half-wolf living. He was given to us as a puppy. Look how he caresses you, showing his back, do you see? He ingratiates himself, tries to find contact. It's such a wolfish habit- explains Irina.

The dog in Kamchatka is not just a respectable animal, but a mystical one. The Koryaks believe that dogs guard the entrance to the kingdom of the dead. It will be bad for those who treated dogs poorly during their lifetime, and therefore the Koryaks have been protecting their pets since ancient times, feeding them well (mainly with fish) and raising them exclusively with affection.

- Sled dogs are distinguished by their special devotion to their pack, especially when standing in harness,- Irina continues - Here is our famous Agate as a clear example of this. During one of the races, gangrene developed on his paw. Despite the fact that we take great care of our dogs and put on special socks for them while running, such cases still happen...- Irina strokes the proud Agat, who, by the way, has all four paws in place. - We decided to leave Agat in the nearest village along the way and pick him up on the way back, leaving money for the veterinarian for treatment, but when the team set off, Agat, hearing the howl of his flock, simply gnawed the rope and returned to the sled. And what do you think? Sometimes he even had to be put in a harness, since he absolutely did not want to ride sitting in a sledge.- Irina recalls with a shudder. - We constantly lubricated his paws with special ointments and, as it turned out, running in clean snow did him good. We are so happy that everything ended well!

Agat is a typical representative of the Kamchatka sled dog

10 features of the Koryaks that are irretrievably a thing of the past

1. The names of the months in the Koryak language were dictated by nature itself. For example, the first month of the year - December was called the “month of cold winds”, February - the “month of the false udder”, and November - the “month of the estrus of mountain sheep”. Now the Koryaks use the same calendar as all residents of Russia.

2. The Koryaks were outstanding warriors. In particular, the coastal Koryaks were excellent archers. This feature is explained by the fact that in ancient times the Koryaks constantly had to fight with their neighbors the Chukchi for the possession of reindeer herds. Sometimes the wars were bloody and large-scale. Starting from the end of the 17th century, the Koryaks began to desperately resist the Cossack conquerors. The defense held out until the middle of the next century. After the Russian conquest of the Far East, peace reigned between the indigenous peoples. Nowadays, old bows and arrows are passed down from generation to generation as family treasures.

3. In the past, Koryak men sometimes used dried fly agarics as an intoxicant.. Alcohol appeared only with the arrival of the Russians, and, nevertheless, many Koryaks continued to use fly agarics, since the consequences from them, such as a hangover, were not as painful as from vodka.

4. The Koryaks tattooed their faces by drawing a needle and thread under the skin, greased with fat and coal.. Both women and men were tattooed this way as a special protection in ancient times. For example, women believed that a tattoo of several stripes along the nose would help with infertility.

5. Koryaks are skilled craftsmen, blacksmiths, stone cutters and even sculptors. The figurines that the Koryaks made from animal bones and walrus tusk are particularly lively and artistic. The art of the coastal Koryaks was especially developed. Fine art is still alive, but the Koryaks no longer have to forge weapons and make arrowheads.

6. Since ancient times, the Koryaks have been a chaste people. Previously, girls before marriage were not supposed to have any relationships with men: it was forbidden to even touch an unmarried girl, and if a young man asked her, for example, to bring him a drink of water, then the girl’s relatives could force the gentleman to walk her down the aisle. Now such strict morals are a thing of the past, but chastity is still valued.

7. Koryak grooms worked for the bride from six months to three years. Yes, yes, not only was it impossible to hug the girl you loved without condemnation, but you also had to work it out with her relatives. A young man who seriously decided to get married had to undergo a serious test of endurance, perseverance, dexterity, devotion and diligence, performing the most difficult and dirty work for a long time. Living in the house of his future father-in-law, the young man could see his future wife only after her father said that the detention was over.

8. The young man could not get a bride without a fight. And now the period of detention is over, but here a new test fell on the shoulders of the Koryak youth: to catch the bride, cut her tight overalls and grab her genitals. The bride had to desperately resist her future husband, which proves her innocence. Resistance could last from several hours to several weeks. If the bride did not like the groom, then her relatives and friends helped her hide.

9. Ochag was considered the main patron of the family and was strictly taboo for outsiders, just like the ancestral tambourine.

10. The Koryaks practiced polygamy and polyandry.. Polygamous unions, as a rule, were formed if one of the relatives died. For example, if an older brother died and he was left with a wife, then she would become the wife of the younger brother. If such a wife was too old to have children, then the man took a young woman as his wife. The same applies to polyandry. The custom of wives or husbands inheriting is closely related to the kinship of several families and the cessation of blood feuds. A successfully concluded marriage between people from warring clans could put an end to long-term enmity not only on earth, but also among deceased ancestors. Thus, the inheritance of wives and husbands did not allow the connection between clans to be broken. It also happened that for the same reasons, a Koryak, for example, after the death of his wife, went to her native village to marry her relative.

Having become more closely acquainted with the culture of the Koryaks, you understand that they managed to carry their identity through the milestones of time. Some customs have undoubtedly faded into the background, the way of life has become more modern, but their traditions are alive. And if you look at the size of the Koryak population in Russia, it becomes clear that since the beginning of the 20th century there have been no fewer Koryaks, and therefore there is hope that only the best awaits this people.

Koryaks(there is no single self-name; group self-names: Chavchyv, Chavchu, Nymylgyn) - people, indigenous inhabitants of the Kamchatka Peninsula. They inhabit the Koryak Autonomous Okrug of the Kamchatka Region, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, as well as the northern regions of the Magadan Region.

Based on their place of residence and cultural and economic type, the Koryaks, like the Chukchi, are divided into two groups - tundra (reindeer, nomadic reindeer herders) and coastal (sedentary, coastal, “sedentary” Koryaks, sea hunters, fishermen, hunters).

The number in Russia is 8.9 thousand people. They speak the Koryak language, which belongs to the Chukchi-Kamchatka group of Paleo-Asian languages. The closest neighbors of the Koryaks are the Chukchi. The total number of Koryaks before the arrival of the Russians was about 10 thousand people.

Ethnonym

The Koryaks did not have a single self-name. Group self-name: chyvchavyv(units) chavchyv, chavchyv) – reindeer herder, “rich in reindeer”, to designate the reindeer Koryaks; nomylu(units) nomylyn), nomylgyn,“local resident”, villager - the self-name of the coastal Koryaks. The name “Koryak” (XVII century) comes from the Koryak root core- "deer". The basis for the name was the locative form of this root - korak, those. “being with the deer.” According to another version, the ethnonym “Koryak” was borrowed by the Russians from the Yukagirs or Evens, who called the Koryaks kӓrӓko (Yukagir name) or heëkel (“the one who appears from behind the hill” - the Even name).

Number

The number of Koryaks in 1989 in the USSR was 9242 people, incl. in the Russian Federation - 8942. In the Koryak Autonomous Okrug there are 6572 Koryaks (71% of the total). In the Magadan region - about 11% (1013 people). A noticeable migration of Koryaks outside their traditional habitat is becoming noticeable. So, if the total number of Koryaks increased in 1970-1989. by 25%, then in the Koryak Autonomous Okrug only by 11%. In 2002, the number of Koryaks in Russia amounted to 8,743 people.

Language

The first information about the Koryak language was collected by S.P. Krasheninnikov in the middle of the 18th century. Until the beginning of the 20th century. The Koryak language was almost never studied. Its study was resumed and put on a scientific basis by V.G. Bogoraz. In the works of scientists, the relationship of the Koryak language with other languages ​​of the Chukotka-Kamchatka group was justified. The Koryak language is represented by a number of dialects, the most widespread of which is the Chavchuven dialect. It is the basis for Koryak writing on a Russian graphic basis. The dialects of the Koryak language have been little studied.

Story

The problem of the origin of the Koryaks has not yet been sufficiently developed. Archaeological finds of remains of dwellings, ceramics, stone and bone tools on the territory of the northwestern part of Kamchatka and the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk should be attributed to the ancestors of modern coastal Koryaks. The most ancient ancestors of the coastal Koryaks are the tribes of the ancient Koryak culture of the Okhotsk coast, which developed during the Neolithic period on the basis of hunting and fishing. At the turn of the 1st century. BC e. – I in n. e. The ancient Koryak culture developed into the culture of sea hunters. In ancient times, the process of formation of the Koryak ethnic community took place. As a result of the transition to sea hunting and sedentism, there was a gradual separation of individual groups of ancient Koryaks and the fragmentation of the ancient Koryak language into a number of dialects. The question of the time of introduction of the Koryaks to reindeer husbandry and the ways of its spread remains open. It is assumed that reindeer husbandry developed among the coastal Koryaks as a result of their contacts with the Tungus tribes in the Penzhinskaya Bay area and on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula adjacent to Chukotka. There is another point of view on the ethnogenesis of the Koryaks, according to which the ancestors of the Koryaks during the Neolithic period inhabited the areas of central Chukotka, from where in the 2nd millennium BC. advanced to the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, where they adopted a coastal way of life.

Monuments of oral folk art of the extreme northeast indicate a close relationship between the Koryaks and the Chukchi, Evens, Yukaghirs, and Itelmens. These relations were expressed, on the one hand, in intertribal exchanges, and on the other, in military clashes between the coastal and reindeer Koryaks.

The first information about the Koryaks was received in the middle. XVII century from the Cossacks Semyon Dezhnev and Mikhail Stadukhin. The Russian movement to Kamchatka began with the campaign of Morozko (1690) and V. Atlasov (1697 - 1998). From the second floor. XVIII century Close trade relations are established between the Koryaks and Russians.

Housing

Winter nomadic tents of the reindeer Koryaks

The dwelling of the Koryak reindeer herders was the yaranga ( yayaa– in the Chavchuven dialect; raraa- in the Alyutor dialect). It was a tent, cylindrical at the base, conical at the top, with a frame of poles and a cover made of deer skins with the hair facing out. There were usually from two to five yarangs at the camp. The dwelling of almost all coastal Koryaks was a semi-dugout ( lymgyyan), the basis of which was a vast pit 1-1.5 m deep, lined inside with vertical logs in the form of a palisade in the shape of an irregular octagon. The roof vault had the shape of a truncated cone with an outer flange in the shape of a funnel. A hole was left at the top of the roof, which served as an outlet for smoke, a light window and an exit from the dugout in winter. A thick log with notched steps was used as a ladder. Several families could live in a semi-dugout. In the summer, fishermen lived in frame buildings on platforms.

Since the end of the 19th century. some Koryaks began to live in Russian-style log huts. Currently, Koryaks live in villages with standard houses, reindeer herders live in yarangas and huts.

Food

The main food of the Koryak reindeer herders was reindeer meat, usually boiled. Coastal residents ate fish and meat of sea animals. The Koryaks ate various edible plants in large quantities as seasonings for meat dishes and as individual dishes. Since the end of the 19th century. Purchased products began to become increasingly widespread: flour, cereals, tea, sugar. Leaf tobacco was very common. Fly agaric was used as a stimulant and intoxicant.

Farm

In the past, the Koryaks were divided into nine territorial groups, the largest of which were Chavchuvens- reindeer herders, who made up half of the entire nation, and Alyutorians, who inhabited the vast territory of the Kamchatka Isthmus (the coast of the Bering Sea and the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk) were typical reindeer herders; fur hunting was a secondary occupation, and fishing also did not play a noticeable role. In the economy of the Alyutor people there was a rare combination of fishing and sea fishing with reindeer herding. The remaining seven groups of Koryaks were also characterized by a complex type of economy.

Reindeer husbandry was of two types: large-herd and small-herd. Large-scale reindeer herding existed among the Koryak-Chavchuvens. Their herds numbered up to 10 thousand deer. Reindeer husbandry was nomadic. Herding of deer was carried out by shepherds without the help of dogs. In winter, the herd grazed near the camp. During the winter, the entire camp made several migrations to new pastures. In the summer, shepherds drove the herd to the mountains, where there was abundant food for the reindeer. The camps were located at this time of year along the banks of rivers. In the fall, shepherds drove the flock to the camp. According to the first snow, the herd and camp migrated to the winter pastures. Deer provided the main food product - meat and the main material for clothing and housing - skins and sinews from which threads were made. Deer also served as the only means of transportation among the Chavchuvens.

Small-herd reindeer herding existed among the Alyutor Koryaks. Their herds numbered in rare cases 1000 deer. A characteristic feature of Alyutor reindeer husbandry was the use of dogs as mounts. Each household had several dog sleds. The Alutorians made only short trips on reindeer. The Alyutor people were characterized by a combination of reindeer husbandry with sea fishing and fishing. In the spring, all Alutor residents went to sea fishing to hunt on floating ice. In the summer, during the fish season, the Alyutor people migrated to the mouths of rivers, where, together with the Chavchuvens, they stored fish for the winter. At this time, the reindeer herds remained under the supervision of young people. The second type of Koryak reindeer husbandry arose much later than the first.

Northern sedentary Koryaks were engaged in fishing for sea animals, which was divided into two seasons: spring and autumn. The spring season began in mid-March and ended in the second half of June. The autumn season began in mid-September and ended in the second half of November. They went sea hunting in kayaks and longboats. In ancient times, the Koryaks developed whale fishing. According to legend, it was hunted using a large net woven from thick belts. The net was attached to coastal rocks and cliffs. Hunters drove a whale into a net, which became entangled in it. Hunters finished off a whale driven into a net with spears and harpoons, then pulled it ashore.

Belts and soles for shoes were made from the skins of sea animals. Meat and fat were used for food and stocked up for future use. The fat also served for lighting. Surplus marine products were exchanged for reindeer herding products.

Among the eastern and western sedentary Koryaks of the Bering Sea coast, the basis of their economy was reindeer husbandry. Fishing took place throughout the summer and early autumn. The most common method of fishing among the Koryaks was constipation, when the river was blocked from both banks by converging fences made of rods and stakes. They also caught fish using an iron hook “marika” and a net “scoop”.

Most of the catch was used to prepare yukola, which was the main food for people and the main food for dogs all year. The finished yukola was stored in barns - huts on high stilts, covered with dry grass. The preparation of yukola was usually done by women.

An important tool in the economy of sedentary and nomadic Koryaks was hunting, which was carried out by men. Bears, tarabagans, wild deer, and mountain sheep were hunted for meat. Fur-bearing animals included fox, wolverine, hares, ermines, and Kamchatka sable. Sables were caught with a net, a trap was set for ermine, other animals were beaten with arrows, and later with guns.

The collection of edible plants played a significant role in the Koryak economy. It was carried out exclusively by women and children. Edible roots were obtained mainly from mouse holes. Cloudberries and blueberries were collected from the berries. The sedentary Koryaks developed a collection of edible shellfish, wild bird eggs, seaweed, and edible herbs: wild sorrel, saran, fireweed, hogweed, etc.

Traditional household crafts included processing of wood, bone, metal, and stone; weaving, dressing of hides. In ancient times, the Koryaks were familiar with pottery. Wood and bone were widely used on the farm. Wood was used to make reindeer and dog sleds, boats, oars, spears, and household utensils. Knives for cutting fish, picks, harpoon tips, brakes for reindeer sleds, and combs for combing grass were made from deer bones and antler. Until the beginning of the 20th century. The Koryaks also used stone axes and spearheads. With the arrival of the Russians among the Koryaks, gardening, dairy farming, and horse breeding began to spread. Currently, traditional industries - reindeer husbandry and fishing - determine the economic direction of the Kamchatka Autonomous Okrug.

Transport

The transport animals of the nomadic Koryaks were reindeer, which were harnessed to the sledge; the sedentary Koryaks had sled dogs, which were also harnessed to the sledge. A full team of dogs consisted of 10-12 animals.

To move on water (sea), the Koryaks used leather boats - kayaks and kayaks. The kayak was used mainly as a fishing boat. In summer, the Koryaks moved along the water baht- boats carved out of thick tree trunks. This boat was steered with a special long pole. To go out to sea, they used double bahts, connecting two boats using thick transverse sticks.

Music and dance

Playing the tambourine, men. With. Lesnaya, Tigilsky district.

An important part of the spiritual culture of the Koryaks is choreographic art, songs and music. There was a clear distinction between ritual and play dances. Among the songs one can note the so-called. personal songs– songs that are created and performed by only one person or donated by parents and relatives. In addition to personal songs, family ritual songs are widespread, performed in the family and passed on by inheritance. The main musical instrument of the Koryaks is the tambourine. yayay, also known as pinwheel tellytal, making a buzzing sound when it is stretched, a pipe made of bark and wood, a pipe eyӈechg’yn from hogweed, duck feather decoy galgychgyn, which was used as a mouthpiece aerophone, a gull feather with a volume control gichgyn yaӄyaӄin and etc.

Cloth

Kukhlyanka with hood and bib made of kamus

The traditional clothing of the Koryaks can be classified as the so-called blind type. The main material for sewing clothes among the Koryaks at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries was deer skins and rovduga, which replaced and finally replaced the skins of mountain sheep by this time. Summer clothes of the Koryaks had the same cut as winter clothes, but were made from lighter materials. The Koryaks used the skins of other fur-bearing animals to decorate their clothing. The clothes were also decorated with ornaments and pendants. Bracelets, earrings, and pendants, which were remade from old copper and silver items, were also worn as jewelry. By the beginning of the 20th century, clothing made from purchased materials became noticeably widespread among them.

Family and tribal relations

The industrial and social life of the tundra Koryaks was concentrated in the camp. Previously, families wandered along with herds and grazed herds. Now only the herd workers roam.

The clan community consisted not only of relatives. The social formation included orphans, single men and women, and “free people.” The clan did not invite “free people” and did not expel them from their community. Usually these were men. They could go to another camp at any time. The tribal principle of community organization among the peoples of the North in Kamchatka was preserved for a long time. According to ancient customs, all orphans, lonely, sick and free people in the clan and tribe enjoyed protection and were considered relatives and family members. The family had a special attitude towards the elderly. Children respected their elders and listened to their advice.

The clan and tribe lived solely on what they themselves managed to create and obtain, so each member felt responsibility for the fate of the clan from an early age, since the person was completely dependent on nature. The yaranga of the owner of most of the herd used to be considered the main one in the camp. A family lived in it: wife ӈev’g’en, single, married sons kmiӈu, daughters ӈavakykav’. The family included brothers ӄaytakalӈo. The head of the camp was the manager of all economic life. Intra-camp ties were quite strong and covered all aspects of the economic and social life of the collective. They were based on joint reindeer husbandry, collective grazing of herds, were cemented by kinship and marriage ties, and were supported by ancient traditions and rituals. Kinship ties usually covered the entire nomadic group.

Traditional worldview and ritual rites

The universe, according to the Koryaks, consisted of five worlds: the earth inhabited by people, two worlds above it and two below. The lower of the upper worlds is inhabited by cloud people, the upper is the abode of the Supreme Deity. Of the underground worlds, the upper one is inhabited kalag'ami- evil spirits, the shadows of the dead live in the lower. All worlds seemed interpenetrable. Animals, people, spirits moved from one world to another. The world of the dead was, as it were, part of the world of the living. The inhabitants of the underworld took care of their relatives who remained on earth, sending them animals to hunt, helping them in all matters; the living sent gifts to deceased relatives.

There was family and professional shamanism. One could not become a shaman of one’s own free will, nor could one evade this mission. It was believed that the spirits themselves choose a person for this role. The Koryaks did not have special shamanic clothing. The main shamanic attribute was a tambourine yayay. An important place in the traditional worldview was occupied by ideas about the system of guardians. Each Koryak settlement had its own guardian (pole).

The life of a Koryak from birth to death was permeated with numerous rituals, rites and prohibitions. The rituals performed on the occasion of the harvest of animals were based on the ancient myth of a dying and resurrecting animal. He found a particularly vivid expression in the holiday organized after the hunt for a bear, which the Koryaks considered man’s cousin. The sedentary and some of the reindeer Koryaks performed similar ritual actions on the first fish they caught. Only after this was it allowed to be eaten. The whale was especially revered. Ritual ceremonies accompanying its extraction existed among the Alyutor people, the Koryaks of the Penzhina Bay and the northwestern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Koryaks

Koryaks are a small indigenous people, primarily in the north of Kamchatka. Now the Koryaks also live compactly in the Magadan region and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. According to the 2010 census, in Russia there are slightly less than 8 thousand Koryaks.

For a long time, the entire life of the Koryaks was connected with the harsh nature of Kamchatka and was entirely dependent on it. The Koryaks deified the slightest natural phenomena and believed that animals move along with humans and spirits from one world to another.

The name “Koryak” itself, according to the main version, comes from “kor” - deer and is translated as “being with the deer”. This naming perfectly reflects their view of the world: not animals with man, but man with animals.

Economy and life of the Koryaks

All Koryak tribes were divided into two main types: nomadic reindeer herders (Chavchavyv, or Chavchuven) and settled coastal ones (Nymylan). Each group included several tribes. For example, scientists counted 11 Koryak dialects alone. The Alutor people are a special group: they combined both fishing and reindeer herding.

The life and way of life of these tribes differed from each other. Thus, nomads lived in yarangas - portable tents covered with reindeer skins. From these yarangs, in which several families were located, temporary settlements were set up. Sedentary Koryaks set up huts on the banks of rivers in the summer, and in the winter they lived in half-dugouts, 10-30 km away from the water.

It was possible to survive in the harsh conditions of Kamchatka only together, so the Koryaks united into large related communities. The paternal line was considered the main one. Among reindeer herders, the head owned most of the herd, and coastal Koryak associations could be, for example, kayak-based - using one canoe. But here, too, relatives were accepted first. True, commercial relations also penetrated into this patriarchal structure over time: from the 18th century, the nomadic Koryaks began to gradually divide into rich and poor. This is due to the fact that areas for grazing herds were considered common, but deer were private. Some people became so rich that they needed farm laborers, and they began to accept non-relatives into the community. At the same time, it was customary to take care of orphans, old people, sick and lonely people. Mutual aid was the basis of existence.

Sometimes it manifested itself in special forms. Until the very beginning of the 20th century, the Koryaks retained the customs of levirate (after the death of their older brother, his younger brother married a widow and took custody of the family) and sororate (having remained a widower, a man married his wife’s younger sister).

The main holidays of the Koryaks

A significant part of the everyday vocabulary of the Koryaks consists of words related to the animal world, hunting, and winter. And this is not surprising: without a successful hunt for the beast, a person was doomed to death. That is why all the main holidays of this people are associated with animals. Thus, among the Koryak reindeer herders, the main celebrations were the autumn “Drive the Reindeer” and the Reindeer Slaughter Festival, the winter “Return of the Sun”, and the spring Festival of Antlers. The sedentary people had holidays for the release of the canoe, the First fish, the First seal, and in the fall - "Hololo" ("Ololo"), or the holiday of the seal. In the event of large production, the Koryaks also held special holidays. They performed ritual dances in which they imitated the movements of animals and birds. Many rituals were based on the myth of the dying and resurrecting beast. The Koryaks had a special relationship with the bear, which they considered a human cousin. After the bear hunt, a big religious festival was held. Some sedentary Koryaks also deified the whale.

Rituals and rituals

Such an attitude towards the animal world was reflected not only in “hunting” rituals, but also in all the main ceremonies in human life. One of them, of course, is a wedding.

So, in order to get a wife, a man had to pass a series of tests. At first with labor: for some time he worked on the farm of his future father-in-law. They looked closely at him and tested his skills. If the probationary period was completed successfully, it was necessary to carry out a grabbing ceremony: to catch up with the fleeing bride and touch her body. Formal in essence (the girl did not really think of running away), this ritual performed an important function for the Koryaks - reconstruction of the hunting process.

The closest connection with nature left its mark in the funeral rite. Bows and arrows and basic necessities were sent to the funeral pyre with the deceased. They also put gifts there for previously deceased relatives, so that they would send a good animal for the hunt in return. They prepared for death in advance. Even during a person’s lifetime, funeral clothes were sewn, leaving them a little unfinished. It was believed that if you finish it to the end, the person will die earlier. Then, after death, the funeral attire was finished with an ugly, rough seam. Death itself was not perceived as something final. In the Koryak worldview, there were five interconnected worlds, and the living and the dead can help each other with the forces of nature. Even among the southern coastal Koryaks, who adopted Orthodoxy earlier than others, Christian beliefs were combined with the rituals of their ancestors for a long time.

For a long time, the Koryaks survived on what they managed to obtain together. There is nothing superfluous in their world. The food was animal meat and fat, fish, and foraging products. The skins were used to make clothing and housing, which was illuminated with melted fat. The boats were covered with leather. Even from the noses, tails and paws of killed animals, amulets were made, which, as the Koryaks believed, protected them from everything bad. This picture of the world amazes with its integrity, in it everyone is in his place and plays his assigned role, on which the lives of those around him depend.

Everyone is connected to everyone else and to nature. This is exactly what modern man lacks.

Maria Andreeva

Place of residence- Koryak Autonomous Okrug, Kamchatka Region.

Language- Chukchi-Kamchatka family of languages.

Self-name; resettlement By the beginning of contact with the Russians in the 18th century, the Koryaks were divided into nomadic people (self-name chav'chu- "reindeer herder") and sedentary ( nomylyo- “residents”, “villagers”), in turn subdivided into several separate groups: Karagintsy ( karan'ynylyo), boys ( poytilyo), Kamenets ( vaykynelyo) etc. Nomadic people settled in the interior regions of Kamchatka and on the adjacent mainland, sedentary (coastal) people settled on the eastern and western coasts of Kamchatka, as well as in the area of ​​Penzhinskaya Bay and the Taigonos Peninsula.

Writing has existed since 1931 on a Latin, and since 1936 on a Russian graphic basis.

Crafts, crafts and labor tools, means of transportation. The nomadic Koryaks - Chavchuvens - are characterized by large-scale reindeer herding with a herd size of 400 to 2000 heads. During the year, they made four main migrations: in the spring (before calving) - to moss pastures, in the summer - to places where there are fewer midges (mosquitoes, midges, etc.), in the autumn - closer to the camps where reindeer were slaughtered, and in the winter - short migrations near the camps. The main tools of the shepherds were a staff, a lasso ( chav'at) - a long rope with a loop for catching deer, as well as a boomerang-shaped stick (curved in a special way and, after being thrown, returned to the shepherd), with the help of which the stray part of the herd was collected. In winter, the Chavchuvens hunted fur-bearing animals.

The economy of the Nymyl-sedentary Koryaks combined sea hunting, fishing, land hunting and gathering.

Marine hunting is the main occupation of the inhabitants of Penzhinskaya Bay (Itkans, Parents and Kamenets). He also played an important role among the Apukins and Karagins, and to a lesser extent among the Palans. Hunting for sea animals in the spring was individual, and in the fall - collective, began in late May - early June and lasted until October. The main weapons were the harpoon ( v'emek) and networks. Traveled on leather kayaks ( kultaytvyyt- “a boat made of bearded seal skins”) and single-seater kayak boats ( mytyv). They caught bearded seals, seals, akiba, spotted seals, and lionfish. Until the middle of the 19th century, the sedentary Koryaks of the Penzhina Bay hunted cetaceans. The Apukin and Karagin people were engaged in hunting walruses.

By the end of the 19th century, as a result of the extermination of whales and walruses by American whalers, the harvest of these animals declined, and fishing began to play a primary role in the economy. From spring to autumn, huge schools of salmon fish flowed from the sea into the rivers of the eastern coast of Kamchatka: char, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, and trout; in February - March, smelt and navaga entered the bays; in April - May, the waters off the coast were “boiling” with herring that had come to spawn. To catch fish, they used locks, set-type and net-type nets, fishing rods and hooks on a long strap, reminiscent of a harpoon. Fishing was supplemented by hunting birds, ungulates and fur-bearing animals, and collecting wild berries and edible roots. Among the hunting tools, traps, crossbows, nets, pressure-type traps (the alert is broken, and the log crushes the animal), scoops and the like were common, and from the end of the 18th century they began to use firearms.

Karagins and Palans mastered vegetable gardening and cattle breeding.

Dwellings. The nomadic Koryaks lived in summer and winter in portable frame yarangas ( yayana), the basis of which consisted of three poles 3.5–5 meters high, placed in the form of a tripod and tied at the top with a belt. Around them, in the lower part of the yaranga, forming an irregular circle with a diameter of 4–10 meters, low tripods were strengthened, tied with a belt and connected by transverse crossbars. The upper conical part of the yaranga consisted of inclined poles resting on transverse crossbars, the tops of tripods and the upper ends of three main poles. A tire made of sheared or worn deer skins was pulled over the frame of the yaranga, with the fur facing out. Inside, fur sleeping curtains were tied to additional poles along the walls ( yoena), shaped like a box turned upside down, 1.3–1.5 meters high, 2–4 meters long, 1.3–2 meters wide. The number of canopies was determined by the number of married couples living in the yaranga. The floor under the canopy was covered with willow or cedar branches and deer skins.

Among the sedentary Koryaks, the predominant type of dwelling was the half-dugout ( lymgyyan, yayana) up to 15 meters long, up to 12 meters wide and up to 7 meters high. During its construction, eight vertical pillars were dug into a round hole 1–1.5 meters deep around the circumference and four in the center. Between the outer pillars, two rows of logs sawn lengthwise were driven in, forming the walls of the dwelling, fastened at the top with transverse beams. From the square frame connecting the four central pillars and forming the upper entrance and smoke hole, the blocks of the octagonal roof ran to the upper transverse beams of the walls. To protect against snow drifts, the Koryaks on the west coast built a funnel-shaped bell made of poles and blocks around the hole, and the Koryaks on the east coast built a barrier made of rods or mats. A corridor sunk into the ground with a flat roof was attached to one of the walls facing the sea. The walls, roof and corridor of the dwelling, caulked with dry grass or moss, were covered with earth on top. The hearth, consisting of two oblong stones, was located at a distance of 50 centimeters from the central log with notches, along which in winter they entered the dwelling through the upper hole. During the fishing season, the entrance was a side corridor. Inside such a dugout, on the side opposite the corridor, a platform was installed for receiving guests. Sleeping curtains made from worn-out deer skins or worn-out fur clothing were hung along the side walls.

At the beginning of the 19th century, under the influence of Russian settlers, log huts appeared among the Palans, Karagins, Apukins and Koryaks on the northwestern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. By the end of the 19th century, the Karagins and partly the Palans began to build above-ground dwellings of the Yakut type (balagan), in which the windows were covered with the intestines of sea animals or bears. An iron or brick stove with a chimney was installed in the center of such dwellings, and wooden bunks were built along the walls.

Cloth. All groups of Koryak clothing had a closed cut. The Chavchuvens usually sewed it from deer skins, while the Primorye people used, along with deer skins, the skins of sea animals. The decoration was the fur of dogs and fur-bearing animals. In winter they wore double clothing (with fur inside and out), in summer - single clothing. The "all-weather" men's set consisted of a fur shirt with a hood and bib, fur pants, a headdress and shoes. The outer trousers were made from thin reindeer skin or reindeer kamus, the lower and summer trousers were made from rovduga or leather cut from an old yaranga tire. Until the end of the 19th century, coastal Koryak hunters wore pants made of seal skins during the fishing season.

To protect the kukhlyanka from the snow, they wore a wide shirt - kamleika - with a hood made of rovduga or fabric, which was also worn in the summer in dry weather. For rainy weather, a kamleika made of rovduga, treated with urine and smoked with smoke, was used.

Winter and summer men's shoes are shoe-shaped with a long (knee-length) or short (ankle-length) shaft. The winter one was made from reindeer kamus with the fur facing out, the summer one was made from thin deer, dog, seal or seal skins, rovduga or waterproof smoked deer skin with trimmed pile. The sole was made from bearded seal skin, walrus skin, and deer brushes (part of the skin with long hair from a deer’s leg above the hoof).

A men's fur headdress - a hood-shaped malakhai with earmuffs - was worn in winter and summer. The set of winter men's clothing included double or single mittens ( Lilith) from reindeer camus.

Women sewed fur double jumpsuits that reached their knees. For the lower overalls, the Chavchuvenkas selected plain, thin skins of young ones; for the upper overalls, they preferred variegated ones. Among the coastal Koryak women, alternating white and dark stripes of reindeer camus and fur mosaics predominate in their clothing. Summer overalls were made from smoked deer or rovduga skin and decorated with strips of red fabric inserted into the seams. Over overalls, women wore a double or single kukhlyanka, similar to men's, in winter, and in spring, summer and autumn - a gagaglya fur shirt ( kagav'len) with fur inside, much longer than the male kukhlyanka. The front and back of the eiderdown were decorated with fringes made of thin straps, pendants made of dyed seal fur, and beads. There were no special women's headdresses. During migrations, Koryak women wore men's malakhai. Women's shoes were decorated with an applique of thin white leather from the necks of dogs, but in cut and materials they were identical to men's shoes. In winter, women wore fur double mittens.

Until the age of five or six, the child was sewn overalls with a hood ( kalny’ykei, kakei): in winter - double, and in summer - single. The sleeves and legs of the overalls were sewn up, and after the child began to walk, fur or fur shoes were sewn to the legs. In the clothing of five- and six-year-old children, its purpose based on gender differences was already clearly visible.

Food. The reindeer Koryaks ate reindeer meat, most often boiled, and also consumed willow bark and seaweed. Coastal residents ate the meat of sea animals and fish. Since the 18th century, purchased products have appeared: flour, rice, crackers, bread and tea. Flour porridge was cooked in water, deer or seal blood, and rice porridge was eaten with seal or deer fat.

Social life, power, marriage, family. The basis of social life was large patriarchal (from lat. pater- "father", arche- “power”) a family community that united close, and in the case of reindeer, sometimes even distant relatives on the paternal side. At its head was the oldest man. The marriage was preceded by a probationary period for the groom to work on the farm of his future father-in-law. After it was over, the so-called “grabbing” ritual followed (the groom had to catch the fleeing bride and touch her body). This gave the right to marriage. The transition to the husband's house was accompanied by rituals of introducing the wife to the hearth and family cult. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the customs of levirate (from lat. levir- “brother-in-law, brother of the husband”): if the older brother died, the younger one had to marry his wife and take care of her and her children, as well as sororate (from lat. soror- "sister"): a widower must marry the sister of his deceased wife.

A typical coastal Koryak settlement united several related families. There were production associations, including canoe associations (using one canoe), the core of which was a large patriarchal family. Other relatives who were engaged in fishing were grouped around her.

The reindeer herders' camp, the head of which owned most of the reindeer herd and led not only economic but also social life, numbered from two to six yarangas. Within the camp, connections were based on joint herding of reindeer, cemented by kinship and marriage ties, and supported by ancient traditions and rituals. Starting from the 18th century, among the nomadic Koryaks, property division (stratification), caused by the development of private ownership of reindeer, led to the emergence of poor farm laborers who may not have been related to other inhabitants of the camp.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the destruction of patriarchal-communal relations among the settled Koryaks occurred. This was caused by the transition to individual types of economic activity: hunting of small sea animals, fur hunting, and fishing.

Holidays, rituals. The main rituals and holidays of the sedentary Koryaks of the 19th and early 20th centuries were dedicated to the fishing of sea animals. Their main moments are the ceremonial meeting and farewell of the hunted animals (whales, killer whales, etc.). After the ritual was performed, the skins, noses, and paws of the killed animals replenished the bunch of family “guardians.”

The main autumn holiday of the nomadic Koryaks Koyanaitatyk- “Drive the reindeer” - was organized after the herds returned from the summer pastures. After the winter solstice, reindeer herders celebrated the “return of the sun.” On this day, they competed in reindeer sled racing, wrestling, running with sticks, throwing a lasso at a target moving in a circle, and climbing an icy pole.

The Koryaks also developed life cycle rituals that accompanied weddings, the birth of children, and funerals.

To protect against disease and death, they turned to shamans, performed various sacrifices, and wore amulets. Premature death was considered to be the machinations of evil spirits, ideas about which were reflected in funeral and memorial rituals. Funeral clothes were prepared during life, but they were left unfinished, fearing that those who had ready-made clothes would die earlier. It was finished off with a large, ugly seam while the deceased was in the home. At this time, sleeping was strictly prohibited. The main method of burial is burning on a cedar dwarf bonfire. With the deceased, his personal belongings, basic necessities, bow and arrows, food, and gifts to previously deceased relatives were placed on the fire. Among the coastal Koryaks of the southern groups, baptized back in the 18th century, the Orthodox funeral and memorial rites were intertwined with traditional customs: burning the dead, making funeral clothes, treating the dead as if they were alive.

Folklore, musical instruments. The main genres of narrative folklore of the Koryaks are myths and fairy tales ( it was blazing), historical stories and legends ( panenatvo), as well as conspiracies, riddles, songs. The most widely represented myths and tales about Kuikynyaku (Kutkynyaku) - Crow. He appears both as a creator and as a trickster-prankster. Tales about animals are popular. The characters in them are most often mice, bears, dogs, fish, and sea animals. Historical narratives reflect real events of the past (wars of the Koryaks with, with, intertribal clashes). Traces of borrowing from other peoples (Russians) are noticeable in folklore.

The music is represented by singing, recitatives, throat wheezing while inhaling and exhaling. Lyrical songs include “name song” and “ancestral song”, reproducing local and family tunes.

The common Koryak name for musical instruments is g'eynechg'yn. The same word denotes a wind instrument similar to an oboe, with a squeaker made of feathers and a bell made of birch bark, as well as a flute made from the hogweed plant with an external slot without playing holes, and a squeaker made of bird feathers, and a trumpet made of birch bark. Also characteristic are a plate-shaped jew's harp and a round tambourine with a flat shell and an internal cross-shaped handle with vertebrae on a bracket on the inside of the shell.

Modern cultural life. In schools, children learn their native language. An art school has been opened in the village of Palana. At the House of Culture there is a folklore group, a Koryak language group and a national dance group "Veyem" ("River"). Local television and radio broadcast programs in the Koryak language.

To protect the interests of the indigenous residents of the district, the public organization “Indigenous Peoples of the North of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug” was formed; there are its primary cells in all ethnic villages, as well as in the Tigil and Karaginsky regions. In the Koryak Autonomous Okrug, laws are being adopted that should help preserve and revive the national way of life and traditional forms of economic management.

About the Alutorians. As a special ethnographic group of Koryaks, the Alyutors, Olyutors, and Alyutors (in Koryak and Chukchi - alutalu, eluthalu). In Russian sources they are mentioned for the first time since the beginning of the 18th century as a special people. The 1989 census identified them as an independent people.

Named after the village of Alyut, according to another version - from the Eskimo Alutora- "enchanted place." Self-name - nomulyu, the same as among various groups of coastal Koryaks.

Number of people: 3500. They live mainly in the eastern part of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug - in villages along the coast of the Bering Sea, from Korfu Bay in the north to the village of Tymlat in the south, and along the middle reaches of the Vivnik River, as well as on the western coast of Kamchatka, in the village of Rekkinniki. They speak the Alyutor dialect, which is close to the southern branch of the coastal Koryak dialects. Some linguists consider the Alyutor dialect as an independent language. In terms of the type of farming and traditional culture, the Alyutor people are very close to the coastal Koryaks: they were also engaged in marine hunting, including hunting cetaceans and walruses, fishing, gathering, hunting, and, since the 19th century, reindeer herding. Reindeer were exchanged for marine products and essential goods, reindeer transport was used during migrations (dog sleds - for everyday household needs, when inspecting traps and traps during the hunting period).

The Alyutor people had housing and clothing similar to the Koryak ones; one of the features of the latter was waterproof kamleykas made from walrus intestines; The Alyutor people were also distinguished by the habit of sewing trousers made of reindeer kamus to their winter trunks.

The beliefs and rituals of the Alyutors were not much different from the Koryaks. Christianity, which had been spreading among them since the beginning of the 18th century, was not accepted by them. The Alyutor people continue to preserve a number of local ethnographic features to this day.

In March 2000, by decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, they were included in the Unified List of Indigenous Minorities of the Russian Federation.