No 2 (2023)
LINGUISTICS
The naming ceremony in the heroic stories of shors
Abstract
The article deals with the naming ritual in the epic tales of Shors recorded by N. P. Dyrenkova, A. I. Chudojakov, L. N. Arbachakova, and Shors' narrators; some have not been published yet. The naming ceremony is one of the most important poetic and mythological motifs in all traditional oral cultures; it is associated with initiation. In folklore, it is treated as one of the so-called "epic formulas" or “commonplaces” as a standardized form of expression for folkloric motifs. Using descriptive and comparative methods, we have shown the general structure of the naming ceremony and its variability depending on the gender of the epic character and its role in the epic narrative. The article also describes the manifestations of naming an epic hero and his inner divine status. Special attention was paid to the linguistic representation of the naming ceremony and the epic formulas used. In the heroic stories of the Shors, the name of an epic hero has a great symbolic effect; the one who gives him a name is highly respected and honored. An epic hero is born miraculously. The boy (rarely a girl) grows very fast and gains all his power in just a few hours or days after an epic sleep. When he awakens, his parents or other close relatives send him to the coast or a mountain's steps to receive a name. They give him a drink to take to the person who will do the naming. Only if he has a heroic name can he fight the invaders, perform other glorious deeds or find a bride. The naming ceremony of the Shors consists of several parts: The child leaves the parental palace and goes to the place of the ceremony, he calls for a person who will give him a name, the name-giver comes, receives the drinks brought by the boy, announces the name and the blessing, the name-giver disappears and returns to his palace. During the naming ceremony, the name is first given to the epic hero's horse and only then to himself, followed by blessings and good wishes for him and his horse to be invincible and overcome all obstacles.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):9-20
9-20
Geographical names of mongolian origin in Bashkir toponymy
Abstract
The work is devoted to the study of Mongolian place names in the toponymic system of one of the regions of the Russian Federation – the Republic of Bashkortostan. The study aims to discover in the Bashkir toponymy the geographical names of Mongolian origin to analyze their word formation structure, semantics, origin, and spatial distribution in the districts of the republic. The study is significant for the interpretation of foreign toponyms as it reveals the features of their functioning in the toponymic system of the Southern Urals. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the fact that it makes a short excursion into the study of the Mongolian layer in Bashkir toponymy and, for the first time, presents the etymology of many geographical names formed from oikonymic, oronymic, hydrographic terms, drimonims and ethnonyms of Mongolian origin and tries to systematize them. The study was conducted using descriptive, structural, and comparative-historical methods of toponym analysis, as well as ethnolinguistic reconstruction and lingua-cultural interpretation methods. The analyzed material shows that toponyms of Mongolian origin represent a small layer in Bashkir toponymy. Ethnotoponyms of Mongolian origin in Bashkir toponymy result from the intermingling of Mongolian and Bashkir tribes and clans due to the Mongol conquest. Toponyms of Mongolian origin, formed from geographical terms, characterize Bashkortostan's natural and anthropogenic landscape. Mongolian geographical names are also associated with the common beliefs of Mongolian and Turkic tribes.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):21-36
21-36
Historical genesis of the hunting vocabulary of the tungus-manchu peoples
Abstract
The article deals with the archaic lexical stratum of the Tungus-Manchu peoples connected with hunting. It reveals the vocabulary of the ancient Tungus language formed during the culture formation of the Neolithic hunters. The theoretical basis of the research is the studies of Tungus specialists who have studied the language of the Tungus-Manchu peoples. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates the results of studies of related scientific disciplines to solve the linguistic problem, including folklore, ethnography, history, and archeology studies. In accordance with the chosen methodology, the lexical stratum under study is viewed through the prism of ethnic worldview and folkloric traditions. The research material includes published dictionaries, collections on the folklore of the Tungus-Manchu peoples and field material of the author. The results of the analysis of the archaic lexical stratum connected with hunting, folkloric actions and motifs, basic worldviews, and social traditions of the Tungus-Manchu peoples show their origin in the mountain taiga landscape with the beginning of the Holocene during the development of the nomadic culture of hunters. As a result of the research, the author concludes that the archaic hunting traditions have their origin in the era of the ancient Tungus community. The main archaic cultural traditions of the Tungus Manchu peoples are reflected in the names of tools, the main objects of hunting and basic concepts connected with hunting. The ancient Tungus lexical stratum includes the following words: hurka – “noose, snare,” bər – “bow [of a simple type],” n`ur – “arrow,” kiŋnə – “wooden skis,” huksi – “skin skis,” omor – “birch-bark boat,” niki – “duck,” toki – “moose,” uǯa – “footprint,” bu(l)ta, bota – “hunting,” bujun – “hoofed animal.” In the worldview traditions of the Tungus, hunting as a concept is historically visualized in the meanings of “prey,” “gift,” and “giving”.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):37-48
37-48
Pegaya (Motley) Horde or Boma: the semantics of onym and the conceptual meaning
Abstract
The article is devoted to another attempt to determine the ethnolinguistic affiliation of one of the most enigmatic polytonyms of pre-Russian Siberia – Pegaya Horde as a name for the entire population of a given territory, without taking into account their ethnic, linguistic, and cultural identity. Under the politonym, Pegaya Horde all nomadic peoples of Siberia were united in the post-Mongol era. In the pre-Mongol (or Mongol) era, Chinese chronicles recorded the polytonym Boma “skewbald” (驳-马 [bo-ma] 'skewbald (spotted) horse') or Alakchin (as well as Alats) as the name of a particular tribe that had skewbald (different, motley ) horses. If the first part of the socionym Pegaya Horde is conceptually connected with Boma, Alakchin, Alats, and the Olkhonud tribe of Mongols, the base of which is connected with the Altaic appellative alag / alha 'motley, piebald,' then the second part of the socionym – Horde, is connected with the Mongolian ard '1'. arat, worker; people; ard tumen parn. people'. The mysterious Boma's localization corresponds to the Mongol ecumene area, which geographically coincides with the northeastern part of the modern Transbaikalian territory, including the northern areas of China – Manchuria, Khulunbuir and Hailar. An analysis of the meaning of these onyms, usually associated with Mongol ecumenism, allowed us to assume that the Olkhonүүd onym of the Mongols, as well as Boma, Alakchin and Alat ('s), have a Samoyedic origin. Note that the term "motley" is ethnographically embedded in key images of the Buryat-Mongol world. In addition, we have compared the synonymous Boma onym as hetsy (or khela), recorded by Chinese chroniclers as another name for the Boma people, with the genonym Huatsai / Hoatsai Khori-Buryat. The genonym Huatsay / Hoatsay as the name of one of the largest clans of the eastern group of the Buryats – the Khori- Buryats – has a similar meaning to the anthroponym KHASAEV, which was recorded in the census of the indigenous people of the Irkutsk province of Aginsky Steppe Duma for 1830 and is the personal name of the Buryats of the Huatsay clan. We compare the name KHASAEV (in the name of KHASA) in the Buryat census for 1830 with the Nenets Khasyo, but without excluding the possibility of comparing this historical anthroponym with the proper name of the Nenets – Khasava '1) male; khasava Ҋatseky boy'; hasava nu 'son.' Further analysis of this personal name KHASAEV made it possible to compare its meaning with the Nenets hasho '1. figurative man; 2. (with a capital) Hasyo (masculine proper name)', which suggests to us that the genonym Huatsai was formed from this name, which was once an eponym. The Samoyedic-speaking beginning (and some Ket-speaking tribes) is observed in the genonymy of the Khori-Buryats and Tungus of Gantimur in the Nerchinsk district of the 17th–19th centuries as the autochthonous population of the historical Dauria of the Russian period in the history of Eastern Transbaikalia. Based on the onomasiological approach, the method of conceptual metaphor as an effective method, coupled with the method of conceptual metonymy, was constructive and allowed to describe the pre-ethnonymic and self-ethnonymic meanings of historical onyms in the projection of nomadism, which have a self-descriptive (including Ket ) ethnolinguistic origin.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):49-64
49-64
The village helps those who help themselves: on the question of language practices and ideologies in the chuvash and mari diasporas in the Moscow region
Abstract
The article is based on the data obtained through sociolinguistic research in the Chuvash and Mari diasporas in the Moscow region. It examines the linguistic practices of representatives of ethnic groups living in the internal diaspora. These show a high level of linguistic loyalty and a desire to preserve their ethnic language as one of the main features of ethnic identity. Nevertheless, the respondents' linguistic loyalty level does not correlate with the level of language maintenance, as shown by the low level of intergenerational transmission of the ethnic language in the samples. Passing the language on the children is transferred from the diaspora representatives to the ethnic village. Special attention is paid in this paper to the analysis of the language ideologies underlying such practices and to the description of the mechanism of (non)transmission of the ethnic language characteristic of these communities living in urban environments. These are an ideology of legitimacy (authenticity), which confines the language to a specific area where traditional speakers live, and an ideology of anonymity, which is widespread in urban spaces and de facto presupposes the use of Russian as an unmarked linguistic and social norm, regardless of the identity of the speakers. Stereotypes, deeply rooted beliefs, attitudes towards the respective languages, and negative and traumatic experiences traced in the linguistic biographies of the respondents are crucial to ethnic language maintenance in the internal diaspora. The results of the survey provide a comprehensive picture of the language situation in Chuvash and Mari villages in diachrony and synchronicity and show that the ethnic village is currently unable to cope with the task of uninterrupted language transmission, as the village itself, which is considered the traditional compact place of residence of these ethnic groups, is affected by the language shift. The author concludes that there is an urgent need to revise existing language practices in the diaspora in order to develop new and more effective strategies for ethnic language transmission. This requires – in the case of the representatives of the internal diaspora – a conscious adaptation of their current language practices in the village, as well as a growing awareness of their own responsibility for the transmission of their ethnic language to the future generation.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):65-78
65-78
Lexical and semantic oppositions of russian and ossetian dictionary units
Abstract
The subject of this article is the lexical-semantic oppositions of the Russian and Ossetian languages. These oppositions are considered from the point of view of sememe semasiology, i.e., the meaning (sememe) is described as a certain integrity that goes beyond the details of its structure; accordingly, semantemes are analyzed, i.e., the composition of sememes of a lexeme functioning in Russian and Ossetian. The focus is on the value types. The article aims to study the most frequent oppositions of lexical semantics of words in Russian and Ossetian, which represent an active zone of interlingual interference that allows us to assert, on the one hand, the preservation of important national images of Ossetian culture and, on the other hand, the mental influence of Ossetians on the Russian culture of a given region. Explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language and translated Ossetian-Russian lexicographic reference works served as sources for the empirical data; data obtained through interviews with the inhabitants of Vladikavkaz were also used. The typology of lexical-semantic relations is represented by three main types of interlingual relations: equivalence, inclusion, and intersection. Special attention was paid to polysemic lexemes since they most convincingly show similar and differentiating sememes of the compared semantic structures. The priority of these sememes in the semantic structures of Ossetian lexemes in comparison with the corresponding Russian words, testifying to the preservation of important national images inherent in the Ossetian mentality, is affirmed. Thus, the denotative-conceptual apparatus and connotations of the Ossetian lexemes allow us to talk about the features of the worldview of the Ossetian people, which is actively manifested in the lexical-semantic comparison. The presented semantic oppositions reflect the social transformations due to the current tendency in modern society to form a Russian identity that implies separate, relatively autonomous constituents, for example, the identity of a national character. Accordingly, the study of lexicalsemantic oppositions between Russian and Ossetian vocabulary units seems to be relevant not only in linguistic but also in ideological terms, as they reflect the basic values of the population of a particular Russian region.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):79-89
79-89
ANTHROPOLOGY
The cinema-atlas of the USSR: "Bukhara" (1927)
Abstract
The proposed study brings information about the ethnographic film “Bukhara” (1927) by well-known Soviet filmmakers, the cinematographer Ya. M. Tolchan and the editor E. I. Svilova. Based on this film work, the article examines the “experimentation of filmmakers” in the process of developing an ethnographic tendency in Soviet cinema. In the period under study, filmmakers fascinated by ethnographic exoticism and expeditionary romanticism actively tested various approaches to visualizing ethnicity and constructed a screen image of the Union of Nationalities Liberated by the Revolution, in which the party leadership, as the monopolist of thematic and production plans in the film industry, was interested, in order to strengthen the programs of the “Cultural Revolution” Among the tasks of the work is the description of the images of the collapse of the traditional existence of Uzbek society during the socialist upheavals in the east of the country in the mid-1920s, which were captured in the mentioned film. Since the heterogeneous Soviet East was one of the most problematic regions regarding Sovietization programs in the early Soviet period, it was assigned special cinematographic resources – the filming of the Central Asian film expedition by Ya. M. Tolchan and the subsequent editing of an independent film, “Bukhara” by E. I. Svilova, are considered in the context of the development of the large-scale state project “Cinema-Atlas Of The USSR” and in the context of parallel processes of Soviet national policy. The reference sources for the study were little-known archival documents and materials from the Soviet periodical press. The study uses an effective method of the author to read the film as a film text because, due to the peculiarities of silent film, the film “Bukhara” consists of approximately equal parts of film images and text subtitles interspersed in the narrative. The conclusion points to the film “Bukhara” as a multi-layered visual document of its time and to the need to study the phenomenon of the Soviet film atlas as a whole as a unique phenomenon that has produced a range of practical and theoretical materials that are in demand in modern visual anthropology.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):90-99
90-99
The ethnolinguistic identity of the youth of sakha in connection with the inclusion of the mother tongue of the youth of other subjects of the Russian Federation in the images of the future
Abstract
The article was written against the need to determine the real meaning of the content of young people's linguistic attitudes in a changing reality to assess their readiness for modern challenges and threats. The results of the sociolinguistic analysis of the factors determining ethnolinguistic identity of young people from Sakha are presented in comparison with the total population of respondents from Sakha living in the city of Yakutsk, as well as with the linguistic attitudes of students (Chechens, Avars, Lezgins, Dargins, Tuvans, Buryats, Tatars) studying at the universities of Grozny, Kazan, Makhachkala, Kyzyl, Ulan-Ude. The main indicators of ethnolinguistic identity based on linguistic self-identification and linguistic competence show relative stability, while the latter is characterized by gradual spread of conversational skills. In accordance with W. Lambert's three-component model of attitudes, the affective component is the most pronounced in the structure of linguistic attitudes of the Sakha youth; the cognitive component is characterized by lability; the conative (behavioral) component is insufficiently developed due to the influence of a variety of external factors. However, the Sakha youth show solidarity with the ethnic community in preserving their mother tongue, recognize its value, and note that institutional development of the Sakha language in education is inadequate. A preliminary analysis of a survey of students in the Russian Federation revealed a high degree of integration of the concepts of "mastery of the mother tongue" and "patriotism"; however, the view of their (ethnic) mother tongue through the prism of personal attitudes is ambivalent. At the same time, the intention is expressed to use the mother tongues as often as possible in the future. The conditions of active contact bilingualism in the regions of the Russian Federation, and the variety of ambiguous extra-linguistic factors realize the purposeful activity of the ethnic community in the formation of patriotic consciousness of young people based on their mother tongue.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):100-113
100-113
Nenets and komi-izhemtsy from the lower reaches of the Pur river (an ethnographic essay)
Abstract
The article deals with the historical processes of the formation of a special ethnic community in the north of the Purovsky district of YaNAO. Its base was the native Tundra Nenets and the newcomers Komi-Izhma. The Nenets, who lived on the lower reaches of the river. Pur, known to the Russian pioneers since the 17th century, resisted for a long time the imposition of their ruler Yasak and the construction of forts on the banks of the Taz Bay. The gradual pacification of the Nenets and the rationalization of the Yasak River led to the lower reaches of the Pur being almost completely forgotten by the Russians, and this area became a "bear corner." Only the development of the fishing industry in the second half of the XIX century reawakened the interest of the authorities in this area. Most of the Nenets were engaged in fishing, leaving their few reindeer in herds. This tumultuous activity of fishermen affected the gathering of yasak and led to the decline of local reindeer herding. During the Soviet period, extraordinary measures were taken to revive reindeer herding on the lower reaches of the Pur River. The dispossessed Komi-Izhemtsy from the western regions of Yamal and Khanty-Mansiysk districts were voluntarily and forcibly resettled here, and the Samburg administrative center was built. The active and enterprising Komi-Izhma brought to the lower reaches of the Pur the advanced methods of reindeer grazing developed over decades. Gradually, local Nenets reindeer herders adopted the Komi-Izhma's new skills to run a profitable economy. As the representatives of the two peoples came closer, individual elements of traditional culture were exchanged. The influence of the Komi-Izhemtsy proved to be stronger. Mixed Izhma-Nenets families emerged. The Nenets mastered the language of the Komi-Izhma. Women from mixed families stopped sewing the traditional fur coats and switched to Izhma malitsa, which differed from men only by a hood made of white deerskin. Today, the processes of urbanization and industrial development of the land on the lower reaches of the Pur River affect the daily life of Samburg reindeer herders and fishermen. Nevertheless, the Nenets and Komi-Izhma continue to lead a traditional economy and preserve a unique culture that adapts to new conditions.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):114-128
114-128
Mental maps of urban space among kalmyk youth during COVID-19
Abstract
The article is devoted to the identification and structural and functional description of the features of perception of urban space during a pandemic from the point of view of studying its perception by young people. The author shows the relationships between the elements of urban space as constraints during the pandemic through the image formed in the minds of young people. The study is based on the mental mapping method developed by K. Lynch, which allows visualizing the main features of the city and its space during the Covid-19 period. The aim is to find out what image is formed in the minds of young people in relation to the spaces of the city of Elista. The study was conducted using the structural-functional method and the method of participant observation. The author concludes that the transformation of the urban space under the influence of the pandemic COVID-19 is associated with physical limitations. The image of the city is marked by old boundaries, which indicates the stability of the perception of the image of urban space, fixed in landmarks and gaining recognition in the minds of young people.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):129-141
129-141
Rituals of burial and commemoration of chuvashs in the context of prohibitions: traditions and transformations
Abstract
The article deals with prohibitions in Chuvash burial and memorial rituals and the factors of their mutability in the process of transformation. The study aims to analyze the prohibitions in the context of their study as a mechanism of regulating people's behavior at funerals and commemorations and the nature of changes in the prohibitions in modern conditions. The task of the study is to examine the prohibitions that occur in Chuvash funeral and memorial rituals through the prism of such key concepts as time, space, ritual actions, the composition of participants, objects, offerings, and the stability and variability of the prohibition system under the influence of globalization and cultural modernization. The work is based mainly on the authors' original field material collected between 1994 and 2022 in various Chuvash settlement areas in the Ural-Volga region. The methodological basis of the study is understanding the prohibition system as an integral part of the socio-normative culture that regulates human behavior in daily and ritual life. As a result of the study, it was found that the subject of prohibition norms in this area can be any area of the economic, daily, and ritual life of a person, whether the time, place of action, ritual attributes, composition of participants, clothing, food, offerings, behavior. Recently, the prohibitions in this area have changed significantly regarding safety and functionality. Under the influence of the sociocultural changes of the XX – early XXI century, the scope of prohibitions has significantly decreased, and a significant part of them is no longer considered binding. This is due to the fact that in modern reality, the boundaries between the profane and the sacred have become blurred, the economic and domestic way of life, employment, and the rhythm of people's lives have changed, families have been atomized, and the transmission of cultural traditions between generations is no longer guaranteed. As a result, many prohibitions no longer play a role in people's minds. In general, the changes noted are part of the general process of transformation of ethnic culture in the context of globalization and modernization of culture
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):142-150
142-150
List of monetary units in the lexicographic document from the XVII century "Звательные рѣчи зырѧнского языка, сирѣчь сирскаго"
Abstract
The publication summarizes the results of a preliminary study of the Komi-Zyryan- Russian dictionary discovered as part of a recently discovered Russian manuscript collection from the XVII century. The study was conducted based on the material of the original digitized dictionary, the facsimile edition of which will be published in the general monograph on the newly discovered collection. Traditional methods of general linguistics and textology, as well as Russian historiography and some auxiliary historical disciplines, were used in the analysis of the dictionary text. The main focus is on one fragment of the document, namely the Zyryan-Russian monetary units, which are considered in the context of the historical state of the financial system and the circulation of money in the Russia of the XVI-XVII centuries. The article gives the structure of the list of monetary units, their elements, and monetary amounts, which were subjected to primary processing and systematization. The author proposes an interpretation of the “Komi money” expressed in national monetary terms (ur ‘kopeck’, ‘shait ruble') and their value relation to the units of the Russian monetary system (denga, altyn, ruble, half ruble). The list of monetary units in the compilation of the Zyryan dictionary also allows you to check the chronological parameters. The structure and nomenclature of monetary units, as well as the ratio of their values, partially illustrated by the Komi text, confirm the document's connection with a difficult period in the history of the Russian state, which covered almost the entire XVII century and, in particular, the period of the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The picture of unsystematic monetary amounts in the Komi and Russian parts, especially in the Altyn series, is related to the state of the financial system during the monetary reform of 1654–1663 when old silver money (denga) and new silver and copper coins of various denominations with a compulsory exchange rate were in circulation simultaneously for a long time. The dictionary material requires further study, as it is of interest not only for Komi and Russian historical lexicography but also for historical research in the field of monetary circulation in Russia.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):151-163
151-163
REVIEWS
Critical review on the E. A. Davydova reindeer Herders of Chukotka: power, kinship, relations with the state (based on materials from the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries). Saint Petersburg: MAE RAN, 2022. 316 p.
Abstract
The monograph by E. A. Davydova examines power relations in the communities of Chukchi reindeer herders from the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. The author analyzes the power relations of the reindeer Chukchi in everyday life, family relations, ritual knowledge, and relations with the state. This is the first anthropological study that deals specifically with power relations among the Chukchi. The book's primary source is the unique diaries of the Soviet ethnographer Varvara Kuznetsova, who worked in the Leningrad branch of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the 1940s and 50s. The framework of the topic arose from the content of the diary entries, as their author held the lowest social position in the Chukchi community, and therefore power relations were involuntarily reflected in her diary entries. The success of the reviewed book was determined by a combination of several factors: a little-researched subject, unique field material by V. Kuznetsova, and a high level of analysis and interpretation by the book's author. E. A. Davydova based her study on the theoretical works of M. Foucault, E. Giddens, K. Wolfe, and other foreign and Russian scientists and on historical, ethnographic, and anthropological literature from the 19th to the 21st centuries. Due to the peculiarities of the key source, the author used micro-historical and biographical methods. The “signs” and well-known features of the Chukchi culture, such as “spousal companionship” (men concluded a friendship agreement among themselves, according to which each of them had the right to his friend's wife), hospitable hetarism, the custom of voluntary death, the custom of gender transformation, the use of hallucinogens and a number of others, the author managed to interpret them in the context of power relations and give them a new understanding. The book contains a lot of new, unique information about Chukchi ethnography in the field of household (use of space, food related to its consumption; leisure, domestic violence); social relations when kinship is considered as a resource and symbolic capital. A special chapter is devoted to Chukchi's relations with the state.
Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2023;(2):164-168
164-168