Siberia Pictures Nenets Oxana Kharuchi Page 2

The basis of the Nenets way of life is reindeer herding. Reindeer are very much like your caribou, but they can be herded. Reindeer mean EVERYTHING to Nenets -- food, clothing, transportation. We are nomads, and the reindeer are so important to our way of life that they are almost like part of our families! Groups of reindeer numbering up to several hundred are owned by each extended family group.

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This picture shows one of my uncles about to start a journey using sleds pulled by reindeer.	Here the group is setting off. Some reindeer are pulling sleds, and the others will follow along behind.
This man is capturing reindeer from the group, perhaps to use it to pull a sled or to slaughter it for food.	We use the reindeer antlers to prepare medicines. The antlers grow back...
The reindeer are vaccinated against diseases, especially against brucellosis.	The reindeer skins often have eggs laid by a certain parasite. The skins are pounded in order to kill the eggs.
We also eat fish -- just the way Inuit do, frozen and sliced thin.	In winter we play a number of games. Here we see man wrestling...
This photo shows men testing their strength.	These two groups of singers and dancers are famous in our district. The woman in between the two drummers is very famous.
The picture shows the contrast between those who live 'on the land' and those who live in towns.	This last pictures shows men waiting outside a Post office.

If you would like to ask me any questions about the Nenets, or about the situation of indigenous

 peoples in Russia, please feel free to e-mail me at okharuchigov.nu.ca.

There are several good webpages which provide information about the Nenets, including htp://arcticcircle.uconn.edu/SEEJ/Yamal, http://borealis.lib.uconn.edu/ArcticCircle/HistoryCulture/Russia www.suri.ee/eup and www.suri.ee/r/nenets. An excellent recent book on the Nenets in English is Andrei Golovnev and Gail Osherenko's 'Siberian Survival: The Nenets and Their Story'.

I would like to thank Nunanet for hosting this webpage, Bill Sackett for scanning the pictures for me, and everyone who has helped make my trip to Iqaluit possible!