In studying the cultural history of the past of their country, people, first of all, learn to understand and respect each other. The peoples of Sakhalin are especially interesting in this regard. Understanding a different mentality unites peoples and nations. And this is not surprising, because a nation without cultural heritage is like an orphan without a clan and tribe who has nothing to rely on.
general information
Before the period of the appearance of explorers and travelers from Europe on Sakhalin, the indigenous population consisted of four tribes: Ainu (in the south of the island), Nivkhs (lived mainly in the northern part), Oroks (Wilt) and Evenks (nomads with deer herds).
A deep study of the features of life and life of the peoples of Sakhalin was carried out on the exhibits of the local museum of local lore. Here is a whole collection of ethnographic exhibits that are the pride of the museum collection. There are genuine objects dated to the 18-20 centuries, which indicates the existence of distinctive cultural traditions among the natives of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.
Ainu people
Representatives of this nation belong to the oldest descendants of the population of Japan, the Kuril Islands and Southern Sakhalin. Historically, the lands of this tribe were divided into the possessions of Japan and the possessions of Russia in the Far East. This is due to the fact that Russian researchers studied and mastered the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin at the same time as the Japanese explorers who carried out similar work on the Pacific coast (Hokkaido Island). Closer to the middle of the 19th century, the Ainu people from the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin fall under the jurisdiction of Russia, and fellow tribesmen from Hokkaido become subjects of the Land of the Rising Sun.
Culture features
Ainu are the people of Sakhalin, belonging to one of the most mysterious and ancient nations of the planet. Representatives of the nationality radically differed from the Mongoloid neighbors in their physical appearance, unique spoken language, and many areas of spiritual and material culture. Men with fair skin wore a beard, and women had tattoos around their mouths and arms. Drawing was very painful and unpleasant. First, an incision was made over the lip with a special knife, then the wound was treated with a decoction of wormwood. After this, soot was rubbed, and the procedure could last more than one day. The result was something like a male mustache.
In translation, Ain is a “noble man” belonging to the people. The Chinese representatives of this nationality called mozhen (hairy people). This is due to the dense vegetation on the body of the natives.
The warlike tribe used swords with sword belts from plants, weighted battle clubs with sharp spikes, and also bow and arrows as their main weapons. The Sakhalin Museum holds a unique exhibit - military armor, which is made by weaving lahtak skin from strips. This rarity reliably protected the body of a warrior. The surviving armor was found in the headman's family on Lake Nevskoye (Taraika) in the thirties of the last century. In addition, the islanders' adaptation to living conditions is evidenced by a variety of fishing tackle and tools for marine and land fishing.
Life ainu
Representatives of this people of Sakhalin in hunting animals used arrowheads, smeared with aconite poison. The dishes were mainly made of wood. In everyday life, men used the original object and take a dip. He served to raise his mustache while drinking alcoholic beverages. This device belongs to ritual artifacts. The Ainu believed that the fish is a mediator between spirits and people. The sticks were decorated with all kinds of patterns and ornaments, symbolizing the daily life of the tribe, including hunting or holidays.
Shoes and clothes were sewn by women from the skins of land and marine animals. Wraps made of fish skin were decorated with colored fabric appliqués on the collar and cuffs of sleeves. This was done not only for beauty, but also for protection from evil spirits. Women's winter clothing was a coat made of seal fur, decorated with mosaics and patterns of fabric. Men wore robes made of elm bast as casual wear, and woven nettle costumes for the holidays.
Migration
Only a few museum exhibits now remind of the small people - Ainu. Here visitors can see a unique loom, clothes sewn by representatives of the nation many decades ago, and other cultural and everyday objects of this tribe. Historically, after 1945, the Ainu group of 1, 200 people moved to Hokkaido as Japanese citizens.
Nivkhi: the people of Sakhalin
The culture of this tribe is focused on the extraction of fish from the salmon family, marine mammals, as well as the gathering of plants and roots growing in the taiga. Fishing tools were used in everyday life (needles for weaving nets, sinkers, special hooks for catching taimen). They hunted the beast with wooden clappers and spears.
Representatives of the nationality traveled on water in boats of various modifications. The most popular model was dugout. To prepare a ritual dish called mos, scoops, troughs and spoons made of wood, decorated with curly carvings, were used. The basis of the dish was the seal fat, which was stored in the dried stomachs of Steller sea lions.
Nivkhs are the indigenous peoples of Sakhalin who made beautiful and unique things from birch bark. This material was used for the production of buckets, baskets, baskets. Products were decorated with a unique embossed spiral ornament.
Clothes and shoes
The wardrobe of the Nivkhs was different from that of the Ainu. Dressing gowns, as a rule, had a spare floor (usually on the left). In the museum's exposition on Sakhalin, you can see the original capes made of fabric at the beginning of the 20th century. The standard industrial clothing for men was considered a skirt made of seal fur. Women's bathrobes were decorated with patterned embroidery in the Amur style. Metal jewelry was sewn along the lower hem.
The winter headdress of lynx fur was finished with Manchu silk, which testified to the wealth and wealth of the owner of the hat. Shoes were sewn from the skins of a sea lion and seal. She was distinguished by a high rate of strength and did not get wet. In addition, women skillfully processed fish skin, after which they made various items of clothing and accessories from it.
Interesting Facts
Many items characteristic of the indigenous peoples of Sakhalin, which are in the local museum, are collected by B.O. Pilsudski (ethnographer from Poland). For his political views, he was exiled to Sakhalin penal servitude in 1887. The collection has models of traditional Nivkh dwellings. It is worth noting that land-based winter dwellings were built in the taiga, and summer houses were built on stilts at the mouths of spawning rivers.
Each Nivkh family kept at least ten dogs. They served as a means of transportation and were also used to exchange and pay a fine for violating a religious order. One of the measures of the owner’s wealth was precisely the sled dogs.
The main spirits of the tribes of Sakhalin: Lord of the mountains, Lord of the sea, Lord of fire.
Oroki
The Wilt people (Oroks) represent the Tungus-Manchu linguistic group. The main economic direction of the tribe is reindeer husbandry. Domesticated animals were the main vehicle used for packs, saddles and sledges. In winter, nomadic routes ran along the taiga of northern Sakhalin, and in summer along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and in the lowlands of Terpeniya Bay.
Most of the time, deer spent on free grazing. This did not require special preparation of feeds, the place of settlement simply changed as the pasture plants and crops were eaten. From one female deer received up to 0.5 liters of milk, which they drank in pure form or made butter and sour cream.
Pack deer was additionally equipped with various bags, saddle, baskets and other elements. All of them were decorated with colored patterns and embroidery. In the Sakhalin Museum you can see a real sled, which serves to transport goods during nomadism. In addition, the collection has hunting attributes (spearheads, self-arrows, carving knives, homemade skis). For the Wilt, winter hunting was one of the main sources of income.
Household part
Orok women skillfully made deer skin, getting blanks for future clothes. Pattern was carried out using special knives on the boards. Things were decorated with ornamental embroidery in the Amur and floral style. A characteristic feature for the patterns is the chain stitch. Winter wardrobe items were made from deer fur. Fur coats, mittens, hats were decorated with mosaics and fur ornaments.
In the summer, the Uilts, like other small peoples of Sakhalin, were engaged in fishing, harvesting fish from the salmon family in reserve. Representatives of the tribe lived in portable dwellings (plague), which were covered with deer skins. In the summer, frame houses covered by larch bark acted as houses.
Evenks and Nanai
Evenki (Tungus) belong to the Siberian minorities. They are the closest relatives of the Manchu, they call themselves “Evenkil”. This tribe, closely associated with the Wilt, was actively engaged in reindeer husbandry. Currently, the people live mainly in Aleksandrovsk and the Okhinsky district of Sakhalin.
Nanai (from the word "nanai" - "local man") is a small group that speaks their own language. The tribe, like the Evenks, refers to a branch of the mainland relatives. They also engage in fishing and deer breeding. After World War II, the resettlement of the Nanai people in Sakhalin from the mainland to the island was massive. Now most of the representatives of this nationality live in the Poronaisk urban district.
Religion
The culture of the peoples of Sakhalin is closely connected with various religious rites. The ideas of higher powers among the peoples of the island of Sakhalin were based on magical, totemic and animistic views of the world, including animals and plants. For most of the peoples of Sakhalin, the cult of the bear was in the highest esteem. In honor of this beast, they even arranged a special holiday.
The little bear was raised in a special cage for up to three years, fed only with the help of special ritual ladles. Products were decorated with carvings with elements of pictographic signs. The killing of a bear took place on a special sacred site.
In the representations of the peoples of Sakhalin, the beast symbolized the mountain spirit, so most of the amulets contained the image of this particular animal. Amulets possessed tremendous magical power, kept for centuries in families, transmitted from one generation to another. Amulets were divided into medical and commercial options. They were made by shamans or people suffering from serious illnesses.
The sorcerer's attributes included a tambourine, a belt with massive metal pendants, a special headdress, a sacred wand and a mask made of bear skin. According to legend, these items allowed the shaman to communicate with spirits, heal people and help his fellow tribesmen in overcoming life's difficulties. The objects and remains of settlements found by researchers indicate that the peoples of the Sakhalin coast buried the dead in different ways. For example, Ainu buried the dead in the ground. The Nivkhs practiced the burning of corpses, installing a memorial wooden structure at the site of the cremation. A figure was placed in it, identifying the soul of a deceased person. At the same time, a regular rite of feeding the idol was carried out.
Economy
For the peoples living on Sakhalin, trade between Japan and China played a huge role. The aborigines of Sakhalin and Amur were actively involved in it. In the seventeenth century, a trade route was formed from the northern part of China along the Lower Amur through the territories of the Ulchi, Nanai, Nivkhs and other indigenous peoples, including the Ainu in Hokkaido. The objects of exchange were metal products, jewelry, silk and other fabrics, as well as other items of trade. Among the museum expositions of those times, you can notice lacquered Japanese dishes, silk jewelry of clothes and hats, and many other objects of this direction.
Present
Given the terminology of the United Nations, indigenous peoples are nations that live in a certain territory until modern state lines are established there. In Russia, this issue is regulated by the federal law “On guarantees of the rights of indigenous and small ethnic groups of the Russian Federation who live on the territory of their ancestors”. This takes into account the traditional way of life, types of economic and commercial activities. This category includes groups of people of less than 50 thousand people who recognize themselves as an independent organized community.
The main ethnic groups of Sakhalin now include a little more than four thousand representatives of the Nivkh, Evenki, Wilt, and Nanai tribes. The island recorded 56 clan settlements and communities located in places of traditional residence engaged in characteristic economic and commercial activities.
It is worth noting that there were no purebred Ainu in the territory of Russian Sakhalin. A census conducted in 2010 showed that three people of this nationality live in the region, but they also grew up in marriage of Ainu with representatives of other nations.
