TO THE HISTORY OF DRAFT DOG BREEDING OF THE NORTHERN SELKUPS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of draft dog breeding of the Northern Selkups. This topic still remains a blank spot in ethnographic science, which emphasizes its scientific novelty. The study was carried out as part of the actual practical task of preserving the traditional Selkup culture and helping the modern peoples of the North in the search for new forms of ethnicity. Analysis, description, historical retrospective method and field work were used as research tools. The study was based on scientific literature data and field materials of the author. The objectives of the study were to clarify the historical features of draft dog breeding - actually sledding and cargo - among two groups of northern Selkups - Turukhansk and Taz. As a result of the study, the following conclusions were drawn. It was established that the Ostyaks used dog sleds to make family migrations to fishing grounds and detours of traps set for the beast in the middle of the 19th century. and earlier. By the beginning of the twentieth century. neither the Taz nor the Turukhan Selkups actually had sled dog breeding. The northern Selkups were probably familiar with draft dog breeding for a long time and brought it from their historical homeland when they moved to the North. Its disappearance is presumably associated with the development of reindeer breeding among them, borrowed from their new neighbors - the Nenets, and also, in part, with the high cost of good draft dogs. The evidence shows that at the beginning of the XX century. the dog was used only by the Turukhansk Selkups and only for the transport of goods. The Taz Selkups used deer to transport people and goods. Deerless or low-deer poor people, making up for the lack of deer they needed, borrowed them from wealthy relatives for a share in fur production. Modern informants from Taz claim that the Taz Selkups had never ridden dogs and carried loads on them, and they also did not have a manual sled.

Keywords

• northern selkups
• taz selkups
• turukhansk selkups
• draft dog breeding
• history of draft dog breeding
• reindeer breeding