Sustainability and Survival for Tuvan and Saami Reindeer Herders
Libby AmayaEliot Raynor
Purpose
Language loss is not just a problem for linguists
Traditional ways of life and systems of knowledge – ie. reindeer-herding – are encoded in language
Therefore, loss of languages like Saami and Tuvan is equivalent to the loss of this knowledge (or at least an efficient and culturally-valued way of organizing it).
Both languages have seen significant lexical innovation as a result of the processes of urbanization and modernization
Reindeer-herding: origins “One of the major questions of
world history” – S. Vainshtein
Ancient petroglyphs in Sayan-Altai region suggest reindeer domestication goes back until at least 1st century AD
Eminent scholars (Laufer, Leimbach, Mänchen-Helfen) say Tuvinian style of deer-herding could be oldest form in Eurasia
Reindeer-herding: origins
Possibly originated under influence of Turkic pastoralists: reindeer domestication taken up by Turkic or Mongolian tribes and later abandoned but not before being adopted by the Samodi who carried it North
However, lack of Turkic words in southern Samodi herding terminology (and Samodi borrowings in Turkic-speaking herding communities) may suggest that Samodi reindeer herding developed independently
Reindeer-herding: styles
Sayan (used by modern Tuvinians): Pack-carrying; riding allowedwith saddle and stirrups; used formilk;no dogs nor decoys
Tungus / Siberian: carry packs; allow riding with saddle but no stirrups; drag sleds; milked; no dogs for herding
Reindeer-herding: styles
Reindeer-herding: styles
Western Siberian / Samodi: carry supplies by draught; use decoys, dogs; no milking
North-Eastern: tow sleds; use decoys; no dogs for herding
Saami: reindeer carry food/ supplies on back, also dragged by harness on sled; used for milk; dogs, lassos for pasturing; decoy-deer used
Reindeer-herding: styles
Tuvans
“Tyva” – ethnonym first associated with Turkic Uigurs in Sayan-Altai
Typically divided into two groups: Western: pastoralists of steppe regions Eastern*: reindeer-herding, hunting people of
the taiga regions
Situated at the crossroads of China, Mongolia, Russian Siberia
Tuvan: location
Tuvan: history Ruins of ancient settlements in Tuva date back to
Paleolithic era
Inhabitants of the taiga area near Sayan Mountains were hunters and fishers
2nd century BC: Hun empire spreads pastoralism
After 500 AD: Turkic settlers begin to inhabit the region as part of the early-medieval Turkyut state
1000 AD: Tuba (Dubo) tribes settle in mountain-taiga, Sayans area, overthrowing the Samodi people
Tuvan: history 1207: Tuva subjugated by Genghis Khan, and
Mongol influence would increase in the area, eventually becoming part of the Mongol state
1634: Mongol leader Ombo Erdeni swears allegiance to Russia
18th century: Manchu/Ch’ing dynasty rules over Tuva; by end of 1800’s Tuvan people become unified ethnic group
1914: First declaration of Tuvinian People’s Republic, precursor to the Tuvan ASSR, and modern-day Tyva Republic
Tuvan: language Turkic language
200,000 speakers in Tuvan ASSR (majority language: 63% Tuvan-speakers)
Also some 3,000 speakers in China and around 20,000 in Mongolia
Closely related to Todzhin severely endangered due to shift to Russian and Tuvan
99% of Tuvans living in rural communities are monolingual in Tuvan; only 9% in cities
16% living in cities are monolingual in Russian
Tuvan: language
ivi ‘deer (general)’ kyzyr myndy ‘dry doe’ kolchangy ‘doe in fawn’ myndy ‘doe after fawning’ eder chary ‘buck’ anai ‘fawn up to 6 months’ kuu anai ‘fawn from 6-12 mths’
dongur ‘male fawn’ daspan ‘young buck (1-2 yrs)’ myndychak ‘female up to 2 yrs’ düktüg myiys ‘male up to 2 yrs’ eder düktüg myiys ‘buck after 3 yrs’ munar chary ‘riding-buck’ kuddai ‘castrated deer’ döngür ‘any deer after 4 years’
Proliferation of lexical items referring to sex and age of deer:
Tuvan: language
mašina ‘automobile’ demir-orok ‘railroad’ xyycaa ‘deadline’ pulemyot ‘machine gun’ mooda ‘motorcycle’ magnito(f)on ‘tape recorder/player’ televizor ‘television’ universitet ‘university’ arbus ‘watermelon’ zoopark ‘zoo’
Saamis
Saami: history
Uncertainty over the nature of Saami arrival in modern-day Scandinavian nations, as well as whether language is original or acquired from Finnish
Biological/genetic attempts at ethnic classification have proved ambiguous
“The Saami have never heard that they came here from elsewhere”
Saami: colonializationand modernization
In Middle Ages Saami were mobile, sparse, divided into villages siida
Partly due to mobility and scattering, were susceptible to encroachment by settlers Forced to merge or move North Unable to defend against tax collectors Overhunting, overfishing, and slash and burn
farming by newcomers
Saami: colonialization and modernization
Saami splits into two distinct cultures: Reindeer Saami: focused primarily on reindeer
husbandry; based on nomadic lifestyle Forest Saami: mixed economy, partly reindeer-
keeping but also hunting and fishing; semi-nomadic
20th century: Reindeer Saami become semi-nomadic, build fixed dwellings, turn to cattle-keeping
Saami: language
Finno-Ugric: closest to Finnish 4-10 different languages (7, traditionally)
South (Norway, Sweden) Lule (Norway, Sweden) North (Norway, Sweden, Finland) Inari (Finland) Skolt (Finland, Russia) Kildin (Kola Peninsula, Murmansk Oblast,
Russia) Ter Saami* (Kola Peninsula)
Saami: language
Reindeer-herding boazu ‘reindeer’ čearpmat ‘reindeer calf (from
first fall to the next)’ eallu ‘herd of hundreds of
reindeer’ goddi ‘wild reindeer’ heargi ‘reindeer bull’ spáillit ‘male reindeer
castrated in previous year’ áldu ‘calved reindeer’ binna ‘small herd of reindeer’
Ice and snow bievla ‘bare spot where
snow has melted’ cuoŋo ‘crusted snowdrift
(heavy things can be carried over)’
čiegar ‘old snow dug up by a reindeer during grazing’
láhttu ‘track made in snow by skis’
Saami: language
Saami: language
dážaluvvat ‘to become Norwegian; to trade in Sámi values’
mohtorgielká ‘snowmobile’ skierročuojanas ‘record player’ dihtor ‘computer’ dihtorbiebmu ‘input (computer)’ dihtorčollu ‘output (computer)’ dihtorterminála ‘computer terminal’ globála liegganeapmi ‘global warming’ zip-fiila ‘zip file (computers)’
Saami
Language endangerment and indigenous peoples
Both Tuvan and Saami people have developed a unique and, for the most part, sustainable way of interacting with a harsh environment this is encoded in their languages
Threats to the survival of these languages are almost always linked to the shift away from traditional reindeer-herding practices and towards urbanization and modernization
Bibliography
Sustainable Reindeer Husbandry. Jernsletten and Klokov. Artic Council 2000-2002.
Family-Based Reindeer Herding and Hunting Economies, and the Status and Management of Wild Reindeer/Caribou Populations. Ulvevadet and Klokov.
Nomads of South Siberia. Vainshtein, Sevyed. Cultural Minorities in Finland. Pentikäinnen and Hiltunen. The Sami People. Veli-Pekka Lehtola. University of Alaska
Press, 2004. Tyvan. Gregory David Anderson and K. David Harrison.
Lincom Europa, 1999. Tuvan Dictionary. Gregory D. S. Anderson and K. David
Harrison. Lincom Europa, 2003. “Sami Grammar – Vocabulary”. Kimberli Mäkäräinen, 1999–
2003. http://www.uta.fi/~km56049/same/svocab.html The Laplanders: Europes Last Nomads. Per Høst. Dreyers
Forslag-Oslo.