Ethnicity and Its Strategies (Based on Field Materials, Collected Among Besermians, Soyots, and Tubalars)
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: In 2023, within the framework of the project “Indigenous small-numbered peoples: renewal of ethnicity,” three expeditions were carried out to indigenous small-numbered peoples from different republics of Russia - Besermians (Republic of Udmurtia), Soyots (Republic of Buryatia), Tubalars (Republic of Altai). At first glance, it seems that the studied peoples are different, however, as the results of the recent All-Russian Population Census showed, the Besermians, Soyots and Tubalars have at least one common trend: ethnic groups have demonstrated stable indicators of their population. Besermians present themselves as ethnic extroverts, demonstrating their culture everywhere, ready for external communication and interested in defending their own identity. Soyots are more concentrated on themselves and direct ethnic energy within their clan, family, and people. Despite living in tourist places, the Tubalars can be called a closed community, focused on projects to restore ancestral traditions and protect themselves from all sorts of counterfeits. Thus, the Besermians, Soyots and Tubalars demonstrate individual ways of developing their ethnic groups, and it is likely that the presence of these strategies contributes to their sustainability, including in relation to the dynamics of their numbers. Focus on one's own path of development can provide the opportunity for a favorable outcome in the face of negative trends, and positive events can support the strengthening of commonality in one's strategy.
Source: Kunstkamera
Author: Svetlana Belorussova
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7117484150