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Vasileva O., Yakovlev A. The Human-Dog Relationship in the Yakut Culture: Ethnographic Observations of the Past and the Everyday Life of Modern Village

O. Vasileva
Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North of Siberian Branch
of Russian Academy of Sciences
Yakutsk, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0001-9992-4163
E-mail: ovasileva.igi@mail.ru

A. Yakovlev
M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous
Studies of the North of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences
Yakutsk, Russian Federation
ORCID: 0000-0002-3233-780x
E-mail: aytalyakovlev@mail.ru

 

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ABSTRACT. The article examines the relationship between man and dog in the context of the Yakut culture. The authors attempt to consider it from the point of view of time, space, and communication to identify specific features of the Yakut society and its historical and cultural dynamics. The study draws on the published folklore and ethnographic materials of the previous two centuries, as well as modern information recorded by the authors in 2013–2022 during field research in different regions of Yakutia. The interaction of a person with a dog manifests itself richly in the Yakut (Sakha) culture, including ritual practices, anthroponymy, and the perceived boundaries between local ethnic groups of the Yakuts. According to the ethnographic materials of the past two centuries, the image of a dog had a protective function in the ritual practices of the Yakuts, because the dog played the role of a guard but also because the attitude towards this animal was contemptuous. The study highlights the attitudes towards dogs by two local ethnic groups of the Yakuts. Transformations associated with the displacement of images and meanings of ancient hunting cultures occurred as the dog’s importance in a person’s economic life decreased. We are talking about the transition to livestock farming and the dissemination of new technologies — hunting weapons and equipment. A common semantic core has formed through the interaction between the Yakuts and dogs. This core is evident today and manifests itself in the types of spatial coexistence, the rules for keeping dogs, and hunting activities.

 

KEYWORDS: dog, everyday life, Yakutia, ethnic culture, space, identity, village

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2023-4(22)-102-125
УДК 39(=512.157)

 

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