RU | EN
Submenu

Golovnev A., Kisser T., Perevalova E. “Trans-Nenets Expedition” by G. D. Verbov: Anthropology of Travel and Knowledge

A. Golovnev
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS
St. Petersburg, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-5716-655X
E-mail: Andrei_golovnev@bk.ru  

 

T. Kisser
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS
St. Petersburg, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0001-9246-2787
E-mail: tkisser@bk.ru  

 

E. Perevalova
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS
St. Petersburg, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-9480-715X

E-mail: Elena_Perevalova@mail.ru 

 

 Download  |  Go to Issue #1. 2025

 

ABSTRACT. The article analyzes the anthropological experience of the “Trans-Nenets expedition” of the outstanding Soviet linguist and ethnographer Grigory Verbov, carried out in 1938–1939. The study is based on archival data, including field diaries, photographs and drawings collected by the researcher during his journey across all the territories inhabited by the Nenets from Taimyr to the White Sea. Verbov’s large-scale expedition is considered through the prism of three interconnected dimensions: the anthropology of movement (the study of communication in the space of the Nenets community by overcoming significant distances), the anthropology of travel (analysis of personal transformations and emotional experience of the researcher) and the anthropology of engagement (in the context of intercultural communication and the growth of scientific knowledge). Particular attention is paid to Verbov’s methodology, based on deep immersion in the studied culture, which was expressed in fluency in the Nenets language, acceptance of the nomadic way of life and the phenomenon of “turning into a Nenets”. The article demonstrates how the researcher, overcoming significant difficulties of polar conditions, not only collected extensive ethnographic material, but also acted as an intermediary between the Soviet authorities and tundra nomads. The study emphasizes the importance of Verbov’s expedition diaries as a valuable source for understanding not only the culture of the northern Samoyeds and the history of Russian ethnography, but also the anthropology of fieldwork as a personally oriented process of learning about other cultures.

 

KEYWORDS: Nenets, G. D. Verbov, ethnographic expedition, anthropology of movement, anthropology of travel, field research, Soviet ethnography

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2025-1(27)-74-99
UDC 39 (=511.2)

 

REFERENCES

  • Burkova S. I. [Ңobtiki khasava (about Grigory Davydovich Verbov)]. Materialy 3-y Mezhdunarodnoy nauchnoy konferentsii po samodistike. Novosibirsk, 26–28 oktyabrya 2010 g. [Proceedings of the 3rd International Scientific Conference on Self-Discipline. Novosibirsk, October 26–28, 2010]. Novosibirsk: Lyubava Publ., 2010, pp. 7–19. (In Russian).
  • Golovnev A. V. [Anthropology of Travel: From Imago Mundi to Selfie]. Ural’skij istoriceskij vestnik [Ural Historical Journal], 2016, no. 2 (51), pp. 6–16. (In Russian).
  • Golovnev A. V. Severnost’ Rossii [Northerness of Russia]. St. Petersburg: MAE RAN Publ., 2022, 450 p. (In Russian).
  • Kanev Yu. V. Verbov. “Nastoyashchiy nenets” [Verbov. “The Real Nenets”]. Nar’yan-Mar: Kodeks Publ., 2024, 224 p. (In Russian).
  • Khomich L. V. [Grigory Davydovich Verbov — researcher of traditional culture and language of the Nenets]. Kul’turnoye naslediye narodov Sibiri i Severa: materialy Pyatykh Sibirskikh chteniy. Sankt-Peterburg, 17–19 oktyabrya 2001 g. [Cultural heritage of the peoples of Siberia and the North: Materials of the Fifth Siberian readings. St. Petersburg, October 17–19, 2001]. St. Petersburg: MAE RAN Publ., 2004, pt. 1, pp. 75–82. (In Russian).
  • Ogryzko V. V. [This is how Nenets literature began]. Nenetskaya literature [Nenets Literature]. Moscow: Literaturnaya Rossiya Publ., 2003, pp. 3–15. (In Russian).
  • Omel’chuk A. [Padnana luca (Grigory Verbov)]. Rytsari Severa [Knights of the North]. Sverdlovsk: Sredne-Ural’skoye knizhnoye izdatel’stvo Publ., 1982, pp. 99–128. (In Russian).
  • Perevalova E. V., Kisser T. S., Komova E. A. [The Legacy of Grigory Davydovich Verbov (on the 115th Anniversary of the Northern Explorer)]. Sibirskiye istoricheskiye issledovaniya [Siberian Historical Research], 2023, no. 3, pp. 316–344. (In Russian).