research work of BCH

• research and organizational work of BCH

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• expedition work

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• projects confirmed with grants

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• works, publications

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• electronic publications (file archive)

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Expedition work

Work on registration and drawing maps of memorials of Sami-scolts culture

Registration and drawing maps of memorials of Sami-scolts' culture in Northern Norway, Finland, and North-West of Kola Peninsula" jointly with Tromso University, Museum of eastern Sami in Varangerbotten (Norway) and National cultural center of Lovozero with the support of Sami Parliament of Norway, under the aegis of Joint Russian-Norwegian commission on environment protection.

Term of realization: during three field seasons (1998-2000)

Place of realization: western districts of Kola Peninsula (Kola and Pechenga)

Purposes and tasks:
The main purpose of the investigations - registration and drawing maps of memorials of Sami culture of Notozero, Motovsky, Pazretsky, Pechenga and Songelsky churchyards; determination of their accurate location, degree of undamaged state; description of traditional function, utilitarian and religious notions concerning to every discovered and fixed object.

Results: Concrete scientific results of the research are registration and drawing maps of memorials of Sami culture of Notozero, Motovsky, Pazretsky, Pechenga and Songelsky churchyards. Altogether during three years 65 objects of material and spiritual culture of Sami were registered in Russian territory, described, photographed and mapped, viz winter constant settlements, spring-summer and autumn trade areas, graveyards, separate burial places, and also different objects of religious, economic and common purpose. The most of the objects were observed for the first time both in the territory of Murmansk oblast and Norway. Five settlements at Nilijarvi, Hejuhenjarvi Lakes, on Tilisaarvi and Scolteholmen islands will fill up the list of Sami culture memorials in the territory of state reserve "Pasvik". An important result became forming the database about up-to-date state of memorials and territories of traditional nature management of Sami-scolts on Kola Peninsula. Moreover, the findings allowed replenishing the knowledge about economic structure, and concerned with it attributes of material culture and also about spiritual notions of Sami-scolts.

The project has important humanitarian meaning. The research should be viewed as a tribute to historical justice, as one of the steps to restoration of Sami-scolts ethnic culture's unity in all its diversity and community. Attention to spiritual and material values of Sami-scolts is connected with realization of the indigenes' right to express their rich, realized in different forms specific identity. Traditional knowledge, values of traditional society, ability to maintain harmonic relations inside ecosystem and in public collective, and respect to Earth is also related to its demonstration. Therefore the project became an important step on the way to conservation of Sami-scolts collective heritage - integral and valuable mean of expression and identity of their culture. At the same time it demonstrated the stability of ethnic and cultural identity of Sami-scolts contrary to difficult social and cultural transformations.

Works on program of fundemental studies of the Presidium RAS "Ethno-cultural interaction in Eurasia"

Term of realization: during three field seasons (2002-2004)

Place of realization: Lovozero district of Kola Peninsula

Purposes and tasks:
The main purpose of field investigations was collection of material on revealing local characteristics of Kola Sami (on the example of three groups) in traditional material and spiritual culture, economy, social practices before migration to Lovozero; estimating the state and place of local culture and economical traditions in modern life of Kola Sami, and also studying the phenomenon of local identity stability of every group, its reasons and questions of migrated groups adaptation under new conditions of Lovozero.

Main results.
The investigations showed that in spite of dominating commonness in forms (elements) of material and spiritual culture, and also in economical activity of Kola Sami, in historical prospect local differences are still observed at the level of separate Sami churchyards, which existed till the middle of XX century on Kola Peninsula. For three churchyards - Chudzjavrsky (Kildinsky), Voroninsky and Varzinsky (Semiostrovsky), local characteristics were revealed which concerned language differences, structure and ways of traditional economy management, differences in clothes (mainly in ways of figuration and used materials).

The interviews made during the expedition with representatives of studied Sami groups allowed restoring the historical picture of forced migration of Kola Sami in 1930-1960 of XX century in context of individual persons' historical fates. Moreover, they could reveal factors, which influenced upon forms of social and ethno-cultural adaptation of migrates at new place and preservation of group identity that determined the gears of separating migrated groups from general social environment of Lovozero. The study of modern characteristics of Chudzjavrsky (Kildinsky), Voroninsky and Varzinsky (Semiostrovsky) Sami allows judging about preservation of stable culture identity of migrated groups' data at the level of local communities together with prevalent tendency among Russian Sami directed to forming a common Sami identity and internationalization of relations. Interview with representatives of migrated groups showed that the main joining factor of local groups is their original territory, which includes both the place of family and their ancestors' residence and the territory of their economical activity, and also burial and sacred places, which are mentioned in legends and used in rituals. The second important joining factor is language. At the same time poor knowledge of modern Sami language, formed on the basis of Kildinsky dialect, and practical loss of its patoises is not determinant at identification of individual representatives with concrete local Sami groups, which were native speakers of proper patoises. The main result of the investigations is drawing maps of traditional nature management's territories of the churchyards, and also presentation of transformations of these territories' using, mainly fishing and pasturelands, in connection with migration.

Works on program: "Problems of studying historical and cultural memory of local communities"

Leader: doc.hist.sci. I.A.Razumova

Term of realization: during field season of 2004.

Place of realization: Tersky district of Murmansk oblast.

Expedition N1: executor - M.L.Nakhshina

The work on collection of empirical material was carried out. Field trips to Tersky district of Murmansk oblast took place: in June of 2004 - Kuzomen village, July of 2004 - Umba village (including visiting of some nearby settlements). The work was carried out by methods of observation, photo and audio fixing. Text material was written with aim of interviewing, talk, and poll. Altogether, there are 18hours of audio records. Narrative material is mainly presented by local legends and memorats, mythological stories, discourses, family biographical and autobiographical narrations, texts of prognostic character. Data about ritual and festive culture of Tersky Pomors, their daily, production and trade practices were collected. During familiarizing work at the Museum of Pomor life at Umba, materials on families history, biographical texts, which are contained at archive of the museum (unfortunately they are difficult to access), were revealed. Inspection of one Pomor family home archive was carried out at Kandalaksha. As a result, database was formed at the basis of oral, hand-written and writing sources. Writing sources are presented by paper articles, informational and promotional issues, popular publications, and fiction. Field collections made at Chavanga in October of 2004 contain empirical data on the topic. Prior analysis allowed drawing some theoretical conclusions. They concern to main parameters of ethnolocal self-consciousness of modern Tersky Pomors, degree of their expressness in comparison with other ethnolocal groups of Pomor population and North Russians, and also problems concerned to cultural initiatives towards Pomor population.

Expedition N2: responsible executor E.Ya.Patsia

E.Ya.Patsia, I.A. Razumova and I.A.Travin took part in the field investigations at Chavanga village of Tersky district (October of 2004) on study of historical memory of Kola North rural community. During the field works family biographical texts, memorats, local legends, discourses of informational, evaluative and prognostic character etc. were collected (40hours audio records). The texts of local press were worked, ethnographical descriptions were made, script material was fixed, and family archives were investigated. Memoirs about Great Patriotic war and goods of Pomor material culture were collected.