#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Nornickel allocated more than 2.5 million rubles for eight sets of traditional chums for indigenous peoples of the North. Thanks to the company’s support, the Taimyr five ethnic groups’ representatives for the first time since 2017 have celebrated the Bakaldyn holiday, which means ‘all clans meeting’ in Evenk.
The holiday was held on the Yenisey shore. More than a hundred representatives of the five Taimyr peoples, reindeer herders and chum mistresses from the Nosok and Tuhard tundra, guests from Yakutia, the Norilsk association of the Taimyr small indigenous peoples took part in it.
Each public organization received its own chum as a gift from Nornickel, and the chum mistresses got dish sets.
“Now each public organization has its own traditional dwelling. It is gratifying that in five years we are reviving our tradition with such a scale. The last time we got together, we had only three chums, and today there are eight of them. This means that our culture is preserved, developed, transmitted from generation to generation. I want to thank public and non-profit organizations that retain what was given by our ancestors and popularize the Taimyr indigenous peoples’ culture”, said Anfisa Nikiforova, head of the Nornickel Polar Division’s department for work with indigenous peoples.
On the festive day, five Taimyr ethnic groups – Enets, Evenks, Dolgans, Nganasans and Nenets – sang songs together, danced, spoke their native languages. In addition, in every chum they treated with cloudberries and blueberries pies, warmed the holiday guests with venison soup and hot tea. The chum mistresses were happy to talk about their life, the uniqueness of every nationality and customs. They told how important the Nornickel’s support is.
“For the Enets, this is a debut, we’ve put our chum for first time. It’s priceless for our people. Indeed, according to the 2010 population census, there are only 227 of the Enets in Russia. It is very important that five Taimyr peoples meet. We are all friends, help each other. Therefore, we need to develop our culture, traditions, history. That’s what we do with the Nornickel’s support”, said Tatyana Yamkina, a representative of the Enets Union and Youth Council.
Sinilga, an ethnic singer from Yakutia, was the holiday guest.
“It’s my first time in Dudinka, I really like the city. At the festival, I’ve met my good friends, with whom we always meet in Moscow at the North Treasures festival, at the All-Russian congress of the indigenous peoples of the Far North. I try to be everywhere where Evenks live. I am very glad that the traditions of our nationality are preserved in Taimyr and that companies help develop our peculiar and beautiful culture”, said Sinilga.
The Bakaldyn holiday will become a permanent event in Taimyr. The next time they plan to celebrate it according to ancient traditions in the midst of summer – June 21, on the Solstice Day.
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Text: Ekaterina Elkanova, Photo: Marina Peshkova