Autor: Ramón Dies Fecha: 27 de April de 2021 Categoria: Adventure

The Nenets still depend on their traditional clothing, which is made by women. The men wear the malitsa, a cape made of 4 reindeer skins, with the fur closest to the skin on the inside and the leather on the outside. It wears a hood and mittens integrated into the suit itself. When the cold is extreme, they still wear another garment on top: the gus, which carries the leather part on the inside and the skin on the outside. A man is then able to stay outside all night and sleep with the herd, at temperatures below 50 ° C below zero. The women wear the yagushka, which has a double layer of fur, made from 8 reindeer skins and is tied in the front. Finally, both men and women wear boots that reach their hips, with an inner layer (tobaki) and the outer boot (kisy).

treball2

It is curious that when clothes are too old or in very bad condition, they do not throw them away, but take them to the forest and hang them from a tree, because they believe it will be useful in the next life.

treball dona nenet

The Nenets’ home is the chum, a space where they live and work, made of course by reindeer skins, which are placed on a structure of long wooden poles, many of which have a special position and are not interchangeable. In general, in each chum, a family lives, and the number of chums depends on the size of the camp. The place chosen to settle always depends on the available resources: pastures, water and wood for the fire; but also of their beliefs. When the head of the family finds the right place, he sticks the khorei, the reindeer-driving staff, into the ground: that will be the center of the chum.

chum desfet

The space inside and outside the chum is always distributed in the same way. Sleds and caravans are arranged in semicircles around the chum, with the sleds for provisions and women’s belongings located in front of or near the door, where it is also their workplace. Men’s things are left in the back, which is where they usually work too. Finally, the sacred sleigh is always placed at the back of the chum, and pointing to its center, The “toilets” are located far from the camp, and the men are separated from the women.

secred sled

They often take a stick to relieve themselves, it is worth doing the same as them … It turns out that the reindeer find the salt in their urine irresistible and if you don’t pay attention, you can be absolutely surrounded !!!!

We are leaving in 3 days !! But before we go, we will have time to tell you something else.

See you soon then !!

Find your adventure trip and your best quality training in:

https://www.amaroqexplorers.com

 

Autor: Ramón Dies Fecha: 27 de April de 2021 Categoria: Adventure

There is very little left for April 15. We are looking forward to seeing our Nenets friends and our friend and partner Aleksey. Everything is ready, and the visa, stuck in the passport.

Who are the Nenets? They are the shepherds of the End of the World.

You see, there is a place where winter temperatures drop to minus 50º C. Where the fifth longest river on the planet meanders beneath the ice, and where far beyond the eye can see nothing but torberas, streams and dwarf shrubs. In this place, a strong and vibrant culture flourished a long time ago, which it called this land, Yamal. Yamal, in the language of this culture, Nenet, means “the End of the World.

nenet tempesta

The Nenet people of the Siberian Arctic are the last representatives of a unique herding style. They travel with their herds of reindeer, throughout the year, following the ancient migration routes, on a route of more than 1000 kilometers, from the pastures of molsa and summer lichens, in the north, to the winter pastures, in the taiga, just south of the Arctic Circle. A vast territory that has been the home of the Nenets for more than a millennium.

The Nenets live in the polar regions of northeastern Europe and northwestern Siberia, from the Kanin Peninsula in the White Sea to the Yenisey Delta. They also inhabit the islands of the Arctic Ocean and the Kola Peninsula. A territory of about a million square kilometers. The Nenets’ homeland is the tundra, a country of permafrost, many rivers, lakes (about 50,000) and vast swamps. Along the banks of the Ob River, the Nenets settlements reach into the vast forests of the Siberian taiga.

nens nenet

More than 10,000 nomadic Nenet herders and 300,000 “domestic” reindeer live on the Yamal Peninsula, which belongs to the Russian Federation and covers an area 1.5 times France.

With the arrival of spring, the Nenets and their herds begin their journey north. During this trip they will be setting up camps every three or four days. In the caravan, first the head of the family travels, with a light sled; then the children and women, then the sleighs with utensils and tools and the chum, his mobile home, the herd of reindeer and finally his sacred sleigh with its special load.

nenet camp

Did you like what we have told you? If so, and you want to know more about this incredible culture, before we leave we will tell you more.

See you soon!

Find your adventure trip and your best quality training in:

https://www.amaroqexplorers.com