The bloody face of the Chukchi people: shocking facts

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

We are all accustomed to considering the representatives of this people as naive and peaceful inhabitants of the Far North. They say that throughout their history the Chukchi grazed herds of deer in permafrost conditions, hunted walruses, and as entertainment they beat tambourines together.

The anecdotal image of a simpleton who always utters the word "however" is so far from reality that it is really shocking. Meanwhile, there are many unexpected turns in the history of the Chukchi, and their way of life and customs still cause controversy among ethnographers. How are the representatives of this people so different from other inhabitants of the tundra?

Call themselves real people

The Chukchi are the only people whose mythology openly justifies nationalism. The fact is that their ethnonym comes from the word "chauchu", which in the language of the aborigines of the north means the owner of a large number of deer (rich man). This word was heard from them by the Russian colonialists. But this is not the self-name of the people.

"Luoravetlany" - this is how the Chukchi call themselves, which translates as "real people". They always treated the neighboring peoples arrogantly, and considered themselves to be the special chosen ones of the gods. Evenks, Yakuts, Koryaks, Eskimos in their myths Luoravetlans called those whom the gods created for slave labor.

According to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, the total number of Chukchi is only 15 thousand 908 people. And although this people was never numerous, skillful and formidable warriors in difficult conditions managed to conquer vast territories from the Indigirka River in the west to the Bering Sea in the east. Their land area is comparable to the territory of Kazakhstan.

Paint their faces with blood

The Chukchi are divided into two groups. Some are engaged in reindeer herding (nomadic pastoralists), others hunt sea animals, for the most part, they hunt walruses, since they live on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. But these are the main occupations. Reindeer breeders are also engaged in fishing, they hunt Arctic foxes and other fur-bearing animals of the tundra.

After a successful hunt, the Chukchi paint their faces with the blood of a killed animal, while portraying the sign of their ancestral totem. Then these people make a ritual sacrifice to the spirits.

Fought with the Eskimos

The Chukchi have always been skillful warriors. Imagine how much courage it takes to go out into the ocean on a boat and attack walruses? However, not only animals became victims of representatives of this people. They often made predatory trips to the Eskimos, crossing the Bering Strait in neighboring North America in their boats made of wood and walrus skins.

Skillful warriors brought from military campaigns not only stolen goods, but also slaves, giving preference to young women.

It is interesting that in 1947 the Chukchi once again decided to go to war with the Eskimos, then only by a miracle they managed to avoid an international conflict between the USSR and the United States, because the representatives of both peoples were officially citizens of two superpowers.

Robbed the Koryaks

In their history, the Chukchi have managed to pretty much annoy not only the Eskimos. So, they often attacked the Koryaks, taking away their reindeer. It is known that from 1725 to 1773 the invaders appropriated about 240 thousand (!) Heads of foreign livestock. In fact, the Chukchi took up reindeer husbandry after robbing their neighbors, many of whom had to hunt for food.

Sneaking up to the Koryak settlement in the night, the invaders pierced their yarangas with spears, trying to immediately kill all the owners of the herd before they woke up.

Tattoos in honor of slain enemies

The Chukchi covered their bodies with tattoos dedicated to the killed enemies. After the victory, the warrior applied as many points to the back of the wrist of his right hand as he sent opponents to the next world. On the account of some experienced fighters there were so many defeated enemies that the dots merged into a line running from wrist to elbow.

They preferred death to captivity

Chukchi women always carried knives with them. They needed sharp blades not only in everyday life, but also in case of suicide. Since the captive people automatically became slaves, the Chukchi preferred death to such a life. Having learned about the victory of the enemy (for example, the Koryaks who came to take revenge), the mothers first killed their children, and then themselves. As a rule, they threw themselves with their chests on knives or spears.

The defeated warriors lying on the battlefield asked their opponents to die. Moreover, they did it in an indifferent tone. The only wish was - not to delay.

Won the war with Russia

The Chukchi are the only people of the Far North who fought with the Russian Empire and won. The first colonizers of those places were the Cossacks, led by Ataman Semyon Dezhnev. In 1652 they built the Anadyr prison. Other adventurers followed them to the lands of the Arctic. The militant northerners did not want to peacefully coexist with the Russians, much less pay taxes to the imperial treasury.

The war began in 1727 and lasted over 30 years. Heavy fighting in difficult conditions, partisan sabotage, cunning ambushes, as well as mass suicides of Chukchi women and children - all this made the Russian troops falter. In 1763, the army units of the empire were forced to leave the Anadyr prison.

Soon the ships of the British and French appeared off the coast of Chukotka. There was a real danger that these lands would be captured by old opponents, having managed to reach an agreement with the local population without a fight. Empress Catherine II decided to act more diplomatically. She provided the Chukchi with tax benefits, and literally showered their rulers with gold. The Russian residents of the Kolyma Territory were ordered, "… so that they do not irritate the Chukchee in any way, on pain, otherwise, of responsibility under a military court."

This peaceful approach proved to be much more effective than a military operation. In 1778, the Chukchi, encouraged by the authorities of the empire, accepted Russian citizenship.

Smeared arrows with poison

The Chukchi were very good at their bows. They smeared the arrowheads with poison, even a slight wound doomed the victim to a slow, painful and inevitable death.

Tambourines covered with human skin

The Chukchi fought to the sound of tambourines covered not with reindeer (as is customary), but with human skin. Such music terrified enemies. Russian soldiers and officers who fought with the natives of the north spoke about this. The colonialists explained their defeat in the war by the special cruelty of the representatives of this people.

Warriors knew how to fly

During hand-to-hand combat, the Chukchi flew across the battlefield, landing behind enemy lines. How did they jump 20-40 meters and then fight? Scientists still do not know the answer to this question. Probably, skilled warriors used special devices like trampolines. This technique often made it possible to win victories, because the opponents did not understand how to resist him.

Owned by slaves

The Chukchi owned slaves until the 40s of the twentieth century. Poor women and men were often sold for debt. They did dirty and hard work, like the captured Eskimos, Koryaks, Evenks, Yakuts.

Swapped wives

The Chukchi entered into so-called group marriages. They included several ordinary monogamous families. Men could exchange wives. This form of social relations was an additional guarantee of survival in the harsh conditions of permafrost. If one of the participants in such an alliance died in the hunt, then there was someone to take care of his widow and children.

Humor people

The Chukchi could live, find shelter and food, if they had the ability to make people laugh. People's humorists moved from camp to camp, amusing everyone with their jokes. They were respected and appreciated for their talent.

Invented diapers

The Chukchi were the first to invent the prototype of modern diapers. They used a layer of moss with reindeer hair as an absorbent material. The newborn was dressed in a kind of overalls, changing an impromptu diaper several times a day. Living in the harsh north forced people to be creative.

Gender change by order of spirits

Chukchi shamans could change sex at the direction of the spirits. The man began to wear women's clothes and behave accordingly, sometimes he literally got married. But the shaman, on the contrary, adopted the style of behavior of the stronger sex. Such reincarnation, according to the Chukchi beliefs, was sometimes demanded from their servants by spirits.

The old people died voluntarily

Chukchi old people, not wanting to be a burden for their children, often agreed to voluntary death. The famous writer-ethnographer Vladimir Bogoraz (1865-1936) in his book "Chukchi" noted that the reason for the emergence of such a custom was not a bad attitude towards the elderly, but difficult living conditions and a lack of food.

The seriously ill Chukchi often chose voluntary death. As a rule, such people were killed by strangulation by the next of kin.