Ethnobotanical Knowledge of an Eskimo Family: Naukan Yupiks [Etnobotanicheskoe znanie odnoi eskimosskoi sem’i: naukanskie yupiki]

• Published in: Etnograficheskoe obozrenie
• Main Authors: Kolosova, V., Jernigan, Kevin, Belichenko, Olga
• Other Authors: Institute for Linguistic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), Université de Venise Ca’ Foscari, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: [SHS.ANTHRO-SE]Humanities and Social Sciences/Social Anthropology and ethnology; [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society; [SHS.ENVIR]Humanities and Social Sciences/Environmental studies; [SHS.LANGUE]Humanities and Social Sciences/Linguistics; Cape Dezhnev; Naukan; Uelen; Chukotka; eskimo*; Tundra; Yupiks
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03659742; https://doi.org/10.31857/S086954150017412-3

International audience This article analyzes the Naukan Yupiks ethnobotanical knowledge, i.e. the use of plants as food, medicine, household or ritual objects, on the example of one family. The resettlement from Cape Dezhnev to other settlements led to significant changes in their culture and language proficiency. Fieldwork was carried out in summer 2014 in the village of Uelen, Chukotka, using the methods of structured interviews and participant observation. Informants named 26 species belonging to 18 families; these species gave a total of 170 plant uses. Within one family, there is a sharp decline in the knowledge of the Naukan phytonyms, as well as the repertoire of plants used from older generations to younger ones. The disappearing knowledge includes the collection of plant roots harvested by tundra voles. However, aerial parts of plants, berries, and algae remain popular. The variety of methods for preparing plants is increasing, including due to contact with the Russian-speaking population and access to new technologies.