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Bystrinsky Nature Park - Enjoy untouched nature!
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethnical Groups in Bystrinsky Nature Park


About 2700 people are living in Bystrinsky Nature Park, among them more than 1000 representatives of the so called small nations of the north – Evens, Koryaks and Itelmens. Further Kamchadals, Tschukts, Itelmens and Aleuts are living in this region. There are only two settlements in the Bystrinky Rayon. Esso and Anavgay. Anavgay is mainly inhabited by the indigenous.

Population of Bystrinsky Rayon in 2008
  Esso Anavgay
Total 1982 630
Indigenous 618 487
Koryaks 39 115
Tschukts 9 3
Evens 560 338
Itelmens 59 3
Aleuts 9 4

 

The north’s nations
The ancestors of today’s Itelmens, Koryaks, Tschukts and Aleuts reached the Kamchatkan peninsula 10.000 years ago and they have since then been living here. In the 18th century the process of their assimilation to the culture of the Cossacks widely took place. The ancestors of Russians and Itelmens are called Kamchadals.


Evens
Evens came to Kamchatka in the middle of the 19th century and began to settle the peninsula. Most of them searched a place to stay in the remote and deserted Srediny Chrebet or on the western coast. According to people’s tales, their ancestors did not own many reindeers first and the herds
used to be very small, when the settlement took place. The rhich and greener pastures of Kamchatka soon made the herds increase and now reindeer breeding is the main activity and a substantial part of the Even’s everyday life.


Koryaks
The people of the Koryaks usually lived divided into two groups, depending on their way of life: The sedentary Nymlulany and the nomadic Tschawtschuweny. The Tschawtschuweny traditionally were reindeer breeders. The reindeer gave them whatever was necessary for a life outdoors: Food, skins for clothes, bones and antlers for tools and weapons and fat for lamps and light. Furthermore the
reindeer was used to pull sledges - here interestingly the Even’s style of using reindeers differs from the one of the Koryaks: The Evens rode them without a sledge, just like a horse. The Koryaks owned big sledges for transportation and smaller single seated sledges to travel fast and light across the snowy tundra. Both groups, Nymylany and Tschawtschuweny, were also hunters, but hunting never became as important for them as herding and breeding their reindeers. The Tschawtschuweny built round yarangas, tentlike shelters made with skins and thick sticks, which were bound at the top of the yaranga with a rope. They lived in these tents whole year round. In the late 19th century tough and light weave cloth became more common for covering the yaranga
than the heavy skin of the reindeer. Today, just a few Koryaks live in the Bystrinsky region.

Itelmens
In former times, the Itelmens were the people living on the southend of the Kamchatkan peninsula. Now many of them live in the south of the former autonomous Koryakian Region and on Kamchatka’s westcoast. „Itelmen“ means townsman. In the past these people often settled the riverbanks and fishing was
their most important employment. Picking berries and gathering plants and roots also played a role for the Itelmens these days. In the winter the Itelmens lived in small huts, with about half of the building below the ground for a better insulation. In the summertime they hat small, tentlike houses.
Sledges, made from birchwood and leather, were used for transporting goods and people. The Itelmens also built boats from poplar for traveling on the rivers. They used nets, spears and fishtraps for fishing. The caught fish was dried or buried to remain fresh in the cold ground. Hunting also played an important role: Foxes, sable, bears, sheep, otters and sea lions were sources of food and fur.


Tschukts
Tschukts are the indigenous people of the Tschukota peninsula, the northern neighbours of the Koryaks. The Tschukt reindeer breeders called themselves „Tschawtschu“, which means „The reindeerlike ones“, the Tschukt’s from the coast used to call themselves „Ankalyn“- „The ones from the region of Promor“. The whole Tschukts were called „Lourowetlan“, „The real man“, but it never became a popular name. In the 19th century the Tschukts first got in touch with Russians but remained independent for another 50 years, before they came under the rule of the tsaristic administration. Economically, the Tschukts were also divided into two groups: Nomadic reindeer breeders and sedentary hunters for sea animals. Between these two groups frequent trade took place. Until the end of the 19th century the Tschukts had nearly no fix settlements on Kamchatka and used to roam on the northern part of the peninsula. They lived a complex life with a mixture of reindeer breeding with little herds as well as hunting the wild reindeer and fishing. Only few Tschukts live in the Bystrinsky region.

Aleuts
Today, the Aleuts live on the Commander Islands. Their ancestors were the inhabitants of the Aleut Islands and called themselves „Unangan“, which means „The ones living on the coast“. They used to hunt seals, sea lions and otters and went fishing. In the winter they ate the eggs of various bird species. On the Bering Islands dog sledges were used for transport, on Medny people used broad skis, with which they could also go to the mountains. Almost subterrainean yurts were their houses and homes. Nowadays, 15 Aleuts live in the Bystrinsky region.