What it Means to be a Herdsman: The Practice and Image of Reindeer Husbandry Among the Komi of Northern RussiaIn this book, author Joachim Otto Habeck takes the reader to the tundra in the Far North of the Russian Federation, describing and interpreting the practice of reindeer herding on the land. His vivid account of the everyday life of Komi reindeer herders and their family members as they interact with their bosses, the town, the market and oil companies, reveals both the reach of their agency and its limitations. Through a meticulous analysis of each of these domains, Habeck shows how public discourse about reindeer husbandry as a traditional life-style derives from outside the Komi reindeer-herding communities, yet it has powerful effects on the local actors' ability to frame their own existence. He argues that the concept of tradition, despite its many positive connotations, places Komi reindeer herders in a "golden cage" which leaves no space for acknowledging their drive to innovation and flexibility. |
Contents
XXXIX | 132 |
XL | 134 |
XLI | 136 |
XLII | 137 |
XLIII | 147 |
XLIV | 153 |
XLV | 154 |
XLVI | 156 |
XV | 45 |
XVI | 54 |
XVII | 59 |
XVIII | 60 |
XIX | 63 |
XX | 69 |
XXI | 78 |
XXII | 82 |
XXIII | 87 |
XXIV | 88 |
XXV | 90 |
XXVI | 93 |
XXVII | 95 |
XXVIII | 101 |
XXX | 102 |
XXXI | 107 |
XXXII | 113 |
XXXIII | 115 |
XXXIV | 117 |
XXXV | 120 |
XXXVI | 124 |
XXXVII | 127 |
XXXVIII | 128 |
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Common terms and phrases
administration agency agricultural animals antlers Bol'shaia Inta Bol'shezemel'skaia Tundra Brigada Nº calves camp centre chapter collective farms collectivisation culture district domain economic ethnic Evenki forest former state farm helicopter herders and tent herding herdsmen household indigenous Istomin Ivan Izhma Komi Kertselli Kharuta Khatanzeiskii Khoziainov kilometres Kola Peninsula kolkhoz Kolva Komi ASSR Komi herders Komi language Komi reindeer herders Komi reindeer husbandry Komi Republic kontora land Lesha life-world live Lyzhasa Andrei managers Nenets Autonomous Okrug Novikbozh official oil companies oil workers Olenevod organisations oxen Pechora Pechora River Polina private deer private reindeer production Rassvet Severa region rein reindeer meat reindeer-herding brigades reindeer-herding enterprises River roubles Russian North Severnyi slaughter slaughterhouse sledge small-numbered social Soviet sovkhoz sphere Syktyvkar tent workers town tradition transportation tundra Urals Usinsk Ust'-Usa Ust'-Usinskii Vasilii village Vitebsky Vorkuta winter pastures Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Yelena Zhenia коми кӧр мый оленеводства
Popular passages
Page i - Habeck concludes that the prospects for reindeer herding should be assessed not only from economic and ecological perspectives, but also with regard to its prestige in the eyes of the herders themselves, their neighbours and the public at large. Reindeer herders have very limited scope for agency when it comes to crafting their own image. Their view of their occupation is strikingly different from that promoted by actors in governmental, educational and economic spheres. The herders' self-understanding...