Folk arts and crafts of the indigenous peoples of Ugra: results of a sociological survey

Bogordaeva-Moldanova Nadezhda Anatolyevna ORCID: 0000-0002-1469-706X Researcher; Ob-Ugric Institute of Applied Research and Development 17 Yugorskaya str., Khanty-Mansiysk, 628007, Russia nmoldanova-nauka@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

This study relates to the sociology of culture, which studies the general patterns of the development of culture as a social phenomenon. A more precise definition is contained in the work of L. G. Ionin, where he describes the sociology of culture as a science that examines the structure and functioning of culture in the context of social structures and institutions, as well as in relation to specific historical situations" ^{[2, p. 22]}. On the one hand, it is an industry subdiscipline, on the other hand, the sociological analysis of culture is influenced by such disciplines as ethnology, ethnography, cultural and social anthropology, cultural studies, sociology of culture and philosophy of culture ^{[2, p. 13]}.

The relevance of the research is due to the need for a reliable analysis of the current state of the traditional culture of the indigenous peoples of the North using sociological methods. It is important to take into account the terminology and methodology used in the field of ethnography, cultural studies and art history. Let us consider the early works on the sociology of culture of the indigenous peoples of the North, paying special attention to traditional folk art as part of the material culture of the northern ethnic groups.

The article by T. G. Kharamzin examines the key concepts of traditional (ethnic) culture and criteria of "traditionality" for the sociology of culture of the indigenous peoples of the North ^[22]. The author comes to the conclusion, that the traditional economy and material culture significantly affect the spiritual culture of the people, social life and public relations ^{[22, p. 177]}.

N. G. Khairullina, who was engaged in the diagnosis of the ethnocultural situation in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, made a significant contribution to the development of ethnosociology. In a number of scientific papers, she highlighted the issues of socio-cultural processes among indigenous peoples ^[18-21]. Next, we will analyze in detail the monographs of this author, paying special attention to the results of research on the traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians. According to the classification of the cultural infrastructure of the ethnic group by N. G. Khairullina, folk crafts belong to the culture of primary production, along with such activities as reindeer husbandry, fishing, hunting and gathering. Scientists have attributed clothing to the culture of life support, which is one of the types of folk crafts ^{[17, pp. 26-27]}.

T. G. Kharamzin and T. M. Algadyeva, based on this work, expand the concept of life support culture, including national utensils, in addition to the already described housing and settlement complex, food system and clothing complex ^{[23, pp. 33-34]}. In the work of these authors, differentiation is based on the classification of Yu. I. Mkrtumyan about the main components of the culture of an ethnic group.

When describing the transformation of traditional forms of employment in the context of social changes in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, when studying traditional activities, in addition to such economic activities as fishing, hunting, animal husbandry, reindeer husbandry and harvesting wild plants, the following activities were included in the respondents' answers: "manufacture of traditional means of transport", "tailoring of traditional clothing, shoes." The question arises of the legality of including such an activity as "processing of leather, fur and fur raw materials", which actually represents a technological stage in the manufacture of clothing, shoes, household items, vehicles, etc. It also remains unclear why "souvenir making" was added to the traditional occupations of the indigenous peoples of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug ^{[17, pp. 282-286, 19, pp. 236-343, 24, pp. 70-74]}. The authors do not cite references to sources confirming the validity of including souvenir business in traditional economic activities, whereas other researchers consider this phenomenon as part of commercial rather than traditional culture ^{[8, pp. 134-135, 13, p. 251]}. "Souvenir production and traditional art should not replace each other, they are two different phenomena, they have a different nature" ^{[16, p. 216]}.

Next, the researchers consider the "organizational forms of the aboriginal population." However, they do not explain on what basis, in the context of artistic crafts, such a classification as division into "family brigades", "cooperatives", "workshops" and "associations" is introduced. For all four positions, the results of the respondents' answers are the same – 25% each ^{[17, p. 289, 19, p. 347, 24, p. 81.]}. The researcher does not define these terms and does not provide examples illustrating these "organizational forms" of the indigenous population. This raises doubts about the accuracy of the data presented regarding the traditional culture of the indigenous peoples of the North.

Incorrect use of industry terminology continues to occur in the works of other sociologists. For example, in the monograph "The traditional worldview of the Ob Ugrians" by T. G. Kharamzina and T. M. Algadyeva, the appendix contains a table with the results of a survey of the aboriginal population living in rural areas of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug in 2005 ^{[23, p. 169]}. The table illustrates the answer to the question "What kind of traditional activity would you rather do?" and repeats the answers presented earlier in the monograph by N. G. Khairullina, with minor additions. Recall that the district has a law "On traditional activities of indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North", where reindeer husbandry, horse breeding, hunting, fishing and harvesting of wild plants are classified as historically established types of management.

The following table contains the question "What traditional skills of your ethnic environment do you possess?" ^{[23, p. 172]}. The first three answers correspond to traditional types of economic activity (hunting, fishing, reindeer husbandry). Five answers related to folk crafts are also included. The answer option "to make souvenirs" is highlighted separately and, based on the goals and objectives of the study, should be excluded, since it has no relation to the traditional culture of the indigenous peoples of the North. The answers offered by the researchers in the questionnaire indicate the presence of errors when comparing data related to the description of traditional culture.

Taking into account these shortcomings in the research of sociologists on the material culture of the Ob Ugrians, it becomes especially relevant to study folk arts and crafts using sociological methods and work with a specific target group (NHP masters). This helps to objectively assess socio-cultural processes and identify the main trends in the field of folk crafts. Moreover, there are very few special studies devoted to the folk arts of the Ob Ugrians in modern conditions. Especially valuable in this regard are the works of ethnographer T. A. Moldanova ^[7-9] and art historian N. N. Fedorova ^[14-16] on the current state of folk art. They are also the founders of the only public organization in the district specializing in the preservation and development of this industry in Ugra ^{[5, p. 80]}, and are members of the Artistic Expert Council on Folk Arts and Crafts of Ugra, established in 2007.

In this work, the terms "folk crafts" and "folk art" are used synonymously. The question of the boundaries of these concepts was considered in detail by us in another work devoted to the analysis of their use in theory and practice ^[6]. Now let's define the concept of "master of folk arts and crafts". According to Article 6 of Federal Law No. 7-FZ "On folk art crafts", the master makes products in the place of traditional existence of folk art craft in accordance with the traditions and artistic and stylistic features of this craft and using creative variation.

The source for writing the article was the results of a sociological survey among the masters of folk arts and crafts of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra. During the survey conducted in September–October 2024, data were collected that formed the basis of this work. The questionnaire survey is part of the study "Crafts and crafts of Ugra: a resource analysis of the quality of life." The processing of the received data was carried out using the Wortex10 program for the analysis and processing of sociological information. In some questions, respondents were asked to choose several answer options, which is marked with appropriate footnotes.

The gender composition of the respondents is 14% male and 86% female. Residents of 24 settlements of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra took part in the survey. Of these, craftsmen living in 6 cities (Beloyarsky, Kogalym, Raduzhny, Sovetsky, Surgut, Urai, Khanty-Mansiysk), and in rural settlements Kazym, Pashtori, Polnovat, Sorum, Yuilsk of the Beloyarsk district; S.P. Igrim, Saranpaul, Tags of the Berezovsky district and the village of Berezovo; Zelenoborsk, Sovetsky district; Nizhnesortymsky, Ugut, Russkinskaya, Surgut district; village of Sherkaly, Oktyabrsky district; village Kishik of Khanty-Mansiysk district.

The geography of the survey reflects the current situation of indigenous peoples settling in large settlements, as well as migration flows directed to cities. Historians note that since the 1950s, the transfer of the indigenous population to a sedentary lifestyle has been accelerated, and, according to official data, this process was completed in 1958 on the territory of the Khanty-Mansiysk National Okrug. At the same time, a campaign was conducted at the state level to eliminate "unpromising villages". As a result, many indigenous people were cut off from their native habitat and resettled in enlarged multinational settlements ^{[7, p. 14]}.

According to T. G. Kharamzin, the fundamental property of traditional culture is its social and territorial isolation, self-sufficiency, locality ^{[22, pp.176-177]}. In our sociological survey, the distribution by territorial and ethnographic groups is presented in the following ratio: northern Mansi (15 people), northern Khanty (58 people), eastern Khanty (14 people), eastern Mansi (1 person). The age segmentation of the respondents is presented in Table 1. An analysis of the social status of the respondents revealed that most of them are employees (24 people), as well as the self-employed (13 people) and pensioners (13 people).

Table No. 1

Your age

Continuity and transmission of traditions in folk crafts

Two questions of the questionnaire concerned succession, which implies "the transfer of experience from one generation to another, from hand to hand, from father to son or from grandfather to grandson" ^{[1, p. 616]}. The category of "continuity" plays a key role in defining the traditional culture of the Ob Ugrians. Cultural continuity is a mechanism of tradition movement in the space–time continuum ^{[12, p. 327]}. In the context of folk crafts, it manifests itself in the transfer of skills in the manufacture of products, as well as methods of harvesting materials, storage conditions, methods of donation and inheritance. The results of the survey showed how the craftsmen themselves determine the source of the transfer of skills in the manufacture of handicrafts (Table 2):

Table No. 2

Distribution of answers to the question

"From whom did you learn the skills of making handicrafts and crafts?"*

*Respondents could choose several answers

It can be seen from the survey data that the majority of participants (70%) acquired their skills from their parents in the context of family education. The mention of grandparents (32%) also indicates the tradition of living together with the older generation and the importance of passing on traditional culture to grandchildren. 24% of respondents expand the family context, showing that learning can occur not only from direct ancestors, but also from other close family members. R. G. Reshetnikova writes in her work that children usually joined folk art in the family, watching the work of parents, older brothers, sisters and other relatives ^{[3, p. 48]}.

56% of the respondents received knowledge from the masters during seminars and master classes, which indicates an increasing interest in learning at events organized by cultural institutions and public organizations. Ethnographer T. A. Moldanova, commenting on the level of seminars for craftsmen, says that "if it is dedicated to a specific topic (traditional material, technologies of its artistic processing) and specialists are involved in it, then this is one situation. In this case, the masters have the opportunity to improve, as their work is analyzed, and their strengths and weaknesses are shown on specific examples. Each seminar has its own purpose and objectives. When the goal is professional training, the master gets the opportunity to develop. However, if there are no experts on the topic under discussion at the seminar, there is a risk of copying. For example, absolutely identical dolls or ornaments may appear. As for such seminars, they simply gather a large number of participants without setting a specific task, and this, in my opinion, is a waste of money. The only advantage may be the presence of a wonderful craftsman, whom everyone will begin to imitate and master the technology of manufacturing products."

The respondents were also asked to answer the question about further transfer of their knowledge and skills to the next generation (Table 3).

Table No. 3

Distribution of answers to the question

"Do you pass on your knowledge of the manufacture of handicrafts and crafts?" *

*Respondents could choose several answers

Most of the respondents (92%) actively share their experience in the manufacture of handicrafts. Half of them pass on skills to their children and grandchildren, which indicates a strong generational bond and the importance of preserving traditions in families. 42% are aimed at practical cooperation and exchange of experience among craftsmen. Only a small part of the survey participants (10%) noted that they do not have students, they are probably focused on their own development. Thus, the analysis of the respondents' responses shows a high degree of importance of the family-tribal system for the transfer of traditional knowledge. In the process of interaction between children and adults, which occurs through emotional contact, manipulation of objects, observation and independent creativity, a full-fledged child-adult community is formed, introducing works of traditional art ^{[3, p. 79]}

Motivational attitudes in the manufacture of handicrafts

The cultural activity of a person is conditioned by internal and external stimuli of activity. Internal sources of activity are needs, interests, and value orientations, which together form a motivational mechanism ^{[4, p. 263]}. In our survey, this includes the desire to preserve traditional culture and the formation of ethnic identity. The need for respect and recognition, as well as the material component, act as factors of social life. The author attributes them to external motivators of personality activity. The combination of these sources determines the content of the cultural activities of the masters.

The respondents' answers to the question about the motives of craftsmen who encourage them to make folk art products help to understand how representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North perceive the importance of traditional culture at the present time (Table 4):

Table No. 4

Distribution of answers to the question

"Do you think that the manufacture of handicrafts, first of all, contributes to"*

*Respondents could choose several answers

The most significant aspects of the manufacture of handicrafts are the preservation of the traditions of making products and the transfer of knowledge (92%), as well as the formation of a sense of belonging to one's own people (76%). Wearing traditional clothes and practicing traditional crafts is one of the markers of the ethnic identity of indigenous peoples ^{[25, p. 285]}.

The possibility of additional earnings has a practical value for the life of 38% of the masters. This allows them to provide for their living needs. A less significant, but still important factor is the recognition of the master at the regional and all-Russian levels (28%), which not only increases his personal status, but also contributes to the formation of a positive image of the indigenous peoples of the North. It is also one of the ways to recreate cultural identity. The negative sides of the exhibition activity are illustrated by the opinion of art critic N. N. Fedorova: "At regional and district exhibitions of folk art, as well as at trade fairs, it is often possible to see the products of village and city craftsmen, which can rather be attributed to examples of amateur creativity than folk art. They are characterized by the use of traditional materials and object forms, but at the same time there is an eclectic mix of styles, a departure from local features, an increase in external decorativeness and a tendency to embellishment" ^{[16, p. 212.]}.

As in the case of seminars, the competence of cultural workers in the field of folk art plays a key role here. It is very important that the selection of products by an expert commission be carried out for participation in the exhibition, as well as the exhibition committee function. Unfortunately, researchers point to a lack of qualified specialists in this field. Currently, the situation with traditional culture is such that "there is a need for scientific guardianship of folk art, which consists in collecting scientific information, processing it, and scientific contact with masters" ^{[10, p. 12]}.

Identification of the needs and problems of craftsmen in the creation of traditional products

Let's consider the difficulties faced by representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North in the manufacture of traditional products. Respondents were asked to openly list their problems at all stages of the work. The most frequently mentioned were the following (groups of responses are arranged according to the frequency of mention by respondents):

1. Lack of materials. Unlike craftsmen living in camps, those who live in large settlements practically do not have access to the raw materials necessary for work ^{[7, p. 15]}. Many traditional technologies require specific materials that may be difficult to access: "There is no natural material"; "There is no rovduga, fur", "In the purchase of rovduga, deer paws, tendons". Half of the respondents indicated a shortage of resources, and it is difficult to find purchased materials for the manufacture of traditional products that are not sold in ordinary rural shops. Respondents' answers: "Lack of high-quality goods, for example, beads, cloth"; "The most difficult thing is to prepare all the materials necessary for work"; "Shortage of high-quality material"; "Availability of the necessary material".

2. Loss of skills and lack of master mentors. The reduction in the number of masters and the lack of knowledge transfer to the younger generation create difficulties in finding people with the necessary skills – this was pointed out by one in five respondents. Young masters do not always have the opportunity to learn from older people. Sometimes it is difficult to access product samples or photographs of museum items associated with a particular local group. It is important to follow traditional techniques and technologies, which can be difficult for novice craftsmen to perform. The respondents' responses mentioned the following aspects: "I believe that I have a small amount of knowledge in this area and want to develop more in this area"; "There are not enough mentors"; "Little knowledge about patterns and culture"; "Little available information on ornaments and their decoding"; "Few teachers who could share experience and knowledge"; "I would like to communicate with craftsmen more often, study, consult"; "Ignorance of all the subtleties of craftsmanship, we rarely sew"; "There is not enough knowledge on the technology of manufacturing products"; "There are only a few masters who master all technologies perfectly"; "There is not enough knowledge, time".

"The development of traditional crafts can be realized by young craftsmen brought up on the basis of continuity and living in a given area" ^{[1, p. 618]}. That is why one of the forms of knowledge transfer work is holding seminars directly in the places of crafts. For example, measures for the development of such complex types of artistic crafts as the Kazym and Mansiysk birch bark in Kazym and Yasunt are effective ^{[11, pp. 63-69]}.

3. Time. The process of making traditional products requires a lot of time and effort, which can be difficult to combine with other obligations. This point was noted by every tenth respondent: "Lack of time"; "Little time".

Thus, the respondents' answers give an idea of the variety of problems faced by craftsmen. Each of these items has a significant impact on the quality and availability of traditional products. However, approximately 40% of the respondents indicated that they did not experience any particular difficulties. At the same time, there is not a single answer in the responses of the respondents indicating such a factor as health. Nevertheless, in private conversations, the masters often mention the problem of health, since the work on creating folk art products is associated with the health of the visual and musculoskeletal systems. Making some types of products, for example, making a box from cedar roots, can be physically difficult, especially for older craftsmen. Also, none of the craftsmen noted in the questionnaires the presence of material and financial difficulties in purchasing materials for the manufacture of products.

Conclusion

So, we have considered such aspects of folk crafts as the continuity and transmission of traditions, the motivation of craftsmen, as well as the difficulties encountered in the manufacture of traditional products. The results of the sociological research show the versatility of the importance of creating handicrafts for the indigenous peoples of the North. This process covers cultural (continuity, identity formation), social (recognition at the regional and national levels), as well as economic aspects. The survey data confirm the importance of the family-tribal system in the transmission of traditions that ensure the sustainability of folk culture. The use of folk art objects in everyday life also serves as an expression of belonging to one's own people, strengthening national identity.

It is also impossible to deny the fact that for many craftsmen folk crafts are becoming one of the sources of income. This allows them to financially support their families by integrating traditional skills into the realities of modern life. We also see that folk art objects are an important element of cultural exchange. Tourists and visitors to the region are often interested in local traditions and seek to purchase authentic products. This is especially important for rural areas, where there are few other earning opportunities.

A sociological survey of craftsmen has revealed the difficulties they face, which will help cultural institutions find effective ways to overcome them, including issues of accessibility of natural materials (such as wood, bone, rovd, and deer skins). Practical workshops on the manufacture of certain types of products could help to preserve lost skills, especially if they are conducted directly in the places of life of crafts. Creating traditional items requires specific knowledge and skills passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, the master-apprentice program looks promising: the master teaches a group of young craftsmen for several years the technology of making clothes, shoes, household items, followed by an expert assessment by the professional community. It is also worth considering the division of folk crafts into male and female crafts, since women predominate in this area, and there are significantly fewer male craftsmen.

The activities of cultural institutions and public organizations play an important role in this issue, they create communities where cultural speakers feel proud of their traditions and roots. In general, folk art continues to be an important component of the Ob-Ugric traditional culture.