Vanishing peoples of Russia. Aleuts. History, religion and economic activity of the Aleuts The traditional occupation for the Eskimos and Aleuts is

Aleuts are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands. Included in the Unified List of Small Indigenous Peoples Russian Federation. For a long time, there were two assumptions about the origin of the Aleuts. According to the first, they came from Alaska, the second says that the people came from the northeast Asian coast. The history of the study of the nationality begins in 1741, when the Great Northern Expedition (Expedition of the Bering-Chirikov detachment) discovered the Aleutian Islands. From 1750 to 1760, armed conflicts occurred between the Eastern Aleuts and Russian commercial and industrial courts. The indigenous people attacked the Russians suddenly, developing a plan in advance. They came to the artels with offerings, when the industrialists began to untie the bales that contained furs, the Aleuts suddenly attacked them with knives.

On Woody Island, the people also resisted the Russians, but gradually they managed to establish contact, a settlement was organized, and trade relations were established. In the mid-18th century, ships of merchants came to the Aleutian Islands every year, Russians spent the winter on the islands and even stayed there for 5-6 years, married Aleut women, and studied the skills of the indigenous population.

Where live

The bulk of the people live in the United States in Alaska, the rest live in Russia, the Kamchatka Territory, and the Commander Islands, which make up the Aleutian region of the Kamchatka Territory. They inhabit the Aleutian Islands, the Shumagin Islands, the western shores of Alaska to the Ugashik River. After the arrival of the Russians, the Aleuts settled on the Pribilof Islands, the mainland North America, some offshore islands.

Number

In the mid-18th century, there were 8,000-10,000 Aleuts in Russia. After epidemics in the territories where the people settled, the ecological balance was disrupted, by 1820 its number had decreased to 2,000. Today, about 482 people live in Russia, more than 2,000 Aleuts live in the United States in the Aleutian Islands. In the 18th century there were up to 15,000 people. But the American census of the Aleuts is overestimated, since they include part of the Eyak, the Alutiiq Eskimos, people who call themselves Aleuts in order to take advantage of the benefits that are due to the indigenous population of Alaska.

Name

The ethnonym “Aleut” is of Russian origin; it was given to the people after the discovery of the Aleutian Islands. The name appears in documents for the first time in 1747. There are disagreements among researchers regarding the origin of the ethnonym. According to one version, “Aleut” comes from the Aleut word “allithukh,” which translates as “community, team.” According to another version, the ethnonym is of Chukchi-Koryak origin from the word “alav-vyte”, which translated means “those who have a rim on their head.” In ancient times, the Aleuts wore an unusual wooden headdress in the form of a rim on their heads, which was their distinctive feature. The third hypothesis provides for the origin of the ethnonym from the Chukchi word “aliat” (island), “aliut” (islanders), it is the most convincing.

The people themselves call themselves “Unangan”, “Unangas”. In addition to these names, the Aleuts have names in accordance with local groups, some of them:

Amigun, Negblo, Nigukh, residents of the Andrean Islands;
Saskinan, Sasignan, Aleuts from the Near Islands;
Kagan, Tayagangin, people from Shumagin Island;
Animgin, Aleuts living on the Unimaka Islands.

Language

The people speak the Aleut language “unangam tunuu”, which belongs to the group of languages of North America and forms the Aleut branch. There are 5 dialects in the language:

Mednovsky
Beringian
Oriental
west
Attuan

Mednovsky is significantly different from other dialects; experts today consider it as an independent, mixed Aleutian-Mednovsky language, formed as a result of the very strong influence of two linguistic entities on each other: the Russian language and the Attuan dialect of the Aleutian language, which disappeared in the middle of the 20th century.

Priest Ivan Veniaminov developed a writing system for Aleut based on the Cyrillic alphabet in the 1820s. He and his followers translated religious books into the Aleut language and significantly improved the school education of the people. By 1867, literacy among the indigenous population was at a very high level. Afterwards, the teaching of Aleutian was stopped at long term. Since the 1910s, Aleuts have been prohibited from using their native language in American schools. In 1967, federal law allowed the use of languages other than English in school teaching. Since 1970, language teaching was restored, but the Latin alphabet was used. Since 1983, Aleutian has been taught on Bering Island in elementary grades. At the beginning of the 21st century, 15 people of the older generation spoke Aleut here, the rest switched to Russian. The majority of Aleuts living in the United States have already switched to English. 80 people spoke the Western dialect, 430 spoke the Eastern dialect. As of 2010, there were 300 speakers of Aleut in the United States, and 45 in Russia.

Religion

The traditional religion of the Aleuts is animism. They revered the spirits of their ancestors, depicting them on bone, wood, stone, and bird skins. These amulets were passed down from generation to generation. Masks were made from wood that depicted patron spirits and were worn during ritual dances. Shamanism was widespread, according to the mythology of which the Aleuts believed in the existence of different worlds. The shaman's costume, like that of other peoples of Siberia, symbolized a bird. There was hunting magic, it consisted of performing rituals to summon the beast. Those who worshiped magic wore amulets and observed special hunting prohibitions.

The process of Christianization began in the 50s of the 18th century and was carried out in accordance with the general trend of Russian policy of colonization of new territories. Christianity had a good influence on the rapprochement of the Aleuts with the Russians. The peculiarity was that Christianization was started not by missionaries, but by Russian industrialists, which ensured a non-violent and rapid process of spreading Orthodoxy.

At the end of the 18th century, the Aleuts were finally converted to Orthodoxy. Bilingualism began to spread, schooling, religious books appeared in the Aleut language. It is noteworthy that some of the Aleuts who converted to Orthodoxy became missionaries. To this day, they are convinced Orthodox Christians and conduct religious ceremonies in Russian and Aleut. In Aleutian God sounds like “Agugum”. One of the Aleuts, revered Orthodox Church Peter the Aleut appears as a martyr. The religion of the people harmoniously combines Orthodoxy and the traditional worldview, which led to the formation of a kind of “Aleutian church”, “Aleutian faith”.

Beginning in the summer of 1824, priests were constantly present among the Aleuts, after the arrival of Ivan Veniaminov (St. Innocent) on the island of Unalaska, who stayed there for 10 years. He baptized the indigenous population, organized education for children in schools, taught the Aleuts icon painting, shoemaking, carpentry, and carpentry, and prepared those who would continue his work. Everyone called him “the good father of the Aleuts.”

Food

They ate mainly fried, boiled, and raw meat of sea animals, birds, fish, marine invertebrates, wild plants, and algae. For the winter, they prepared yukola, dried the meat, froze it, or filled it with whale fat. Frozen meat could be stored for about a year. Whale oil was stored in bladders from the stomachs of sea animals.

Appearance

Cloth

Women's and men's suits were similar in cut and decoration. The traditional winter clothing of the people is a long, solid parka without a slit in the front, made from seal fur, bird skins, and sea otters. Over the parka they wore a kamleika - a waterproof, sealed garment made from the intestines of sea animals, with sleeves, a closed collar, and a hood. The festive kamleika and parka were richly decorated with fringe, embroidered stripes, and fur straps. The edges of the sleeves and hood were tightened with laces. They wore fishing jackets with a hood made of sea lion intestines, and trousers made of seal skin. To protect themselves from dampness during fishing, they wore raincoats woven from grass, and later they began to use woven straw mats. Later, the people acquired trousers made from sea lion throats (brodni), and waterproof soft boots (torbasa) made from the skin of a sea animal were sewn onto them.

In the summer they wore worn winter clothes, but they also sewed special summer clothes from the intestines of sea animals and bird skins. There was no underwear; only waist clothing made from seal skins was used.

During fishing, conical hats made of wood were worn on the head, hats without a top, with a very elongated front part, decorated with rich paintings, carved bone, and feathers. They were put on the hood of the kamleika. These hats were made from a single piece of wood, steamed to give it shape, and then painted. Sea lion whiskers 50 cm long were inserted into the holes on the sides. Their number depended on the hunting status of the owner. Only men wore such headdresses. For rituals and holidays they wore hats of various shapes with decorations, made from the skins and skins of birds, and leather headbands with patterned seams. Women complemented the costume with decorations made of bone, stone, slate, wooden sticks, plant roots, grass, mustache sea lion. They made bracelets for arms, legs, necklaces, pendants, inserts into holes around the lips, in the lips, nose, ears, earlobes. Aleuts applied tattoos, painted their bodies and faces. But after contact with the Russians, this tradition gradually disappeared. IN Everyday life Aleuts wear European clothes.

Life

The main activities were fishing, hunting, poultry, and gathering. They went on boats to hunt sea animals; on land they caught seals and fur seals. In some areas they hunted caribou and bear. In the open sea they caught sea otters with a harpoon, and in rookeries - walruses, sea lions, and ringed seals. They hunted whales using a spear smeared with poison. The animal's carcass washed ashore after 2-3 days. Sea fish were caught using long fishing rods made from seaweed, with hooks attached to them. They used nets made from whale tendons to catch river fish.

The bird was caught using a large net, nets, a throwing spear, and a throwing projectile, which was a bunch of belts with weights made of stone or bone. They spun him around and threw him into a flock of birds that got tangled in the straps.

Women collected wild plants, berries, herbs, shellfish, sea urchins. The collected herbs were used mainly for making various wickerwork.

The baydara played a very important role in the Aleut marine fishery. This is a boat with a flat bottom, a wooden frame, covered with the skin of a seal or sea lion. Another boat of the Aleuts is a kayak - leather, closed, with a wooden frame, a hole in the form of a hatch where the hunter sat. The kayak was steered with a two-bladed oar. They used darts with bone tips, bone and stone knives, and bows. The Russians opened firearms to the Aleuts.

Men made axes, knives, spearheads, arrowheads, fat lamps with moss wicks, and cooking vessels from stone. Women sewed clothes, embroidered, made coverings for canoes, weaved baskets and mats. The Aleuts had a universal tool (pekulka) - a short, wide, slightly curved knife. Sewing needles were made from bird bones. Today, the majority of Aleuts work as auxiliary workers in public utilities, some are engaged in traditional crafts.

Before the arrival of the Russians, the Aleuts were divided into three classes:

toyons, elders in the clan, ancestors, noble personalities;
free people;
kalgi, slaves who came from prisoners of war.

The people lived in tribes, which consisted of tribal communities. Each community was headed by a toyon, he was elected, or he inherited power. He was involved in political and trade relations, judicial affairs, controlled the lands, and protected the rookeries of sea animals. In addition to the toyon, the clan community was headed by a council of elders. Slaves were engaged in household chores and participated in wars. A slave could be released for bravery, Good work. When the RAC (Russian-American Company) began to manage the islands, slavery was eradicated, and the toyons became clerks of the company.

The ancient form of Aleut marriage was group marriage, where several men were considered potential husbands for a group of women. Marriages between cousins and brothers, polyandry, polygamy, the custom of patronage of the mother's uncle over nephews "avunculate", hospitable hetaerism were allowed. These customs disappeared with the adoption of Christianity. In the 19th century, communities collapsed, the bride price (kalym) was eradicated, replacing it with labor for the wife, during which the husband lived in the family of his wife’s parents for 1-2 years, helping with the housework. Wedding and matchmaking rituals began to spread.

Housing

The Aleuts lived in villages that were located on the sea coast, at the mouths of rivers. Each village consisted of two or four large semi-dugouts (ulyagams). We chose open ones for them, high places, for convenient observation of the approaching enemy, sea animals. The semi-dugout was built from trees nailed to the shore; the top of the dwelling was covered with turf, skins, and dry grass. There were several quadrangular holes in the roof for entry. The Aleuts climbed inside along a log with notches. One such half-dugout could accommodate from 10 to 40 families. There were bunks along the walls inside the dwelling. Each family had its own part, which was separated by a curtain or pillars. The utensils were stored under bunks.

In the summer, the Aleuts moved into light, separate buildings. In the 19th century, the semi-dugout underwent changes: the walls were made of boards and poles, which were covered with turf. At the top there was a hatch for lighting; on the side there was an exit through a small vestibule. Lighting in the home was provided by fat lamps, and sometimes stoves were installed. In addition to traditional utensils, the Aleuts began to use imported factory utensils.

Culture

The people have a unique artistic culture. Hunting bows, throwing darts, masks, and headdresses are not only weapons for hunting and accessories, they are examples of the ornamental original art of the people. The Aleuts decorated fish-stifling mallets and wooden frames of women's knives with original, skillful carvings. Hunters' headdresses were richly decorated with beads, beads, engraved plates, feathers, and sea lion mustaches. They were painted with mineral bright colors. The use of multicolor painting on wood is a distinctive feature of Aleut art among the peoples of the extreme northeast of Russia, and at the same time is similar to the art of the Indians of northwestern America. In terms of motifs, Aleutian painting is more close to the Eskimo ornament.

Products made from soft materials are unique. Various patterns were created from deer hair, using techniques unknown to other peoples. The original weaving was used for products from the stalks of wild barley and wild peas; mats, rugs, capes, baskets, and bags were made.

The people had many songs and historical legends. The main themes in folklore were love lyrics and sea crafts. During the holidays, musicians with tambourines sang of man's agility in steering a canoe and the exploits of his ancestors.

An important role was played by dances, which were filled with meaning. They were standing and sitting. Sedentary events are the most ancient, they were carried out in the form of re-enactments. Standing consisted of springy movements on half-bent legs, the body was tilted forward, sharp turns were made with different positions of the arms. Shamans danced cult dances, put on masks, made magical movements, and summoned the souls of dead hunters, warriors, good and evil spirits. In ancient times, during totem rituals, Aleuts transformed into birds and sea animals and skillfully imitated their body movements.

There are other genres in the folklore of the people:

tales of heroes;
stories about ancient customs;
everyday stories;
puzzles;
sayings.

Myths about spirits, animal patrons, etiological legends about the origin and immortality of people were widespread. The heroic epic consisted of legends about the fight against cannibals, ancestors, and the resettlement of people from the mainland to the islands.

Traditions

One of the main holidays of the people is the celebration of the winter solstice, which was accompanied by the distribution of gifts, dancing, performances of mythological scenes, and hunting scenes. Before the hunting season, rituals were held during which they danced, sang to a tambourine, and played pantomimes. The performers wore wooden masks and special headdresses.

Noble personalities were buried in caves along with slaves. A painted pole was placed at the entrance, or the bodies of the deceased were hung between two poles in baskets. Their weapons, tools, dishes, personal amulets, and ritual masks were placed with the deceased. The Aleuts have embalmed their dead since ancient times.

Faces of Russia. “Living together while remaining different”

The multimedia project “Faces of Russia” has existed since 2006, telling about Russian civilization, the most important feature of which is the ability to live together while remaining different - this motto is especially relevant for countries throughout the post-Soviet space. From 2006 to 2012, within the framework of the project, we created 60 documentaries about representatives of different Russian ethnic groups. Also, 2 cycles of radio programs “Music and Songs of the Peoples of Russia” were created - more than 40 programs. Illustrated almanacs were published to support the first series of films.

Now we are halfway to creating a unique multimedia encyclopedia of the peoples of our country, a snapshot that will allow the residents of Russia to recognize themselves and leave a legacy for posterity with a picture of what they were like.

General information

ALEUTS- the people are few. According to the 2010 census, only 482 Aleuts live on the Commander Islands (Russia). There are also American Aleuts. There are about two thousand of them, and they live in the Aleutian Islands and Alaska. In the middle of the 18th century, the number of Aleuts reached 15 thousand people.

The Aleut language belongs to the Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. The Russian language had the greatest influence on the Aleutian language in the field of vocabulary. There are a lot of borrowings from the Russian language. Most of the words were borrowed to designate new household items, dishes, clothing, etc. Many words penetrated into the Aleut language in connection with the adoption of Orthodoxy.

The Aleuts still remain staunch adherents of Orthodoxy; religious rituals are performed in Russian and Aleut languages. The sea and the sea coast provided the Aleuts with everything they needed for life. The rhythm of the life of the sea: its ebb and flow, the approach to the shores of schools of fish going to spawn and sea animals striving for coastal rookeries, the spring revival of bird colonies, the appearance of mollusks and algae on the shallows - all this determined the rhythm of life and activities of the Aleuts throughout the year.

The ability to predict the weather is vital for the inhabitants of the islands, and the Aleuts are able to do this to perfection. The appearance of the water surface, the shape of the waves and clouds can tell experienced observers a lot about what the Aleuts were like. Until now, the Aleutian secrets of weather forecasting have not been solved.

Household and life

The history of the study of the Aleuts begins with the discovery of the Aleutian Islands in 1741 by the Great Northern (Second Kamchatka) expedition (1733 - 1743). Russian sailors, explorers, and industrialists collected data about the culture of the people. For a long time, there were two hypotheses of their origin.

According to one, the Aleuts came from the northeast Asian coast, according to the other, from Alaska. Research proves that the formation of the anthropological type, language and culture took place 6000 - 4600 years ago. There is an assumption that the Aleuts made up the southern group of Eskimos; according to other sources, they became an independent ethnic group quite a long time ago. Since 1799, the Aleutian Islands and the adjacent part of Alaska were controlled by the Russian-American Company. To develop the uninhabited Commander Islands, the company resettled there from these islands some of the Aleuts, the ancestors of the present ones.

Subsequently, the population of the Commander Islands was replenished not only by Aleuts, but also by Creoles (descendants of Europeans and Aleuts) and Russian industrialists from Atka and California who married Aleuts. Bering Island was inhabited mainly by people from Atka; in 1827 there were already 110 of them. In 1900 on the island. Bering was home to 279 Aleuts, and on the island. Medny - 253 people from Atau. Nowadays there are 550 Aleuts living on the Commanders.

The main goal of the Russian-American Company was to preserve their traditional economy as a reliable source of profit. Officials appointed clerks and kayakers to organize fishing on the remote islands. The official status of the Aleuts was approaching the status of foreigners of the Russian Empire; they paid yasak to the treasury, and since 1821 they were recognized as Russian subjects. In 1867, the Aleutian Islands, along with Alaska, were sold to the United States.

In Russia, the Aleuts remained only on the Commanders. From 1891 to 1917, the islands were rented by various commercial and industrial companies. The peculiarities of life of the Commander Aleuts were determined by the isolation of the islands. Until 1867, their population worked for the Russian-American Company: they procured furs, meat and fat from sea animals, preserving their traditional culture. The main place was occupied by hunting sea animals from kayaks and catching seals on land.

Fishing began at the end of April. From spring to autumn they fished. In mid-July, they hunted birds using throwing spears (shatin) and a throwing projectile (bola) - a bunch of belts with stone or bone weights at the ends. Having untwisted, the bola was thrown into the flock and the bird, entangled in the straps, became the prey of the hunter. They were also caught at bird markets with a large net on a long pole (chirucha), as well as with nets. In winter they hunted for seals from the shore. Sea beaver (sea otter) were caught in the open sea using a harpoon (a throwing spear on a long rope), sea lions and walruses were caught in rookeries, seals were lured ashore with a decoy - an inflated seal skin, imitating the cry of a female, whales were hunted using a spear, the tip of which smeared with aconite poison. After 2-3 days, the sea washed the animal’s carcass ashore.

Harpoons and spears were thrown using spear throwers - wooden planks 50-70 cm long with a longitudinal groove, finger grooves at one end and a bone stop at the other. Bows, arrows and guns were also known. An important role in sea hunting was played by the baidara - a wooden, flat-bottomed frame boat covered with sea lion or seal skin and the kayak - a closed leather boat with a wooden frame and a hatch where the hunter sat.

It was controlled with a two-bladed oar (a prototype of a sports kayak). With the advent firearms they began to make two-key kayaks (during shooting, the second rower had to maintain balance). Some elements not typical for the mainland Aleut culture also spread: for example, on the island. Bering appeared sleds (sleighs) with dog sleds, on the island. Mednom - short, wide skis lined with seal skin.

From stone, men made knives, axes, arrow and spear tips, vessels for cooking, and fat lamps with a moss wick for lighting and heating the home. Women sewed and embroidered clothes, made coverings for canoes, and wove mats and baskets. Women's universal tool was the pekulka - a wide, short and slightly curved knife. The needles were made from bird bones. The villages were located on the sea coast, often at the mouths of rivers and consisted of 2-4 large semi-dugouts (ulyagams). The tall ones were chosen open spaces, so that from there it would be convenient to observe the progress of sea animals and the approach of enemies.

Half-dugouts were built from driftwood, and the top was covered with dry grass, skins and turf. They left several rectangular holes in the roof for entry and climbed up there along a log with notches. The dwelling accommodated from 10 to 40 families. Inside, bunks were built along the walls. Each family lived on its own part of the bunks, separated from each other by pillars and curtains. Utensils were stored under the bunks. In the summer they moved to separate light buildings. In the 19th century the traditional half-dugout was modified: the walls and roof, made of poles and boards, were covered with turf. At the top there was a hatch for lighting, and on the side there was an exit through a small vestibule.

Homes were lit with grease lamps, and sometimes stoves were installed. Along with traditional utensils, they used imported factory-made utensils. Traditional clothing was a parka - a long, blind (without a slit in the front) clothing made of fur from seals, sea otters, and bird skins. On top of it they put on a kamleika - a solid waterproof garment made from the intestines of sea animals with sleeves, a closed closed collar and a hood (a prototype of a European windbreaker). The edges of the hood and sleeves were tightened with laces. Parkas and kamleikas were decorated with embroidered stripes and fringes.

Traditional fishing jackets with hoods made of sea lion intestines and throats, and trousers made of seal skin have been preserved. Men's and women's clothing were completely identical in cut and decoration. Appeared and new type clothes - brodni - trousers made from sea lion throats, onto which were sewn waterproof booties - soft boots made from the skin of sea animals. Shoes - booties - soft boots made from the skin of sea animals. In everyday life they wore Russian clothes.

The hunting headdresses were wooden hats of a conical shape (for Toyon leaders) or without a top with a very elongated front part (for simple hunters), richly decorated with polychrome painting, carved bone, feathers, and sea lion mustaches. They were worn on the hood of the kamleika. Such hats were hollowed out from a single piece of wood, then steamed into the desired shape, and painted in bright colors, creating a fancy ornament. The sides and back were decorated with carved walrus tusk plates, engraved with geometric patterns, into which paint was rubbed.

A bone figurine of a bird or animal was attached to the top of the back plate, which also served as the top of the hat. Steller's whiskers up to 50 centimeters long were inserted into the side holes of the plate. Their number depended on the hunting ability of the owner and indicated the number of walruses hunted. These headdresses were worn only by men. Festive and ritual headdresses included hats of various shapes made of leather and bird skins with decorations, and leather headbands with patterned seams. An integral part of the festive decoration are necklaces, hand and ankle bracelets, inserts and pendants in holes made in and near the lips, as well as in the nose, along the edges of the auricle and in the earlobe. They were made from bone, stone, wooden and slate sticks, feathers, sea lion whiskers, grass and plant roots. The Aleuts tattooed and painted their faces and bodies, but this tradition began to wane as contacts with the Russians began.

Meat and fish were eaten raw, fried or boiled. They stocked mainly dried fish and whale oil for future use. The latter was kept in bubbles from the stomachs of sea animals. By the middle of the 18th century. the population of each island or group of islands represented an independent territorial entity with its own name and dialect. Presumably, these were tribes consisting of clan communities - associations of persons related by blood relations and the name of a common ancestor. The clan group was headed by a leader (toyon), he either received power by inheritance or was elected. His responsibilities included trade and political relations, court cases, protection of sea animal rookeries, and control of other areas. As a military head, the leader had economic advantages only after military campaigns and trade transactions; in everyday economic activities he was entitled to an equal share with everyone. In addition to the leader, the clan group was headed by a council of elders. There are references in the literature to the existence of ancestral community houses for meetings and celebrations. The Aleuts had slaves (kalga) - mostly prisoners of war. The slave participated in the normal economic activities of the group, in wars.

For bravery or good work he could be released. Traditional social norms remained, associated with the remnants of group marriage - an ancient form of marriage, when a group of men were considered potential husbands of a group of women and norms of matrilineality (from the Latin mater - mother and linea - line: accounts of kinship along the maternal line); cross-cousin marriages (from the English cross - cross and French cusin - cousin: marriages of first cousins are a relic of a group marriage concluded between members of two clans); polygamy and polyandry, avunculate (from Latin avunculus - mother's brother), - the custom of patronage of the maternal uncle in relation to nephews; hospitable heterism (a custom according to which a husband provided his wife for the night to a guest).

In the 19th century. clan communities disintegrated. With the adoption of Christianity by the middle of the 19th century. Mostly, the dowry (the ransom for the wife) and the labor that replaced it for the wife disappeared (the husband lived for 1-2 years in the family of his wife’s parents and helped run the household), as well as polygamy, polyandry and hospitable heterism. At the same time, matchmaking and wedding rituals spread. Traditional beliefs are characterized by animism (from the Latin anima, animus - soul, spirit) - ideas about the soul as a vital force and the existence of good and evil spirits and their influence on human life. The spirits of ancestors were revered, whose images made of stone, bone, wood, and bird skins were passed down from generation to generation as personal amulets. Patron spirits were represented by wooden masks, which were worn during ritual dances.

Shamanism was widespread among the Aleuts, in the mythology of which there were ideas about different worlds. The shaman's costume, like that of some peoples of Siberia, symbolized a bird. In addition to shamanism, there was also hunting magic (from the Greek mageia - witchcraft, sorcery), which consisted of rituals of summoning the beast, special hunting prohibitions and the wearing of amulets that protect the owner. The dead were buried in a sitting position.

Family burials were placed in small depressions among the rocks. The deceased’s tools, weapons, dishes, ritual masks and personal amulets (items with supernatural, magical properties) were also placed there. Noble people were buried along with slaves in caves; a painted pillar was placed at the entrance or the bodies of the deceased were hung in baskets between two pillars. The dead were embalmed. One of the main holidays - the winter solstice holiday - was accompanied by dancing, dramatic performances of hunting scenes and mythological scenes, and the distribution of gifts. The rituals that preceded the hunting season were famous for pantomimes and dancing accompanied by singing and a tambourine. The performers wore special headdresses and wooden masks. At the end of the eighteenth century. The Aleuts, having experienced the strong influence of Russian culture, were converted to Orthodoxy. Schooling and bilingualism spread. Religious books appeared, translated into the Aleut language.

It is characteristic that some of the aborigines became missionaries. The Aleuts still remain staunch adherents of Orthodoxy; religious rituals are performed in Russian and Aleut languages. Folklore has not been studied enough, because basic research did not lead, There are fairy tales, heroic epic (narration), or heroic tales, stories about ancient customs, everyday stories, songs, sayings and riddles.

Most fairy tales are based on mythological stories. The most widespread were myths about the spirits of patron animals and etiological (concerning the causes of various phenomena) legends about the original immortality of people, about the origin of people from a dog that fell from the sky, etc. The heroic epic includes legends about ancestors, about the fight against cannibals, about the resettlement of people from continent to the islands, stories about the campaigns of eastern groups of Aleuts to the west, about blood feuds that led to brutal wars, etc. Everyday stories tell about fishing trips, travels; legends - about fugitive Aleuts hiding from the Russians in caves, about long journeys; satirical stories - about a hunter who died from gluttony inside a whale. Many stories reflect traditional family relationships: about the infidelity of a husband or a jealous wife, about the hero’s cohabitation with his cousin’s wife, about the hostile relationship of a son-in-law with his brother-in-law (wife’s brother), etc.

Song folklore was extremely developed. At holidays, men, to the sound of a tambourine, sang of the exploits of their ancestors, their prowess in fishing, and their dexterity in operating a canoe. During games, ritual actions and the performance of fairy tales, they sang to the accompaniment of a multi-stringed sword-shaped zither (chayakh), which was later replaced by a guitar. Predatory exploitation of fisheries by American and Russian companies has led to impoverishment local population, undermining the foundations of traditional culture. At the end of the nineteenth century. population growth slowed down, disease and alcohol led to an increase in mortality. By the 1920s The impoverishment of the Commander Aleuts reached its limit.

After graduation civil war on Far East The restoration of the destroyed economy on the islands, the development of agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing and sea hunting began. The process of revival of the Aleuts included the creation of an animal farm in 1925, the allocation of the Commander Islands to the Aleutian national region in 1928, the participation of the people in management, the training of national intelligentsia and technical specialists. Since 1935, population growth began. At the same time, the process of dispersal of the Aleuts and their settlement on the mainland was developing. Since 1969, Aleuts have mainly lived in the village. Nikolsky. In terms of lifestyle and social structure they do not differ from the visiting population. The number of interethnic marriages has increased.

Place of residence. In Russia, Aleuts live on the Commander Islands (Medny Islands, Bering Islands), but most of them live in the USA (Alaska, Aleutian Islands).

Language, dialects. The language is the Eskimo-Aleut family of languages. The language supposedly became isolated 3-4 thousand years ago and was one of the ancient dialects of the Eskimo language. On Bering Island, the Atkin dialect of the Aleutian language was widespread, on Medny Island a new dialect was formed based on the Atkin dialect and the Russian language. When communicating, the inhabitants of these islands had difficulty understanding each other.

Origin, settlement. The history of the study of the Aleuts begins with the discovery of the Aleutian Islands in 1741 by the Second Kamchatka Expedition (1732–1743). Russian sailors, explorers, and industrialists collected data about the culture of the people. For a long time, there were two hypotheses of their origin. According to one, the Aleuts came from the northeastern Asian coast, according to the other, from Alaska. Research proves that the formation of the anthropological type, language and culture took place 6000–4600 years ago. There is an assumption that the Aleuts constituted the southern group of Eskimos; according to other sources, they became an independent ethnic group (from the Greek. ethnos– “people”) for quite a long time.

Their number in the middle of the 18th century reached 12–15 thousand people. Since 1799, the Aleutian Islands and the adjacent part of Alaska were ruled by the Russian-American Company, and to develop the uninhabited Commander Islands, the company resettled some of the Aleuts there. Subsequently, the population of the Commander Islands was replenished not only by Aleuts, but also by Creoles (descendants of Europeans and Aleuts) and Russian industrialists from Atka Island and California who married Aleuts. Bering Island was inhabited mainly by people from Atka; in 1827 there were already 110 of them. In 1900, 279 Aleuts lived on Bering Island, and 253 people from Attu Island lived on Medny Island. Nowadays, 550 Aleuts live on the Commanders. The main goal of the Russian-American Company was to preserve their traditional economy as a reliable source of profit. Officials appointed clerks and kayakers to organize fishing on the remote islands. The official status of the Aleuts was approaching the status of foreigners of the Russian Empire; they paid yasak to the treasury (in Russia of the 15th–20th centuries, the tax in kind from the peoples of Siberia and the North was paid mainly in furs). Since 1821, the Aleuts have been recognized as Russian subjects.

In 1867, the Aleutian Islands, along with Alaska, were sold to the United States. In Russia, the Aleuts remained only on the Commanders. From 1891 to 1917, the islands were rented by various commercial and industrial companies.

The name "Aleut" was given by the Russians and first appears in documents of 1747, presumably coming from the Chukchi alias- "island", Aliut- "islanders" or from allithuh- “detachment, army, community” (there is also an assumption that this is a modified word alut, which was the name given to the residents of the village of Alyutorsky on east coast Kamchatka). Ethnonym (from Greek. ethnos- "people", onyma- “name”: self-name of the people) Mednovsky Aleuts – sasignan, Saskinan, Bering - Unangan, negosis, negogahvs. The name "Aleuts" took root at the beginning of the 20th century.

Writing. The first grammar of the Aleut language was compiled at the beginning of the 19th century based on the Cyrillic alphabet.

Crafts, craft tools, means of transportation. The peculiarities of life of the Commander Aleuts were determined by the isolation of the islands. Until 1867, their population continued to work for the Russian-American Company: they procured furs, meat and fat from sea animals, preserving their traditional culture. The main place was occupied by hunting sea animals from kayaks and catching seals on land.

Fishing began at the end of April. From spring to autumn they fished. In mid-July they hunted birds using throwing spears ( shatin) and projectile ( bola) - bundles of belts with stone or bone weights at the ends. Having untwisted, the bola was thrown into the flock, and the bird, entangled in the straps, became the prey of the hunter. Birds were also caught at bird markets with a large net on a long pole ( chirucha), as well as networks. In winter they hunted for seals from the shore. The sea beaver (sea otter) was caught in the open sea using a harpoon - a throwing spear on a long rope; Steller sea lions and walruses were hunted in rookeries; the seal was lured to the shore with a decoy - an inflated seal skin, imitating the cry of a female; whales were hunted with a spear, the tip of which was smeared with aconite poison. After 2–3 days, the sea washed the animal’s carcass ashore.

Harpoons and spears were thrown using spear throwers - wooden planks 50–70 centimeters long with a longitudinal groove, finger grooves at one end and a bone stop at the other. Bows, arrows and guns were also known.

They played an important role in sea hunting kayak- a flat-bottomed boat with a wooden frame, covered with sea lion or seal skin, and kayak- a closed leather boat with a wooden frame and a hatch where the hunter sat (a prototype of a sports kayak). It was controlled with a two-bladed oar. With the advent of firearms, double-hatch kayaks began to be made (during shooting, the second rower had to maintain balance).

Some devices for movement, uncharacteristic of the Aleut culture, also became widespread. On Bering Island, for example, sleds (sleighs) with dog sleds appeared, on Medny Island - short, wide skis lined with seal skin.

Dwellings. The villages were located on the sea coast, often at the mouths of rivers and consisted of two to four large semi-dugouts ( ulyagamah). High, open places were chosen for them, so that it would be convenient to observe sea animals and the approach of enemies. Semi-dugouts were built from driftwood and covered with dry grass, skins and turf. They left several rectangular holes in the roof for entry and climbed up there along a log with notches.

The dwelling accommodated from 10 to 40 families. Inside, bunks were built along the walls. Each family lived on its own part of the bunks, separated from each other by pillars and curtains. Utensils were stored under the bunks. In the summer they moved to separate light buildings.

In the 19th century, the traditional half-dugout was modified: the walls and roof, made of poles and boards, were covered with turf. At the top there was a hatch for lighting, and on the side there was an exit through a small vestibule. Homes were illuminated with grease lamps, and sometimes stoves were installed. Along with traditional utensils, they used imported factory-made utensils.

Cloth. Traditional clothing was parka- long, closed (without a slit in the front) clothing made of fur seal, sea otter, or bird skins. They put it on top Kamleika- solid waterproof clothing made from the intestines of sea animals with sleeves, a closed closed collar and a hood (a prototype of a European windbreaker). The edges of the hood and sleeves were tightened with laces. Parkas and kamleikas were decorated with embroidered stripes and fringes. Traditional fishing jackets with hoods made of sea lion intestines and throats, and trousers made of seal skin have been preserved. Men's and women's clothing were completely identical in cut and decoration. Later a new type of clothing appeared - brodni- trousers made from sea lion throats, to which waterproof ones were sewn Torbass- soft boots made from the skin of sea animals. In everyday life they wore European clothes.

The fishing headdresses were wooden conical hats (for the leaders - toyonov) or without a top, with a greatly elongated front part (for simple hunters), richly decorated with polychrome painting, carved bone, feathers, and sea lion mustaches. They were worn on the hood of the kamleika. The hats were hollowed out from a whole piece of wood, then steamed and, having been given the desired shape, painted in bright colors with intricate patterns. The sides and back were decorated with carved walrus tusk plates, engraved with geometric patterns, into which paint was rubbed. A bone figurine of a bird or animal was attached to the top of the back plate, which also served as the top of the hat. 50-centimeter sea lion whiskers were inserted into the side holes of the plate, the number of which depended on the hunting ability of the owner. These headdresses were worn only by men.

Festive and ritual headdresses included hats of various shapes made of leather and bird skins with decorations, and leather headbands with patterned seams.

Decorations. An integral part of the festive decoration are necklaces, hand and ankle bracelets, inserts and pendants in holes made in and near the lips, as well as in the nose, along the edges of the auricle and in the earlobe. They were made from bone, stone, wooden and slate sticks, feathers, sea lion whiskers, grass and plant roots.

The Aleuts tattooed and painted their faces and bodies, but this tradition began to wane as contacts with the Russians began.

Food, its preparation. Meat and fish were eaten raw, fried or boiled. They stocked mainly dried fish and whale oil for future use. The latter was kept in bubbles from the stomachs of sea animals.

Social life, power, marriage, family. By the middle of the 18th century, the population of each island or group of islands represented an independent territorial entity with its own name and dialect. Presumably these were tribes consisting of clan communities - associations of persons related by blood relations and the name of a common ancestor. The clan group was headed toyon. He either received power by inheritance or was elected. His responsibilities included trade and political relations, court cases, protection of sea animal rookeries, and control of other lands. As a military head, the leader had economic advantages only after military campaigns and trade transactions; in everyday economic activities he was entitled to an equal share with everyone.

In addition to the leader, the clan group was headed by a council of elders. There are references in the literature to the existence of ancestral community houses for meetings and celebrations.

The Aleuts had slaves ( kalga) - mostly prisoners of war. The slave participated in ordinary economic activities and in wars. For bravery or good work he could be released.

Traditional social norms remained, associated with the remnants of group marriage (an ancient form of marriage, when a group of men were considered potential husbands of a group of women) and matrilineal norms (from the Latin. mater- "mother" and linea - " line": accounts of kinship on the maternal side); cross-cousin marriages (from English. cross- "cross" and French. cusin- “cousin”: marriages of cousins - a relic of a group marriage concluded between members of two clans); polygamy and polyandry, avunculate (from lat. avunculus- “mother’s brother”) - the custom of patronage of the maternal uncle in relation to nephews; hospitable heterism (a custom according to which a husband provided his wife for the night to a guest).

In the 19th century, clan communities disintegrated. With the adoption of Christianity, by the middle of the 19th century, dowry - the ransom for a wife and the labor that replaced it (the husband lived for one or two years in the family of his wife’s parents and helped run the household), as well as polygamy, polyandry and hospitable heterism - had largely disappeared. At the same time, matchmaking and wedding rituals spread.

Religion. Traditional beliefs are characterized by animism (from lat. anima, animus- “soul”, “spirit”) - ideas about the soul as a vital force and about the existence of good and evil spirits and their influence on human life. The spirits of ancestors were revered, whose images made of stone, bone, wood and bird skins were passed down as personal amulets. Patron spirits were represented by wooden masks, which were worn during ritual dances.

Shamanism was widespread among the Aleuts, in whose mythology there were ideas about different worlds. The shaman's costume, like that of some peoples of Siberia, symbolized a bird.

In addition to animism and shamanism, there was also hunting magic (from the Greek. mageia- “witchcraft”, “magic”), which consisted of rituals of summoning the beast, special hunting prohibitions and wearing amulets that protect the owner.

At the end of the 18th century, the Aleuts, having experienced the strong influence of Russian culture, were converted to Orthodoxy. Schooling and bilingualism spread. Religious books appeared, translated into the Aleut language. It is characteristic that some Aborigines became missionaries. The Aleuts still remain staunch adherents of Orthodoxy; religious rituals are performed in Russian and Aleut languages.

Funeral rite. The dead were buried in a sitting position. Family burials were placed in small depressions among the rocks. The deceased’s tools, weapons, dishes, ritual masks and personal amulets (items with supernatural, magical properties) were also placed there. Noble people were buried along with slaves in caves; a painted pillar was placed at the entrance or the bodies of the deceased were hung in baskets between two pillars. The dead were embalmed.

Holidays. One of the main holidays - the winter solstice holiday - was accompanied by dancing, dramatic performances of hunting scenes and mythological scenes, and the distribution of gifts. The rituals that preceded the hunting season were famous for pantomimes and dancing accompanied by singing and a tambourine. The performers wore special headdresses and wooden masks.

Folklore, musical instruments. Folklore has not been sufficiently studied; fundamental research has not been carried out. There are fairy tales, heroic epic (narration), or heroic tales, stories about ancient customs, everyday stories, songs, sayings and riddles. Most fairy tales are based on mythological stories. The most common myths are about animal spirits - patrons and etiological (explaining the cause of various phenomena) legends about the original immortality of people, the origin of people from a dog that fell from the sky, etc. The heroic epic includes legends about ancestors, about the fight against cannibals, about the resettlement of people from the mainland to the islands, stories about the campaigns of eastern groups of Aleuts to the west, about blood feuds that led to cruel wars, etc. Everyday stories tell about fishing trips, travels; legends about fugitive Aleuts hiding from the Russians in caves on long journeys; satirical stories - about a hunter who died from gluttony inside a whale. Many plots reflect traditional family relationships: the infidelity of a husband or a jealous wife, the hero’s cohabitation with his cousin’s wife, the hostile relationship of a son-in-law with his brother-in-law (wife’s brother), etc.

From the history of economic, social, cultural development. The predatory exploitation of fisheries by American and Russian companies has led to the impoverishment of the local population and the undermining of the foundations of traditional culture. IN late XIX century, population growth slowed down, disease and alcohol led to an increase in mortality. By the 20s of the twentieth century, the impoverishment of the Commander Aleuts had reached its limit.

After the end of the civil war in the Far East, the restoration of the destroyed economy on the islands began, the development of agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing and sea hunting. The process of revival of the Aleuts included the creation of an animal farm in 1925, the allocation of the Commander Islands to the Aleutian national region in 1928, the participation of the people in management, the training of national intelligentsia and technical specialists. Since 1935, population growth began, but many of the Aleuts settled on the mainland. Along with traditional types of farming, new industries began to develop - fur farming, livestock farming and gardening.

Modern cultural life. Schoolchildren from the village of Nikolskoye (Bering Island) study their native language. At the end of the 1960s, the Aleutian Folk Museum was opened, and in 1994, a folklore ensemble was opened. The newspapers “Aleutskaya Zvezda” and “Aboriginal of Kamchatka” are published in Russian. The programs of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Kamchatka" systematically talk about the activities of the Aleut community, folk holidays, rituals and customs of the aborigines.

In 1996, the Kamchatka Center for National Cultures united all national communities and the regional Association of Indigenous Minorities of the North into the Association of Commander Aleuts. Since 1999, it has been called the Aleut Association "Ansarco".

Story studying Aleuts begins with the discovery of the Aleutian Islands in 1741 by the Great Northern (Second Kamchatka) expedition (1733-1743). Russian sailors, explorers, and industrialists collected data about the culture of the people. For a long time, there were two hypotheses of their origin. According to one, the Aleuts came from the northeast Asian coast, according to the other, from Alaska. Research proves that the formation of the anthropological type, language and culture took place 6000 - 4600 years ago. There is an assumption that the Aleuts made up the southern group of Eskimos; according to other sources, they became an independent ethnic group quite a long time ago.

Since 1799, the Aleutian Islands and the adjacent part of Alaska were controlled by the Russian-American Company. To develop the uninhabited Commander Islands, the company resettled there from these islands some of the Aleuts, the ancestors of the present ones. Subsequently, the population of the Commander Islands was replenished not only by Aleuts, but also by Creoles (descendants of Europeans and Aleuts) and Russian industrialists from Atka and California who married Aleuts.

Bering Island was inhabited mainly by people from Atka; in 1827 there were already 110 people. In 1900, 279 Aleuts lived on Bering Island, and 253 people from Atau lived on Medny Island. Nowadays there are 550 Aleuts living on the Commanders. The main goal of the Russian-American Company was to preserve their traditional economy as a reliable source of profit. Officials appointed clerks and kayakers to organize fishing on the remote islands.

The official status of the Aleuts approached the status of foreigners of the Russian Empire: they paid yasak to the treasury, and from 1821 they were recognized as Russian subjects. In 1867, the Aleutian Islands, along with Alaska, were sold to the United States. In Russia, the Aleuts remained only on the Commanders. From 1891 to 1917, the islands were rented by various commercial and industrial companies.

After the end of the civil war in the Far East, the restoration of the destroyed economy on the islands began, the development of agriculture, cattle breeding, fishing and sea hunting. The process of revival of the Aleuts included the creation of an animal farm in 1925, the allocation of the Commander Islands to the Aleutian national region in 1928, the participation of the people in management, the training of national intelligentsia and technical specialists. Since 1935, population growth began. At the same time, the process of dispersal of the Aleuts and their settlement on the mainland was developing. Since 1969, Aleuts have mainly lived in the village of Nikolskoye. In terms of lifestyle and social structure they do not differ from the visiting population. The number of interethnic marriages has increased.

Religion of the Aleuts.
Traditional beliefs are characterized by animism (from the Latin anima, animus - soul, spirit) - ideas about the soul as a vital force and the existence of good and evil spirits and their influence on human life. The spirits of ancestors were revered, whose images made of stone, bone, wood and bird skins were passed down as personal amulets. Patron spirits were represented by wooden masks, which were worn during ritual dances. Shamanism was widespread among the Aleuts, in whose mythology there were ideas about different worlds. The shaman's costume, like that of some peoples of Siberia, symbolized a bird. In addition to shamanism, there was also hunting magic (from the Greek mageia - witchcraft, sorcery), which consisted of rituals of summoning the beast, special hunting prohibitions and the wearing of amulets that protect the owner.

At the end of the 18th century, the Aleuts, having experienced the strong influence of Russian culture, were converted to Orthodoxy. Schooling and bilingualism spread. Religious books appeared, translated into the Aleut language. It is characteristic that some of the aborigines became missionaries. The Aleuts still remain staunch adherents of Orthodoxy; religious rituals are performed in Russian and Aleut languages.

Economic activity of the Aleuts.

The peculiarities of life of the Commander Aleuts were determined by the isolation of the islands. Until 1867, their population worked for the Russian-American Company: they procured furs, meat and fat from sea animals, preserving their traditional culture. The main place was occupied by hunting sea animals from kayaks and catching seals on land.

ALEUTS (self-names - Unangan, Unangas; literally - inhabitants of the coast), one of the Eskimo-Aleut peoples in the northwestern United States and northeastern Russia. They live mainly on the Commander Islands (the village of Nikolskoye on Bering Island) and the Aleutian Islands, southwest Alaska and the adjacent islands.

The number in Russia is 540 people (of which 464 people are in the Kamchatka region; 2002, census), the USA - 2.5 thousand people (2000, estimate). They belong to the Arctic race. They speak the Aleut language, there are native speakers of the Mednov-Aleut language. In the USA they also speak English language, in Russia the majority switched to Russian. The believers are Orthodox; since 1993, adherents of the Full Gospel Church have appeared (close to Pentecostals).

The separation of the Aleuts from the Eskimo-Aleut community apparently took place on the Aleutian Islands in the 6th-3rd millennia BC. The number in the pre-contact period was 12-15 thousand people. From the mid-18th century they were influenced by the Russians, from 1799 they were under the control of the Russian-American Company, they were converted to Orthodoxy, writing and schooling spread. In the 19th century, some of the Aleuts were resettled by the company to the Commander Islands and the Pribilof Islands. After the transfer of the Aleutian Islands to the United States (1867), the American Aleuts were under the control of the military administration, and since 1915 - the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The number of Aleuts fell sharply in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the USSR, the Native Council was created in 1926 (since 1932 - the Aleutian national region, since 1996 - the Aleutian region). Until the mid-20th century, the Aleuts were divided into eastern (Unalashka) and western (Attovo) groups. During the 2nd World War (after the capture of Atka Island by the Japanese), the Atta Aleuts were taken by the Americans to Alaska, and in 1946-48 they were returned to the Aleutian Islands (Atka Island). Since the mid-20th century, the number of Aleuts has been increasing; in the 1960s, a movement for the revival of Aleutian culture began in the United States; the Aleutian League, part of the Federation of Indigenous Peoples of Alaska, arose; since 1971, the Aleutian Regional Corporation has been dealing with economic problems. Modern Aleuts in the United States are employed in the seal fishery and are employed in the fish canning industry. The Commander Aleuts are engaged in fishing and hunting, gardening and animal husbandry. In the 1990s, the Aleut Association “Anasarko” and International Association Aleuts.

The main traditional activities are hunting and fishing. Winter dwellings (until the beginning of the 19th century) were half-dugouts, illuminated and heated by a fat lamp, with a light-smoke hole in the roof, which also served as an entrance (they climbed up along a log with notches). The Eastern Aleuts had large semi-dugouts (ulagamah, in Russian literature ulyagam) for large-family communities (10-40 small families). Settlements were governed by leaders (tukuh, later - tuyunah, toyon) and councils of elders. Elements of maternal and paternal clan relations, polygamy, ransom and labor for a wife, hospitable heterism, cross-cousin marriage, and avunculate were preserved. By the middle of the 18th century, there was social differentiation, military organization, and domestic slavery. Traditional religion - belief in spirits, hunting magic, shamanism. Mummification of the dead was practiced.

The main holiday is the winter solstice. By the time the Russians arrived, heroic epics, heroic and mythological tales, including the cycle about the Raven, were widespread. In musical creativity, healing and family songs, close to Eskimos, were distinguished, which are characterized by onomatopoeia and vocal intonation, based on speech forms (range - within a fifth). The Aleuts of the Aleutian Islands borrowed tunes on the balalaika and harmonica from the Russians, country dances from the Americans, quadrilles, Russian urban romance, ditties (until the mid-20th century) performed in the Aleut language with a guitar and harmonica are common on the Commander Islands. Balance type dances are popular, combining elements of different traditions.

Wood and bone carvings were developed (jewelry, amulets, figurines of animals and people, wooden masks for ritual dances and funerals), bone engraving, patterned polychrome weaving from grass, the so-called shok, which was similar in technique to weaving (mats, utensils) , ornamental and subject (images of animals, everyday and hunting scenes) painting on wood (dart shafts, hunting hats, etc.).

A distinctive feature of the hunting costume (especially from the mid-18th century) was men's wooden conical hats, worn over the hood of the kamleika: with an elongated visor, decorated with polychrome painting, carved bone plaques, feathers, sea lion whiskers, and others; A bone figurine of an animal or bird was placed on the top of the head. The shape and ornament depended on the social status of the owner. Large curvilinear ornamental motifs of Aleutian hats are traced by some scientists to the ancient Bering Sea culture and through it to the ancient art of the peoples of the lower Amur, Eastern and South-East Asia, Oceania and Australia.

Lit.: Lyapunova R. G. Essays on the ethnography of the Aleuts. L., 1975; she is the same. Aleuts: Essays on Ethnic History. L., 1987; Laughlin W.S. Aleuts: Survivors of the Bering Land Bridge. N. Y., 1980; Lantis M. Aleut // Handbook of North American Indians. Wash., 1984. Vol. 5.

N. A. Lopulenko, N. A. Tatarenkova; V. I. Lisova (oral creativity).