| Nganasans |
Website Links For Nganasan |
Information AboutNganasans |
|
The Avam Nganasans live in the Avam District in the western part of the Taimyr Peninsula, in the valleys of the rivers Pyassina , Dudypta and Boganida . The speakers of the Vadeyev dialect live in the Tundra and in the eastern parts of Taimyr , in the Khatanga District by the river Heta , Lake Taimyr and Khatanga Bay . The Nganasans share their territory with the Dolgans . Their southern and southeastern neighbours are the Yakuts ; in the southwest they border upon the Enets . The Nganasans are few in number - 834 ( 2002 Census ). Throughout most of their history they have been Nomadic hunters, fishers, and herders of Reindeer . They have successfully resisted attempts at conversion to foreign religions until the Soviets. The biggest change in their history occurred in the 1940s , when the Soviet authorities decided to end the Shamanist beliefs of the Nganasans. Shamans were imprisoned and their holy artifacts confiscated. Since the 1960s , the nomadic life of the Nganasans has been ended and they have been settled in villages, where they live alongside Russians and Dolgans . These sudden changes caused depression for many Nganasans and Alcoholism is a big problem among them. |