------------------------------------------------------------------
THE HANTYS AND MANSIS ARE IN DANGER !
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hantys (Ostyaks) and Mansis (Voguls) have lived until
this century in Western-Sibiria along the river Ob as reindeer
herders and hunters. They have preserved their shamanistic faith.
There are about 20 000 Hantys and 8000 Mansis existing.
During 1960's on their areas was oil founded. After that they
have been the losers. On their traditional areas only 1/100 are
Hantys and Mansis. A half of them speak no more their own language.
In turn of June/july there was arranged the First Finno-Ugric
Culture Festival and a Congress on Indegenous peoples on the area.
A group of Finns attended the Festival and Congress; three members
of parlament, a group of musicians, a journalist, a researcher
and some others.
Everywhere there was seen advertisements of Russian Jugansk Neftegas and
Amoco from United States on the stages. Also Shell sponsored the festival.
Especially Amoco takes benefit of the bitter experiences people have
of the Russian oil companies. Russian oil companies have destroyed
nature on the area which would cover an area larger than Hungary.
Thus Amoco plays a role being a "good" oil-company. A mansi author
Juri Shestalov, who has written a book named "The cradle of Ugrians"
is writing with money sponsored by Amoco a cultural journal called
"Streh."
Shestalov explained entuhiastically how good Amoco is for the nature.
A native American, Alan Robbish,from Canada who was attending the festivities
told that Amoce has no specially good reputation in Canada regarding
the conservation of the nature.
The Festival was ment to present Hanty and Mansi culture.
However we hardly saw any Mansis. At the stage asponsored by Neftejugansk,
the Hantys were giving a performance which hardly was seen because
half of the stage was covered up by two huge trucks. Also the
amplifiers did not work. When the Russians arrived to give performance
suddenly the amplifiers started to work and an other truck went off.
When the visitors came to the place of festivities in Hanty-Mansisk
there was a Russian choir singing Russian in Hanty cloths.
After that a group of Russian girls danced in miniskirts a Hanty-dance.
The genuine Hantys performed shy autentic songs, dances and rituals
but without an experience giving shows.
The Hantys were like "Finns" in that sence that they were silent,
withdrawn aside more than the Russians. They also have a familiar
way to react to the stress,drinking vodka. May be there was seen
also Finno-Ugric roots in the role of females. I have not ever
been in a meeting in Russia where the women had had so
visible role as at the Congress in Hanty-Mansiskij.
In a village of Seljarovo, a group of Finns started to talk
with some Hanty women. After a while our discussion was interrupted
by drunken Russian man. After he was chased away three Russian
women arrived and started to explain how much the Russians
have done for the benefit of the Hantys.
We had quite directly to point out that we want to hear the opinions
of the Hantys themselves and not the opinions of the Russians about
the Hantys.
The Hantys were beaming with joy and the next day they brought
for us some trinkets made by them.
A young Russian woman was loudly wondering why we are interested
in the Hantys. We said that the preservation of Hanty culture is
important. Why, wondered she.
The Shamans were beaten up, an Hanty girl is accused of a murder:
The last March in Russkinskoje village was murdered Prokopi Sopatshin,
a Hanty. He was a deputy of Jamalo-Nenetsia in the parlament of the
area. He was actively participating in a movement which is against
the further exploitation of oil on the area. 66 Finnish members
of Parlament wrote to Yeltsin wishing that the murder would be properly
investigated.
P.S. was found dead in the snow, the next day a miliz officer
named Aleksei Rudjashko had arrested him. The Hantys consider it
clear that he is the murder, because he has beaten other Hantys too.
In the same village was held also a Toorum ritual, where a reindeer
was slaughtered. Toorum is the most important celebration of the Hantys.
Some days later we heared that the milizia had beaten up the shamans
who had performed in the ritual.
In the village a woman who runs a children club told that milizia
had beaten up her son too when we asked about the murder.
The Russians know that they are depending on the continuous
oil exploitation. The Hantys are against oil exploitation and thus
dangerous. "Where are Hantys needed" she told the Russians to say.
Of the murder of Prokopi Sopatshin is not accused miliz but a
23 year old girl. The official version of the murder is that
the man was detained because he had attacked the girl.
Quite a girl, if she has hit the man 50 times and took off
partly the arm of the man and made a severe breake on his skull.
The gloomy estimation of a Hanty woman in the village of Russkinskoje
is that the Russians want to provoke the Hantys to take the arms.
After that it would be simple to solve "the Hanty problem" on the
area.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Original text was written in Finnish by a Finnish member of
parlament Ms. Satu Hassi, representing Greens.
My translation into the English is not the best one. I regret.
jarmo