Komi people and Komi-Permyak people: representation of ethnocultural contacts in oral stories of the first half of the XXI century
Institute of Language, Literature and History, Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar, Russian Federation, vv505@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the concepts of “border” and “other” in texts of culture which are the basis for the formation of collective ideas not only about ethnic neighbors, but also about one’s own community, are formed in the process of ethnocultural interactions, exerting a significant influence on it. Intergroup and intragroup boundaries are defined in accordance with what becomes relevant as a marker of identity in a specific situation for a concrete group. In local communities, where ethnic neighborhood is the norm, narratives about ethnic neighbors, borders, and ethnocultural interaction acquire special significance.
Objective: to identify the reflection in the oral tradition of the peculiarities of interaction between the Komi and Komi-Permyak peoples living in villages, between the inhabitants of which there were direct contacts.
Research materials: field materials collected during linguistic and ethnographic expeditions to the areas inhabited by the Upper Vychegda Komi people and Lupya Komi-Permyak people.
Results and novelty of the research: for the first time, materials on ethnocultural interactions recorded both among the Komi and the Komi-Permyak living on the border of the Komi Republic and the Komi-Permyak Okrug are compared. Oral narratives reflect the ideas of modern Komi and Komi-Permyak about the markers of the territorial border between the Komi and the Komi-Permyak. Stories about family and marriage ties between the Komi and the Komi-Permyak, joint participation in calendar holidays, which exist in the public space of local communities, represent an example of good-neighborly relations. Lupya Komi-Permyak memories of the events of the civil war represent a singular interpretation of historical events: the key factor is not the socio-political background of the conflict, but the ethnicity of the participants.
Key words: Komi people, Komi-Permyak people, narratives, ethnocultural contacts, representation
Acknowledgments: the publication was prepared within the framework of the planned research theme (№ 121042600252-7). The author of the article expresses gratitude to the staff of the Department of Language of the Institute of Language, Literature and History for their help: Candidate of Philological Sciences S. A. Sazhina, Candidate of Philological Sciences E. N. Fedoseeva.
For citation: Vlasova V. V. Komi people and Komi-Permyak people: representation of ethnocultural contacts in oral stories of the first half of the XXI century // Vestnik ugrovedenia = Bulletin of Ugric Studies. 2025; 15 (4/63): 735–742.
