Food as an element of ethnic identity and cross-cultural interaction
English
journal number:
Journal’s Subject Headings:
History, ethnography, archeology
About author:
Assistant Professor, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Yugra State University, 628011, Chekhova, 16, Khanty-Mansiysk, Tyumen Oblast, Russian Federation. [email protected]
Abstract. Introduction: food traditions of ethnic groups are among the most sustainable elements of cultures; they are able to survive in the modern unified world and can serve as the most sustainable marker of their ethnic identity. Objective: to consider the features of eating preferences of different ethnic groups in the rural settlement
Saranpaul of Beryozovsky District of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra. The main objectives are to identify ethno-differentiating signs of groups and to reveal the area of their inter-influence. Research materials: the bases of the publication are field materials of the author collected in summer of 2017 in the territory of Saranpaul. Indigenous inhabitants of this settlement are the Mansi people (mainly hunters and fishermen) and Komi reindeer breeders who settled in these lands in the middle of the XIX century. Russians and other nationalities have settled here since the second half of the 1930s. Results and novelty of the research: the analysis of field materials has shown that in the modern food system of the Mansi and Komi the ethnic food traditions are preserved both in everyday life and in the holiday ritual sphere. Fish and meat are the most important food; it is, in turn, connected with regional natural resources and household activities of peoples. Fish and meat food (first of all, the raw food – frozen fish and meat) are perceived as symbols of ethnic identity of these two people. At the same time it was revealed that on the basis of these initial products, which are adopted by the newcomers, a common settlement identity forms. Analysis of eating preferences of the Russian population revealed some features in relation to wild harvest and garden crops and dishes with them. For the first time we consider the changes occurring in families where the couples belong to different ethnic groups. It was revealed that, as a rule, such families focus on eating preferences of husbands. The research shows the dynamics of the transformation of family food traditions on the example of two generations.
According to the research, the most significant changes have occurred in recent years. The main of them is a tendency of unification of food. Some reasons of this tendency are: 1) a wide variety of products offered in stores, 2) availability of information in the Internet. The research of holiday and ritual dishes, on the one hand, showed
similarity of holiday food and, on the other hand, the remaining differences of ritual food.
Key words: ethnology, ethnic culture, eating preferences, ethnic identity, cross-cultural interactions.
Abstract. Introduction: food traditions of ethnic groups are among the most sustainable elements of cultures; they are able to survive in the modern unified world and can serve as the most sustainable marker of their ethnic identity. Objective: to consider the features of eating preferences of different ethnic groups in the rural settlement
Saranpaul of Beryozovsky District of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Yugra. The main objectives are to identify ethno-differentiating signs of groups and to reveal the area of their inter-influence. Research materials: the bases of the publication are field materials of the author collected in summer of 2017 in the territory of Saranpaul. Indigenous inhabitants of this settlement are the Mansi people (mainly hunters and fishermen) and Komi reindeer breeders who settled in these lands in the middle of the XIX century. Russians and other nationalities have settled here since the second half of the 1930s. Results and novelty of the research: the analysis of field materials has shown that in the modern food system of the Mansi and Komi the ethnic food traditions are preserved both in everyday life and in the holiday ritual sphere. Fish and meat are the most important food; it is, in turn, connected with regional natural resources and household activities of peoples. Fish and meat food (first of all, the raw food – frozen fish and meat) are perceived as symbols of ethnic identity of these two people. At the same time it was revealed that on the basis of these initial products, which are adopted by the newcomers, a common settlement identity forms. Analysis of eating preferences of the Russian population revealed some features in relation to wild harvest and garden crops and dishes with them. For the first time we consider the changes occurring in families where the couples belong to different ethnic groups. It was revealed that, as a rule, such families focus on eating preferences of husbands. The research shows the dynamics of the transformation of family food traditions on the example of two generations.
According to the research, the most significant changes have occurred in recent years. The main of them is a tendency of unification of food. Some reasons of this tendency are: 1) a wide variety of products offered in stores, 2) availability of information in the Internet. The research of holiday and ritual dishes, on the one hand, showed
similarity of holiday food and, on the other hand, the remaining differences of ritual food.
Key words: ethnology, ethnic culture, eating preferences, ethnic identity, cross-cultural interactions.
