Living on the Yamal Peninsula in the far north of Siberia, above the Arctic Circle where the temperatures can go as low as -50°C, Man survives thanks to an animal: the reindeer. Breeders, the Nenets people, numbering approximately 10,000, continue to perpetuate a nomad way of life. They journey nearly 70 times a year over more than 1000 km looking for pasture of white lichen, the main food source for the herds. The Nenets people are the largest group of reindeer breeders on the planet, but for how much longer? What is the future for these peoples who live on top of a treasure coveted by the entire world: the biggest gas field on Earth? Like all the indigenous populations of Siberia, the Nenets people are today threatened by a dominant population, the Russians, and also by the intensive exploitation of the resource found on their territory.
The Nenets people: an exemplary struggle. A Photo story by ŠMathieu Amar/LightMediation Contact - Thierry Tinacci - LightMediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry@lightmediation.com
2225-54: Les nenetses attrapant un renne avec leur lasso./// The Nenets catch a reindeer with their lasso.
2225-01: Préparation pour le rassemblement du troupeau de rennes./// Preparing to round up the herd of reindeer.
2225-02: Le camp au petit matin./// The camp in the early morning.
2225-03: Le petit Axana 2 ans derriere lui devant la porte du tchoum, Kirill 4 ans./// The little Axana, 2 years old, behind him in front of the door to the chum, Kirill, 4 years old.
2225-04: Capture du renne- étranglé pour etre mangé./// Capturing the reindeer - strangled to be eaten.
2225-05: Au petit matin./// Early morning.
2225-06: Rita, 23 ans, Alek son fils, 1 an./// Rita, 23 years old, her son Alek, 1 year.
2225-07: Ramassage du bois pour le poele du tchoum./// Gathering wood for the chum's stove.
2225-08: L' hÊlicoptère vient de repartir et tout le monde retourne au camp. de face Kirill, 4 ans./// The helicopter has just left and everyone returns to the camp. Face on, Kirill, 4 years old.
2225-34: Des enfants Nenetses sortant des cours de l'internat./// Nenets children leaving from classes at the boarding school.
2225-09: Afin de preparer la prochaine transhumance, les Nenetses sont aller reperer les prochaines terres pour les rennes./// In order to prepare the next transhumance, the Nenets people have gone to
2225-10: ZenaĂŻda, 61 ans devant son tchoum./// ZenaĂŻda, 61 years old, in front of her chum.
2225-11: Le camp au petit matin./// The camp in the early morning.
2225-12: Une fois le renne tuĂŠ, on boit le sang tout de suite pendant qu'il est chaud./// Once the reindeer is killed, they drink the blood right away while it is still warm.
2225-13: Kiril Okateto, jeune éleveur métis d'origine Nénètse et Russe devant son traineau avant de partir en repérage pour de nouveaux paturages./// Kiril Okateto, young breeder of mixed Nenets and
2225-14: Svieta, 4 ans, devant la porte du tchoum./// Svieta, 4 years old, in front of the door to her chum.
2225-15: Rita plante les branches qu'elle est allée chercher, avant de les couper./// Rita sticks the branches she has gathered into the ground before cutting them.
2225-16: Les hommes s'entrainent au lasso avant de regrouper le troupeau./// The men practice with the lasso before rounding up the herd.
2225-49: Les hommes du camp mangeant le renne venant d'ĂŞtre tuĂŠ./// The men of the camp eating the reindeer that has just been killed.
2225-17: Kirill, 4 ans et Svieta, 4 ans s'entrainent au lasso./// Kirill, 4 years old and Svieta, 4 years old, practice with the lasso
2225-18: Rita et Lena dans leur Tchoum avec leurs enfants./// Rita and Lena in their chum with their children.
2225-19: DĂŠmontage des Tchoums avant la transhumance./// Taking down the chums before the transhumance.
2225-20: Lena dans son Tchoum rĂŠparant un manteau.///Lena in her chum repairing a coat.
2225-21: Le jeune Kirill 4 ans a la porte du tchoum./// The young Kirill, 4 years old, at the door to the chum.
2225-22: La Transhumance./// The Transhumance.
2225-23: Cimetière des Nenetses a Yar Sale./// The Nenets' cemetery in Yar Sale.
2225-24: L'internat de Yar Sale où le gouvernement Russe envoie gratuitement les enfants pour leurs études./// The boarding school in Yar Sale where the Russian government sends the Nenets children for
2225-11: Le camp au petit matin./// The camp in the early morning.
2225-25: L'internat de Yar Sale oĂš le gouvernement Russe envoie gratuitement les enfants pour leurs ĂŠtudes./// The boarding school in Yar Sale where the Russian government sends the Nenets children for
2225-26: Avant la nuit, il faut remonter les tchoums./// Before nightfall, the chums have to be pitched.
2225-27: 0leg, 48 ans, brigadier du campement dans son tchoum avec sa famille./// 0leg, 48 years old, brigadier of the encampment in his chum with his family.
2225-28: Lena et Kirill, 4 ans son fils dans le tchoum./// Lena and her son Kirill, 4 years old, in the chum.
2225-29: Lena et Kirill, 4 ans dans le tchoum/// Lena and her son Kirill, 4 years old, in the chum.
2225-30: Pêche - On remonte les filets./// Fishing - Bringing up the nets.
2225-31: Kiril Okateto à la pêche.///Kiril Okateto fishing.
2225-32: Le campement vu d'hélicoptère./// The encampment seen from the helicopter.
2225-40: Kirill et Svieta jouant dans la neige devant un derick de gaz dans la toundra./// Kirill and Svieta playing in the snow in front of a gas derrick on the tundra.
2225-33: Le campement vu d'hélicoptère. Derrière le fleuve gelé./// The encampment seen from the helicopter. Behind the frozen river.
2225-34: Des enfants Nenetses sortant des cours de l'internat./// Nenets children leaving from classes at the boarding school.
2225-35: On creuse des trous dans la riviere gelee pour y poser les filets./// They make holes in the frozen river to put in the nets.
2225-36: Yar Sale ville des Nenetses devenus sedentaires. Des panneaux publicitaires pour leur rappeler leurs identités./// Yar Sale, city of the now settled Nenets people. Billboards to remind them of their
2225-37: De vieilles femmes Nenetses de Yar Sale font leurs courses dans une boutique./// Old Nenets women of Yar Sale shopping in a small store.
2225-38: Des enfants Nenetses de Yar Sale avec leur mère et leur grand-mère./// Nenets children of Yar Sale with their mother and grandmother.
2225-39: L'internat de Yar Sale oĂš le gouvernement russe envoie gratuitement les enfants pour leurs etudes./// The boarding school in Yar Sale where the Russian government sends the Nenets children for
2225-40: Kirill et Svieta jouant dans la neige devant un derick de gaz dans la toundra./// Kirill and Svieta playing in the snow in front of a gas derrick on the tundra.
2225-30: PĂŞche - On remonte les filets./// Fishing - Bringing up the nets.
2225-41: Le camp avec une partie du troupeau rassemblĂŠ./// The camp with a part of the herd gathered.
2225-42: Kiril Okateto, jeune eleveur metis d'origine Nenetse et Russe dans la ville de Yar Sale./// Kiril Okateto, young breeder of mixed Nenets and Russian origins in Yar Sale.
2225-43: Kiril Okateto, jeune eleveur metis d'origine Nenetse et Russe, au campement./// Kiril Okateto, young breeder of mixed Nenets and Russian origins in the encampment.
2225-44: Oleg Lena avec sa fille sortant de l'internat de Yar Sale et Kirill 4 ans habitant au camp croisant des Nenetses devenus sedentaires./// Oleg, Lena with her daughter leaving the Yar Sale boarding school
2225-36: Yar Sale ville des Nenetses devenus sedentaires. Des panneaux publicitaires pour leur rappeler leurs identitĂŠs./// Yar Sale, city of the now settled Nenets people. Billboards to remind them of their identity.
2225-45: Lena et Kirill./// Lena and Kirill.
2225-46: Oleg, le brigadier du camp./// Oleg, the camp brigadier.
2225-47: Le renne vient d'être tué et est prêt à être mangé./// The reindeer has just been killed and is ready to be eaten.
2225-48: Kirill, 4 ans, mangeant du renne venant d'etre tué et dépecé. /// Kirill, 4 years old, eating reindeer that has just been killed and cut up.
2225-39: L'internat de Yar Sale o첫 le gouvernement russe envoie gratuitement les enfants pour leurs etudes./// The boarding school in Yar Sale where the Russian government sends the Nenets children for free.
2225-49: Les hommes du camp mangeant le renne venant d'être tué./// The men of the camp eating the reindeer that has just been killed.
2225-50: Le jeune Alik, 1 an, contre le tchoum./// The young Alik, 1 year old, against the chum.
2225-51: Le blizzard se lève sur le camp./// The blizzard clearing over the camp.
2225-52: Axana, 2 ans, au milieu du troupeau./// Axana, 2 years old, amongst the herd.
2225-13: Kiril Okateto, jeune éleveur métis d'origine Nénètse et Russe devant son traineau avant de partir en repérage pour de nouveaux paturages./// Kiril Okateto, young breeder of mixed Nenets and Russian origins in front of his sleigh before leaving to look for new pasture.
2225-53: Kirill, 4 ans./// Kirill, 4 years old.
2225-54: Les nenetses attrapant un renne avec leur lasso./// The Nenets catch a reindeer with their lasso.
2225-55: Axana, 2 ans, au milieu du troupeau./// Axana, 2 years old, amongst the herd.
2225-56: Les nenetses regroupant leur troupeau de rennes./// The Nenets rounding up their herd of reindeer.
2225-27: 0leg, 48 ans, brigadier du campement dans son tchoum avec sa famille./// 0leg, 48 years old, brigadier of the encampment in his chum with his family.
2225-57: Oleg sur son traineau revenant de repĂŠrage pour le prochain paturage./// Oleg on his sleigh returning from a search for new pasture.
2225-58: Le camp se prĂŠpare pour la transhumance./// The camp gets ready for the transhumance.
2225-59: La transhumance./// The transhumance.
2225-69: Le lasso./// The lasso.
2225-60: La transhumance./// The transhumance.
2225-61: La transhumance./// The transhumance.
2225-62: La transhumance./// The transhumance.
2225-63: Le camp au petit matin apres la transhumance./// The camp in the early morning after the transhumance.
2225-64: Kirill et Svieta, 4 ans au petit matin apres la transhumance./// Kirill and Svieta, 4 years old, in the early morning after the transhumance.
2225-37: De vieilles femmes Nenetses de Yar Sale font leurs courses dans une boutique./// Old Nenets women of Yar Sale shopping in a small store.
2225-65: Kirill et Svieta, 4 ans, au petit matin apres la transhumance./// Kirill and Svieta, 4 years old, in the early morning after the transhumance.
2225-66: Nadia,40 ans, dans son tchoum en train de remettre du bois dans le poele./// Nadia, 40 years old, in her chum putting wood in the stove.
2225-67: Le troupeau de rennes rassemblĂŠ dans l'enclos./// The herd of reindeer gathered in the pen.
2225-68: Lenna et un jeune renne apprivoisĂŠ./// Lenna and a young, tame reindeer.
2225-55: Axana, 2 ans, au milieu du troupeau./// Axana, 2 years old, amongst the herd.
The Nenets people: an exemplary struggle. The Nenets people of the Yamal Peninsula make up the largest group of reindeer breeders in the world. Each year at the end of March, the huge herds start crossing in Indian file the vast and barren expanse of the tundra. For how much longer? The Nenets people live over the biggest natural gas field in the world, a veritable goldmine for the development of Russia and the region. Nevertheless, the paradox is absolute for the Nenets people who both benefit from this wealth, but who also are put at risk by the exploitation of this resource. Their future is uncertain, their struggle is exemplary! The stakes are human but also cultural. The Nenets people represent one of the most enduring traditional cultures of the Arctic. Ethnologists have for a long time spoken about the "Nenets miracle", so amazing is their ability to combine tradition and modernity. Today, they are an example for all the indigenous populations of Siberia. In the context of the liberalization of the Russian economy, the Nenets people seem to have found a new bearing after nearly a century of Soviet regime, reasserting their adaptability. Into this setting comes Kiril Okateto, a young breeder of mixed Nenets and Russian
origins. He has succeeded in bringing together the families of the region of Yar Sale in Obschina into a sort of agricultural cooperative. Because, united, they will be stronger and richer!
His work serves both cultural and economic interests, indispensable to the recognition and survival of this rare population. At this time of year, the great gathering of the breeders begins to take place. For these families, often scattered between the tundra and the villages, it is the occasion to strengthen the bonds of the community at the time when winter finally loosens its grip. LIFE IN THE NENETS' ENCAMPMENT
THE CHUM (choom): The tent is divided in the center by the stove and piles of wood. To the left when entering is the master of the house with his family. To the right, the oldest children, the grandmother and grandfather if they are still alive, or another family when there are several of them living in one chum. GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE:
The autonomous region of Yamal-Nenets marks the western limits of Siberia and the northern edge of the Urals. Its surface area is one and a half times that of France. Half of the region is situated above the Arctic Circle; the locations for the shoots are found there?
The population density is incredibly low: less than one inhabitant per square kilometer!
In the month of March, the median temperature is -15째C. As you already know, that is an average: -40째C is not rare, and when on the move it drops even lower. Yamal is the sinews of the Russian economy: 92 % of Russian gas and 14 % of Russian petroleum are extracted here. Yamal is also the home of the biggest herd of domestic reindeer in the world: nearly 600,000 reindeer are raised here, by the Nenets people in particular.
old, in the chum
Captions.
2225-14: Svieta, 4 years old, in front of the door to her chum.
2225-01: Preparing to round up the herd of reindeer. 2225-02: The camp in the early morning. 2225-03: The little Axana, 2 years old, behind him in front of the door to the chum, Kirill, 4 years old. 2225-04: Capturing strangled to be eaten.
the
reindeer
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2225-05: Early morning. 2225-06: Rita, 23 years old, her son Alek, 1 year. 2225-07: Gathering wood for the chum's stove. 2225-08: The helicopter has just left and everyone returns to the camp. Face on, Kirill, 4 years old. 2225-09: In order to prepare the next transhumance, the Nenets people have gone to locate future land for the reindeer.
2225-10: Zena誰da, 61 years old, in front of her chum. 2225-11: The camp in the early morning. 2225-12: Once the reindeer is killed, they drink the blood right away while it is still warm. 2225-13: Kiril Okateto, young breeder of mixed Nenets and Russian origins in front of his sleigh before leaving to look for new pasture.
2225-15: Rita sticks the branches she has gathered into the ground before cutting them. 2225-16: The men practice with the lasso before rounding up the herd. 2225-17: Kirill, 4 years old and Svieta, 4 years old, practice with the lasso 2225-18: Rita and Lena in their chum with their children. 2225-19: Taking down the chums before the transhumance. 2225-20: Lena in her chum repairing a coat. 2225-21: The young Kirill, 4 years old, at the door to the chum. 2225-22: The Transhumance. 2225-23: The Nenets' cemetery in Yar Sale. 2225-24-25: The boarding school in Yar Sale where the Russian government sends the Nenets children for free. 2225-26: Before nightfall, the chums have to be pitched. 2225-27: 0leg, 48 years old, brigadier of the encampment in his chum with his family. 2225-28: Lena and her son Kirill, 4 years old, in the chum. 2225-29: Lena and her son Kirill, 4 years
2225-30: Fishing - Bringing up the nets. 2225-31: Kiril Okateto fishing. 2225-32: The encampment seen from the helicopter.
2225-44: Oleg, Lena with her daughter leaving the Yar Sale boarding school and Kirill, 4 years old, inhabitants of the camp coming across now settled Nenets. 2225-45: Lena and Kirill. 2225-46: Oleg, the camp brigadier.
2225-33: The encampment seen from the helicopter. Behind the frozen river. 2225-34: Nenets children leaving from classes at the boarding school. 2225-35: They make holes in the frozen river to put in the nets.
2225-47: The reindeer has just been killed and is ready to be eaten. 2225-48: Kirill, 4 years old, eating reindeer that has just been killed and cut up. 2225-49: The men of the camp eating the reindeer that has just been killed.
2225-36: Yar Sale, city of the now settled Nenets people. Billboards to remind them of their identity.
2225-50: The young Alik, 1 year old, against the chum.
2225-37: Old Nenets women of Yar Sale shopping in a small store.
2225-51: The blizzard clearing over the camp.
2225-38: Nenets children of Yar Sale with their mother and grandmother.
2225-52: Axana, 2 years old, amongst the herd.
2225-39: The boarding school in Yar Sale where the Russian government sends the Nenets children for free.
2225-53: Kirill, 4 years old. 2225-54: The Nenets catch a reindeer with their lasso.
2225-40: Kirill and Svieta playing in the snow in front of a gas derrick on the tundra.
2225-55: Axana, 2 years old, amongst the herd.
2225-41: The camp with a part of the herd gathered.
2225-56: The Nenets rounding up their herd of reindeer.
2225-42: Kiril Okateto, young breeder of mixed Nenets and Russian origins in Yar Sale.
2225-57: Oleg on his sleigh returning from a search for new pasture.
2225-43: Kiril Okateto, young breeder of mixed Nenets and Russian origins in the encampment.
2225-58: The camp gets ready for the transhumance. 2225-59-60-61-62: The transhumance.
2225-63: The camp in the early morning after the transhumance. 2225-64: Kirill and Svieta, 4 years old, in the early morning after the transhumance. 2225-65: Kirill and Svieta, 4 years old, in the early morning after the transhumance. 2225-66: Nadia, 40 years old, in her chum putting wood in the stove. 2225-67: The herd of reindeer gathered in the pen. 2225-68: Lenna and a young, tame reindeer. 2225-69: The lasso.