Military affairs of the Chukchi. Waging war. Chukchi bone arrowheads

Dedicated to the heroic Chukchi people

The Chukchi in our minds are associated with heroes of everyday folklore, but almost no one knows that this courageous people defended their independence for almost a century and a half and defeated Russian colonial troops. However, this book is not about military history, the main milestones of which the interested reader will find in the chronological table, but about military affairs. I admit that I am not a Chukchephist or a Northern expert, or even an ethnographer, but a military historian or, more precisely, a polemologist. I study war in all its factors, and this greatly helps me in my work. This monograph is essentially the first book in historiography specifically devoted to the military affairs of the Chukchi. Until now, as far as I know, there were only a few articles about the military affairs of the ethnic groups of northeastern Siberia. This work in no way claims to be a complete coverage of the material on the stated topic; the emphasis in it is on describing various aspects of military affairs, and not on analyzing it. The book should serve as a basis, a basis for further study of the military affairs of both the Chukchi and other peoples of North-Eastern Siberia. In the process of further work, various aspects of military affairs will be significantly replenished with factual material, some assumptions will be confirmed, and some will disappear.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Ph.D. ist. Sciences A. S. Zueva (Novosibirsk state university) for the valuable comments he made on topics relating to Chukchi-Russian relations, Dr. Philol. Sciences N. B. Bakhtina (Institute of Linguistic Research RAS), Ph.D. Philol. Sciences E. V. Golovko (European University in St. Petersburg) and A. G. Kurilova (Institute of the Peoples of the North of the Russian State pedagogical university them. A.I. Herzen), who helped me in developing the topic, my reviewers, Ph.D. ist. Sciences V.I. Dyachenko and Ph.D. ist. Sciences E. A. Mikhailov (MAE), who made a number of comments that contributed to improving the text of the book. Naturally, responsibility for the content of the book lies with the author.

From the beginning, let us dwell on the characteristics of the main sources on the military affairs of the Chukchi. They can be divided into two large groups - material and narrative sources. The first group includes archaeological finds, ethnographic collections of museums, both real objects themselves and iconographic material.

The archeology of the extreme northeast of Asia is still relatively young and has many different problems, among them the difficulties of dating (due to the peculiarities of the occurrence of archaeological layers) and the ethnic attribution of finds. However, it is archeology that allows us to trace general outline genesis various types weapons and fortifications, as well as the materials from which weapons were made. Among the museum collections containing rich Chukchi-Eskimo material, the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after. Peter the Great (MAE) and the Russian Ethnographic Museum (REM) in St. Petersburg. The museum collections have a significant amount of offensive and defensive weapons and military clothing, which gives us a real idea of ​​the appearance and equipment of the Chukchi warrior in the 18th–19th centuries. Separately, it is necessary to highlight the iconographic material, represented both by drawings of travelers and by Chukchi-Eskimo images themselves, mainly carvings of a walrus tusk. This form of art informs us not only about the complex of weapons of warriors, but also about some tactical features. Unfortunately, as far as I know, the Europeans did not leave images of battle scenes with the participation of the Chukchi, while the drawings of battles from Chukotka itself, made at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries, show us only ideas about the wars of the past of people of that time. To be convinced of this, it is enough to look at the images of the armor and compare them with surviving copies (see: Antropova 1957: fig. 34–35; Shirokov 1968: fig. 7–9). Although, I repeat, we can still glean certain information about weapons, weapons systems and tactics here.

Written sources include records of folklore material, various kinds of official documents and notes from travelers. Naturally, the main source for studying the chosen topic is folklore. It is verbally folk art we can find information that is either not found at all or is not sufficiently covered in other types of sources - this is evidence about strategy and tactics, about methods of combat, about the use of various types of weapons, this is a fighting ethos, etc. In general, fairy tales There are not so many war stories in comparison with the total amount of recorded material. The heroic epic, which among other peoples contains the most complete set of information about military affairs, was just being formed among the Chukchi - this is a cycle of tales about the Russian military leader Yakunin, about the South Chukchi hero Kunlelyu and about the hero Elendi and his sons. The tales of the Asian Eskimos about wars both among themselves (“How the Unaziks fought with the Sivukaks,” “The Nunagmite Whale,” etc.) and with neighboring peoples (“Viyutku the leader,” “The battle of the Naukans with foreigners,” etc.) are also not without interest. .d.). It should be noted that in the folklore tales of the peoples of northeast Asia there are not too many purely fantastic elements - they actually reflect reality, or at least the understanding of it by people of a later time. A fairy tale usually fixes its attention on the main character and his entourage, often endowing them with the qualities of heroes, while it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these qualities are real or exaggerated (Belikov 1956: 15). Naturally, the interpretation of the plot was also affected by the worldview of the narrator, who, voluntarily or unwittingly, could introduce certain nuances into it, smoothing out awkward, from his point of view, angles. Moreover, in the tales recorded in the second quarter of the 20th century, one can especially feel the narrator’s worldview, a certain “humanization” of the narrative, and the empowerment of the hero positive qualities, and enemies - purely negative, whereas in the materials of the early 20th century. this polar understanding is not so noticeable; there, a positive character could be a murderer and a rapist, that is, have negative, from our point of view, qualities. In general, as noted by Siberian scholar I. S. Vdovin (1970: 23), “ historical legends, the heroic tales of the peoples of North-East Siberia contain very extensive historical material, much of it quite reliable and accurate” (cf. Menovshchikov 1964: 2; Belikov 1965: 168). Judging by the events, usually pseudo-historical, the bulk of the information in the legends dates back to a fairly late period - to the 17th–18th centuries. Although the events themselves about which the story is told could have taken place in a different historical period, however, the realities of the tale must be close to the time of the narrator in order for the listeners to understand him.

Next group written sources- historical documents - dates mainly from the second half of the 17th–18th centuries. These are “fairy tales” (reports) and petitions of the Cossacks, documents of yasak collection, decrees of the authorities, instructions to those sent on the expedition, reports and notes of governors (later governors), compiled on the basis of the latest notes, certificates and decrees of the Senate, etc. Also here It also includes notes from officials (dating mainly from the second half of the 18th century), in which the life and customs of local peoples were briefly outlined for higher authorities. Especially many documents are stored in the Russian state archive ancient acts in the so-called “Miller Portfolios” (f. 199), among them one can also highlight the documents of the professional military captain T.I. Shmalev, commandant of Gizhiga in the 1770s, some of these documents have already been published (Golitsyn 1899: 35 ―40; Andreev 1965: 140―141). Naturally, in this group of documents, information about military affairs flashes only in passing, although they themselves historical events described well. Of course, there is also subjectivity in the descriptions, especially in information about military operations. In particular, sometimes the number of opponents is clearly overestimated. This happened, on the one hand, because there always seem to be more enemies than there are, and on the other, due to the military’s desire to exaggerate the significance of their victory or explain the reason for the defeat. So, for example, in the notes about the death of the detachment of Major D.I. Pavlutsky (1747), the number of Chukchi enemies is indicated by the participants in the battle as either 400 or 500 (KPTs. No. 65-2: 170; No. 65-3: 171), or even 600 soldiers (KOC. No. 66: 173). The spread in numbers, as we see, is large - 150%.

How the stone point was attached to the arrow is shown by later analogues, where the stone was simply replaced by iron. Two riveted bone plates 9.5-17.0 cm long were attached to the shaft, and into them, in turn, a flat triangular tip made of sheet or boiler iron 4-10 cm long was inserted (Bogoraz 1901: Pl. IX, 3; 8 ; Ukhtomsky 1913: 110–111. Koryak arrows had an iron tip held in the horn tip by a rivet (Vdovin 1971: 290). In earlier times, stone was used instead of iron. The flint tip could also be inserted directly into the cut of the shaft, as we see with the laurel-shaped point 8.5 cm long from MAE (No. 752-52). Moreover, this type of tip with a cutting attachment prevailed on the coast of Eastern Chukotka back in the 1st millennium (Arutyunov, Sergeev 1969: 130; cf. Rudenko 1947: 82–83; Orekhov 1977). Such a stone tip had less penetrating force when fired, and was designed to stratify its material “from the dark crystal found in the mountains” (KPTs. No. 70: 183), which led to blood poisoning (cf.: Sokolov 1852: 103 (f. Unalaska)). And to strengthen this action in the middle of the 18th century. the points were smeared with poison from the juice of the root of the buttercup herb, from which “a person, having received an ulcer with an arrow, will soon swell and die” (KPTs. No. 70: 183); this testimony of the Cossack B. Kuznetsky (1756) is repeated almost verbatim in the message of the Chukchi Hekhgitit (1763) (KPTs. No. 71: 186; Sergeeva 1962: 85; Malaurie 1974: 143). Aconite juice was used as a poison for a similar purpose by the Itelmen, as well as the Aleuts and Ainu (Krasheninnikov 1949: 404; Steller 1927: 22; Middendorf 1869. Otd. 5: 601).

Chukchi arrows with iron tips made of sheet iron, inserted into bone couplings attached to the shafts.

Reproduced from: Ukhtomsky 1913: BUT, fig. For, b, c, d, e, f

The Chukchi, apparently, made bone arrowheads themselves, because the production of arrows - the most consumable type of weapon - was one of the duties of men (Merck 1978: 116; cf. Bakhtin 2000: 229). The same applies to combined iron-and-bone tips, which the Chukchi made from boiler metal (Ukhtomsky 1913: 116; Bogoraz-Tan 1934: 13–14). Iron tips of good quality, sometimes, as V. G. Bogoraz points out (1991: 91), with vegetable notches made of copper and brass on the sleeve, were purchased from the Russians in Kolyma or Anadyr, as well as from the Koryaks. They were highly valued: they were often covered with fur caps (with the skin inward) to protect them from dampness and rust. These covers were often made from the skin taken from the legs of a deer calf (Bogoraz 1991: 144. Fig. 74k, 1).

Chukchi arrows with bone tips:

a - dagger-shaped; b - leaf-shaped; c, d, e - needle-shaped; d - tip with asymmetrical spikes.

Reproduced from: Bogoraz 1901: Table. VIII, 2-7

A participant in D.I. Pavlutsky’s campaign noted that typical arrows among the Chukchi are equipped with two- or three-edged tips made of walrus tusks (Vdovin 1965: 35; cf. Dall 1870: 379 (three-edged tips are typical for Asian Eskimos)). The number of faces could reach five (MAE. No. 752-77). Obviously, these tips were both combat and hunting, intended for hunting large game (Ukhtomsky 1913: 111; Volkov, Rudenko 1910: 178). Such tips, characteristic of the Eskimos, were about 20 cm long and mounted on a shaft of 50–69 cm (Ukhtomsky 1913: 106–107. Fig. 1; cf. Nelson 1899: PI. LXIa, 1). Similar bone tips are known back in the Punuk time (VI-XVI centuries) on the western coast of Chukotka and are obviously of Eskimo origin (Dikov 1979: Fig. 89, 14; cf. Orekhov 1977: 112. Fig. 18-4; 18-8).

For many points we cannot accurately determine whether they are hunting or combat. The tips that could be used in war differed in shape and the material from which they were made (compare with the classification of Koryak arrows: Vdovin 1971: 283–291).

Let us also note other types of bone tips kept in the REM collections:

Leaf-shaped tip 15 cm long with a forked heel (Ukhtomsky 1913: 108).

A tetrahedral tip of an asymmetrical rhombic shape, 12 cm long with an arrow length of 71 cm. It was inserted with a handle into the shaft and wrapped with tape for strength (Ukhtomsky 1913: 108. Fig. 1b).

Heavy bilobed tips ending in spikes, sometimes asymmetrical (Ukhtomsky 1913: 108–109. Fig. 1c). Such a tip was relatively small (the exhibit in the MAE is 7 cm long), it caused a large wound, leading to heavy loss of blood. As noted by Corporal G. G. Sheikin (1750s), such small tips were attached to the shaft very weakly, apparently with glue, so that they would remain in the body when the arrow was removed (AII, f. 36, op. 1, no. 643, l. 585; cf.: Vdovin 1965: 37; Merk 1978: 116). Arrows with such a tip were probably the most common (cf. Merk 1978: 116). Note that, judging by the Eskimo parallels, arrows with similar but larger tips were intended for hunting large animals and, obviously, for war (cf. Jacobsen 1884: 8–9; Burch 1998: 69–70).

Chukchi bone arrowheads:

a, c - with asymmetrical spikes, b - asymmetrically rhombic; g - g - needle-shaped.

Reproduced from: Ukhtomsky 1913: 106, fig. la, b, c, d, e, f, g

Another class of Chukchi arrowheads, known from ethnographic collections, are iron:

Chukchi arrows with iron tetrahedral tips:

a, b, c - elongated triangular; g, d - needle-shaped; e - elongated rhombic; g - needle-shaped, made from a polished file; h - elongated triangular on a long neck.

Reproduced from: Ukhtomsky 1913: 114, fig. 6a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h

tetrahedral tips, which E. D. Ukhtomsky (1913: 114–115. Fig. 6a - d) considers, due to the care of processing, acquired from Russians or Koryaks;

needle-shaped tips (Ukhtomsky 1913: 111. Fig. 6d, e, g); iron tips on a long neck (Ukhtomsky 1913: 111. Fig. 6f, h);

warhead tips with a thickening point expanding from above (Bogoraz 1901: Table IX, 6; Ukhtomsky 1913: 111. Fig. 4e, f);

double-edged tips 12–24 cm long, copying the shape of needle-shaped bone ones, with a shaft 75–81 cm long (Ukhtomsky 1913: 114–115. Fig. 4a - d). Similar tips were used by the Eskimos to hunt sea animals (see: Jacobser 1884: Fig. 21);

Arrows with iron tips:

a, c - diamond-shaped; b - leaf-shaped; g, e - spiny with a long neck; e - and - forked.

Reproduced from: Ukhtomsky 1913: 113, fig. 5a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i

flat forked tips 7–5 cm long (with an arrow length of 66–84 cm) were used for hunting water birds and small game (Ukhtomsky 1913: 113–114. Fig. 5a–d) In war they could be used in emergency cases;

leaf-shaped or diamond-shaped tips 9-15 cm long, the total length of the arrows was 67-85 cm (Bogoraz 1901: Table IX, 11-12; Ukhtomsky 1913: 111. Fig. 5g, h, i; cf.: MAE. No. 611 -114);

small tips with symmetrical or asymmetrical spikes and a long neck (Ukhtomsky 1913: 113. Fig. 5f, 0;

arrow-knife made from an old knife (Ukhtomsky 1913: 115. Fig. 4g). Such an arrow was supposed to cause large bleeding wounds.

Tips with a blunt wooden tip (tomars) were purely hunting, intended for knocking down and stunning game (Bogoraz 1901: Table VIII, 10–11; IX, 10).

All these types of arrows existed in the 19th century. In general, the Chukchi tips are very large and are obviously intended to inflict a deep wound on the enemy, who must suffer from profuse loss of blood. Long faceted tips could be intended to pierce the shell and enter the enemy’s body. Large iron points are quite heavy and unbalanced, which reduces the flight range. However, as already noted, it is often quite difficult to distinguish between combat arrows and those intended for hunting large animals.

“In fact, this is the second edition of “Chukchi Military Affairs,” but the main text has been expanded by 100 pages, new illustrations have been added. Total - 455 pages, circulation - 500 copies.” (A.K.)
Order directly from the author - https://vk.com/id25393864. As you know, I’ve already grabbed it for myself, I’m waiting at the mailbox.
But that's not all!

"Nefedkin A.K. Essays on the military-political history of Chukotka (early 1st millennium AD - 19th century). St. Petersburg: Petersburg Oriental Studies, 2016. 362 pp., ill., circulation - 1000 copies."

The book, for the first time in historiography, presents the military-political events that took place in Chukotka throughout the history known to us. Based on archaeological, folklore and, first of all, written sources, events from the 1st millennium AD are described. e. until the 19th century, when traditional culture and customary relationships between the peoples of the region still existed.

Content
From the author
Introduction
Chapter I. Prehistory (beginning of the 1st millennium AD -XVII century)
1. Archaeological evidence
2. Development of reindeer husbandry
3. Wars of the Chukchi and Eskimos
4. Fortifications
Chapter II. Military operations in the area of ​​Kolyma and Chaun ( XVII - beginning XIX century)
1. The appearance of the Chukchi in the Great Tundra between Alazeya and Kolyma
2. First contacts of the Western Chukchi with the Yukaghir-Alazeyas and with the Russians
3. Military operations in the Lower Kolyma in the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries.
4. Departure of the Kolyma-Alazeya Chukchi
5. Relationships with Shelags
5.1. The appearance of shells in written documents
5.2. Expedition of F. Amosov (1724)
5.3. Evidence of shelags of the 18th-19th centuries.
5.4. War of the Chukchi with the Shelags
6. Military operations in the second quarter of the XVIII - early XIX V.
Chapter III. Attempts to conquer the inhabitants of Chukotka in the mid-17th - first third of the 18th centuries.
Chapter IV. Chukchi War (1727-1778)
1. The beginning of the activities of the Anadyr Party - the expedition of A.F. Shestakov - D.I. Pavlutsky (1727-1732)
1.1. Expedition of A.F. Shestakov (1727 -1730)
1.2. The first campaign of D. I. Pavlutsky to Chukotka (1731)
1.3. Swimming bot "St. Gabriel" (1732)
1.4. Expedition of D. I. Pavlutsky down the Anadyr (1732)
2. Military actions of the 1730s - mid-1750s.
2.1. Chukchi raids of the 1730s - early 1740s.
2.2. Campaigns of D. I. Pavlutsky to Chukotka (1744-1747)
2.2.1. Campaign of 1744
2.2.2. River expedition in the summer of 1745
2.2.3. Summer expedition of D. I. Pavlutsky (1746)
2.2.4. The last campaign of D. I. Pavlutsky (1747)
2.3. Military actions of the late 1740s - mid-1750s.
3. Neither war, nor peace: attempts to establish Russian-Chukchi relations in the mid-1750s - mid-1770s.
3.1. Activities of Anadyr commanders I. S. Shmalev and S. Kekerov
3.2. Abolition of the Anadyr fortress
3.3. Defeat of the Chukchi near Gizhiga (1775)
4. Acceptance of Russian citizenship by the Chukchi
5. Russian-Chukchi relations at the end of the 18th century.
Chapter V. Intertribal relations in the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries.
1. Chukotka-Koryak wars
1.1. First war
1.2. Chukotka-Koryak conflict of the 18th century
2. Wars of the Chukchi with the Anadyr Yukagirs
3. War in the Bering Strait
3.1. Wars with the Alaskan Eskimos
3.2. M. Krauss's hypothesis about Alaskan excimos in Siberia
3.3. Establishing peace in the strait
3.4. Relations with the Eskimos of St. Lawrence Island
Chapter VI. 19th century conflicts
1. Clashes between local Chukchi groups and with neighboring peoples
2. Blood feud
3. Encounters with the Evens
4. Relations with Russians in Anadyr and Anyui Fair
5. Conflicts with the crews of foreign ships in the Bering Strait
Conclusion
List of abbreviations
Bibliography

This collection publishes for the first time Russian documents on the history, geography and ethnography of Chukotka in the 18th century, originating mainly from the so-called “Miller Portfolios”, that is, from documents collected first historian of Siberia, academician G. F. Miller (17051783).

Introduction
I. Historical documents of the first third of the 18th century.
1. Testimony of the nasal Chukchi in 1718
2. Fedota Amosova’s petition about the voyage to the Shelags in 1724.
3. Testimony of the walking Tungus from May 23, 1730 about the campaign of A.F. Shestakov
4. Order of A.F. Shestakov dated March 11, 1730
5. News from I. Ostafiev in the Taui prison, March 1730.
6. I. Ostafiev’s tale about A. F. Shestakov’s campaign and yasak

II. Anadyr documents
7. Promemory of Captain D. I. Pavlutsky to the Yakut voivodeship office dated February 10, 1732.
8. Promemory of Captain D. I. Pavlutsky to the Yakut chancellery dated March 31, 1733.
9. Extracts from Anadyr files about the campaigns of the Chukchi against the reindeer Koryaks
10. Extracts from Anadyr and Gizhiga cases on the actions of the Koryaks
11. News from centurion V. Shipitsyn about the pogrom of the Chukchi in Anadyr in August 1741.
12. Extracts from Anadyr files about trips down the Anadyr River
13. Testimony of Chukchi toyons dated July 23, 1760
14. Note from retired corporal Grigory Sheikin

III. Historical works of T. I. Shmalev
15. Autobiography of T. I. Shmalev
16. Shmalev T.I. Note about the Chukchi people
17. Shmalev T.I. Note... due to the ancient malice that occurred between the Koryaks and the Chukchi and on both sides of the campaigns...
18. Letter from T. I. Shmalev to Ya. M. Peresypkin dated January 23, 1777
19. Answers of captain Ya. M. Peresypkin to questions from T. I. Shmalev on the history of the Anadyr fort (1773)
19a. Covering letter from T. I. Shmalev to Y. M. Peresypkin

IV. Notes by T. I. Shmalev on the acceptance of the Chukchi into Russian citizenship
20. Note from Captain Shmalev dated June 1, 1778
21. Addition of Captain Shmalev dated June 2, 1778
22. Second addition of Captain Shmalev dated October 2, 1779
23. Report of T. I. Shmalev to the Irkutsk governor F. G. Nemtsov dated May 11, 1778

V. Documents of the Gizhiga fortress
24. Protocol of interrogation of ensign P. Mordovsky dated December 11, 1777
25. Note from Captain T. Shmalev about the Northern Lights
26. Note from Captain T. Shmalev about the burial of a Koryak
27. Shmalev T.I. Explanation of the fishing of the sea animal beluga
28. Note from I. Ankudinov to T. I. Shmalev

List of abbreviations
List of used literature
Dictionary outdated words and terms
Main personalities mentioned in documents
Basic geographical and ethnic names"

Heroic tales of the peoples of Chukotka
The publication was prepared by A. K. Nefedkin

This publication presents heroic tales and historical traditions of the peoples of Chukotka and surrounding lands, recorded since turn of XIX-XX centuries up to beginning of the XXI century, including a number of texts published for the first time. All folklore materials are united by the theme of the relationship between the Chukchi and Eskimos with neighboring peoples. The publication is intended for students, teachers and a wide range of interested readers.

Content
Introduction
I. Chukotka legends
1. Materials collected by V. G. Bogoraz
2. Tales of Heroes
3. Epic of Kunlelu
4. Legends about reindeer herders
5. Searching for my kidnapped sister
6. Legends about brave women
7. Historical legends
II. Legends of Asian Eskimos
III. Folklore of the Eskimos of Western Alaska
IV. Koryak legends
V. Kerek legends
VI. Even legends
VII. Yukaghir legends
VIII. Chuvan legends
IX. Russian Lower Kolyma legends
X. Taimyr legends
XI. Other folklore materials of the peoples of North-Eastern Siberia
List of abbreviations
Bibliography