The historical evolution of practices associated with the use of ice by the population of Yakutia in the period from mid-19th century until the present is being examined. The application of principles laid down in cryosophy and cryoanthropology, suggesting an increased interest in the “cold matters” of the Earth and in traditions of using their resource potential by indigenous peoples of the northern territories, became the methodological ground for the development of the topic. The research is based on the involvement of a complex of source materials, primarily including individual topics presented in ethnographic works, documents from archives of Irkutsk, Moscow, Olekminsk, Saint-Petersburg and Yakutsk, museum exhibits, and also the author’s field materials collected in 2017–2023 in various administrative regions (uluses) of Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and in the city of Yakutsk. The carried-out work made it possible to demonstrate the practices of ice exploitation as an important adaptation mechanism for the population of the region. In this regard, it has been noted that ice played a significant role in satisfying a range of sanitary and hygienic needs; it acted as a construction and thermal insulation material, and was an essential component of economic practices, widely used in fishing, agriculture, logging and livestock rearing. It has been established that the ways of using ice have evolved significantly towards the present. In general, a decrease in the variety of applications and the importance of ice for the population of Yakutia has been revealed. At the same time, it has been concluded that ice remains critically important for providing the rural population of Yakutia with drinking water. At the same time, an increase in the leisure potential of ice exploitation has been observed; in combination with other cryogenic processes and phenomena, its position as one of the brands of the region is strengthening.

Keywords: Yakutia, Arctic indigenous peoples, cryoanthropology, cryogenic resources, ice, economic activity, sociocultural practices.

 

Funding. This work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation within the framework of the Project No. 19-78-10088 “Cryoanthropology: natural low temperatures in the life support system of rural communities of Yakutia (traditional practices, modern challenges and adaptation strategies)”, https://rscf.ru/project/19-78-10088.

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Accepted: 03.10.2024

Article is published: 15.12.2024