Modern culture and crafts, folklore groups, professional art

The first Chukchi Inuit professional ensemble Ergyron (“The Dawn” in Chukchi) was established in 1968. In 1974, it became a state ensemble. In August 2000, it was declared an especially valuable Chukotka autonomous area cultural heritage unit. In May 2020, the ensemble received the “academic” status. Ergyron was formed to preserve and promote the song and dance heritage of Chukotka peoples. The Ensemble is a professional body that preserves and popularizes the ethnic song, dance, and applied arts not only of the Chukchi and Inuits, but also of the small-numbered peoples of Russia’s Far Northeast, such as Koryaks, Chuvans, Evens, Aleuts, and Evenks. As of today, the Ergyron State Institution of the Chukotka autonomous area, a State Chukchi Inuit Ensemble, is Chukotka’s only professional performing group.

The village of Uelen has the Uelen folklore ensemble formed in the 1930s. It won the All-Russian Talent Show and repeatedly performed in the Kremlin Palace. It promotes such values as generational continuity, preserving and promoting Chukchi and Inuit culture, and bringing all people together through creative activities. Uelen Folklore ensemble won many awards at prestigious regional and international festivals and toured extensively in Russia and abroad.

Chukotka’s natives are famous bone carvers. In 1930s, much work was done among Chukchi and Inuit artisans in order to establish bone carving workshops. Through involving professional artists and art scholars, Chukchi bone carving transitioned to a qualitatively new level; no longer being merely churning out souvenirs for the tourist season, it became a permanent production and developed its typical style that is still retained by Chukchi and Inuit carvers.

The Chukotka autonomous area works on bolstering inter-ethnic relations and developing the traditional intangible cultural heritage of the local indigenous small-numbered peoples. In order to maintain traditional ethnic sports and stimulate the indigenous population to live a healthy life, the region annually holds athletic events for the general population that also feature folklore performing groups, local artisans’ fairs; for instance, there is the Malyvanov Memorial ethnic martial art championship, Beringia, a skin-covered bidar regatta, and northern multi-sport competition and championship of the Chukotka autonomous area.

Photographs of items from Valeriy A. Tishkov’s collection.

http://valerytishkov.ru/cntnt/kollekciya/kollekciya-6/kollekciya2.html