THE TRADITIONAL EVENKI
Homeland
The traditional homeland of the Evenki is located in the taiga of Central Siberia. Within this
homeland, the Evenki tended herds of domesticated reindeer, harvested fish from the rivers and
lakes, and hunted moose, wild reindeer as well as small game. Most communities moved
annually from sheltered winter villages to spring, summer and autumn camps located along trails
paralleling the major rivers and their tributaries.
Evenki Groups
The homeland of the Evenki was subdivided into a series of smaller territories whose common
pastures, fishing spots and hunting areas were exploited by small kinship-based communities or
clans. The territory of each clan was tied to the network of rivers with the main river symbolizing
the ancestral clan and its tributaries representing the individual clans dwelling in a given area.
When introducing themselves, the Evenki used the name of their clan followed immediately by
the name of the river. They also frequently recited the names of the rivers and their respective
tributaries in stories, songs and rhymes.
Seasonal movements
On the Siberian taiga, the annual movement of the Evenki involved a displacement from the
winter villages in the lower reaches of the rivers to spring, summer and fall camps located at
higher altitudes upstream. The trek on foot, on the back of reindeer or in a sleigh drawn by
reindeer followed well-established trails which roughly paralleled the rivers in the area and
formed a loop covering some 800 to 1000 km. The winter villages consisted of substantial lodges
called golomo, storage sheds or noku (wooden structures set on poles or on the ground) and
storage platforms or delken (wooden platforms raised above the ground) In late spring or early
summer, the occupants of the large winter village broke up into several smaller families who
moved along the trails to their respective spring, summer and autumn camps where they could
pasture their reindeer, catch fish and hunt small game. At these small camps, Evenki families
lived in conical tents called diu.
noku
delken
delken
Evenki homes
The framework of the traditional diu consisted of three main lodge poles tied together with
willow twigs or rope. When setting up the tripod, two of posts called turgu form the entrance to
the dwelling whereas the third known as khona is positioned to the rear. The remaining lodge
poles or kheran are set up in a circular fashion from left to right with their tops resting upon the
main poles and upon each other. The lodge cover consisted of four large panels, two lower and
two upper. Made of sewn birch bark with strings attached to the corners, the lower panels were
first wrapped around the bottom of the pole framework and fastened to the poles. The upper
panels were raised in place with poles and secured in place by tying the ends of the strings to the
poles. These poles as well as several others were then leaned against the covering to keep it in
place during inclement weather. The golomo was constructed in a similar manner with more
substantial architectural elements and was normally covered with tanned hides instead of birch
bark. Snow or sod was piled on the lower half of the lodge in winter for added insulation.
Diu and golomo
The Living Space
The traditional Evenki home was a well-organized living space and a representation of the
cosmos. In the center of the home was the hearth or aran surrounded on three sides by logs with
the open end facing the door or urke. Firewood was stored in the space between the hearth and
the entrance. The place opposite the entrance, called the malu or place of honour, was reserved
for men and important household idols. The spaces on either side of the hearth, called be, were
places for resting in the daytime and sleeping at night. Parents tended to occupy the be on the left
whereas the children used the be on the right. Each group stored their possessions along the base
of the wall in their respective be. Places to the right and left of the entrance called chona (čoŋo)
were used as storage spaces for kitchen and household utensils.
Learn More
Anderson, David G.
2002 Identity and Ecology in Arctic Siberia: The Number
One Reindeer Brigade. The Number One Reindeer
Brigade. Oxford Studies ind Social and Cultural
Anthropology, Oxford University Press, US.
Faegre, Torvald
1979 Tents: Architecture of the Nomads. Anchor Books,
Anchor Press, Doubleday, Garden City, New York.
Sirina, Anna A.
2006 Katanga Evenkis in the 20th Century and the
Ordering of their Life-World. Canadian Circumpolar
Institute Press, Northern Hunter-Gatherers Research
Series, Volume 2. Edmonton
Turov, Mikhail G.
2010 Evenki Economy in the Central Siberian Taiga at the
Turn of the 20th Century: Principles of Land Use.
Canadian Circumpolar Institute Press, Northern HunterGatherers Research Series, Volume 5. Edmonton.