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People's Artist of Kazakhstan Abylkhan Kasteev was a subtle connoisseur of history, culture, customs and traditions, which was clearly reflected in his work. Therefore, the numerous works of the artist today cause not only artistic and aesthetic interest, but also scientific, as they represent a huge layer of pictorial material on the history, traditional culture and way of life of Kazakhs in a wide chronological range. This article gives a brief analysis of the historiography of A. Kasteev's works, especially scientific publications and publications of the Soviet period, when art, including visual art, was viewed from the standpoint of socialist realism in accordance with universal Soviet internationalization. Nevertheless, it is shown that A. Kasteev's watercolors represent historical and ethnographic sources in the knowledge of cultural and historical reality in the life of the Kazakh people, the specific features of traditional culture preserved in the conditions of radical changes in the social system in the 20th century. The study was based on the works of Abylkhan Kasteev, performed by him during the scientific ethnographic expedition of the Central Museum of Kazakhstan (1947-1948) in several regions of Kazakhstan as a photographer and artist. In the study, the methods of historicism were used, that is, the analysis of the artist's creation of watercolor works in connection with specific historical conditions, as well as hermeneutics - the interpretation of watercolors as visual texts, in order to understand the ethnosocial life of the Kazakh society of the mid-20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive literature is devoted to the origin of reindeer breeding; moreover, there is no common opinion on the time and centers of reindeer herding, the ways and forms of its distribution. Some researchers saw in the reindeer herding the oldest form of cattle breeding, which goes back almost to the Palaeolithic traditions. This point of view was supported by V.G. Bogoraz, G.P. Sosnovsky, V.I. Ravdonikas, N. Ya. Marr, U. Sirelius, V. Shmidt, V. Koppers, S. V. Kiselev, S.A. Tokarev and H. Paulhausen [1]. Currently, the Russian researcher of the origin of reindeer breeding S.B. Pomishin also adheres to the Paleolithic version of the domestication of reindeer. In his opinion, the reindeer was domesticated 18,000 years ago [2]. Many researchers objected to the deep antiquity of reindeer breeding and referred it to our era. This view was supported by E. Lang, B. Laufer, G. Hatt, K. Viklund, A.N. Maksimov, G.M. Vasilevich, M.G. Levin, N.N. Cheboksarov, S.P. Tolstov and S.I. Vainshtein [3]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the thesis about consolidation of regional identity of the republic. Development of regional identity raises region competitiveness. Materials and methods: the theoretically methodological basis of a research is compiled by works of national philosophers, culturologists and historians. Empirical material for article compiled in the Russian researches. The purpose and contents of article determined the choice of methodological acceptances: principle of historicism, logical methods. Results: the short characteristic of ceremonies of lifecycle and a national suit reflecting value - based installations of the region were summarized. The technology of a research of regional identity in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) - from the analysis of value - based installations of the people of the region before determination of mechanisms of their identification on a territorial sign is affected that gives to article scientific novelty. Studying of regional identity has the special practical importance: cultural, political, economic and nationwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the main spatial properties of traditional cultural landscape of the Evenks in South Yakutia. The study is based on the of field research conducted on key areas of Evenks in South Yakutia - interviews, representation modelling, observations - and the use of Sentinel 2A remote sensing for mapping and contextualising the geographic environment of living places. The characteristic features of the territory of traditional use of natural resources is described; more especially the relations between economic activity and the spatial model of cultural landscape. Management of natural resources in the traditional culture of the Evenks is a balanced economic activity, adapted to the local natural conditions and formed under their influence. The main functional factor of traditional Evenki cultural landscape is reindeer herding and hunting. The traditional cultural landscape of Evenk is presented from two perspectives: objective as a geographic object of analysis (landscape and visual, formal aspect) and subjective - symbolic and humanistic aspect (mythological, toponymic features are analysed). Joint subjective and objective approaches bring out a spatial model of the Evenks cultural landscape characterised by a centric multi-zonal structure; recognised and modelled by the remote sensing. The spatial properties of traditional cultural landscape along with the Evenki material culture highlight spiritual and religious, moral and aesthetic values. The research project "Landscape ontology: semantics, semiotics, and geographic modelling" (№ 15-18-20047) funded by the Russian Science Foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The representation of the northern landscape in a narrative memory and the modeling of the mental map of imaginary space in culture is are one of the goals of the research project "Landscape ontology: semantics, semiotics, and geographic modeling" (No 15-18-20047, funded by the Russian Science Foundation). The study of landscape ontology aims to identify and to understand the space through the lens of landscape ontology analysis, based on comprehensive study of geographic sources (toponymic glossaries, maps), but also the sources related to the "imagined space" (epic spaces, narrative stories, myths and legends about some place) defined environment in a cultural context. This paper is devoted to study the peculiarity of mountain's images in the northern culture in the text of the yakut heroic epic-olonkho "Nurgun Botur the Swift" and its representation in contemporary culture. The research approach is based on comprehensive study of different discourse: the epic text, the ethnographic data about space representation for northern people in their collective memory, as well the concept of choice of place for organisation of cultural activities in the republic, including some ones aimed to promote the tourism. In 40th of the 19th century Middendorf recorded the Yakut myth that the Aiyy God created the earth beautiful and smooth but the evil spirit Abaahy trampled down and scratched it. The results of his acts stayed in the shape of lakes, rivers and mountains. In cosmological system of Yakut epic mountain is a vertical locus not connected with earth and heaven, top and bottom that define its dual mythological nature: sacral and demonic. Functionally it is a prison for three criminals and is guarded by three dead warriors assigned by Gods of Fate from the Upper World. Three different places of mountain are chosen for analysis: the mountain in the place Orto Doydu in central region, sacred place for national holyday of solstice celebration, and the mountain of Kisilyakh in Verkhoyansk region, Pole of Cold in the North of Yakutia, considered as "place of power", the place where the "Olympic flame" is lit for International Sport Games "Children of Asia", hosted by Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) since 1996, and the mountain "Sopka liubvi" (The Hill of Love) integrated in the urban landscape and tourism promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is devoted to the study of communication in behavioural practices Tungus in Northern Siberia. The main results of the study of traditional and modern etiquette; special attention is paid to communication issues of intercultural dialogue. Keywords: ethnography of communication, symbolic anthropology, Northern Tungus, cultural codes, traditional etiquette, behavioral culture, the Person and Nature, valuable orientations, models of social interaction. In this article I would like to highlight the communicative practices in Northern Siberia: an ethnographic study of etiquette Tungus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a comparative analysis of the specific features of traditional culture in China, Korea, and Japan, which were based on literary games and included ritual wine drinking. The games and rituals of the "wine order" existed for over 2000 years in East Asia as a form of entertainment for the elite. In the East Asia region the special wine culture had played not a minor role along with intellectual game traditions and practices of the poetized attitude to wine drinking have engrained in the representations of East Asia peoples. We describe some most ancient rituals of "wine orders" in traditional cultures of East Asia countries. The adaptation of Chinese games in Korea and Japan is shown by the example of the ritual called Feast by the Meandering Stream. The analysis of the national features of this ritual helps to clarify the process of intercultural interaction. Over many centuries, the moral potential of these actions has been determined by a number of their most significant social-cultural functions related to the ceremonial activity, religious magical practices, and mundane entertainments, which allows us to speak about the stability of these ethnic cultures against negative consequences of current globalization and westernization processes. The revival of the ancient ritual illustrates the consolidation of efforts of Asian societies directed on the strengthening of national intellectual values and the development of the positive image of a modern intellectual - "a man of culture" 文人(Chinese: wenren, Korean: munin, Japanese: bunjin). Over the period of almost 2000 years, the rituals and ceremonies of "wine / table orders" entrenched themselves in the ethic culture of East Asia and became its fully legitimate part, having penetrated into arts and everyday life. In a comparative analysis of historical artifacts of the wine culture the great culture-forming significance of the above described game practices that still have the ritual character seem to be very important. During the development of the "wine order" culture in East Asia countries, the religious ceremonial content of seasonal celebrations of the annual cycle has been replaced by now by ritualized actions having the character of theatrical shows with elements of the traditional culture. Moreover, it is also possible to speak here about the tradition of an exquisite intellectual competition in the belles-lettres field that has always been worshiped in the East, and also about the game behavior consciously produced in East Asia cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tibetan writing was invented in the 7th century A.D., based on the contemporaneous Indian Gupta script. Because of its intensive usage by the state bureaucracy and Buddhist monastic community, it gradually produced a series of cursive styles. Its original form was used almost exclusively for writing sūtras that were considered sacred as the representation of the Word of the Buddha. As a result, a famous calligrapher of the 11th century Khyung bo g.Yu khri wrote a treatise describing letters' forms, shapes, proportions etc. for the non-cursive style, which later became a basis for the classical way of teaching Tibetan writing at the monasteries. Later several additional texts were created, all of them based on the work by Khyung bo g.Yu khri. However, after the rapid social and political change in the middle of the XX20th century, nowadays this Tibetan tradition is being revised. One example of such revision is a modern work on Tibetan writing by professor dPa' ris Sangs rgyas from the North-Western University of Nationalities (PRC) "Rules of Tibetan Writing - a Beautiful Sight" (1992). The main questions answered in this article are how this textbook intended for Tibetan-language students has interpreted the old tradition and how it has changed the functioning of this tradition in the modern Tibetan society. After using different means of text critical analysis while comparing the original treatise and the modern textbook and studying various sources on Tibetan education, we can formulate the main conclusions of the research: • in spite of serious change in the terminology and range of topics, the traditional conceptual basis is still presented in the modern work, • as the writing itself is getting more attention from the people and government, the usage of this tradition is spreading. There is very little information on writing as an element of Tibetan culture in the Western literature, so this article may be helpful to a large number of experts in culturology, sociology, linguistics and Asian and African studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is devoted to the analysis of sacrifices of the peoples of the Volga region. These sacrifices symbolize the "initiation" of the select few (priests and benefactors) into an otherworldly sphere that it is possible to compare with absolution from sins. According to the theory of the French scientist Marcel Mauss the sacrifice falls into a category of "the sacred" along with magic and prayer, has the scheme, general and special functions. It is supposed on the ground of the existentialistic approach, the principle of historicism, comparative and historical, logical, retrospective, problemchronological and synchronous methods that sacrifices in the Volga region are similar to the system where a certain religious aura and obscure meanings are inherent in its each element. The material of the paper may be useful to anthropologists and historians, instructors and students of higher schools of the Humanities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]