Reproductive strategy of the indigenous peoples of the Yenisei North at the end of the 19th — beginning of the 20th century (by the materials of missionary priests)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the reproductive strategy of the indigenous peoples of the Yenisei North in the late 19th — early 20th centuries. Under the reproductive strategy, the authors understand a model of activity aimed at meeting the need for children.

The materials of the First General Population Census of 1897 are used as an evidence base, as illustrative sources — office documentation of missionary priests who worked in Taimyr during the indicated period, containing evidence regarding the peculiarities of marriage, attitude towards children, distribution of male and female responsibilities.

The published census materials made it possible to assess the demographic composition of the population of the Turukhansk Territory. The demographic youth of the population and the predominance of men in reproductive ages, as well as the economic lack of independence of women, were revealed.

The predominant reproductive strategy of the peoples of the Yenisei North is characterized as passive, carried out by the parental family and based on material criteria. It was typical for it to consider marriage as a deal between the groom and the parents of the bride, in which the latter acted as a "commodity" bought for bride price. The woman played a passive role. The main institution through which the search for a marriage partner was conducted was the parental family. The main criterion for choosing a spouse was his financial situation. Indigenous peoples sought to conclude marriages in their ethnic environment.