The Nganasans are one of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. They are the northernmost of the Samoyedic peoples, living on the Taymyr Peninsula by the Arctic Ocean. Their territory is part of Krasnoyarsk Krai. Their "capital" is the settlement of Ust-Avam. They speak Nganasan language.
The Avam Nganasans live in the western part of the Taymyr Peninsula, in the valleys of the rivers Pyasina, Dudypta, and Boganida. The speakers of the Vadeyev dialect live in the tundra and in the eastern parts of Taymyr, in Khatangsky District by the Kheta River, Lake Taymyr, and the Khatanga Bay.
The Nganasans are few in number - 834 (2002 Census). Throughout most of their history they have been nomadic hunters, fishers, and herders of reindeer. They successfully resisted attempts at conversion to foreign religions until the Soviets. The biggest change in their history occurred in the 1940s, when the Soviet authorities decided to end their shamanist beliefs. Shamans were imprisoned and their holy artifacts confiscated. Since the 1960s, the nomadic life of the Nganasans has ended and they have been settled in villages, where they live alongside Russians and Dolgans. These sudden changes caused depression for many Nganasans and alcoholism is a big problem among them.
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The isolated location of Nganasan people enabled shamanism as a living phenomenon among them even by the beginning of 20th century;[1] the last notable Nganasan shaman's seances could be recorded on film in the 1970s.[2]
One of the occasions in which the shaman partook was the clean tent rite held after the polar night, including sacrifice.[3][4] The Nganasan name for clean tent rite was “maδuśa”.[5]
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