The Way of Kinship: An Anthology of Native Siberian Literature

277 Pages·2010·2.94 MB·English

by  Alexander Vaschenko (editor), Claude Clayton Smith (editor)

The Way of Kinship
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The Way of Kinship
An Anthology of
Native Siberian Literature
trANSLAted ANd edited by
ALexANder VAScheNko ANd cLAude cLAytoN Smith
foreword by N. Scott momAdAy
University of Minnesota Press
MinneaPolis l london
The Way of Kinship was first published as a special issue of North Dakota
Quarterly 69, no. 3 (2003). This expanded edition adds writing by Vladimir
sangi, Maria Vagatova, and Yuri Rytkheu; artwork by Gennady Raishev;
and additions to original selections by Yeremei aipin.
The poems “My Word, My Tongue” and “dirge for the land of the Khanty” by
Maria Vagatova, and “evenk invocations for Good Fortune” were published in
Robert Hedin, ed., Great River Review 47 (2000): 1–4.
The poem “To the Bear” by Yuri Vaella was published in C. B. Follett, ed.,
Grrrrr: A Collection of Poems about Bears (sausalito: arctos Press, 2000), 129.
The map of siberia was created by Harry J. Wilson, geographer, in
consultation with susan scarberry-García, visiting scholar, department
of english, University of new Mexico.
Copyright 2010 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third avenue south, suite 290
Minneapolis, Mn 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data
The way of kinship : an anthology of native siberian literature / translated
and edited by alexander Vaschenko and Claude Clayton smith ; foreword by
n. scott Momaday.
p. cm. — (First peoples: new directions in indigenous studies)
includes bibliographical references.
isBn 978-0-8166-7080-2 (hc : alk. paper) — isBn 978-0-8166-7081-9
(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. siberia (Russia)—literary collections. 2. ethnic groups—Russia
(Federation)—siberia—literary collections. 3. Russian literature—Russia
(Federation)—siberia—Translations into english. i. Vaschenko, a.
(aleksandr). ii. smith, Claude Clayton, 1944–.
PG3213.W39 2010
808.8'9957—dc22 2010035079
Printed in the United states of america on acid-free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To native storytellers, old and new
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contents
(
Foreword x
N. Scott momaday
introduction
Cry of the Wild Crane: The Call of Forgotten Kinship xiii
Alexander Vaschenko
evenk invocation for Good Fortune
To Nature, When the Earth Turns Green 1
Yeremei Aipin (KHanTY) 3
Old Man Moon 5
The Earth’s Pain 9
Puzzles of My Childhood 13
Selections from Morning Twilight: A Novel of the Khanty 15
And So Dies My Clan 54
Nadezda Taligina (KHanTY) 66
A Portfolio of Ten Drawings 67
Yuri Vaella (TaiGa neneTs) 78
At the Bus Stop 80
Watching TV 81
On Things Eternal 83
To the Bear 84
Song of the Reindeer Breeder 85
Eternal Sky 86
The Little Shaman and Other Stories 88
Morning at the Lake 90
Fyodor the Hunter 91
News from Vatyegan Camp 93
Galina Keptuke (eVenK) 94
A Discovery 95
The Unexpected Guest 106
Little America 126
Gennady Dyachkov (YUKaGiR) 155
The Hunter’s Son: A One-Act Play 156
Vladimir Sangi (niVKH) 165
My First Shot 167
Maria Vagatova (KHanTY) 175
My Word, My Tongue 177
River Mosum, My Water 178
Dirge for the Land of the Khanty 179
The People of Tuk’yakang Village 181
Stone Soldier 183
An Old Anthill 185
Gennady Raishev (KHanTY) 188
Jansi Kimonko (UdeGeH) 195
From Where the Sukpai Rushes Along 197
Anna Nerkagi (TUndRa neneTs) 200
From The Horde 202
Leonty Taragupta (KHanTY) 210
Son of the Sky 211
The Prayer of the Bear 213
Yuri Rytkheu (CHUKCHee) 218
Kakot’s Numbers 220
evenk invocation for Good Fortune
To Nature, When the Green Recedes 239
a note on Translation 241
claude clayton Smith
acknowledgments 246
suggestions for Further Reading 248