WRITER, GRANDSON OF A SHAMAN

Yury Rytheu is the only Northern indigenous writer to have achieved world fame. Many others have been inspired by splendors of the Arctic landscapes too. Jack London became famous by recording the Gold Rush in Alaska, and numerous novelists imagined action and passion against the background of Chukotka wilderness; «Alitet set out for the mountains», by Semushkin, is probably the best known of these stories. But, in the 20th century, there were only two truly important literary events directly associated with Chukotka: the endless sequence of jokes about Chukchi, by which Russians naturally reacted to the official brainwashing hailing the Soviet brotherhood of peoples, and Rytheu's writings, who became the first and only Chukchi to produce convincing and credible fiction about his country. In March 2000, Rytheu turned 70. His latest book in Russian was published twenty years ago. But in Germany, his third consecutive novel is at the top of the bestsellers' list

WRITER, GRANDSON OF A SHAMAN

DB: What do you make of the idea of Roman Abramovich to run for governorship in Chukotka?

YR: I don't see anything wrong with it. When he first showed up there, running for the Duma, I had my doubts. I thought: this guy wants to be in Parliament and he is going to put local difficulties to his advantage. But! I soon noticed something positive about him: whatever help to the locals he was sponsoring, he managed it himself. He saw to it that nothing gets pocketed by greedy brokers and agents. And then I learnt that he was coming on regular visits, once every three months, and that locals were appreciating him. I don't believe that he runs for governor of Chukotka with only the associated membership in the State Council, or some other benefits, in mind.

DB: Then why?

YR: He must know something about the future of gold and oil industries there. Chukotka is a trunk full of treasures, believe me. I spent the first twenty years of my life there, and I go often on visits, so I should know. They have prospected maybe one tenth of its natural resources, not more. But remember what happened when they found gold in Alaska? Compared to the riches of Yukon, all other American reserves looked like kids' sandboxes. Chukotka will be the same. It's got gold, it's got oil. I am not a fool and I know that Abramovich does not have any charitable motives. He knows well what he is after. Which is good; good for him and good for Chukchis. Be it his way, Natives will soon have the same standard of living as in Anchorage. Whatever is needed to achieve it, is readily available there.

DB: What about the reports saying that he wants to turn Chukotka into a free economic zone?

YR: Wouldn't be bad at all. I've been to Alaska, people there have a very decent life...

DB: Many Chukchis think that the Soviet regime was destructive for them. It bullied the Natives into losing their traditional skills, and nobody taught them any new ones. Except drinking vodka.

YR: Yeah, yeah, I know the story. Tell me more, that Chukchis can only fish and herd reindeer, that their brains are different and they don't have any long term memory...

DB: Don't you think it's true?

YR: Of course it is not! Sure, God made us different, but only to a point. There is no single race bestowed with an exclusive right of excellence in mathematics, or arts. As there is no single race that would be good at nothing at all. Chukchis are very quick learners. And I think that at the end of the day, the Soviet regime was good for them in many different ways. As to alcoholism, they had been initiated to drinking long before the advent of communism. Americans worked hard at it, trading «fire water» and tobacco against furs. This, by the way, is where Semushkin's «Alitet...» comes close to reality, although in many other parts he is promoting preconceived and biased ideas about my people, and that is why I am not a great fan of his. Many jokes about Chukchis must have their origins in his fiction. But coming back to the Soviet regime, it did not concentrate exclusively on distribution of vodka and pillaging. It gave to Chukchis their alphabet, education, a possibility to move to the mainland and to see the rest of the world. It brought there modern technologies, built towns and attracted many talented people, not the worst of their kind, far from it. Oleg Kuvayev is a legend there. He became a writer, «Territory» was written by him, but in his younger days he had prospected most of Chukotka's known reserves, and he had built its first towns... Some of those who came to live in them were trying to make some extra money, others were outright romantics. Those were wonderful times... No doubt that there are today people who would like to leave but cannot afford it, and that they should be looked after. I heard that Abramovich is taking care of it. But all in all, if we remove people from Chukotka and leave Natives alone to fishing and hunting in a frozen desert, we will be back in Stone Age! That's impossible, there is no way back. And Natives won't make it, they've lost the skills.

DB: By the way, I always wondered what is the difference between a tchum and an iaranga.

YR: Same difference as between a living room and a cabin. A tchum is like a separately built room made of animal skins. And an iaranga is like a cabin with a big living hall and auxiliary rooms.

DB: Is it really true that reindeer skins are softened in human urine?

YR: They are. Human urine is perfect for it. Why?

DB: Well, think of the smell...

YR: Come on, people easily get used to all sorts of smells.

DB: Change of subject. Let's talk about the influence of shamans on the Natives.

YR: That is indeed a reality of life there. Mind you, my grand father was a shaman too, one of the most powerful in Chukotka. I remember him well, so I know first hand what a shaman is. First, he's the local learnt man, a walking reference book for all occasions. Then, he is also a healer. Last and probably least, he has indeed some supernatural abilities which mostly relate to «weather forecasting». People used to go to the shaman for these forecasts and to learn the prospects of their next hunting trip. I am not sure whether shamans relied more on their intuition, or on some natural signs for the answers, but my guess is, there must have been a great deal of scientific logic there.

Today, the interest in shamans is an excellent source of income in Chukotka. Students come from all over the world... When they want to talk to a shaman, it's very easy, so I am told. Actors from local theaters do the act, and manage much better than the real thing!

In general, I wouldn't trust too much all these local exotic stories. I have attended many different international gatherings on indigenous peoples, and I still receive invitations. On one occasion I heard a great story about an American lady researcher who, in the 50's, somewhere in Polynesia, had discovered that local teenagers ignored all shame and routinely had sexual intercourse right in front of their elders. She wrote a book about it, a sensational scientific bestseller! Her findings were proving that some races, by nature, were different from others, and all previous theories had to be re-thought accordingly. Some thirty years later, a young student re-traced her steps and interviewed the old men in the same villages. He also asked them whether they still remembered that lady. Sure they did: she came right at the beginning of the rain season, and they had to think of something to keep their female guest busy. So they had made up all sorts of funny stories... And this silly thing trusted them! Just think of it: by local tradition, even adults, in privacy, were only allowed to have sex on certain days... So much for exotic tales.

DB: Why don't they publish your books in Russia anymore?

YR: Oh, there were many plans, including by the governor Nazarov — since I am honorary citizen of Chukotka — but nothing ever really materialized. I don't mind, my books sell quite well in Germany and Japan. And recently I wrote comments for a big album of pictures of Chukotka and Alaska, which will be published in the United States.

DB: Did you ever think of settling down in Chukotka, maybe taking over from your grand father and becoming a shaman? It must have been hard for you to get used to a totally different way of life, when you joined the University of St Petersburg?

YR: No, it wasn't that bad, I adapted rather quickly. I've got a Russian wife, and my kids can't think of any life other than in a big city... When I was born, and he was thinking of a name for me, my grand father wanted to call me Savior. But instead, he opted for Unknown, probably because he did not know whether I shall save his people. So I am Rytheu, which means «unknown». And Yury is just a first name I liked and chose for myself when I reached the age of 16 and they were issuing my passport to me.

DB: Do you have any favorite joke about Chukchis?

YR: Sure. Even though I am not happy to know that because of all these jokes, Chukchi has become synonymous of moron and freak. So. Two Chukchis are sitting in their iaranga, and then they hear a scream coming from outside: «Somebody help me!». One looks at the other and says: «Why is it so that if it's here in the tundra, they treat us as somebody, but in the department stores in Moscow we are always only Chukchi?»

DB: What is then the true origin of the word Chukchi? Is it a derivative from Chukotka?

YR: No, it's the other way round. When we say Chukchi, we mean «wonderer», «rolling stone».

Interview by Dmitry BYKOV