❄️ Come and meet the Resilient Khudi-Nenets
The Khudi, integral to the larger Nenets community, endured challenges during Soviet times. Stalin's government implemented divisions, forcing them into 'brigades' assigned to collective farms and children faced boarding schools.
Today, these brigades continue as semi-nomadic groups, led by a chief, and composed of local community members. Boarding schools still host children aged 7 to 16, who reunite with their families during school holidays, lasting up to six months for those from nomadic backgrounds.
While children are away, parents and younger siblings embrace life on the snow, moving camp every three days. Packing their belongings, including tipi-shaped chum tents, they embark on sledges pulled by reindeer teams, with the herd trailing behind.
The winter migration, lasting roughly three days, kicks off in extreme conditions, with temperatures plummeting to around -50 degrees Celsius. Khudi people meticulously pack, dismantle their chums, and divide possessions, then brave the cold to chase the lead reindeer for the caravan of sledges.
Men and women have distinct sledges—men facing forward, carrying tools, while women sit sideways, tending to children, food, and furs. The brigade forms a resilient caravan plowing through snow, followed by their loyal herd, in search of a new home kilometers away, where the entire process repeats.
Embark on a journey with the Khudi, where tradition and endurance meet the challenges of a nomadic winter! 🌨️👣
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1. Nenets | Second Brigade, Yamal Peninsula, Ural Mountains, Siberia | Russia, 2011
2. Khudi | Yamalo-Nenets, Autonomous District, Siberia | Russia, 2018
3. Khudi | Yamalo-Nenets, Autonomous District, Siberia | Russia, 2018
4. Nenets | Second Brigade, Yamal Peninsula, Ural Mountains, Siberia | Russia, 2011
5. Khudi | Yamalo-Nenets, Autonomous District, Siberia | Russia, 2018
Images from book: Homage to Humanity
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