Tuva.Asia / The New Research of Tuva

All five post-Soviet Central Asian states are characterized by rampant nepotism, which has arguably become the main obstacle hampering their economic and political development. Kyrgyzstan's two post-Soviet leaders -- Askar Akaev and Kurmanbek Bakiev -- were both undone by the favoritism they showed their children and close relatives, a lesson that should not be lost on the heads of Kyrgyzstan's neighbors. Bakiev, who was ousted as president in April, appointed his son and brothers to high state positions. His son, Maksim, and his brother, Janysh, in fact, became some of the most influential political figures in the country. Leading opposition figure Azimbek Beknazarov went so far in 2007 as to say that Janysh and Maksim were actually running Kyrgyzstan. While politician Omurbek Tekebaev said Kyrgyzstan had established a system of medieval nepotism in which power is distributed solely on the basis of consanguinity.

On December 10, the first woman-stone carver of tyva,  a Laureate of  I. E. Repin Government Prize of RSFSR, Merited artist of Tuvan ASSR, Raisa  Azhievna Arakchaa, (1952-1990) would have turned 85 years. A gifted carved of wood and stone, she brought a significant contribution to the development of contemporary Tuvan stone sculpture art.  Her multifaceted  creative activities are noted in S. I. Vainshtein’s work “History of folk arts of Tuva”, and in C. M. Chervonnaya’s “Artists of Republic Tyva”. Raisa Azhievna Arakchaa was born on December 10 1925 in village Kara-Tal of Ulug-Khem kozhuun of TNR in an arat-herder family.  As a child, under the influence of her mother and uncle, she learned to make various artifacts and toys of bark and wood. At the end of the 40’s, she got married, worked in Todzha and Ulug-Khem districts, and from 1961 in Kyzyl. This is where, under the guidance of Khertek Toibukhaa,   her  life of art began; it was a new beginning for the modest worker from a milk store.

The production of four documentary films from a cycle “Turks of Russia”, about the people of Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Tuva and Khakassia was finalized on the cinema studio “Mir”.

Users of the portal of Russian Geographic Society can be the first ones to see the films. The films explain what the Hungarian “Khurultai” and Tatar “sabantui” have in common, why almost every Bashkir family has members of unusual longevity, and what the expression “his wolf is howling”  means to a descendant of the Turks… “…And the wolf saved the warriors, and gave them his own strength and a new name; and the warriors worshipped him, and went on marches, and conquered many nations, and called all of them by the same name.  And time passed, and the great warriors disappeared. But the name was preserved: and even today those nations are called Turks”.

In the issue one can read a topical analytical article on what we should mean by “Tuvan studies” as a whole. Several articles — spick-and-span new — were written in accordance with the findings in the results of sociological studies that had been conducted by fellows of the Tuvan Institute for Research in the Humanities under the Government of the Republic of Tyva and the Tuvan Institute for Complex Natural Resources Development of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. There are four new authors of the magazine who work at the latter institute. The readers may find out about some Tuvan scholars’ investigations on the economic culture of the population of Tuva, social dispositions today, and condition of the Tuvan language and Tuvan book publishing. There are also some interesting works on contemporary funeral rituals of the inhabitants of the Republic, problems of studies on musical culture of nomadic nations. The issue is full of different kinds of information: reviews of large-size scientific Russian forums, presentations, and significant events. The size of the pdf version of the issue is 390 pages.

The most illustrious shamaness Ai-Churek has left us, departed for another world…

The life of a shaman is an endless struggle. Shamans, just like fighters in the ring are always in a fighting frame of mind in their spirit, but in contrast to athletes, who fight only in the ring, the Shamans Fight for Life and Strong Blood, and their Fight lasts their Whole Life on Earth and Afterwards…

The Tuvans say that the gods take those whom they especially like to themselves…

That is probably why shamans’ lives are not long and not many of them live until old age.

But their short lives in this world are filled with stormy events and powerful encounters with terrible spirits, and every ceremony of kamlanie is in its way a duel with spirits invisible to the eyes of ordinary people.

In 2010 in Tuva, in connection with the year of Tourism, an action to determine the “Nine Treasures” of Tuva is in process.  Tuvan “Charash-Tash” was nominated as one of the candidates for this title - a flat, roundish stone, which, according to local people grows out of the earth somewhere in the vicinity of Upper Shui in South-West Tuva. Many local legends are associated with “Charash-Tash; it is believed that a visit to this place brings luck. In August of 2010, the Ubsunur International Center, Senior scientific worker Tatiana Prudnikova, and  workers of V.V. Dokuchayev Soil institute, G. Chernousenko and D. Rukhovich, performed a scientific research expedition to the south-west part of Khemchik valley at Upper Shui, to study the “Charash-Tash and to determine its nature.

The head of Tuva Sholban Kara-ool announced the appointment of a new vice-premier of the government in the matters of development of informational communications. The adviser to the head of the region, editor-in-chief of IA “Tuvaonline” Dina Oyun will be appointed to this office; she will take up the task of realization of the program of adoption of “electronic government” in the republic, as well as of matters of development of informational politics. The head of the region Sholban Kara-ool emphasized that the task of developing an informational society, set by President of Russia, is becoming more relevant every day.

“”To establish “electronic government” in Tuva is not a simple task, - noted the Premier. - But we are obligated to realize this program and to secure easy access to information for our citizens; it is one of the most significant attributes of democratic development of the society.”

On November 21, one of the strongest Tuvan shamanesses, Ai-Churek (Moon Heart) passed away in Kyzyl; she was the head of organization of Tuvan shamans “Tos Deer” (Nine Heavens). In the words of one of the members of association “Dungur” (Drum), “Ai-Churek was called by the spirits.” in her opinion, that is also the cause of death. Officially  physicians determined the cause of death as a heart attack. Special funeral ritual is planned fro November 26. “The strongest shamans will gather and perform a mystery”,  as  “Dungur” announced.

Ai-Churek Shiizhekovna Oyun was born on august 15 1963 near river Tes in  “Tos Bazyryk” (nine kurgans), at the foot of Mt. Ak-Bedik. Shamanic roots can be traced in both her paternal and maternal lineages.

On November 26, 2010 Tuvan Center for Mongolian Studies at the Tuvan Institute for Research in the Humanities under the Government of the Republic of Tyva was opened. Among the guests of honor at the event there was the Consul General of Mongolia in Kyzyl in the Russian Federation Mr. Dashbalbar Bazarsad. Director of the TIRH Bicheldey Kaadyr-ool introduced aims and goals of the center and its short-range plans. Research and scientific events will be conducted within the framework of the formerly signed agreements with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and other scientific institutions of Mongolia. The Tuvan Institute for Research in the Humanities, Tuvan State University, and Aldyn Maadyr National Museum of the Republic of Tyva create the scientific basis of the center. It was also announced at the presentation that they are planning to hold the III International Conference “Tengriism and Epic Heritage of the Nations of Eurasia” in Kyzyl from July 1 till 3 July, 2011.

“The Scientific Notes. The XXII Issue” of Tuvan Institute for Research in the Humanities under the Government of the Republic of Tuva was added into the list of new publications on Tuvan studies. The first article is by the director of the institute Bicheldey Kaadyr-ool. It covers the prospects of research in the field of the humanities in Tuva. In the first section of the issue there are proceedings of the republican conference that was dedicated to the 65^th anniversary of Tuva’s affiliation to the USSR. The second section of “The Scientific Notes” considers new studies in the context of archeology and history. Some aspects of ethnological and culturological research of contemporary Tuvan studies are presented.

"MY HERD roaming on the hill – is it there? Are you words joking or serious, my love? I don't understand." This group may now be global superstars, but the way they open their new CD couldn't be more sweetly authentic. The soloist delivers a simple melody while the rest of the group provide a soft drone – it's a couple of minutes before we get a hint of the throat-singing which is their trademark sound. The second track plunges us into their infectiously warm instrumentalism – low plucked sounds plus a drum – while the throat-singing drops an octave. Some of the songs – for example The Orphan's Lament – have a gorgeous backing of smoothly-bowed strings. The rhythms are all horseback stuff – trotting, cantering, galloping – as befits the land which inspires this music, once the Soviet republic of Tuva, now the Tuva Republic within the Russian Federation and still the home of nomads for whom mountains, rivers, and trees all have their own spirits, and who all mystically "sing".

In Krasnoyarsk, the master of throat-singing performs in small halls. But in the USA, his album “Back Tuva Future” got to be among the 10 best, according to “New York Post”, together with John Lennon’s disc.

-  I have traveled throughout the world with concerts, and I have not been only to Australia and Africa.  I can tell you that definitely it is much more complicated to organize a concert in Russia than abroad. The tastes of our young people have been conquered by pop. Of course, that is not our weight category - we work only for real aficionados of national culture, and there are very few of those in Russia. The new generation is losing interest in its own culture - that is a dangerous tendency. But the authorities so far do not want to understand it.

Practically the entire collective of Khakass Philharmony participated in the program of Days of Khakass Culture in Tuva, where it was associated with the Day of National Unity. Now even many Tuvan children know what a chatkhan is. It is a Khakass musical instrument in the shape of an elongated rectangular box with horse-hair strings stretched length-wise; it is a symbol of the Khakass nation. It was precisely a chatkhan which was used to accompany the heroic epics, “alyptyg nymakhi”. It is believed that chatkhan is an instrument equal in power to the shaman’s drum, and if necessary can be successfully used for the same purpose. Another favorite Khakass instrument, which has not lost its authority to this day, is khomus - a remote relative of Russian balalaika. Just like the chatkhan, it has been known since ancient times: the first mentions of  khomus date to the beginning of our era.

This year, the historical work “The Secret History of the Mongols” which was written in 1240, turned 770 years. In the framework of the celebrations of this anniversary, on November 8-9 a scholarly conference took place in the capital, organized by AN of Mongolia, together with MonGU, Scientific-technical University and Museum of national history. About 30 Mongolian scholars and 8 foreign mongolists presented scholarly research papers on the subject of this unique document. During the conference at the Museum of National History an exhibition of  works of Mongolian craftsmen and artists, as well as emigrants from the Autonomous district of Inner Mongolia, China, was opened. The emigrants presented their own version of “The Secret History of the Mongols”, transcribed on silk paper in artistic calligraphy. There are statistical data that this work has been translated into 20 languages of 30 countries of the world, and was published 200 times. The most popular variant among Mongolian readers is the translation of academician Ts. Damdinsuren. This version was published in an issue of 180 thousand.

-  What does the Direction of specially protected natural territories of Republic Tyva, that you are the head of, do, Chaizu Suvan-oolovna?

We protect the natural complexes of the prohibited territories, and monitor the condition of their resources. We do that by patrolling those territories, performing raids, and make sure that the laws are observed. Each of the protected territories has its own regime of protection. Here in Tuva we have fifteen protected territories and one natural park. We have 19 inspectors protecting them in the field. The territories have different areas, but the way it works out is that  whether it is 100 thousand hectares or 30 thousand, one person has to do the work. If you put together the total area of all the protected territories  -  700 thousand hectares  -  and average it out, each inspector is responsible for more than 35 thousand hectares on the average. That is very much.