M.E. Lalaeva

senior research fellow of the laboratory of development of educational and methodological courses in native languages and literature, Institute of advanced training and and development of regional education, Khanaty-Mansiysk City

Mansi Language in Socio-Cultural Space of Ugra

Lalaeva, Maya Efimovna

Mansi language, as a language of a numerically small people of the North, belongs to Finno-Ugric languages. Mansi is spoken by Mansi (Voguls) living on the territory of Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous District and in the north of Sverdlovskaya Province. Total population of Mansi, according to the recent census, is 12 thousand people. According to the classification of Hungarian researcher B. Munkachi, there are four dialectal groups in Mansi language: northern – Sosva, western – Pelym, eastern – Konda, southern – Tavda. In recent decades only Sosva dialect functions in Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous District. Sosva dialect has been laid in the basis of the written language of Mansi, with all literature published in it.

Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous District – Ugra – is multi-ethnic, therefore, the politics of the district’s Government is aimed at the preservation and development of unique culture and traditions of peoples of Ugra1; in this connection educational development of indigenous numerically small peoples of the North is in the focus of attention. The priority of the development of national education is provided in the Law of Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous District (Ugra) “On the Languages of Indigenous Numerically Small Peoples of the North living on the Territory of Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous District”, in “The Law on Regional (national regional) Component of the State Educational Standard of Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous District”.

A number of academic institutions of indigenous numerically small peoples of the North were established in the district. The studies of national culture and languages, development of ethnocultural education are conducted by Scientific Research Institute of Ugric Studies, where fundamental and applied research in the sphere of languages, literature, ethnography and folklore of Ob Ugric peoples is carried out. Folklore is collected, processed and stored in Beloyarskiy Scientific Folklore Archive of northern Khanty and in Berezovskiy Scientific Folklore Archive of Mansi people. The Institute of the language, history and culture of peoples of Ugra was opened in Ugric State University. The department of ethnic education of Ob Ugric peoples with structural division of the laboratory of the development educational and methodological complex courses in native languages and literature, has been working in the Institute of advanced training for 15 years. During their work the faculty of the department published courses of native languages and literature, basic textbooks of Khanty and Mansi languages, of Khanty and Mansi literature, additional reading books in native languages, methodological manuals, pictorial dictionaries, two thematic language dictionaries, distributed tables on native languages. The faculty of the department published over 70 titles of educational and methodological literature in St. Petersburg branch of publishing house “Prosveschenie”. At the department the studies and analysis of sociolinguistic situation in the district, on the territories of compact communities of indigenous peoples are conducted in order to satisfy social demands of development and introduction of educational and methodological manuals on native languages and literature.

The analysis of socio-linguistic situation in recent three years yielded in some depressing indices. A number of children, who consider Mansi language their native language, constitutes 42% of the total number of children learning Mansi at school. In the case of Ob Ugric peoples these problem is aggravated also by the fact that the whole generation of peoples detached from spiritual roots of their people and culture has grown in recent years to become parents of the present day pupils attending schools. A poll conducted among parents shows that family members communicate in Russian, with only 20% of parents having command of the native language and a number of them having a poor or no command of their language.

The decrease of the territory of every day life and teaching of Mansi at school causes special anxiety. In Kondinskiy district Sosva dialect of Mansi is taught; of 101 pupils studying in Shugur secondary school 73 learn Mansi. In Nizhnie Narykary school, Oktyabrskiy District, Ob subdialect of Sosva dialect of Mansi is taught. Of 114 pupils 80 learn their native language. In Nizhnie Narykary village Mansi language is also learned in senior group of pre-school educational institution “Belochka”, where 10 of 33 children learn the native language. Sosva dialect of Mansi is taught in high schools in Berezovskiy District, in villages Vantuzer (of total number of pupils of 101, 67 learn Mansi), Sosva (217 of 217), Saranpaul (180 of 379), Nyaksimvol (50 of 63), in elementary school in villages Saranpaul (75), Kimkyasuy (3 of 3), Lombovozh (15 of 15), Schekuriya (10 of 10).In total 1042 pupils learn Mansi, with 783 Mansi among them.

In the district Mansi is also taught in preschool institutions, centers of advanced training, ethnic rehabilitation centers.

In pre-school institutions the language is taught in specially equipped rooms, reproducing a small-scale ethnographic museum, which creates a special emotional environment during classes. Teaching the native language provides for the acquaintance with folklore, fairytales, poems, riddles, folk songs and dances, with folk traditions and customs, with decorative and applied arts of their people. Children participate in folk holidays “Crow’s Day”, “Bear Festive”, competitions and exhibitions devoted to folk culture and history of the native land. Teaching of Mansi language in nursery schools suggests mastering the skills of the spoken language, orthoepic norms of the native language by children of pre-school age.

In elementary schools children learn the general notion of their ethnic affiliation, national culture. They continue learning folklore genres, poems, fairytales, legends, epic stories, decorative and applied art. According to the national regional component of the basic curriculum, language lessons constitute 3 hours per week.

In the courses of native language of the middle level practical orientation is stressed. They are aimed at the introduction of schoolchildren into the world of the native language, development of skills to use lexical riches and expressive means of the language, at the formation of the standards of speech. In the 10-11 grades Mansi is learned as an elective subject.

During several years experimental work aimed at initiation of pupils in the ethnic culture, native language, customs and traditions, at formation of ethnic identity has been conducted in national schools. The general problem of experimental work conducted in schools is “Formation and Development of Ethnic Identity of Pupils”. Experimental work is conducted in 6 national schools, which have a status of district experimental grounds and include Saranpaul municipal high school, Berezovskiy District. Experimental work is oriented at the support of relations between the parents and the society, according to developed program “School, parents, society”, which provides for active participation of older generation of villagers, workers of children’s musical and sport schools and parents in the life of school. There are the following main directions of work:

• development of educational courses based on traditional culture of indigenous numerically small peoples of the North, their folk pedagogics;
• creation and approbation of courses, didactic materials devoted to the experiment;
• creation of ethnographic settlement “Man Uskve” (Мань ускве) within the ethnographic museum in Saranpaul village;
• participation of school groups in “Annual list of holidays, rites and traditions”; in order to organize this work, manuals, didactic materials relying on traditional culture of Mansi, Komi, Nenets for pedagogues, experts in vocational training are prepared;
• creative workshops (on regional studies, hunting, folk arts and games), which play special role in initiation of school children in ethnic culture, are established. In the frameworks of creative workshops pupils directly communicate to folk adepts – to keepers of folk traditions, adepts in folk handicrafts, in decorative and applied arts, learn skills of reindeer herding, fishing.

Experimental work yielded in positive results, reflected in comparative data on the level of formation of national identity of the pupils of Saranpaul high school of Berezovskiy District.

In Khanty-Mansiyskiy District a network of ethnic rehabilitation centers is well-developed in the frameworks of subprogram “Children of Ugra” of program “Children of the North”. Three of 14 ethnic centers are working on the territory of Mansi: «Няврамыт Павыл», «Мит ущ», «Вэлмэ» in Kondinskiy District, and two centers - «Чуанель», «Мань ускве» in Berezovskiy District. In ethnic rehabilitation centers, along with the rest and rehabilitation of children, systematic teaching of growing generation folk traditions is developing. In ethnic centers the courses of the native language, traditional culture and traditional activities are held, participants of summer courses are involved in deciphering of folk materials, in research work. National communities, elders of Khanty and Mansi clans, experts – bearers of the culture, ethnographers, archeologists, linguists, museum workers take an active part in the work of the centers.

In the urban context there is an opportunity of learning the native language in Sunday schools, at language courses, in the centers of advanced training. For instance, in Khanty-Mansiysk City children’s creative studio «Лылынг союм», where the fundamentals of decorative applied art, dancing and musical art are studied and Mansi lessons are taught, has existed for three years. Native Mansi speech can be heard in daily radio broadcasts on TV channels of public television and radio company “Ugra” and television and radio company “Ugoria”. For many years Mansi newspaper «Луима сэрипос» has been published in the district. Young dwellers of Ugra have an opportunity to come into contact with the language and culture of their people in the theatre of Ob Ugric peoples. Musical and dramatic group consists of talented Khanty and Mansi actors, students of Ugric State University. Amateurs’ nights with the participation of the theatre’s artists are organized for schoolchildren. Annually, children’s festival of folk groups «Салыкве» (“A Reindeer Calve”) gathering more than 14 folk groups is organized. Young folklorists, adepts in decorative applied arts compete in nine contests. The popularity is enjoyed by children’s festival of decorative applied arts «Сорни ешие» («Golden Springs»), which is conducted in order to distinguish the best children’s artistic teams and gifted children involved in traditional art.

Nevertheless, the problem of preservation and development of languages of numerically small peoples, including Mansi language, is urgent, in spite of active cultural revival of Ob Ugric peoples, the growth of the level of ethnic identity in Khanty-Mansiyskiy Autonomous District.

In this connection the problem of provision of students, who have no command of the language with educational and methodological complex materials on the native language, is a priority. A laboratory of development of educational and methodological complex materials on the native language and literature was opened at the department ethnic education of Ob Ugric peoples of the Institute of advanced training and development of regional education of Khanty-Mansiysk City. The work of the laboratory is oriented at the development of programs, textbooks and educational manuals for children who don’t have a command of the native language and learn it as a foreign language. In the laboratory prospective plans of republication of outdated, but still necessary textbooks and manuals required in district schools and preparation of manuscripts of educational and methodological complex materials on Khanty and Mansi languages have been elaborated. In the laboratory groups of authors, which included experienced teachers, methodologists, scientists and research fellows, were established. At the department of ethnic education of Ob Ugric peoples consultations and training, enlightening the modern requirements to the development of curricula, updated textbooks and educational manuals are conducted. In February 2005 the first seminar of authors of textbooks on topic “Educational and methodological materials on native languages and literature” was conducted jointly with representatives of St. Petersburg branch of publishing house “Prosveschenie”. The problems of provision of educational and methodological materials are solved consistently and gradually – from studying and summarizing advanced experience of teachers of the native language, to filtering language materials, to developing original educational and methodological materials, developing and testing provided program materials on the course of the native language, to creating original author’s textbooks of native languages, including Mansi language. During the development of updated educational and methodological courses of native languages groups of authors try to meet the general criteria:

• to meet the course’s requirements;
• to take into account particular age features of students during the process of filtering and summarizing of materials;
• to optimize the volume of the contents, to use previously accumulated knowledge and skills as a basis of the contents of a published educational book;
• to strive for precise and laconic style of presentation of educational materials, for exact definitions and rules in Mansi language;
• to focus on the contents, esthetical and ethno-psychological meaning of illustrations; practical orientation of the contents of educational materials.

Translated into English by O.A. Povoroznyuk

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