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| History and Divergent Perceptions of Property Among the Tozhu of South Siberia |
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Reference |
| Donahoe, Brian Robert. (2003) A Line in the Sayans: History and Divergent Perceptions of Property Among the Tozhu and Tofa of South Siberia.( Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University). Link: http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00002862/ |
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Introduction to the Institution |
| The Tozhu reindeer-herding and hunting peoples inhabiting the Eastern Sayan mountain region of southern Siberia. They are one of the four smallest and most neglected of Russia's indigenous minorities in the post-Soviet period. |
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Rules for Management
of the Institution |
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(a) Boundary Rules |
| Spacial Boundaries: Eastern Sayan mountain region of southern Siberia, the Republic of Tyva. Tyva is a constituent member of the Russian Federation todaySocial Boundaries: Tozhu reindeer-herding and hunting community. The Tozhu traditionally recognized clan-based territories. Only members of a certain clan have the right to hunt sable within their territory. Wild animals, like land, are not considered anyone's exclusive "property" as such, but there are social relations among people build into the rights people could claim to wild animals. For example, a person from one band is expected to request permission to hunt on another's recognized territory |
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(b) Governance
rules |
| The Tozhu traditionally recognized clan-based territories. Only members of a certain clan have the right to hunt sable within their territory, the prevailing custom was to allow members of other clans to hunt on one's territory if, for any reason, their own hunting grounds were short of sable. Wild animals are in a sense considered the property of the cher eezi (spirit masters / owners of places). It is the cher eezi who decides whether or not to give an animal to the hunter; it is the cher eezi that the hunter fears and respects, to whom he petitions for help in the hunt, whom he thanks for success, and with whom he establishes the relationship of trust, not with the animal directly. |
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(c) Resource Allocation |
| Reindeer are ridden, used as pack animals, and milked. The rights that people have with respect to reindeer are negotiated through that social relationship and carry with them moral obligations. Tozhu reindeer herders have a relationship with their reindeer that is based more on trust than on domination, there is & feeling of respect for reindeer among Tozhu people. The Tozhu reindeer herders likewise treat their deer with care and respect, and doing so is an integral aspect of being an ivizhi, a reindeer herder, or, more literally, a reindeer-er. Knowing how to treat one's reindeer is an important criterion for being accepted as an ivizhi. Wild animals, like land, were not considered anyone's exclusive "property" as such, but there were social relations among people built into the rights people could claim to wild animals. For example, a person from one band was expected to request permission to hunt on another's recognized territory (this permission was almost never refused), and if the hunter were successful, he was expected to share Ms kill with the recognized occupying band of that territory. Among the Tozhu at least, the practice of hunting on a different band's territory was so widespread that it gave rise to the custom of uzha. |
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Conflict Resolution Mechanism |
| Encroachment from gold mining, timber interests, and tourist resorts, and the threat of privatization may force the Tozhu herder hunters to more jealously guard their territory and develop a sense of exclusivity that could lead to an increase in conflicts and tensions such as has been occurring in Tofalaria since the early part of the 20th century. |
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Problems Faced by Institution |
| 1)Reindeer herders moving close in to the villages and more intensively exploiting the resources. But, as alternative employment opportunities have dried up, people in the villages are also forced to more intensively exploit the taiga within a day's walk from the villages. Increasing numbers of hunters and fishermen - both legal and illegal - from outside the Tozhu District are invading the taiga in the Tozhu District, leading to noticeable declines in the fish and wild game populations. 2)The decline in the number of domesticated reindeer causing consequently, the decline in reindeer herding as a way of life among the Tozhu. |
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Changes in the Institution over time |
| During the collectivization under Soviet Union, all reindeer herders were encouraged to turn their entire herds over to the newly formed kolkhozy and to become members of the kolkhozy. Officially, the members of the kolkhozy held all property (land, livestock, buildings, equipment) in communal ownership. In practice, however, only the administrators of the kolkhozy could exercise any effective proprietary and disposition rights over kolkhoz property, including reindeer. The collective and state farms were set up for reindeer husbandly and, to a much lesser degree, hunting. This has allowed the Tozhu to maintain their social relationships with their reindeer, while the lack of pressure on wild game resources has allowed them to maintain their trusting relationships with wild animals and with the cher eeleri. |
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Country |
| Russia |
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Date Of Publication |
| RS-12/2003 |
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