The Siberian Reindeer Culture

Culture of the Siberian Reindeer People In American there are a variety of cultures within our country. We as nurses will come across many patients who's culture differs from our own. In our practice it will benefit our patients and ourselves to have a broad knowledge base of other cultures and how our care will need to be modified to their cultural beliefs. We will discuss the culture of the Siberian Reindeer tribes and how nursing care will be carried out to their beliefs. In the Amur bend of outlet Manchuria the Siberian Reindeer people live in the Verkhoyansk mountains of northeast Siberia which is the coldest inhabited place on earth with temperatures fall to -96f (-71c). There are many tribes of the Siberian reindeer people which include the Shamans, the Khanty, The Yugra tribe and the Evenk tribe. The tribes lived where reindeers live for the purpose of food, healing, and way of living. In Arctic Russia the herding of reindeer became the primary source life because the land could not sustain much of any agriculture ("Evenki Reindeer Herding," 2015). The Evenki people inhibit the south Siberia's mountainous zones. These type of people are known for their use of the reindeer. They try to limit the use of the reindeer for transportation and milk products. Evenki people prefer to not slaughter the reindeer but will in exceptional circumstances. The size of the tribes varies in size from 20-1,000 depending on the need of the tribes. A tribe that farms reindeer for the meat
have large herds of 1000 or more people ("Evenki Reindeer Herding," 2015). The Reindeer people live amongst each other in tribes.
The living space of the people is referred to as a chum. It is a made up of wooden poles that has skin of reindeer laid over it. Each family has its own chum and is in charge of moving their own chum daily in migration ("Tribe"). The head of the house hold is typically the father, brother, or grandfather and in some circumstances the brother of the mother ("Evenki Northern Tungus"). Generally the males role is everything that is connected to grazing the reindeer, slaughtering, and choosing pastures. The women's primary role is to cook, repair clothes, packing of the home in times of migration, and to care for the children. There are many rules within the camps such as women are not to step over any ropes, walk over reindeer driving sticks, and should not cross an imaginary line that runs from inside the chum out through the back of the tent. On the other hand men are not allowed to touch floorboards and tent poles
("Tribe"). The food of the reindeer people is distinct to the tribe. Hunting and fishing is the primary supply source for the Reindeer people. Many of the tribes primary staples of food are reindeer meat and milk and supplement with fish products. During the summer fishing takes precedence over slaughtering because meat cannot be kept for long. Primary diets include broiled venison, reindeer-blood soup, reindeer brains, and bone marrow (Chukchi). They now supplement the diets with seaweed, leaves, roots, canned vegetables, bread, and other prepared foods found in stores ("Chukchi"). The reindeer meat is often traded for other supplies. Many of the reindeer people often go uneducated. When possible the children are sent off to boarding school due in part to the tribes being too small to have their own school and too far to attend a local school ("Chukchi"). Many of the primary agriculture and herding skills of the reindeer people are forgotten because it is not taught in the modernized schools ("Russia's Periphery"). The dress of the Reindeer culture as you could imagine also includes the reindeer. Coats are made of 4 reindeer skins with the fur being closest to the skin on the inside and the leather on the outside. New Malistsa (fur clothing) are uses in the winter time and the older worn out clothing is used in milder weather ("Tribe"). In extreme cold conditions men wear an extra layer of fur. Women wear Yagusha which is buttoned at the front and dresses of fawn skins decorated with beads, embroidery, and fur trimmings ("Chukchi"). Both men and women wear hip high reindeer skin boots that consist of an inner and outer boot worn together and tied up with a boot. Women are in charge of sewing the new clothing and mending any of the old clothes with materials brought in primarily by the reindeer. Many of the Reindeer people tribes believe that healing will come from the spirit or the flesh of the reindeer themselves. Treating the sick is done by interceding between the sick person and the spirits and deities whose behavior was associated with disease by banishing the evil spirit from the patient and returning the soul stolen by the spirits. Invited spirits inside themselves by swallowing and yawning and treat them to reindeer blood and fat before using their influence to cast a baton to discover the most effective source of treatment. They called upon the spirits which were after reindeer to transfer the disease from a human body into the helper spirit. A sick person was cured by placing the injured part of his body inside the belly of a reindeer and when the injured area was too large for this the reindeers insides are pulled out to form a loop through which the ill person can step. Medicine was not known to the Reindeer people prior to Russian contact. This was due in part to the lack of resources such as plants and minerals to use as medicine. Disease at one point was very common. Deadly diseases such as Smallpox and influenza was passed on to the reindeer people by the Russians. At this point the Russians introduced them to Western Medicine at a very low cost or for free but insufficient to meet the needs of the people leading to Tuberculosis and Alcoholism. While some tribes believe in the healing of the sick through the reindeer others place their believes in a healer know a Shaman. The shaman tended to the health of the family. The sham specialized in dream interpretation for diagnosing the illness. It is also believed that the theft of the soul by another shaman's spirit made the people ill. The healing takes place by the shaman finding the soul and returned it to the ill. In other cases that are not as severe natural herbs are used. The modern nurse needs to know the primary practices of these people to implement teaching. Teaching is an essential part of nursing care for these people. The nurse would need to educate these patient about sanitation, nutrition and preventing the spread of disease. The OB patient would be at risk for nutrition imbalance due to less than body requires. The goal for the patient would need to demonstrate the behaviors to regain and or maintain appropriate nutrition intake. The nurse first needs to determine the ability of the patient to chew, swallow, and taste. Second discuss eating habits including food preference and intolerance to appeal to clients likes and dislikes. Third determine physiological cultural factors or religion desires that affect food choices. For a pediatric patient a primary nursing diagnosis would be risk for infection. The goal for these patients would be to demonstrate techniques and lifestyle changes to promote a safe environment. One of the first interventions would be to not risk for occurrence of infection due to the environmental exposures. Reduce and correct existing risk factors by stressing proper hand washing techniques. Lastly promote wellness by instructing parents/patient in techniques to protect integrity of skin, care for lesions and prevent the spread of infection. At the end of life the reindeer are still as important as the they were in the days of living. The reindeer people have specific beliefs that correlate to the death and burial process. Reindeer are sacrificed by the Siberian people because they believe that the souls of the dead need a vehicle to transport the dead to the next world. The Khanty tribe pile antlers on top of the burial sites. The Yugra tribe does not believe that the soul needs a vehicle for transportation but instead they strangle the animals at the grave site before slaughtering them. They then Wrap the bones in the skin and leave it to the left of the grave. The reindeer head is then positioned with attached antlers on the roof of the grave house. The Evenks tribe bury their dead above ground by sewing the bodies into the reindeer skins and placing the wrapped cadavers on high poles. The Chukchi bury their dead wherever they want to be buried. The Reindeer is killed and the person leading the burial drives the antlers in an attempt to free the spirit.