Russian Settlers of the Altai Mountains
The city of Gorno Altaisk is your jumping off point for Uimon Valley in the Altai mountains. Here your team will visit the descendants of popovtsy and bezpopovtsy Orthodox Christian Old Believers who fled Russia to escape persecution under the Tsars. Despite repression during the Soviet era, these religious refugees today preserve both religious traditions (an active church, spiritual poetry and songs) and cultural traditions such as folk beliefs about holy springs, special trees, and house and forest spirits, along with traditional maternity, funeral and wedding ceremonies. Expect to record lots of songs, collect lots of stories, and drink in the spectacular Altai scenery.
The expedition also includes a stop at the Nicholas Roerich Museum documenting the 1926 visit of the painter, theosophist, and archaeologist. Strongly influenced by Buddhism, Roerich came here to paint and to search for the Buddhism’s mythical city of Shambhala, said to be somewhere in the mountains north of Tibet.
Meet the Team
Dr. Alevtina Tsvetkova
Professor of Russian Philology, specializing in Folklore, at Pavlodar State University in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
Dr. Tsvetkova has been making folklore expeditions to Siberia and the Altai Mountains (on both sides of the Russia/Kazakhstan border) since 1983. Her special interests include family folklore, family life-cycle rituals, and the contemporary role of folk legend and belief.
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Dates:
July 15, 2019 to July 27, 2019Location:
Villages Verkhnyi Uimon, Tikhonkoe, Multa and Ust-Koksa, Ust-Koksinsky District, Altai Republic, Russia -
Email:
Please send all digital forms or inquiries to this email.
info@preeef.orgMailing Address:
Partnership for Russian, East European & Eurasian Folklore
11544 23rd Ave. NE
Seattle WA 98125
