In our everyday folklore, the image of the Chukchi as a character from anecdotes has long been entrenched. In fact, at one time the Chukchi were the greatest warriors of the north. Fearless, warlike, intoxicated by fly agarics and wearing exotic armor that could stop the bullets of the Cossacks. The Chukchi were so fierce that the Russian colonialists did not manage to subdue this people - they were completely annexed only in the 20th century.
Appearance, preparation and tradition
Best of all, the image of the Chukchi was described by Captain D. I. Pavlutsky, who fought with this people for a long time, entered their mythology in the form of an evil character and, in the end, was killed by the Chukchi:
- An exhaustive description, especially valuable because it was written by their implacable enemy.
Actually, the Chukchi themselves were divided into reindeer nomads, who were mainly engaged in breeding reindeer, and sedentary fishermen and hunters for sea animals. The reindeer Chukchi were the most prepared and strong and perceived the sedentary as weaker and more pampered, which did not prevent them, in the event of a sea raid, from uniting together to rob the same American Eskimos. It is curious that sometimes some warriors were forced to go on a campaign against their will.
The frequency of military clashes with the Eskimos is evidenced by at least the following rite: when these two peoples met and were going to trade, before the bargaining, a sacrifice was performed, killing two deer and by how they fell, they determined who would attack first in case of a quarrel.
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If a quarrel really happened, everyone dispersed, prepared, sending women and children away, and attacked the enemy at dawn. The very practice of such a ritual suggests that fights and wars were so commonplace that they had already begun to be regulated in advance by means of sacrifice.
Reindeer or otherwise, nomadic Chukchi from childhood trained in running, carrying weights and martial and hunting arts. The boys ran for a long time, chasing deer, and grazing herds, learned to easily endure hunger and thirst, shoot a bow and fight with a spear and knife, wear armor and fight.
The agility of the young Chukchi reached the point that in their military customs the habit of dodging arrows during the battle was fixed, if they were not wearing armor. They say that the young Chukchi were taught to sense danger in this way: a parent sneaked up to an unsuspecting boy and burned his skin with a red-hot knife. And so on, until the guy began to bounce aside from every rustle.
And during the final test, the father with a bow sneaked behind the young Chukchi and unexpectedly shot in the back. If the guy dodged, he became a warrior. If not, he was dying of a wound, for such an inept was not needed.
Warfare
The sedentary Chukchi most often made raids in large canoe boats under sail on their American neighbors, or the inhabitants of the islands. But the Chukchi reindeer were engaged in stealing herds from the Koryaks and other local residents, going on predatory raids mainly in winter, when they could move at a noticeable speed on sledges pulled by reindeer.
Most often, the raid looked like this: they sneaked up to the camp at dawn, when the victims slept in the yaranga, a common dwelling made of deer skins and poles, in which the tents of individual families were located around. With the help of the lasso, they dropped the yaranga and began to beat them with spears through the skins at people who were awake, and those who got out were killed. At this time, other Chukchi were already driving deer.
True, sometimes the inhabitants of the yaranga began to shoot through special loopholes in the walls from bows or firearms, and if several Chukchi were killed, they preferred to escape.
Sometimes the Chukchi ambushed the Cossacks or local residents who were hiding in the Russian fortresses. To do this, a small detachment attacked the prison and, having received a rebuff, pretended to run away, and if they were pursued, lured the enemy into an ambush, where much larger forces awaited him.
In major battles, the Chukchi tried with the main detachment to attack from the front, distracting the enemy, and with the second - to bypass from the rear, bringing confusion and panic into the ranks of the enemy.
The Chukchi did not really know how to besiege fortresses and take them by storm, but they most often did not need it.
Weapons and fighting techniques
The most important weapons of war among the Chukchi were bows and spears. Everyone learned to use this weapon, since they were not only military, but also hunting equipment. The bows were complex, and the arrowheads were first made of stone and bone, and with the arrival of the Russians - of iron, since the Chukchi themselves did not have a very developed metallurgy. Old knives were also used as tips.
Spears were most often adapted specifically for hand-to-hand combat; they also tried to make the tips of metal, making them long and wide, so that they were easy to chop. There was also another type of polearm - something like a cleaver on a shaft, with which they sometimes managed to chop off the enemy's head in one blow. And of course any Chukchi had a knife with him. Axes, cleavers, clubs and slings for throwing stones were used much less frequently.
The warriors themselves were divided into heavily armed - dressed in armor, shooting from a bow, and then going hand-to-hand, as well as light ones - dodging arrows and, after victory, catching up with fleeing enemies.
The armor was most often plate-like, and the plates were often made of whalebone or bone, while the quality of the workmanship was such that small-caliber firearms did not always pierce it. Later, the armor was made of metal.
The helmet was rarely worn, preferring to protect the head with wings - shit made of wood, covered with plates that covered the back of the head, and tied to the hands, allowing not only to shoot from a bow, but also to cover with a wing like a shield with a light movement. Usually a warrior wore one wing, standing up to the enemy so that he could always defend himself against an arrow with his wing. Often, the image of a killed enemy was applied to the armor - it was believed that this way his spirit would not be able to harm its killer.
The sledges were used not only for movement, but also as chariots - they could shoot from a bow while moving. They usually harnessed a pair of groomed deer. They castrated them by crushing the testicular tubules of a young male with their teeth, and sometimes biting off one testicle. Such a freshly nibbled delicacy was given to the most respectable elder or dear guest - it was considered a delicacy.
Also, sledges were used in the form of temporary field fortifications, placing them in a circle, like a Hussite Wagenburg, and firing back from behind such an impromptu wall. It happened that the Chukchi defended themselves by climbing a hill and watering the path leading to the top. The water froze, and heavy sledges filled with stones and stuck in front with spears and sharpened deer antlers were launched towards the advancing enemy. After such a battering ram took down the first waves of the enemy, the Chukchi went on the attack.
The battle was most often attended by young men who wanted to prove their courage, as well as experienced warriors who received loot from the raids. However, sometimes women also fought, especially if the enemy was attacking the yaranga, while the man was on the hunt.
It happened that women were taken on a raid, and sometimes they even took part in the battle. When the family was left without a breadwinner, girls trained in the same way as boys, and such warriors could participate in campaigns on an equal footing with men. But in general, traditionally, fighting a woman was considered shameful.
It is especially worth noting among the Chukchi the existence of a peculiar caste of transsexuals. The fact is that the entire Chukchi traditional religion is permeated with a belief in spirits and sometimes they whispered to a man or woman about sex change. Then such a person began to wear clothes and imitate the voice of the gender that the perfume chose. Transgender men married or engaged in sexual services, while transgender women did male work and went to war.
Attitude towards death and military traditions
The Chukchi are characterized by fatalism and the perception of death as a transition to a better world of their ancestors. Therefore, the loser in a duel often asked to finish him off, and the weak old people were killed by their relatives at their request. Often women, seeing that their men were losing battle, would stab their children and then kill themselves.
Russian travelers during the conquest of Siberia noted that the Chukchi were so hot-tempered and emotional that they would commit suicide under the impression of a bad deal or other similar disorder.
At the same time, the militancy of this people is so ingrained in their culture that, according to tradition, a stronger warrior could easily demand from a weak one to give his wife or deer. If he refused to share, a call to a wrestling match followed. The loser lost his property or the woman, and it seemed fair to everyone.
Tattoos are a separate pride of the Chukchi. Most often, they were used to decorate the faces of warriors or women. Especially fierce fighters for each killed enemy, drew a dot on their hand. And for seasoned warriors, a line from the wrist to the elbow could be built from these points.
Stimulants were also used. Before the battle, the Chukchi often chewed a fly agaric hat. Experimentally, they discovered that in a small dose the mushroom acted as a stimulant, and only in a large dose it became a source of visions. Those who were especially stubborn consumed the urine of a fighter who ate amanita (the active substances are retained in it, so once eating the mushroom, you can experience the effect again). There was, apparently, a certain chic in this.
In general, when you find yourself in the Far North, among smiling reindeer herders, think ten times whether it is worth telling a joke about a stupid Chukchi, because among the listeners there may be a person whose ancestors never submitted to the colonialists, castrating their deer with their teeth and sending fighting transsexuals on a raid.