Animating the Unseen

Landscape discourses as mnemonics among Kolguyev Nenets

Abstract

Changes, such as the social, cultural and economic transformations of the Soviet and post-Soviet eras, evoke a need to remember and remind. Recollecting can be expressed in multiple ways, among which discourses connected with physical artefacts are a universal form, though contents and meanings vary  considerably. This article examines Kolguyev Nenets memories of, and discourses about, a hill named Seĭkorkha: a sacred place whose idols were destroyed  in the Soviet years. Providing a backdrop to this Nenets discourse is an artistic project which aimed to protect the Kolguyev Nenets and their island. The  recollections are seen both as valued speech and as a part of everyday resistance to imposed transformations. This case study, based on field work and  archival materials,shows how a community that has lived through vast changes has built continuity and stability through constantly changing discourse about a place that has been undergoing modifications for centuries.

Keywords: Nenets, post-Soviet, memorial, sacred places, resistance, discourse