Yakut Experience Of Reviving The Cultural Tradition In The Field Of Ethnosports

Abstract

This article analyzes the regional experience of the reviving and development of cultural traditions in the field of ethnosport about a significant event in the sports and cultural life of Yakutia – the "Manchaara Games". Physical perfection, strength, and endurance for the ancestors of the Sakha people were the most important criteria for a full-fledged human personality. The noble robber of the XYIII century Vasily Manchaary entered the legends both as a fearless fighter against the tribal nobility and as the owner of unique sports advantages: a master of wrestles, a consistent winner in running and national jumps. In 1968 was named after him the Spartakiad in national sports, which was initially held exclusively among rural athletes. Since the XIV century sports games, all competitions held every 4 years bring together the best athletes of Yakutia. The reviving and further development of the cultural tradition in the field of ethnosport is evidenced by such indicators of the "Manchaara Games" as mass participation (program expansion of sports competitions by introducing new national sports, growth in the number of teams, participants and staff), the quality of cultural and scientific support (scientific conferences, master classes, seminars, round tables, theatricalized ceremonies, etc.). The combined efforts of the regional authorities to create a legal and regulatory framework and support national initiatives in the field of ethnosport, scientists and coaches, athletes and cultural figures have ensured that the national sports of the Sakha people reach the Russian and international levels in the XXI century.

Keywords: Cultural tradition, ethnosport, revival, national sports games, event

Introduction

The preservation of ancestral cultural heritage, including in the field of ethnosport, its revival and popularization are necessary conditions for the development of the cultural space of territories, an effective mechanism for consolidating the population around socially important projects and initiatives. The competitions in strength, dexterity, and prowess that descended from the ancestors served not only as festive entertainments for ethnic groups, but also as a test of the physical and moral-volitional training of young generations, as evidence of their vitality, fortitude, courage, and honesty (Portnyagin, 1998). At present, ethnocultural sports are experiencing a kind of renaissance, proclaimed by the provisions of a specific statement of UNESCO/TAFISA, which secured the status of an integral part of the World Cultural Heritage of Humanity” for “historically developed of ethnic groups traditional types of physical activity (Kylasov, 2013).

The growth of the federations in charge of certain types of ethnosport, the growing number of working ethnosport experts explain how "the desire for competition simple and clear rules", in contrast to the complex and confusing scoring system of Olympic sport; "interest of the athletes to the competition ethnocultural practices"; and "the desire of the participants to join the sacred heritage of the ancestors and gain a sense of confidence in the outside world, protecting and maintaining cultural tradition".

The sociocultural phenomenon of ethnosport gives researchers a field for studying and clarifying a wide range of issues related to the conditions for preserving and reviving regional cultural traditions in new socio-cultural conditions. In the globalization era are national sports an element of ethnic material culture, which is necessary not only to fix and save in museums but by refining the methods of modern science and practice, creatively conceptualize, arranging to rebrand. And install it in the contemporary socio-cultural space with national, confessional, and regional conditions (Bakhrevsky et al., 2016).

Problem Statement

For the first time, we find the understanding of sport as a socio-cultural phenomenon in the philosophical treatises of Xenophanes, Plato, Aristotle on "a perfect man who has a destiny by the will of fate and the gods." The term "socio-philosophical analysis of sport" was introduced by K. Dim in the middle of the 20th century.

Cultural tradition acts as a part of the subject area of cultural science and other social and humanitarian sciences, each of which studies it in its thematic refraction, without coming to a consensus. The sociological interpretation of the cycle of cultural traditions was leading in the late '80s of the last century when large-scale research was conducted (S. Huntington, E. Shiels, S. Eisenstaedt, S.A. Arutyunov, P.S. Gurevich, E.S. Markarian). An ethnographic approach to traditions as a "method of storing and transmitting ethnocultural information" was developed by E.S. Markarian, S.A. Arutyunov, Yu.V. Bromley, V.D. Plakhov). It was only in the 90's that it became possible to carry out a philosophical and cultural analysis of tradition as a cultural phenomenon in works by V.V. Averyanov, V.A. Achkasov, A. A. Batura, A.G. Zdravomyslov, O.V. Ledovskaya, and others.

A significant contribution to the theory and practice of restoring cultural traditions focused on the past was made by the sociologist E. Shils (traditional culture as a personal attitude to the past, past analysis as an attachment object). Cultural tradition is always associated with the selection and subsequent reproduction of cultural material, since only what is most important and valuable for a particular people, social or ethnic group is preserved and transmitted to ensure the most effective adaptation to a particular social or natural environment.

In the Soviet Union, there were no cultural studies of national sports, but there was an impressive information base on anthropology, history, ethnography, ethnology with descriptions of folk competitions and fun. Kylasov (2011) developed the ethnosport theory and gave the first scientific definition: Ethnosport is a set of traditional types of physical activity, methods of their preservation and development without the formation of sports organizations and by the forces of sports federations of national sports. In recent years, the term has been interpreted more broadly in its connection with culture. Individual provisions of the theory in practice, becoming the Chairman of the International Association of ethnosport.

Research Questions

The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has accumulated a unique experience in preserving the ethnocultural heritage in the field of traditional types of physical activity, creating with the regional authorities support and the sports and educational community a reputation as the most athletic Northern region", "a leader in preserving and reviving traditional ethnosport types (more than 240), and national active games (150), "stepping far beyond the Republic (Platonova, 2013).

Yakutia was the first Russian regions have adopted the Law of RS(Ya) "About the national sports of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)", successfully implements the government program of development of ethnosport, "engines" which are Republican center of national sports "Modun" and the Association of national sports and games of Yakutia Sahaada-sport. At the Institute of Physical Culture and Sports of the North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov professor V.P. Kochnev, the first department of national sports in the Russian Federation functions. Republican scientists and practitioners were the first to develop unified rules for national sports, classification (category) standards from the junior category to the master of sports of the RS(Ya), introduced an ethnosport component in the physical education program of all schools of the Republic from grades 1 to 11.

In total, more than 200 competitions are held in the Republic every year-from ulus competitions (corresponding to the municipal district) to national championships in individual sports, all-Russian and international tournaments, mas-wrestling and hapsagai championships. Significant events in the ethnosport and cultural life of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are the internationally recognized Children of Asia Games, held for the first time at the initiative of the First President of Yakutia M.Ye. Nikolaev held annually during the national holiday Ysyakh "Dygyn Games" and held every four years "Manchaara Games", which received the status of "Yakutsk Olympiad" among experts and fans.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this article is to analyze the Spartakiad in national sports "Manchaara Games" as a positive example of the revival and popularization of the cultural tradition of the Sakha people in the field of ethnosport.

Research Methods

Methodologically, this article is built as interdisciplinary research at the interface of several research approaches of socio-cultural practices of the revival of cultural traditions in the field of ethnosport: cultural and technological activity. The cultural approach involves the analysis of value-normative systems, ideas, goals, and various ways of their sign-symbolic and subject-material implementation. Also, to study the "Manchaara Games" as a cultural product, general scientific and comparative-historical methods, structural and static analysis was used; generalization of practice, and experience study of the development of the events in the field of ethnosport.

Findings

Experts refer the revival of cultural traditions in the field of ethnosport to the holding of competitions in national Yakut jumps, "Khapsagai" wrestling, and archery at the I All-Yakut Spartakiad in 1932. But the real work on the revival and popularization of cultural heritage in the field of ethnosport began in 1968, when the Chairman of the Yakut Regional Council of the Voluntary Sports Society "Urozhay" Afanasy Alekseyev proposed to hold a Republican Spartakiad in national sports and give it the name of the fearless rebel Vasily Foydorov-Manchaara, despite the arguments of the party bodies. The history of Yakutsk has preserved information about the extraordinary physical abilities of the Yakut Robin Hood: being a young man, not obtaining the full strength, he stopped a Mare at a gallop with his bare hands, on Ysyakh holidays he fought, ran, jumped and always became a winner. Even in old age, Manchaara danced on the tops of fence posts and ran for hours in deep snow (Koryakin-Tanbue, 2005; Portnyagin, 1998).

The first 11 Spartakiads were organized as departmental games by the VSS "Urozhay", members of other sports societies of the Republic were not allowed to participate.

After some reorganizations, starting with the XIV-th Spartakiad, all competitions held every 4 years are organized under the leadership of the Ministry of Sports of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Each following "Game" includes an increasing number of participants and spectators and expands the sector of its influence on the sports and cultural life of the Republic (see Table 1).

The high potential for development and promotion of Spartakiads in national sports "Manchaara Games" as significant events in the sports and cultural life of the Republic, and not only in the field of ethnosport, is evidenced by such criteria as the growth of mass participation (expansion of the program of sports competitions by introducing new national sports, growth in the number of teams, participants and staff), improving the quality of cultural and scientific support (scientific and practical conferences, master classes, seminars, round tables), institutionalization and modern legal framework (see Table 2).

Evolved from modest competitions of eight teams from rural athletes which were held at an Amateur stadium, Park of culture and recreation of the city of Yakutsk to large-scale sporting events, gathering thousands of spectators at specially-equipped stadiums and TV screens, "Manchaara Games" became one of the favourite events in sports and cultural life of the Republic, and the participation in them is a matter of prestige top athletes of the Republic, judges and members of the press. The title "Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in National Sports", established by the head of the Republic, also contributes to the high status of a participant in sports competitions in national sports.

The strongest athletes of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are selected to participate in the Games. In the national media and among the sports community, the popular, although unofficial, the name "Yakut Olympics" has stuck for the last three Spartakiads.

The sports events that take place during the Manchaara Games are widely covered on the pages of the Republican press, in Internet blogs, broadcast in Primetime by the "Sakha" National Broadcasting Company (the "Sakha" NBC), and appear in the Federal TV News. Significantly being changed in the organization class, in the mass of participants and spectators, in agonistics and entertainment, the Manchaara Games are an example of a revived and effectively developing cultural tradition in the field of ethnosport (Shemyakina, 2011).

Conclusion

Kylasov (2011) suggests interpreting the preservation of national and cultural identity in sports activities as a living reaction of society to the processes of globalization and unification. National sports or ethnosport are brightly and without a conflict transmit the social memory of the ethnic group to the next generations as a kind of brand of the people, its heritage and pride (Platonova, 2013). The Manchaara Games are not only a landmark event in the field of ethnosport but also the future national brand of the Republic, along with the Ysyakh Summer Holiday and the "Children of Sakha - Asia" International Games, held under the patronage of the IOC.

Thanks to the involvement in the development of ethnosport of the Republican authorities, scientists, sports, business structures, media, sports and pedagogical community of the Republic, national sports are not only successfully mastered by new generations of Yakut athletes, but also receive recognition outside the Republic – at the national and world levels. For example, the ancient "mas tardychyta" – stick pulling, received thanks to the Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling Yakut Roman Dmitriev the modern name "mass-wrestling "("mas" means "stick" in Yakut, "wrestling" - English. "battle"), was included into the all-Russian register of sports and gained tens of thousands of supporters under the authority of the Russian Federation of mass-wrestling, its own Russian Championships. The popularity of this dynamic sport quickly broke out of the Russian borders, which led in 2011 to the creation of the International Arm-Wrestling Federation, which supervises the national federations of 40 countries on all continents of the world, the holding International tournaments, the World Championships and the World Cup (Kochnev, 2017).

Yakut national jumps were included into the program of student sports competitions and tournaments, the Russian Athletics Championship, and the program of the "Children of Asia" International Games. The United World Wrestling, whose professional interests now include khapsagai, holds the World Wrestling Games (in 2018 – Budapest, 2019 – Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan), that provides an official outlet for the wrestling of the Yakut heroes of antiquity to modern competitions of continental and world levels (Kim-Kimen & Kuznetsova, 2018).

The Manchaara Games have a high potential for further development. The first option is aimed at institutionalizing each of the national sports included in the program to the status of Olympic, which will soon become khapsagai and mas-wrestling. The second option is to transform regional sports competitions held in rural areas with the help of event-technologies and event-management into the large-scale marketing events aimed at increasing the number of athletes, spectators, and business structures to develop ethnosport (Mikhailova & Shkurko, 2020). Ethnosport competitions as a cultural phenomenon of humanity preserve in an attractive and accessible form the ideals of physical perfectness and agonistics, transfer a unique experience of the cultural heritage of past epochs and modernity. The initiatives and achievements of the RS (Ya) in the preservation and development of national sports convincingly demonstrate to the world the strength of spirit, tolerance and cultural ideals of the Yakut people (Kim-Kimen & Kuznetsova, 2018).

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