The evolution of marital contacts among the Yukaghirs in the context of «friend or foe»

In traditional society, until the second half of the XIX century, same-ethnic marriages prevailed among the Yukaghirs. Initially, socioeconomic conditions (epidemics, famine, extinction of clans, etc.) forced marriages with members of “foreign” ethnic groups. Therefore, interethnic marriages were primarily concluded between members of different indigenous minorities of the North, who, as a rule, have a similar economic and cultural type. Later, after the Yukaghirs became acquainted with the Russian Cossacks and Slavic settlers, due to the absence or lack of their women among the latter, interethnic unions began to appear, which subsequently led to the emergence of some specific ethnic groups (Chuvans) with a syncretic culture. Moreover, such marriages were considered as an opportunity to “dilute” and “strengthen” their bloodline. During the years of Soviet power, as a result of various social transformations (collectivization, enlargement of villages, migration to towns, etc.), the boundaries between “friend” and “foe” became even more blurred, leading to a further increase in mixed marriages. Currently, in our opinion, this boundary is essentially nonexistent: the Yukaghirs not only have marriages with Slavic population, but also have families with people from near and far abroad. The reasons for this phenomenon, in addition to the fact that such unions involve second, third, and fourth generations of mestizos people, are the high percentage of consanguineous ties within the ethnic group, and the unfavorable sex ratio (women outnumber men, especially at reproductive age).