National and cultural revival of the Kumandins at the boundary of the 20th-21st centuries

The article describes modern ethnocultural processes among the Kumandins. The Kumandins are the leaders of the social and political movement in Altai among the minor indigenous peoples. Field materials became the source of research. During the 20th century, the leveling of ethnic culture, language, and identity of the Kumandins took place. Celebrations and ceremonies ceased by the middle of the 20th century. Ethnopolitical and socio-economic transformations were the cause of this process. Some elements of the culture were preserved only at the family and individual levels. The Kumandins turned to the past of their people after a long ethnocultural break. For two generations, the Kumandin culture was in oblivion. The national and cultural revival began with the emergence of interest in their own culture and the formation of public organizations. The actualization of the problem of self-identification of the Kumandins implied the fixation and presentation of the uniqueness of the ethnic community, as well as the consolidation of its representatives. Constructing a holiday culture has become a way to achieve this. On the one hand, the absence of significant museum collections, the fragmentation of ethnographic descriptions and memories of ethnophores is a problem in the reconstruction of authentic culture. On the other hand, contemporary cultural creativity is not limited by the framework. During the national and cultural revival, the emphasis was on folklore, costume, cuisine, language, arts, and crafts. As a result, holidays that were completely new in form and content were designed. Only the regularity, name and conditional performance of the ritual relegates to the ethnocultural past. Modern Kumandin holidays are of a general ethnic level, of a mass character. They are desacralized. The ritual is simplified and theatrical. The opening of the Krasnogorsk and Biysk centers became an important moment in the national and cultural revival. The Kumandin culture and language began to be preserved and passed on to young generations. Ethnic tourism also began to develop in the centers.