Self-preserving behavior of the indigenous population from the foothills of the Northern Altai (19th-20th century)

The article examines ethnic features of self-preserving behavior among the Kumandins, Tubalars, and Chelkans. The study is based on field and archival materials. As opposed to modernity, human health in traditional societies was ensured by strict observance of traditional norms and depended on the benevolence of the spirits. Customs and rituals were largely irrational. Self-preserving behavior became transformed as a result of the spread of sanitary and hygienic knowledge, which started from the contacts with settlers and missionaries, organization of a network of medical institutions in the region in the 1920s-1940s, and building people’s trust in health workers.