Fire and the modes of its use in the life support system of the Northern Selkups

Abstract

The article focuses on the modes of use of fire in the life support system of the northern Selkups – the Arctic people settled in the forest-tundra and taiga zones, as well as the search for specific differences in the use of fire among the Selkups and other peoples of the Arctic living in the tundra zone. The author proposes four classifications of the modes of using fire and comes to the conclusion that these modes depended on the purpose of the use of fire, the device in which it was made, and the material that served as its fuel. The abundance of firewood and its all-season availability distinguished the use of fire by Selkups, who inhabit the taiga and forest-tundra, from that of nomadic peoples of Arctic tundra.