WOMEN AT THE END OF THE LAND

‘Women at the End of the Land’ expedition takes place in the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia, which in the indigenous Nenets language means the end of the world. The Nenets people are travelling every year up to 1,000 km through sacred migration routes of their ancestral homeland of the Yamal peninsula.

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I am excited to announce that “Woman at the end of the Land expedition”  is proudly sponsored by the Scott Pearlman Field award. Read more about the award here

antlers1Women at the End of the Land- Expedition to the Yamal Peninsula


 

What is the “Women at the End of the Land” expedition?

‘Women at the End of the Land’ expedition takes place in the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia, which in the indigenous Nenets language means the end of the world. The Nenets people are travelling every year up to 1,000 km through sacred migration routes of their ancestral homeland of the Yamal peninsula. Despite already surviving a challenging history during war times this culture is now threatened more than ever. Climate change, maritime traffic and new infrastructure associated with resource extraction are irreversibly transforming the tundra and gradually destroying their land essential for their survival and collective identity.

I will join a Nenets family for 60 days and travel with them during their winter pasture, crossing the forests tundra just to the south of the arctic circle and continue migrating northwards across the gulf of Ob. Only fewer places on earth are home to a more challenging environment where temperatures plummet to -50C and Nenets’ yearly migration routes cross many deep-frozen rivers. They travel between 8 to 20 km a day through the centuries-old migration routes on wooden reindeer sledges in the most extreme conditions and in the harmony with cyclical rhythms of the tundra and wisdom of their ancestors. During this time I will be accompanying a pregnant Nenet woman in her ninth month of pregnancy. With her acceptance I will be part of the whole process of preparation for the birth.

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The project entails three main components

  1. Scientific: Convey an ethnographic fieldwork through participant observation, writing, recording and filming. Field data will be used in the following: academic journals, Master’s thesis, observational filmmaking, archive collection of oral traditions for museums and ethnographical research institutions, and may feature in the future collaboration with the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Centre.
  2. Creative: Creative dimension of the project lays in using the fields of visual ethnography, photography and film to document the various aspects of the expedition resulting in an outstanding collection of images in a format of a photography book and photographic exhibitions. A British TV production crew will join the expedition in its first few weeks in order to create a one hour episode as part of a TV series on female explorers.
  3. Adventurous: An attempt to be the first solo woman to cross the Yamal peninsula together with the Nenet herders.

“Women at the End of the Land” expedition celebrates incredible resilience of Nenets women while documenting their tribal experience of pregnancy and childbirth in such extreme conditions. Besides exploring the traditional heritage, the expedition aims to also document their change and symbiosis with global changes.

I will join Nenets women herders for 60 days and travel with them during their winter pasture through the centuries-old migration routes on wooden reindeer sledges. During this time I will be accompanying a pregnant Nenets woman in her ninth month of pregnancy and explore how does nomadic lifestyle in extreme environment influences the course of pregnancy and childbirth

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The purpose of “Women at the End of the Land”

The purpose of this expedition is to explore the socio-cultural, ecological and economical aspects that influence traditional practices and the process of their change surrounding pregnancy and childbirth amongst indigenous Nenet women during their yearly migration routes crossing the Yamal peninsula in Siberia.

As part of the Wild born project the “Women at the End of the Land” expedition celebrates incredible resilience of Nenets women while documenting their tribal experience of pregnancy and childbirth in such extreme conditions. Besides exploring the traditional heritage, the expedition aims to also document their change and symbiosis with global changes.

The outcomes of this expedition should therefore not only provide complex anthropological knowledge supporting the heritage of the Nenet people, but also an understanding of their inherent cultural change and which of its influences enrich or threaten their collective identity. Only then can we truly help with their survival by respecting their inevitable cultural transformation.

Despite already surviving a challenging history during war times this culture is now threatened more than ever. Climate change, maritime traffic and new infrastructure associated with resource extraction are irreversibly transforming the tundra and gradually destroying their land essential for their survival and collective identity.

The outcomes of this expedition should therefore not only provide complex anthropological knowledge supporting the heritage of the Nenet people, but also an understanding of their inherent cultural change and which of its influences enrich or threaten their collective identity. Only then can we truly help with their survival by respecting their inevitable cultural transformation.

 

The project aims

Research questions supporting socio-cultural aims:

  1. How do Nenet women experience pregnancy and practice childbirth while migrating for six months across the Siberian peninsula?
  2. Which powers of their animistic belief system, which taboos, rituals and ancient knowledge influences the birthing process from early stages of pregnancy through the childbirth to the care of the child and the mother after the birth?
  3. What is the role of midwives, how does their traditional knowledge affects the course of pregnancy and childbirth and how it is passed on through generations?
  4. How do the Nenet women succeed with childbirth practices regarded by Western culture as primitive and dangerous?
  5. What are the main similarities and differences in pregnancy and childbirth practices of Nenets women compared to the Western culture? What are the main differences in the bond of mother and child, and the mother’s bond to the community?
  6. Can traditional and non-traditional practices work together to help reduce birth complications without harming traditional values? Which modern influences and western childbirth techniques increased the wellbeing of mother or child and were successfully adopted by Nenet women into their culture without harming their traditional heritage?
  7. On the other hand, is there anything within cultural heritage of the Nenet women that can inspire modern women and enhance their positive experience of pregnancy or childbirth?

Research questions supporting ecological aims:

  1. How do Nenets women relate to their lands and how they enact ecological knowledge during their pregnancy and childbirth processes?
  2. How does nomadic lifestyle in extreme environment influences the course of pregnancy and childbirth?
  3. How is the environment, their land, its minerals, plants and animals utilized in the women’s lives surrounding childbearing, such as in the ceremonies, pain management and nutrition?

Research questions supporting economical aims:

  1. How are global economy and development changing and effecting childbirth practices of Nenet women?

Expedition Advisors

Sponsors

Special thanks goes to the wonderful people who supported the Kickstarter campaign. This Project could not happen without your support..

 

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