GLOSSARY OF SELECTED NENETS AND RUSSIAN WORDS

Nenets Words

ikota (from Russian ikota)—hiccup spirit that causes pain inside one’s body and demands alcohol, also known as ikota khalyq, “hiccup worms”; the word comes from Russian ikat’, “hiccup”; known as sheva among the neighboring Komi

khabyenye—Russian (or any other non-Indigenous white) woman, see lutsa

khebyidya—sacred, holy; khebyidya yindq, “holy spirit”

khekhe—spirit, god, deity from the upper or middle world; spirit related (e.g., khekhe ya “spirit land,” sacred site); sacred object, figure, or image imbued with a (guardian) spirit; “idol” or “fetish” in the missionary language

lutsa—Russian (or any other non-Indigenous white) man; person who has no reindeer; in the early Soviet period Communists were called nyaryanaq lutsaq, “red Russians”

lutsa khekhe—“Russian spirit”; Russian Orthodox icon

mandalada—“the gathered”; war gathering, uprising

mya—large tepee-shaped conical tent; Russian chum; in English also known as “chum” or “choom”

myad pukhutsya—“old woman of the tent,” female spirit in the form of a doll-like figure that protects the tenthold and women in childbirth

myenarui—leading reindeer in a herd, usually not harnessed, owned by spirits

ngylyeka—spirit from the underworld; evil predatory spirit; wolf; devil for Christians

ngytarma—wooden and clothed image of a dead ancestor, kept in the tent and occasionally fed

num—sky; sky god, Christian deity in the language of Nenets converts

nyaro—pure, the opposite of syaqmei

nyeney—real; human; Nenets(-like)

nyeney nyenets’ (plural, nyeneyq nyenetsyaq, “real people”)—human; person; Nenets

nyeney yil—“real life,” nomadic way of life with reindeer

porti—(from Russian portit’, “to spoil”) witchcraft, harming

punryoda—Christian believer

sanggovo vada—“heavy word,” unintended harmful word

si (singgana, sinyakuy as a Russianized version)—ritually pure “male” area of the tent, opposite side of the door area called nyo

sidyangg (sidryangg)—shadow; shadow soul; sacred image

syadei—wooden or stone image of spirit, usually placed at open sacred sites in the landscape

syaqmei—charged with dangerous power, related to female fertility and menstruation as well as to the dead

syaqmei pad—bag of female boots

symzy—central vertical pole in the tent along which spirits move in and out of the tent; it connects the middle world with the lower and upper worlds

tadyebya—shaman

tarq pad—piece of fur found inside a reindeer’s throat, which is a sign of luck, yab

vada—word, speech, language

vesako—old man, husband; male name, including for gods (e.g., Num Vesako, “Old Man Num”)

vevako vada—“evil word,” curse

yabye syo—“drunken song,” genre of personal song

yarabts—genre of epic song

yerv—master, leader; spirit

yindq—breath; breath-soul

Russian Words

lichniki—see yedinolichniki

svyatoy—holy; saint, holy one; in the language of evangelicals, it denotes all living Christians who have rejected the ways of the world

veruyushchie—believers, Russian Baptists’ and Pentecostals’ primary self-label; in Nenets, punryodaq

yazychniki—“pagans,” Russian evangelicals mark all Nenets nonconverts with this word; some Nenets who practice ancestral religion (“Nenets religion”) proudly use the term about themselves

yedinolichniki (also lichniki)—Independents, reindeer herders outside the collective or state farm (especially in the Soviet period), sometimes used interchangeably with chastniki (“private owners”); as Nenets do not distinguish between phonemes like “sh” and “ch,” Independents thought they were called lishnie, which means “superfluous” or “out of place” in Russian; in Nenets, people mark those outside of farms as khariq yilyenaq, “the ones who live on their own,” or kharta yilyenaq nyenetsyaq, “independently living Nenets”