The Koryaks. Modern Culture and Crafts, Folklore Groups, Professional Art

Today’s trends in the development of Koryak culture, arts, and crafts are largely defined by the “culture building” traditions of the Soviet era. The Cyrillic-based Koryak writing system was created in the late 1930s, and, coupled with improvements to the educational system in the region, brought Koryak culture to a higher level of development in the 1960s-1980s. In 1967, 15 “red yarangas ,” or mobile community centers that employed 52 cultural and educational workers, operated in the area’s reindeer herders’ camping areas.

In the late 1980s, the Koryak area had 35 schools staffed with 650 teachers; 110 of them were of indigenous origins. The area had 62 community centers and 41 libraries, as well as music schools for children. The government channeled major efforts into giving nomadic reindeer herders access to cultural events. With the launch of perestroika , the indigenous population of the Koryak autonomous area experienced an upsurge in the prestige of their ethnic cultures (native tongue, traditional religion, and customs). This renaissance was symbolized by a revival of ancient customs and rituals, by opening of new museums, including family museums, and by the movement for restoring the phased-out “unpromising” villages.

The Koryak Folk Art Center founded in Palana in 1953 publishes booklets on Koryak folklore and traditions. In the post-Soviet time, the center launched eight other enterprises including Wind of the East band, Palana Folk Drama Theater, Lelel children’s folk dance ensemble, Anuk, a Koryak folk puppet theater, etc.

Dance ensembles hold pride of place among the area’s performance groups. The most famous ones, such as Mengo, Elvel, Lauten, Veyem, etc. present indigenous dances of the Peninsula’s peoples both in the towns and villages of the Kamchatka Territory and beyond. The Mengo State Academic Koryak Folk Dance Ensemble is the pride and joy of Kamchatka. It was founded in 1965 by the choreographer Alexander V. Guil (1942–1988). Its performances in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Khabarovsk, Moscow, and other cities brought the ensemble success and renown. “Mengo” dance show based on an ancient Koryak legend was recognized as the first Koryak ballet. The ensemble also toured the world extensively. In 1973, at the 10 ^th World Youth and Student Festival in Berlin, Mengo won the gold medal. In 2008, the Mengo State Ensemble was given the gubernatorial status.

The Veyem folk ensemble enjoys a well-deserved popularity in Kamchatka and beyond. It was founded in 1992 in Palana by the talented dancer and choreographer Valeriy N. Etneut (1959–1997). The ensemble’s stage performances are professional and faithful expressions of Kamchatka folk dance traditions.

The Koryak Area Local Museum was opened in Palana in 1969. Its collections house over 15.000 items. The museum’s ethnographic and archeological holdings, applied and pictorial arts collections, musical instruments, arms, and other exhibits that represent the material culture of Kamchatka’s indigenous peoples are of great educational, scholarly, and artistic value.

As for Koryak literature, Ketsay Kekketyn (1918–1943), the first Koryak writer celebrated as the founder of Koryak literature; the journalist and writer Vasily A. Tylkanov (1927–2004), the state and public figure, member of the USSR Writers’ Union Vladimir V. Koyanto (Kosygin) (1933–2012), the poet, singer and songwriter, and a member of the Russian Writers’ Union Yuri A. Alotov, are widely known in Kamchatka and beyond.

Many professional and amateur artists left their imprint on Koryak’s pictorial art. Kirill V. Kilpalin (1930–1991) holds a special place among Koryak artists. He was an Honored Cultural Worker of the RSFSR, a member of the USSR Artists’ Union, a painter, and a daring artist with a unique artistic style. His drawings and watercolor paintings capture Kamchatka’s nature, and reflect Koryak history, customs, and mythology, as well as his contemporaries. In 1995, Kamchatka established a Kirill V. Kilpalin Arts Award.

The list of famous Koryak artists and cultural figures includes Vladimir A. Lazarev (1952–2005), a member of the USSR Artists’ Union, former principal and teacher at the Arts School in the village of Ossora; Valentin D. Severin (1960–2020), a teacher at Dmitry M. Kabalevsky Koryak Art School; Lyudmila M. Gilyova-Khelol, a middle school art teacher and the keeper of a family-run art museum of applied arts.

Paintings by Koryak artists are exhibited in the Kamchatka Territory Local Museum and Koryak Area Local Museums, and are held in private collections.