Arctic Pastoralist Sakha Ethnography of Evolution and Microadaptation in Siberia

The book presents a fascinating analysis of the horse and cattle breeding culture of the Sakha. It is a scrupulous discussion of the complex interaction between the Soviet-style economic organization, post-Soviet market economy and animism. The rationality behind the traditional collectivism that works under a market economy is well documented and elucidated. - Victor Shnirelman, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Moscow This is a pioneering overview of a little known pastoral system in eastern Siberia. In the Sakha Republic's unique system of permafrost lakes and meadows, human practices are directly linked to the way that the landscape offers itself as a host. This fundamental work should command wide attention by regional specialists and all those interested in local forms of pastoralism. - David G. Anderson, University of Aberdeen The key importance of this book lies in its main message, emphasizing the necessity of the study of the Sakha people's adaptation to one of the coldest regions on our planet. Professor Takakura's work constitutes a scrupulous analysis of available literature and a visualization of examples from everyday rural life beyond what is often seen in research fieldwork. - Vanda Ignatyeva, Institute of Humanities and Indigenous Studies of the North, Yakutsk