The knowledge of raw eating: Nayabad - or how to determine the right reindeer for raw eating.

Ӈayabad (ngayabad) is fresh fish or reindeer meat, slaughtered in the traditional way and eaten only in raw (fresh or frozen) form. Ӈayabarma - is the traditional Nenets social meal that consists of freshly slaughtered reindeer meat and blood. For reindeer ŋayabad, herders choose a healthy and fat reindeer. Females without a calf (vaŋg ty) are considered especially good for slaughtering and eating raw. Ŋayabad has a lot of social and religious values. It is carried out on each of the important event of Nenets life, such as births, weddings, when slaughtering a reindeer for clothing, sacrifices on sacred places, funerals, etc. In the chum (the traditional tent), a share of ŋayabad - meat and drink - is also given to long-dead ancestors, whose images are represented by sacral dolls (sidryaŋg and ŋytarma). Near the fire, some food should also be left for the spirit of fire hostess (tu’ khada). Nenets herders chose a healthy reindeer for raw eating due to their deep knowledge about both the herd welfare and each reindeer’s health and condition. Herders determine the health of their reindeer by its appearance at that moment, and also memorize their behavior and well-being through out the previous years: the length of antlers in the summer in comparison to previous years; how quickly the horns fall and the hair sheds in the spring; how reindeer breathes during the summer heat (if a reindeer was panting without a shortness of breath it indicates the presence of some diseases). Herders also consider if necessary vaccinations (against rabies, gadflies, anthrax, etc.) were done. Slaughtering a Reindeer for Raw Eating On the Yamal tundra, reindeer are slaughtered from mid August to April. Slaughtering from spring to late summer is not recommended, as after a long winter the reindeer are exhausted and their meat is considered to be of poor quality. The method of slaughtering reindeer is an important factor in determining the meat quality. For raw eating, an ancient traditional method is used: strangulation. A reindeer is strangled by a lasso (tynzya’) which is tightened on both sides by two men, while the third one pulls a rope tied to the animal’s right (or left) foot. This method is considered by herders to cause less suffering to the animal and ensures the juiciness and good taste of the meat. Strangulation ensures that not a drop of blood is lost, and blood for the Nenets is very valuable. The second slaughtering method is thought to have been borrowed from other Indigenous people, probably from the Khanty (T.V. Sinitsyn, 1960: 69). It became widely practiced since the 1960s, with the mass slaughter and processing of reindeer in the Soviet state farms (Rus sovkhozy). According to eyewitnesses, at first the Nenets did not want to look at the killing of their reindeer in this unconventional way, namely by knocking them senseless with a blow to the head by an ax and by a knife into the heart and Nenets initially refused to eat the meat of a reindeer slaughtered in this way. Today, outside the official slaughterhouses the second method can be used in case of emergency, when a herder is alone in the tundra and help is not near at hand. For family use, clothing and food, including raw eating, Nenets herders will always use their traditional method of slaughtering. The ancient traditions in the process of removing reindeer skins and butchering carcasses are similar among the many Indigenous Peoples of Siberia. In Nenets culture, skinning as well as slaughtering the reindeer has always been a task for men. This is normally done by two people. First, an incision is made below the knee of a front leg, and then, holding the knife blade up, a cut from the knee to the belly and further from the belly to the neck is made. The next step is that the rear legs are cut in the same way and the knife goes almost up to the chest, and then to the tail. After this, the skin should be easily and quickly separated from the carcass, holding the skin in the left hand while pushing the fist of the right hand under the skin. After opening the abdomen with a knife, the kidneys (suik) are pulled out and given to children or guests as a delicacy. Then the stomach is taken out and its contents should be poured or squeezed out. The stomach contents (tiv) have healing properties: it helps to remove rheumatic pain and should be applied fresh and warm on stricken joints. Stomach contents can also be used in the processing the skins. The stomach is then filled with blood and/or meat in order to preserve it. In the summer time it should be rinsed with water. The guests and the family sit in the chum according to their recognized social status. The most honored man or guest would sit at the middle of the table. Women and children sit si’nyana around the table toward the back of the chum. Neighbors are also invited to the feast, and they are also given reindeer meat.

What to Eat & Not to Eat for ŋaybad?

Ӈayabad is always a kind of feast and is done to mark a special day. The whole family and guests gather around a slaughtered reindeer. Each person cuts off a piece of meat or other delicacies and dips it into the warm blood before putting it their mouth. The first things to be eaten after slaughter are the lymphatic nodes (syabkha). While still warm, they are often given to children, as they are easy to chew. Traditionally, for ŋayabad Nenets eat the ears, liver, kidney, larynx, adenoid glands, thymus, the meat of the cervical vertebrae (only from calves), lungs, pancreas, meat secretions from the back (makhey), fat from the back (in the autumn - winter period), bone marrow and neck meat. During ŋayabad the meat is eaten only from one side of the carcass (flesh from buttock, ribs, shoulder, etc.). The other side is left for boiling or preserving in other traditional ways. The head is a stand-alone dish that is usually served to children. In winter the reindeer head is a dish that is left to be prepared later – because it requires quite some time to butcher, which is not always convenient in cold weather. In the summer the head is often eaten immediately and for ŋayabad goes all the parts: the eyes (nyaŋuy ŋyamsa), brains, palate (paydy ŋyamsa), ears, the fat from the eyes, cheeks, the chin, and the brains are also eaten raw. Children are usually given raw kidneys, raw liver slices and ribs, because they are the tastiest morsels. Nenets regard reindeer meat that is still warm after slaughtering to be a delicacy. The tastiest parts of reindeer are the thymus (ŋaramz’), liver (myd), kidney (syuik), trachea (hungo), tongue (nyamyu), the lower lip (pibtya’), as well as the marrow of long bones (kheva). Immediately after slaughtering, the Nenets drink warm fresh blood, and it is considered as being very beneficial for human health. What is not eaten raw? The Nenets eat only reindeer meat and fish raw (but not all species of fish). For example, pike is never eaten raw, and although considered a delicacy in many other places burbot is not eaten at all by Yamal Nenets, except its liver, which is highly prized. In addition, they do not eat raw migratory game, nor local mammals like hare, moose, bear, etc. This is likely due to the fact that being so closely coupled to their reindeer, herders have a very good knowledge about the health of each animal in their herd (both past and present). Nenets do not eat certain parts of reindeer raw: the meat from the spinal bones of an adult reindeer, meat from the breastbone, legs, neck and ribs are never eaten raw, but are boiled in a soup. As are the heart, tongue, first and second stomachs. These parts are used to cook a traditional Nenets soup called «Ya». In addition, the heart of the reindeer is considered sacred, and it must not be either eaten raw nor cut across the muscles - it is considered to be a taboo.

THE BENEFITS OF RAW EATING IN THE NENETS DIET

Raw eating occupies a special place in the Nenets traditional diet, because raw reindeer meat and blood contains a lot of the vitamins and minerals needed to survive and be healthy in the harsh conditions of the North. Thanks to the raw eating of meat, fat, and blood the human body compensates for the lack of essential vitamins and nutrients in the Arctic. If a Nenets does not get to eat raw meat and drink blood, she or he will experience feelings of hunger or stress. Therefore, for the Yamal Nenets, consumption of raw meat is their ‘anti-stress diet’, as it is their only all-year round source on the tundra of many minerals and vitamins, in particular Vitamin C. Even in modern times, it is still difficult (and expensive), to deliver fresh fruits and vegetables to the nomadic herders of Yamal. If slaughtered in the traditional way reindeer meat has a special soft, pleasant taste. If frozen, reindeer meat should be unfrozen once and eaten or consumed while still frozen and sliced nicely. The consumption of fresh and still warm blood is very important for maintaining good health. About a healthy person, the Nenets have a special saying ‘Yan khamortada veyarida yargu’, that literally means: ‘there is no dripping blood’, i.e. «in the pink of health», describing someone who is the very picture of health, and this is obtained through the raw-eating of meat and blood of a healthy reindeer. Nenets and other peoples of the North have never suffered from scurvy (lack of Vit. C) or beriberi (lack of Vit. B). Reindeer blood is the best cure for scurvy. The raw marrow of reindeer leg bones is a true delicacy, which is not found in good restaurants, and will keep a person feeling full for many hours. What is High Quality Meat for Nenets? Nenets eat freshly slaughtered raw meat, and have a deep knowledge about how to judge if the meat is safe and of high quality, and how to adhere to certain conditions in order that it retain that quality. The best ŋayabad is from healthy well-fed reindeer (usually this is in the autumn and winter). Due to lengthy migration routes (up to 700 km toward the summer pastures) reindeer at that time are less well nourished. For example, Nenets do not usually slaughter ŋayabad in late spring and summer when reindeer have completed a long winter and a lengthy migration. The next important factor in selecting reindeer for ŋayabad is the absence of diseases that could be judged by the condition and appearance of the internal organs and meat, by blood clotting, by the presence of parasites that could be observed on the meat and organs. Nenets have a particular technique when eating raw: meat from the organs should be sliced in the hand before dipping into the blood and eaten.

TRADITIONAL WAYS TO PRESERVE MEAT

The traditional methods for preserving fresh meat vary depending on the season and the time of year. For example, in late summer, the meat is salted in wooden barrels or tanks and placed in pits that have been dug to serve as a refrigerator. Wild rosemary is used to cover the meat containers to deter insects. Another traditional way to preserve reindeer meat is smoking, which takes place inside the chum in the summer. Raw meat is hung on the crossbar in the chum, not directly above the fire. In summer, the fire is usually smoky as the wood (mostly willow, also some Arctic birch) is wet. This smoke dries the meat hard (in Nenets syamdravy) quickly and it can be saved for a long time. Another traditional method to preserve meat is by air and sunlight drying that is done outside the chum. One traditional way of preserving raw meat may be at risk due to climate change: During the spring thaw, salted raw meat could be placed in the snow on slopes that were in the shadows, where it could remain until the summer warmth. Due to the fact that in more recent years, the summer has been arriving several weeks earlier and heat waves have been extreme, this method of raw meat preservation has hardly been used in recent years. In late autumn reindeer meat is salted in barrels or containers, and left in sledges along migration routes at the spring campsites. The meat is preserved well and still tastes very good raw. Nenets use it in spring – 6 months later they return to these places during their migration to the summer pastures. Also in the autumn, when there is a busy season of slaughtering well fed reindeer in the traditional way and there is a lot of raw meat, it is folded into reindeer stomachs and put in the sledge. In winter, the meat is kept frozen on individual sleds. The meat can be preserved in this way until the warm weather comes in spring. These frozen stomachs can be sawn into pieces when needed and used for ŋaybad.

Reindeer meat that has been slaughtered, butchered, packed and frozen in a modern slaughterhouse, do not meet the Nenets requirements for raw eating. The qualities of taste cannot be compared with the traditional Nenets frozen ŋayabad. This limits opportunities for Nenets who are not practicing the nomadic way of life, for example children and youth at schools and universities, and who still long for raw meat and blood. This causes extra stress to those who are, for whatever reason, away from the reindeer and the land.

Hoffman, a world-renowned specialist in game meat and an avid carnivore, is critical of the anti-meat sentiments that have become more prominent in recent years.

"Meat, both red and fish, contains all the required amino acids in the correct ratios," he says. "After all, we eat muscle to build muscle. In addition, it contains all the minerals; it is particularly a good source of highly bioavailable iron. We now know that in Europe, a large number of teenage girls that are vegetarian become anemic when they reach puberty."

Except for liver, most meat does not contain much Vitamin C. Still, scurvy is almost nonexistent in traditional Arctic cultures. That is because reindeer and other game meats contain higher levels of Vitamin C than do other meats, because the natives eat the liver, and because the natives' diet is supplemented with cloudberries and cranberries. The fact that much of the meat and the fish are eaten raw is also important.

"Every time you process or cook something -- anything -- you are likely to be losing nutrients at every step," says Harriet V. Kuhnlein, professor of human nutrition at the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment at McGill University in Montreal. "As long as this meat is still microbiologically safe, it is at its best raw or frozen fresh."

Nenet Tribe (Part 1 of 3) https://youtu.be/TGtinXa2Alw

Nenet Tribe (Part 2 of 3) https://youtu.be/PetlInMD84Y

Nenet Tribe (Part 3 of 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONFmWtpR9DA

Reindeer meat is the most important part of the Nenets’ diet. It is eaten raw, frozen or boiled, together with the blood of a freshly slaughtered reindeer, which is rich in vitamins.

Every Nenets has a sacred reindeer, which must not be harnessed or slaughtered until it is no longer able to walk. Picture © Steve Morgan https://www.survivalinternational.org/galleries/nenet

The impact of traditional nutrition on reduction of the chronic nonobstructive bronchitis risk in the indigenous peoples living in tundra of the Arctic zone in Western Siberia, Russia

Sergey Andronov, Andrei Lobanov, Andrei Popov, Lilia Lobanova, Ruslan Kochkin, Elena Bogdanova, Irina ProtasovaEuropean Respiratory Journal 2018 52: PA796; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.congress-2018.PA796

https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/52/suppl_62/PA796

Abstract

Indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic zone the use of an open hearth, portable stoves for heating leads to a high load of pollutants, that combined with the cold what can cause the activation of peroxidation. It is possible to prevent activation with the help of traditional nutrition (raw fish, venison), with high antioxidant activity (vitamins A, ω-3).

Our study aimed to develop risk models to determine the minimum sufficient rates of venison and fish consumption and to prevent the development of chronic nonobstructive bronchitis in reindeer herders.

616 reindeer herders (26.8% of men) aged 30-59 (mean age – 42.2), that is 8.0% of the total adult population of the district, participated in a cross-sectional study. The analysis of the diet was conducted using questionnaires. Nonlinear logit regression was used to build risk models. Permissible minimum amount of venison and fish was calculated to reduce the risk. The diagnosis of chronic nonobstructive bronchitis was established according to WHO definition. Lung function was assessed by a dry spirometer (SpiroUSB ML 2525 CareFusion, UK).

To reduce the risk of developing chronic nonobstructive bronchitis, minimum sufficient daily portion of deer meat should be at least 190 grams (OR=1.5), cheek – 158 grams (OR=1.5), pikes – 40 grams (OR=4.2, 95% CI–1.3–10.2). Eating venison and pike 2 times a week, a cheek – every other day is considered to be enough.

To conclude, adequate use of traditional food reduces the risk of chronic nonobstructive bronchitis.

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