Paper short abstract:

Among the Eveny, located in Yakutia (Russia), reindeers herding is based on different kind of tasks where reindeers play a crucial role. In addition to a specific herd’s structure, relationships between herders and specific animals seems to appear as forms of collaboration.

Paper long abstract:

Reindeer husbandry among the Eveny (Yakutia, Russia) includes many various techniques. By pointing out how the different kinds of techniques used by the herders are inherent to specific forms of communications and relationships, we will describe different types of relationships existing between herders and reindeers. In this way, the observation of techniques and the herd structure will lead us to the analysis of the dynamics and distances between herders and men, which includes the different categories distinguished by the herders. Then attention would be given to the specific forms of relationship among those categories and distances, from domestication to partnership and collaboration. To this purpose, various tasks such as reindeer riding, milking and research would be studied, in order to compare the different ways of acting with a reindeer.