Tenevil
Encyclopedia
Tenevil (ca. 1890–1943?) was a Chukchi
reindeer herder, living in the tundra near the settlement of Ust-Belaya
in Russian province of Chukotka
. Around 1927 or 1928 he independently invented a writing system for the Chukchi language
. It has never been established with certainty whether the symbols in this writing system were ideograms/pictograms or whether the system was logogram
-based. Researchers have noted the abstract character of the symbols, which may be an indirect evidence that this writing system is entirely Tenevil's invention.
Tenevil's writing system was first described by the Russian ethnographer and writer Waldemar Bogoras in 1930. The writing system was never widely known: it was used entirely within Tenevil's family encampment. Apart from Tenevil himself, the writing system was used by his son, with whom he exchanged messages during shifts away at the reindeer pastures. Tenevil wrote his symbols on boards, bones, walrus tusks, and candy wrappers.
This writing system is a unique phenomenon, and has wider significance to the research into the origins of writing traditions in the cultures in the pre-state stage of development. Tenevil's Chuckhi writing system is the most northerly of all such systems to be developed by indigenous people with minimal outside influence.
The sources and prototype of the Tenevil writing system are unknown. Taking into consideration the isolation of Chukotka from the regional centres of civilization, it could be considered a localized creative initiative of a lone genius. It is possible the writing system is influenced by the decorations on shamans' drums. The word writing (kelikel) in the Chukchi language
has Tungusic
parallels.
In 1945 the artist and art historian I. Lavrov visited the upper reaches of the Anadyr River
where Tenevil had lived. There he discovered the "Tenevil archive": a box, buried in the snow, containing relics of Tenevil's writing. Tenevil also developed symbols for numerals, using the base 20 counting system of the Chukchi language. About 1000 basic elements of the Tenevil writing system have been identified.
The Chukchi writer Yuri Rytkheu
dedicated his 1969 novel A Dream in Polar Fog to Tenevil.
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
reindeer herder, living in the tundra near the settlement of Ust-Belaya
Ust-Belaya
Ust-Belaya is a rural locality in Anadyrsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located at the confluence of the Anadyr and the Belaya Rivers. Population as of 2005, according to an environmental impact report prepared for the Kupol gold project, 869, down from 936, in 2003...
in Russian province of Chukotka
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
. Around 1927 or 1928 he independently invented a writing system for the Chukchi language
Chukchi language
The Chukchi language is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug...
. It has never been established with certainty whether the symbols in this writing system were ideograms/pictograms or whether the system was logogram
Logogram
A logogram, or logograph, is a grapheme which represents a word or a morpheme . This stands in contrast to phonograms, which represent phonemes or combinations of phonemes, and determinatives, which mark semantic categories.Logograms are often commonly known also as "ideograms"...
-based. Researchers have noted the abstract character of the symbols, which may be an indirect evidence that this writing system is entirely Tenevil's invention.
Tenevil's writing system was first described by the Russian ethnographer and writer Waldemar Bogoras in 1930. The writing system was never widely known: it was used entirely within Tenevil's family encampment. Apart from Tenevil himself, the writing system was used by his son, with whom he exchanged messages during shifts away at the reindeer pastures. Tenevil wrote his symbols on boards, bones, walrus tusks, and candy wrappers.
This writing system is a unique phenomenon, and has wider significance to the research into the origins of writing traditions in the cultures in the pre-state stage of development. Tenevil's Chuckhi writing system is the most northerly of all such systems to be developed by indigenous people with minimal outside influence.
The sources and prototype of the Tenevil writing system are unknown. Taking into consideration the isolation of Chukotka from the regional centres of civilization, it could be considered a localized creative initiative of a lone genius. It is possible the writing system is influenced by the decorations on shamans' drums. The word writing (kelikel) in the Chukchi language
Chukchi language
The Chukchi language is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug...
has Tungusic
Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many Tungusic languages are endangered, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain...
parallels.
In 1945 the artist and art historian I. Lavrov visited the upper reaches of the Anadyr River
Anadyr River
Anadyr is a river in the far northeast Siberia which flows into Anadyr Bay of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Its basin corresponds to the Anadyrsky District of Chukotka....
where Tenevil had lived. There he discovered the "Tenevil archive": a box, buried in the snow, containing relics of Tenevil's writing. Tenevil also developed symbols for numerals, using the base 20 counting system of the Chukchi language. About 1000 basic elements of the Tenevil writing system have been identified.
The Chukchi writer Yuri Rytkheu
Yuri Rytkheu
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu was a Chukchi writer, who wrote in both his native Chukchi and in Russian. He is considered to be the father of Chukchi literature.- Biography :Yuri Rytkheu was born March 8, 1930 to a family of trappers and hunters...
dedicated his 1969 novel A Dream in Polar Fog to Tenevil.
Sources
- The original version of this page was translated from the corresponding page in the Russian language wikipedia