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| 1 | The ethnographic description of national food the Komi’s vymskikh reflecting features of subethnic and religious character is presented in article. Ecological habit and economic activity predetermined grain and meat and dairy type of food with preservation of a share of trade production. In a grocery set three layers determined by time of inclusion in a food allowance are emitted. The main layer is presented by grain and vegetable crops, meat and a game, dairy and fish products. The basis of food was made by groat soups and porridges that were reflected in the collective name of food “soup porridge”. Bakery products differed in wealth and a variety. The everyday menu, except grain crops, included meat and dairy, fish dishes and a game, with small inclusions of vegetables and wild plants that testifies to the balanced food. Though meat and dairy and fish dishes not often appeared on a table that was connected with practice of observance of Christian posts which number reached over 200 days in a year. However the collective name of food meaning full life was defined how “with fish meat to live”. Substratny layer reflects earlier existing system of economy and is presented by wild plants which provided a vitamin component of a food allowance and brought a variety the menu. Last in time layer is connected with trade development, purchased products compensated for the deficiency of grocery raw materials. For the vymskikh of the Komi the thrice hot meals that were provided with existence by the Russian wind furnace were characteristic. The food was cooked in the Russian furnace early in the morning and remained there till the evening that allowed giving food hot at each reception. The balanced menu, is hotter than food and observance of the mode of meal acted as pledge of preservation of health. Keywords: Komi (Zyrians), vymsky Komi, grocery raw materials, traditional dishes | 1618 | ||||
| 2 | The article discusses the composition of the dishes on the festive feast in the multinational city of Syktyvkar, the capital of the Komi ASSR, in the 1970s–1980s. The choice of this chronological framework is due to the fact that by the end of the 1960s the food crisis of the post-war period was overcome, while the economic crisis of the 1990s had not yet begun. The sources for studying the composition of the guest menu were the memories of urban residents born in 1929–1960, Russians and Komi, who created families with Komi, Russians and Ukrainians. The corpus of sources has been expanded with handwritten collections of recipes for festive dishes. The relative prosperity with food, although with some difficulties in obtaining it, especially manifested in the provinces, made it possible to revive the practice of organizing a festive feast. The hostesses were faced with the task of satisfyingly feeding the guests, and the mentality of that period required serving home-cooked food. The repertoire of the festive menu included cold appetizers, hot dishes, sweets and alcoholic drinks. Salads “Olivier”, “Herring under a fur coat”, “Mimosa”, rice with crab sticks were seasoned with mayonnaise, so they were very high-calorie and satisfying. Salted mushrooms, cucumbers and tomatoes, herring and aspic made a variety in the composition of cold appetizers. Hot main courses were presented from meat, chicken, fish dishes were absent due to its shortage in sales. Food raw materials purchased through the trading network, the same recipe and cooking technology predetermined the serving of dishes with unified features. The ethno-cultural specificity of the festive feast in the serving of game and fish, which was manifested earlier, has practically disappeared, but the serving of mushrooms and berries has been preserved. In those years, there is a tendency to blur the difference between festive and everyday food. Nevertheless, it can be unequivocally said that salads and sweets were considered exclusively as dishes of the festive table. The hostesses spared no effort and time to prepare a “sweet” table, especially for children’s parties. Keywords: Syktyvkar, 1970–1980, festive menu, cold appetizers, salads, hot dishes, sweets, alcoholic drinks | 1129 | ||||
| 3 | The article examines the changes in the organization of a feast in a village in Komi in 1917–1960 and identifies the ethnocultural peculiarities in the composition of the feast dishes. The relevance of the topic is explained by the need to examine the process of feasting to preserve identity in a multinational world. The sources for writing the article were the memories of residents of the Komi Republic and photos of feasts from that time. The emergence of a new festive culture was associated with the ideological restructuring of society and the state. The new holidays were divided into three types: those associated with the most significant events in Soviet history (October Revolution); those that sacralized the social structure (Teacher’s Day); “those that embodied a certain ideologeme” (International Labor Day). The knowledge of the previously existing program for celebrating the holidays of the church calendar was retained, as well as some food attributes (Kulich, Easter cake) of the calendar ritual. The organization of the new holidays of the Soviet era according to the developed scheme was carried out by the local administration and Komsomol activists, and participation in the festive events was mandatory for everyone. However, the food crisis, which was observed from the beginning of the revolutionary events until the end of the 1950s, did not allow mass festivities to be organized. The social feasts of a rural community with rich food, characteristic of the 1920s, were replaced by modest tea parties with traditional pastries, whose festive atmosphere was created by background music. However, the earlier practice of holding a public feast at the end of farm work remained. A certain improvement in food supplies in the 1950s made it possible to organize house parties for a circle of people connected by kinship or professional interests. At the same time, the integrating character of the feast remained. Festive dishes were prepared from homemade products; only flour and cereals, tea, gingerbread, cakes, sweets, and alcoholic beverages were bought. Purchased sweets and alcohol were clearly considered attributes of the festive table. The ethnocultural character of the festive menu was evident in the practice of serving traditional baked goods, game and fish dishes, mushrooms, and berries. Keywords: feast culture, Soviet era, feast, Komi village, food | 948 | ||||
| 4 | The article is based on the analysis of ethnographic sources and discusses the dietary habits of the Komi (Zyryan) during the Great Patriotic War. The relevance of the topic arises from the fact that in modern ethnological science, there is an interest in the topic of ethnic adaptation during the crisis when the mechanisms rooted in folk culture are actualized, which makes it possible to maintain the minimum living standards of society. The research optics aims to study the life of people in the conditions of hunger, which makes it possible to reveal the characteristics of food and understand how, in the absence of a centralized state supply, the lack of food was overcome and what life practices were realized. The sources for the article were the materials on food culture in Komi (Zyryan) collected by T. Chudova in 2000-2022, which are now in the scientific archive of the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University. Also included are the author’s field notes on everyday practices during the war years. Oral narratives about life and everyday life are historical sources that make it possible to obtain reliable information first-hand and not through interpretation. Analysis of the ethnographic sources leads to the conclusion that food resources during the war years depended on the season: From spring to fall, the basis of the diet consisted of wild plants, and in winter, – potatoes and vegetables. The use of the region’s biological resources enabled survival during this difficult period, and the knowledge of the nutritional properties of wild plants and the maintenance of the practice of including them in the diet points to the mechanisms embedded in folk culture that enable us to adapt to food shortages. The basis of the traditional diet in Komi (Zyryan) was the cultivation of grain, the scarcity of which during the war years and the impossibility of obtaining it from the region led to changes in the structure of cultivated land when they began to actively grow potatoes and vegetables, which took an important place in the diet. The protein component of the diet has practically disappeared from the table of rural residents. The presence of a feed cow on the farm made it possible to somehow survive in a time of hunger. Based on the product range composition, the nutrition model during the war can be defined as a ‘survival model’. Keywords: Komi (Zyryans), nutrition, Great Patriotic War, hunger, wild plants, potatoes, vegetables | 303 | ||||