The Bashkirs-Gaina People in the Materials of the 1965 Expedition of Ufa Ethnographers

The relevance of the study is determined by the disputes that have arisen in the society in recent decades on the issue – who the Gaina people are, why their ethnic culture differs significantly from other Bashkir groups. The answers to these questions are provided by the field materials of the expedition carried out by the Bashkir branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Perm region in 1965 with the participation of prominent ethnographers R.G. Kuzeev, N.V. Bikbulatov and S.N. Shitova. The purpose of the study is to identify information characterizing the originality of the ethnic history and culture of the Gaina Bashkirs, namely: the time and stages of settling in the territory of Perm Krai, range of settlement, causes of migration, relationships with the local population, economic activities, wedding and ceremonial traditions and other cultural areas. Materials and methods. The main sources for the study are diary entries, field materials and photo sources collected as a result of expeditionary surveys of Bashkir villages in Perm Oblast. Additional sources were archival materials, ancestries (shezhere), photo sources stored in the Scientific Fund of Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. During the study of the stated topic, methods of analyzing field data, as well as historical-comparative, historical-typological research methods were used. Study results. The article reconstructs the ethnic history of the Gaina Bashkirs on the basis of field expedition materials of Ufa scientists. Identification and processing the available ethnographic information and their subsequent systematization enabled the author to establish some features characteristic for the ethnic culture of the Gaina Bashkirs, the results of ethnic interaction and mutual influence of the Bashkir and the Tatar cultures. The scientific significance of the expedition materials for the study of the ethnoterritorial group of the northern Bashkirs is shown. Conclusions. New materials are being introduced into scientific circulation, which make it possible to significantly supplement and clarify the ethnic history and culture of the Bashkirs, to identify local differences taking into account natural-geographical and historical-ethnic traditions. It has been established that archaic elements in the culture of the Bashkir-Gaina people associated with their settled agricultural lifestyle, housing arrangement and features of the traditional costume are of great practical interest.