Means of Transport by Udehe: The Transformation and Survival of Material Culture

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to describe how the material culture of the indigenous hunters and fishermen of the Udehe in the Far East of Russia have been transformed by outside influence, from an autonomous and already sophisticated culture to a dependent and modernized one. The discussion centres around the means of water transport, two kinds of dugout boats (the bat and omorochka) because they were and still are essential for hunting and fishing, which are the main economic activities of Udehe. The author demonstrates how this one part of material culture has changed in manufacturing and use, and what has changed in the everyday life due to this transformation.