Battle of storytelling in native languages of Kamchatka. 2024.

“Battle of storytelling in native languages” dedicated to the International Mother Tongue Day took place. The purpose of the battle is to support the languages of the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka, to popularize and attract young people to their study. The Kamchatka Regional Scientific Library named after S. P. Krasheninnikov hospitably welcomed the participants of this event. For the first time, the staff of KCNT conducted a battle of storytelling. On the one hand, the conditions were simple – to present a fairy tale in a theatrical form, on the other hand, it was necessary to tell it in the Koryak language.

The fairy tale for all participants was the same – “Kutkinyaku and Mitas collect cones.” This material was recorded by specialists of the Center during a folklore and ethnographic expedition from a native speaker of the Koryak language Daria Vasilyevna Takyavnina. 4 teams took part in the battle, each of which demonstrated a fairy tale in its original performance. The first speakers were students of the KamSU Federal State Educational Institution. Vitus Bering.” The guys learned the text by heart, tried very hard to pronounce the words correctly and not confuse anything. And they definitely succeeded! Anatoly Sorokin, head of the Center for Intercultural Communications and Ethnolinguistic Studies at KamSU, helped the students with the production. Vitus Bering. The second team – the artists of the KORITEV National Folk Youth Ensemble – showed the fairy tale in a very creative and humorous way. At the end of the event, the ensemble presented the audience with a wonderful dance performance “Ankalyanivi”.

After “KORITEV”, children from the national ensemble “Kayupil” performed. The children, together with the head Karina Kozub and their parents, prepared the props, learned the text and demonstrated the fairy tale along with the adult participants. Not all young artists had replicas, but everyone diligently played their role. The battle ended with the performance of the last team – the student ensemble “Uykoal” of the Kamchatka College of Arts. It would seem that the audience has already seen three versions of the same fairy tale, and nothing new can be thought of, but the guys demonstrated the production in their own way, creatively and interestingly. After that, all the teams took the stage, and to the applause of the audience, presenter Antonina Paklenkova announced the winners. The first place was taken by children from the national ensemble “Kayupil”. The children were presented with memorable gifts – amulets created by the master and the leading methodologist of the KSTC, Zhanna Tomenyuk. All the teams also received books from which they can further study the life, way of life and culture of the indigenous peoples of Kamchatka.

At the end of the event, Maria Belyaeva, head of the Department for the Preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of the KSTC, thanked all participants for their creative approach, studying the text in the Koryak language and invited them to take part in the regional festival-competition of fairy tales of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East living in the Kamchatka Territory “Murgin lymn, yl”, which will be held at the end of this year. The event was organized by the Kamchatka Center of Folk Art, the Center for Intercultural Communications and Ethnolinguistic Studies of KamSU. Vitus Bering and the Kamchatka Regional Scientific Library named after S. P. Krasheninnikov.