It really helps to be introduced into a group by insiders. I was immediately the "accepted outsider". In some ways this is the most that anyone can ever expect as a foreigner. Granted, it is possible to go deeper into a culture, and therefore gain a greater degree of acceptance as an outsider, but an insider must be born into a culture (in my adjusted opinion over the years of both study and experience).
My time with the Evenki group was valuable. I made casual acquaintances with most of the people in the group. This should make our coming trip there in August a lot more smooth. We now have a whole bunch of warm calls to make.
I didn't know what to expect from Evenki music. I certainly expected it to be in the Evenki language, which it was. What I didn't expect was that it would be as deeply influenced by Russian folk music as it is. The style of singing is very much like traditional Russian folk music. The inclusion of the piano accordion is also an influence from Russian culture. This is who they are though, their culture is a blend. (If you search on You Tube you can find other Evenki music groups from different parts of Asia. There is a group from Manchuria in China that sounds perhaps "more Evenki" but I wonder if it has any Chinese influence to it.)
Yura and Alona and their daughter Katya in the opening ceremony of the festival. Their group performed later that evening. I have an audio recording that goes for 30 minutes, so I have not posted it here.
Sergei (a Russian who is also a member of the Evenki music group); a Russian who asked for a photo; Alona; another Russian folk singer; Yura; Katya.
The performance from the Evenki music group "Togokon".
Last year the tv station "Yenisey Region" broadcast the festival. This year the tv station "TV Krasnoyarsk 6" had the contract. Their cameras were everywhere, but they did not show the festival on tv. I guess they just reported on it in the news. Here is Yura being interviewed for ТВК6.
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