Food in the Traditional Nogai Culture

The article discusses the traditional cuisine of the Nogais in its most typical manifestations, as well as in connection with the historical evolution of the nomadic society of the southern Russian steppes. The specifics of the Nogai food culture are studied against the backdrop of the civilizational identity of the steppe people, as well as in connection with their economic activities and lifestyle in general. The article uses both the writings of travelers, including Western diplomats and merchants, and field records, which represent fixation of messages from Nogai oldtimers and members of their families. A number of practices recorded by the ancestors of the Nogais are also mentioned by contemporary informants as features of the food culture. Animal products have always been the most important feature of the diet of the steppes at all times. The article strives to reflect the place of various products of this crucial branch of the Nogai traditional economy in the food system of the nomads of the southern Russian steppes. The authors point out some of the mistakes made by Western authors in regard to the methods of preparation and use of the food by the steppe dwellers. The article also discusses the dynamics of a gradual increase in the importance of bread products in the Nogai nutrition system as they integrate into the community of the peoples of Russia, and then sedentarise. The transition to a sedentary way of life, which decisively accelerated after 1917, coincided with the entry of the Nogais into the post-traditional stage of their history, which was accompanied by overcoming social inequality. A conclusion is made that after 1917 the Nogai food traditions were preserved and symbolized. © 2024, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.