Selkup Porca: Methods of Preparation, Methods of Consumption, Transformation of Meanings

The article is dedicated to the most important product of traditional Selkup cuisine – fishmeal called porsa in Selkup. The historical significance of porsa in the Selkup diet is examined and compared with ‘Russian bread’ – grain flour. Techniques for the preparation of porsa and methods for its consumption are discussed. New values for fishmeal that have emerged over the last two decades are recorded. The problem of Selkup porsa has not yet been studied separately, which is a scientific novelty. The article serves to preserve the Selkup national culture and encourages the Selkups to search for new forms of ethnicity, making it relevant. The research was carried out using analysis, description, comparative historical method, and field research. As a result of the study, the following conclusions were drawn. Porsa is comparable to grain flour in its appearance and, more importantly, in its role in the Selkups’ livelihood. The techniques for making porsa varied but were all based on the method of grinding dried fish. The porsa was eaten dry and flavored with fish oil; the porsa was cooked into a soup; large quantities of wild berries were added to these dishes. Porsa was considered a strategic product as it was easy to store and helped the Selkups when they had a ‘rainy day’ and ran out of food. Mixed with grain flour, porsa was used to bake bread, cakes, and pies. Among the Selkups, some dishes are called porsa but are not prepared in the form of fishmeal, or dishes that are prepared from minced dried fish but are not considered porsa; these dishes and porsa lead to a common denominator – fish oil, which is found in all of them. Due to the discovery of these contradictory phenomena, the study raised the question of which products and dishes other than fishmeal the Selkups referred to as porsa. To date, the production and consumption of dishes made from porsa have been minimized among the Selkups; porsa has changed its meaning and has become a means of recalling the happy past, a medicine that cures the stomach, and above all, a tool with which the Selkups assert their ethnic identity.