«Power of land»: formation of new otherness in the conditions of frontier

Abstract

The article is devoted to the very important problem of cultural transformation of immigrants or colonists, who find themselves in new natural and cultural conditions of the Frontier heterotopia. The new space incorporates subject that consumes him, forcing him to transgress constantly. Contacting with the Alien, the person realizes himself in constant transformations, becoming the Other for the representatives of one’s culture. The external observer finds that he or she has more in common with a Stranger, a Native of local traditions, than with representatives of the ethnic community from which he or she came. In everything the subject demonstrate his closeness with this Stranger, dressing like him, speaking his language, turning to his alimentary traditions, etc.. All this leads to the fact that the immigrants built a new picture of the world, wrap with local peoples, and separating him from his ethnic group. The result is a new regional sub-ethnic community, who are aware of their special identity. Such a model built-in in new natural and cultural realities we find everywhere, whether it be the American continent, the Caucasus or Siberia. This case became especially apparent in Siberia, where the contact with local peoples and the special natural environment has spawned a new sub-ethnic community – Sibiryak, keenly aware of its uniqueness and its differences from the Russian. Not separating themselves from the Russians in general, the Siberians declare nevertheless their differences from other peoples, which is manifested in a special mentality, a special behavioral patterns, etc.