A MEANS OF SURVIVAL, A MARKER OF FEASTS: MUSHROOMS IN THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST

Abstract

While the price of wild mushrooms in North American restaurants and stores ranges from high to unaffordable for people with limited financial means, wild mushrooms for rural low-income households in places as diverse as Eastern Europe, parts of Africa, and the Russian Arctic are an important part of the diet, especially during food shortages. In Chukotka, in the far northeast of the Russian Federation, wild mushrooms are a source of nourishment in everyday consumption, and were important for survival in times of food scarcity. Depending on social context, mushrooms there have multiple meanings, ranging from emergency food for the hungry to the mark of a festive table. (Mushrooms, Chukchi, Slavs, Yupik, Chukotka)