Vol. 5 · No. 1

Brian Donahoe

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Abstract

The Tofa and Tozhu peoples of southern Siberia are closely related ethnically, linguistically, geographically, and in their traditional economic activities of reindeer herding, hunting, and gathering. However, they have long been divided by administrative boundaries, leading to different historical trajectories and drastic differences in their sense of property rights. The Tofa have a much longer history of interaction with Russians and other incomers than the Tozhu. Many Tofa now find themselves without official hunting grounds, while those who have rights to hunting grounds guard them jealously. This situation is striking in contrast to the sense of property just across the border in the Tozhu district of the Republic of Tyva, where non-exclusivity is still the salient feature of Tozhus’ sense of property today.This article discusses changes in the distribution of hunting grounds among the Tofa, and compares the Tofa's sense of exclusive rights of access to the remarkably inclusive approach among the Tozhu.

Keywords: Property rights, southern Siberia, reindeer herding, Tozhu, Tofa.