“Tuvan time” and economic culture of Tuvans

Abstract

This is a first ever study of the notion of ‘Tuvan time’ (Tyva үе) – the way Tuvans reckon time in their everyday lives. This idea is examined as an integral part of Tuvan culture, being most directly linked to practices of economic culture. This vision of time can be seen as a version of ‘steppe time’, also typical for the peoples of Mongolia and other Central Asian regions of nomadic culture. People of the steppes have been found to possess a specific cultural time, a certain pace of lifestyle which has been classified within the Oriental type of understanding time.

To reckon and understand the notion of time, Tuvans have traditionally used the strategies of objectification, matching time to specific action and mentioning the place of action. The article studies Tuvan terms signifying time, with a focus on the conclusions scholars of language and culture have made in their studies of how Tuvans find their way in space and time by observing the daily motion of the Sun and stars.

Special attention is given in the article to the link between ‘Tuvan time’ and their economic culture. This way of understanding time appeared in the economic lifestyle of extensive animal farming that most Tuvans in the past and present were involved in. Correspondingly, their economic activity almost wholly depended on natural cycles, weather changes, climatic rhythms and conditions. This determined the strategy of adapting to both the environment in general and to its elements, such as the flow of events and of time in this environment. People had only to watch the slow grazing of their cattle and only at times intervene to regulate the process. This made unhurriedness one of the most important temporal features of Tuvan culture.

The article analyzes the cultural views of the Tuvans on planning and punctuality. In the post-Soviet years, ‘Tyva үе’ has come to mean the right to be imprecise and is determined by several circumstances, such as a change in weather, climate lore, the need to follow important routines or directions. All of these factors are seen as bigger and more important than people, control their intentions and regulate the length of events and actions. Unhurriedness is most marked among the rural populations, but is also quite conspicuous in urban areas since internal migration from the countryside to towns remains significant. Foundations of traditional culture remain strong, too, since those who feel bound to it have managed to “write it into” their contemporary lives.

The factor of ‘Tuvan time’ is an important one to reckon for visitors to the region, residents of Tuva, local authorities, business people. It is an important element of contemporary economic culture and a powerful precondition for strategic planning.