Alexander Maksimovich Kotusov (; 1955-2019) was a Ket singer, composer and writer of songs in the
Ket language
The Ket ( ) language, or more specifically Imbak and formerly known as Yenisei Ostyak ( ), is a Siberian language long thought to be an isolate, the sole surviving language of a Yeniseian language family. It is spoken along the middle Yenise ...
. He was also a hunter and fisherman.
His tomb is in his native Kellog, a small village by the
Yeloguy River
The Yeloguy () is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is one of the main tributaries of the Yenisey. Its basin marks the eastern limit of the Siberian Uvaly.Елогуй, Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 30 vols. / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov - 3rd ed. ...
, a tributary of the
Yenisei
The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean.
Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal and the Krasnoyarsk Dam b ...
.Songs of the last Ket
Biography
Kotusov was born in Kellog of mixed Evenk and Ket descent. His father was an Evenk hunter and
shaman
Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
who knew the Ket language well and his mother was a Ket. His mother inspired in him the love of poetry and songs. His sister Marya Irikova (born 1953) is also a native speaker of the Ket language and an authority on the Ket
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
. The Kotusov family plot was in the Lake Dynda area, about NW of Kellog.
The breakdown of the shamanistic and nomadic Ket way of life brought about a degradation of the traditional moral values. Alexander Kotusov was imprisoned twice. He managed however, to thwart the descent into heavy drinking and alcoholism, which plagued Ket society.Последний бард последнего народа — Троицкий вариант — Наука
Musical career
Owing to his mother's influence Kotusov was a singer all his life. His repertoire included Ket folk and ritual songs, as well as contemporary-style songs. The latter included translations into Ket of famous Russian songs such as popular hits of
Alla Pugacheva
Alla Borisovna Pugacheva (, ; born 15 April 1949) is a Russian singer and songwriter. Her career began in 1965 and continues to this day, although she retired from performing in 2010 after the international concert tour "Dreams of Love". For her ...
Valery Leontiev
Valery Yakovlevich Leontiev (; born 19 March 1949) is a Soviet and Russian pop singer, sometimes songwriter and actor, whose popularity peaked in the 1980s and 1990s. He was titled a People's Artist of Russia in 1996.Tatiana Bulanova and
Sofia Rotaru
Sofiia Mykhailivna Yevdokymenko-Rotaru ( ; ; ; born 7 August 1947), known simply as Sofia Rotaru, is a Ukrainian pop singer of Romanian origin.
Rotaru, nicknamed "Bukovinsky Solovey" ("the Nightingale from Bukovina"), emerged in 1966 as a po ...
, among others. He also adapted to the Ket language
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and
Russian folk song
Russian folk music specifically deals with the folk music traditions of the ethnic Russians, Russian people. Russian folk music is used as the basic foundation for the creation of all Russian professional music.
Ethnic styles in the modern era
...
s, as well as "criminals' songs".
The lyrics of his songs were mainly inspired by his native land, the village of Kellog where he had lived all his life, nearby flowing river
Yeloguy
The Yeloguy () is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is one of the main tributaries of the Yenisey. Its basin marks the eastern limit of the Siberian Uvaly.Елогуй, Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 30 vols. / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov - 3rd ed ...
, as well as Lake Dynda. Kotusov recorded the songs in 2005 and they were decrypted in 2009 with his help. Kotusov also helped with the translation of texts written by Olga Latikova (1917–2007), an authority on Ket folklore from Sulomai village,
Evenky District
Evenkiysky District (, ), or Evenkia (),According to Article 2.4 of the Charter of Evenkiysky Municipal District, the names "Evenkiysky Municipal District" and "Evenkia" have equal status. is an administrativeLaw #10-4765 and municipalLaw #13 ...
Kotusov fell ill in the summer 2018. Owing to the remoteness of his village he sought medical assistance when it was already too late. A few months later Kotusov ended up in a
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...
hospital under
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
treatment, but doctors discharged him without providing adequate medical care. When political activist
Yulia Galyamina
Yulia Yevgenyevna Galyamina (, born 23 January 1973) is a Russian linguist and political activist.
She is a member of the Yabloko political party and has been often arrested and jailed for the organization and high-profile participation in pr ...
and anthropologist Nikita Petrov learned about the situation they helped to raise 45,000 rubles among Moscow linguists. The funds were necessary not only for Kotusov's continued treatment but also to charter a helicopter to send him to the hospital from Kellog.
Kotusov died on 12 July 2019 in the morningУмер последний кет. умевший петь песни на родном языке in the
Turukhansk
Turukhansk () is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Turukhansky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located north of Krasnoyarsk, at the confluence of the Yenisey and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. Until 1924, the t ...
hospital. His body was brought to
Kellog
Kellog (, Ket: , ) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Turukhansky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia.Law #10-4765 It is located by the Yeloguy River, a left tributary of the Yenisey.Елогуй, Great Soviet Encyclopedia in 30 vols. / Ch. ...
for burial. Following his death only about 10 to 20 people remain who are fluent in the Ket language.