Il’lia Voznesenskii’s Fort Ross Collection in Russia

The following is adapted from an original list prepared by Il’lia Voznesenskii (also spelled Ilya Voznesensky), a scientist who lived at Metini / Fort Ross in the last few years of the Settlement. This collection of ethnographic articles is now in St. Petersburg at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences. Voznesenskii collected ethnographic material but also contributed greatly to the first plant and animal collections of this area. He was assisted by several people, one of them being a young missionary named Tijos. Tijos presented Voznesenskii with the following gifts –

• A kala – a belt which the native chiefs wore during ceremonies
• A sipek – a man’s hair pin
• An alock – earrings
• An uegalku – California Native boa, or woman’s hand or hair band
• A Maglal – two different headdresses, both from white pelican feathers and dyed from juice of Alder trees
• Kchai – a headdress from raven feathers
• A Kubonu – a garment worn by women during ceremonies. Bodega California Natives or Tundra Natives made it
• A Kalaiy – a head net made of feathers. Alexander Rotchev, the last manager at Ross, made a personal donation to Il’lia Voznesenskii, a scientist in the last years of Settlement Ross
• Hodita – a hair pin, included three items and was used for fastening the head attire
• Shimamudria – the bird bones which they use as earrings
• Ishi – the bones (probably for hair pins, used as gambling bones, or for earrings)
• Ammon – the name of an animal or hare, the fur was used for making the mantles
• Kudta – the necklace of California Native work made of shells they call kidta, widely used
• Ie-che – a sack
• Chottokly – the play with sticks, 46 items
• Akka – four bones used for gambling game
• Batnu – a scoop for preparing ucha
• Uchusham – a sieve for sifting ucha
• Ucha – the main California Native meal
• Ottoko – sea cabbage, the California Native delicacy
• Nalolan – the head of the wild goat, worn while hunting goat
• Ualliy – California Native spears used for hunting goats and other wild animals
• Nukkul – the pestle used to pound wild barley