Ethnic groups
Contents of this page:
Eastern Saami
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Saam'; (Northern Saami: Sápmi)
Official names (plural): Russ.: саамы, Engl.: Saami, Norw./Swed.: Samer, Finn.: Saamit
Other names (plural): лопари, Lapps, Laplanders
Residence area(s):
Kola Peninsula (Murmanskaya Oblast), except for southern reaches. Major number of Saami live in Norway, Sweden and Finland
Population numbers (1989):
Total number (including Norway, Sweden and Finland): 60,000-70,000, former Soviet Union: 1890, Russian Federation: 1835, Murmanskaya Oblast: 1615
Population number (2002): 2132
Rural population (% in R.F.): 60.9%
National language: Saami; main dialect on Kola Peninsula: Kildin
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Finno-Ugric group, Finnic subgroup
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 42.0%; speaking fluently: 49.0%
Cultural centre(s): Lovozero (Saami: Lujäurr)
Traditional culture:
Trad. semi-nomadic, combination subsistence; inland and coastal, not strictly distinct. Today settled.
Ethno-geography:
The eastern branch of the Saami live on the Kola Peninsula, in the Murmanskaya Oblast. Their official number has not changed significantly since the beginning of the century. A small number of Eastern Saami, the Skolt-Saami, live in Neiden (NE Norway) and Sevettijärvi (NE Finland); these are the people, and their ancestors, that fled from Suenjel in the Pechenga area, when Russia gained the latter from Finland by the end of World War II.
Today, the cultural centre of the Kola Saami is the town Lovozero (saam.: Lujäurr), where about half of the Russian Saami population live (official number 790; acc. to Saami evaluation ca. 1000; of a total of 3700 inhabitants). The remaining population consists mainly of Russians and Izhma-Komi, and some Nenets. The Kola Saami live mainly in 11 small villages across the peninsula, except for the southern part (Terskiy Bereg). The Soviet urbanisation policy considerably affected the Saami. 22 of their villages were liquidated between the 1930s and the 1970s, and the population was forced to settle in Lovozero.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The traditional occupation of the Kola Saami is that of a combination subsistence, with hunting, fishing, gathering and reindeer breeding as main constituents.
Reindeer breeding has probably developed during the past millennium and had become the main occupation and the most fundamental element of Saami culture by the time of colonisation. The Saami form of reindeer breeding is special compared with other northern peoples, with small herds, free grazing on the summer pastures, ear-marking, use of reindeer fences and herding dogs. Traditional Saami reindeer breeding is semi-nomadic, with stationary, seasonal camps both on the summer pastures at tundra lakes and rivers or at the sea shore, and on the winter pastures in the forest tundra. From the traditional housing, the kuvaksa (the lavvo of the Scandinavian Saami) remains in use, a transportable, tepee-like pole construction covered with skins (today tarpaulin), which is used for herding purposes and under reindeer migrations.
Hunting (wild reindeer, fox, polar fox, marten) lost its original significance by the end of the 19th century, when game became sparse, and has now only a subsidiary significance.
Sea mammal hunting (mainly ringed seal) and coastal fishing at the Barents Sea shore have maintained little economical importance, because there are very few Saami left among the coastal population. Salmon fishing still has importance in the lower parts of large rivers, as has fishing in lakes.
Gathering (berries, herbs, mushrooms) has gained renewed importance because of the present difficult economical situation.
In recent years, the production of traditional arts and crafts is being readopted, stimulated through newly established contacts with Scandinavian Saami.
Present environmental threats:
Narrowing of reindeer pastures due to industrial expansion;
Destruction of reindeer pastures due to industrial pollution (Nikel, Murmansk, Monchegorsk, Apatity, Kirovsk) and military exercises / installations;
Radioactive pollution of pastures from nuclear recycling plant in Gremikha;
Reindeer theft by military personnel and others;
Occupation and over-fishing of rivers by commercial tourist enterprises.
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Nenets
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Nenec, nenej, nenec, (on Yamal Peninsula: Hasova)
Official names (plural): Russ.: ненцы; Engl.: Nenets
Other names (plural): Yurak-Samoyeds
Residence area(s): Arctic coast, Kanin Peninsula to western Taymyr, southward to northern taiga belt
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 34,665, Russian Federation: 34,190, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avt. Okrug: 20,917, Nenetskiy Avt. Okrug: 6423, Taymyrskiy Avt. Okrug: 2446, Krasnoyarskiy Kray: 2662, Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avt. Okrug: 1144
Population number (2002): 41,454
Rural population (% in R.F.): 82.9%
National language: Nenets; phonetically distinct dialects
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Samodic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 77.7%; speaking fluently: 79.3%
Cultural centre(s): Naryan-Mar, Salekhard, Dudinka
Traditional culture:
Trad. Nomadic, combination subsistence; Tundra and Forest Nenets, distinct mainly by different reindeer breeding cycles; today settled or semi-nomadic, a few families nomadic
Ethno-geography:
The Nenets live mainly in the tundra, forest tundra and Northern taiga belt of the European and Western Siberian part of the Russian Federation. They form the largest indigenous group of the Russian North. 86% of the Nenets live within three autonomous areas (see above). A minor Nenets population of a few hundred people lived in the southern part of Novaya Zemlya from 1877, when Russia annexed the islands and tempted people to settle there. They were removed to Kolguyev Island and the Naryan-Mar area in the 1950s, when Novaya Zemlya became the location of atomic tests.
The modern centres of the Nenets population are Naryan-Mar (704 individuals, 3.5%), Salekhard (728 individuals, 2.2%) and Dudinka (191 individuals, 0.6%), in the respective autonomous areas. Most of the population lives in small villages and nomad camps in the tundra and taiga, partly mingled with Izhma-Komi, Khants and, at the lower Yenisey, Enets. The Yamal Peninsula has experienced a very high growth of indigenous (mainly Nenets) population, ca. 5 times during the past 300 years. Due to hydrocarbon discoveries since the 1960s, the total population there has increased ten times. The ongoing gas development on Yamal is causing a restructuring of the local Nenets population due to environmental impacts on pasture lands and social impacts through immigration of foreign population.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The traditional Nenets subsistence was a combination of hunting, trapping, fishing, gathering and reindeer breeding. The latter was intensified during colonisation, partly to the expense of sedentary marine hunting and fishing, and partly to the expense of hunting due to a decrease in game population. Reindeer breeding became the main occupation and the most fundamental element of Nenets culture.
Reindeer breeding today is a semi-nomadic occupation for many, although a number of families still continue their nomadic way of life. Tundra Nenets and Forest Nenets differ mainly in the economical cycle of reindeer breeding and migration pattern. The semi-nomadic Tundra Nenets undertake distant seasonal migrations of large-scale reindeer herds from the Northern forest areas (winter) to the calving sites half-way in the tundra (May) to the coastal areas (summer). The Tundra Nenets are a large group, their settlements are mostly situated close to the winter pastures. The Forest Nenets (ca. 2,000) have much shorter migration routes of small reindeer herds that lead in circles of only 200-300 km.
Fishing has become an important commercial business, with a network of local fish factories.
Hunting and gathering still have additional importance, and even gained renewed importance because of the present economical situation. Hunted and trapped animals are wild reindeer, moose, wolf, otter, musk-rat, fox, polar fox, weasel, sable and other fur animals, hare, wolverine, occasionally brown bear.
New trades are fur, vegetable and stock farming in the upper Pechora areas where Nenets live mingled with Komi and Russians.
Present environmental threats:
Narrowing and destruction of reindeer pastures due to oil and gas development (Yamal Peninsula already severely damaged, Timan-Pechora region severe damage going on);
Cutting-off of reindeer migration routes by transport lines (roads, pipelines) in connection with oil and gas development
Heavy-metal and SO2 pollution of pastures and rivers from industry in Norilsk area;
Reindeer theft, poaching and other violating activities by oil workers
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Enets
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): ėnnėčė (constructed term, after 1917, from word for “person”)
Official names (plural): Russ.: энцы; Engl.: Enets
Other names (plural): Yenisey-Samoyeds
Residence area(s): Ust-Yenisey and Dudinka regions, Taymyrskiy Avt. Okrug
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 209, Russian Federation: 198, Taymyrskiy Avt. Okrug: 209
Population number (2002): 327
Rural population (% in R.F.): 59.1%
National language: Enets; Tundra dialect: Khantay; Taiga dialect: Karasin. Also wide-spread: Nenets
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Samodic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 46.5%; speaking fluently: 53.4%
Cultural centre(s): Vorontsovo, Potapovo
Traditional culture:
Trad. nomadic, combination subsistence; Tundra and Forest Enets, distinct mainly by dialect and occupation: Tundra Enets are reindeer hunters, forest Enets are fishers. Today settled.
Ethno-geography:
The Enets live mainly in the tundra and forest tundra of the lower Yenisey valley, mingled with Nenets and, locally, Nganasans and Dolgans. Their residence area is situated within the Taymyrskiy (Dolgano-Nenetskiy) Avtonomyy Okrug, in the village of Vorontsovo (Ust-Yenisey District) and the village Potapovo (Dudinka District).
Their total number has been halved during the past century, and they are continuously assimilated into the Nenets and Nganasans, whose cultural characteristics also apply to them. Many of those living in their home area are trilingual (Enets, Nenets, Russian).
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Enets were traditionally a nomadic hunter society, living mainly of wild reindeer. During the collectivisation of the 1930s, the Enets became sedentary.
Hunting wild reindeer still has a seasonal economic importance and is carried out together with Nenets, Nganasans and Dolgans in hunting collectives; animals are encountered at river crossings with masking shields. Reindeer breeding was adopted from adjacent peoples during the past centuries, but mainly for the purpose of producing draught animals. Today, reindeer breeding is the main economic occupation, and Enets work together in collectives with Nenets breeders.
Other traditional occupations of continuing importance are fur animal trapping and fishing in rivers and estuaries. Important fish species are herring (Clupea harengus), Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri), humpback whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus), white salmon (Stenodus leucichthus nelma), omul (Coregonus autumnalis), and broad whitefish (chir; Coregonus nasus). Fur trapping and farming are commercialised and are not primary forms of subsistence as they traditionally have been.
Present environmental threats:
Progressive urbanisation and industrialisation in Dudinka-Norilsk surroundings
Cutting-off of reindeer migration routes by ship traffic on Yenisey
Heavy-metal and SO2 pollution of pastures and rivers from industry in Norilsk area
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Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): ngo, nja (plural: nganasan, later constructed term)
Official names (plural): Russ.: нганасаны; Engl.: Nganasans
Other names (plural): Tavgi-Samoyeds
Residence area(s): Taymyrskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 1278, Russian Federation: 1262, Taymyrskiy Avt. Okrug: 849, remaining part of Krasnoyarskiy Kray: 254
Population number (2002): 879
Rural population (% in R.F.): 72.5%
National language: Nganasan; Western dialect: Avam; Eastern dialect: Vadeyev
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Samodic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 83.4%; speaking fluently: 85.9%
Cultural centre(s): Avam (Western Nganasans): Ust-Avam; Vadeyev (Eastern Nganasans): Novaya
Traditional culture:
Trad. nomadic, combination subsistence, mainly hunters; today settled and semi-nomadic; two cultural groups:
Avam (Western Nganasans): 85-90% of rural population
Vadeyev (Eastern Nganasans): 10-15% of rural population
Ethno-geography:
The Nganasans live in the tundra of the Taymyr Peninsula, along the rivers Kheta and Khatanga and north of them, within the Taymyrskiy (Dolgano-Nenetskiy) Avtonomyy Okrug. The latter is administratively associated with the Krasnoyarskiy Kray.
The Nganasans are divided into two cultural and linguistic subgroups, the Avam (Western) Nganasans (ca. 650 individuals, 1990) with their cultural and population centre in the village Ust-Avam, and the Vadeyev (Eastern) Nganasans (ca. 100 individuals, 1990) centred in the village Novaya. The remaining Nganasan population is urban. Nganasan and Dolgan populations overlap in the Kheta River valley. Only the southern half of the Taymyr area is extensively populated; the Arctic desert in the northern half is only seasonally used by hunters.
The Nganasans are, despite their low number and demographic crisis, a cultural distinct and traditionally oriented group and have preserved their language and shamanistic practices. They were economically completely independent until the end of the 19th century. No writing system has ever been established.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Nganasans were traditionally a nomadic hunter society. They adopted a semi-nomadic to sedentary way of life under Soviet influence and collectivisation after 1940.
Hunting and fishing is now organised in brigades, together with Dolgan and, locally, Enets hunters and fishers. Traditional hunting areas comprise most of the Taymyr Peninsula. Hunted animals are mainly wild reindeer, but also wolf, wolverine, polar fox and birds (ptarmigan, geese).
Fishing has always been a secondary food source, and was collectivised and commercialised during the Soviet Era. Important species are char (Salvelinus alpinus), Siberian cisco (Coregonus sardinella), peled (Coregonus peled), humpback whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus), omul (Coregonus autumnalis), and broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus).
Small-scale reindeer breeding started through other indigenous influences in the middle of the 19th century. After collectivisation, reindeer breeding was the main occupation. The winter pastures were in the northern parts of the Khatanga and Kheta River basins and at the Pyasina River, while the summer pastures were situated in the north, on the Byrranga Plateau and north of Lake Taymyr, occasionally as far north as 77ÙN. In the early 1980s, domestic reindeer herds were minimised due to a rapid increase in the competing wild reindeer population, and the trade was given up in favour of a revival of hunting and fishing traditions.
Present environmental threats:
Competition of domestic and wild reindeer on reindeer pastures through increase of wild reindeer population, overgrazing
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Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Hanti, handė, kantėk
Official names (plural): Russ.: ханты; Engl.: Khants, Khanty
Other names (plural): Ostyaks, Ob-Ugrians (together with Mansi)
Residence area(s):
Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug; Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug; Tomskaya Oblast
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 22,521, Russian Federation: 22,283, Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avt. Okrug: 11,892, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avt. Okrug: 7247, Tomskaya Oblast: 804
Population number (2002): 28,773
Rural population (% in R.F.): 70.2%
National language: Khant, several dialects with difficult mutual understanding
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Finno-Ugric group, Ugric subgroup
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 60.8%; speaking fluently: 62.9%
Traditional culture:
Trad. Nomadic/semi-nomadic, combination subsistence, mainly reindeer breeders, fishers and hunters. Today settled, traditional subsistence severely endangered.
Ethno-geography:
The Khants live in the river basins of Ob (middle and lower) and Irtysh and their tributaries. Their residence area is mainly situated in the taiga of the Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug (53%), and the south-western part (taiga and forest tundra) of the Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug (32%). Both are administratively associated with the Tyumenskaya Oblast.
The numerous tribal subgroups of the Khants are named according to the tributaries of the Ob and Irtysh rivers they live at. Population numbers increased rapidly during the 17th to 19th century, but have been increasing very slowly during the last century due to assimilation into Tatars and Russians, especially of the southern groups and urban part of the population. 3% (805 individuals; 1989) of the Khants live in the administrative centre, Khanty-Mansiysk, and 2.5% (555 indiv.) in Salekhard (administrative centre of Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug), where they form 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively, of the total urban population.
The economic and social crisis as a result of land devastation by ruthless oil development since the 1960s also retarded the demographic growth of the Khants. They were forced to leave subsistence areas (forests, rivers and bogs) due to infrastructure development, devastation and pollution. Villages were closed or abandoned, and migration to urban areas took place. Although the Khants are the third largest group among the indigenous peoples of the North, their culture is severely threatened.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Khants are traditionally nomadic (forest tundra) to semi-nomadic (taiga) reindeer breeders and sedentary fishers, with game and fur animal hunting as an important additional economic branch.
In the forest tundra, reindeer breeders move with small herds, staying in stationary, seasonal camps. All have a main residence today. In the taiga areas, herdsman have traditionally been more sedentary, only using seasonal camps during the summer migrations and hunting trips.
Fishing in rivers has gained commercial significance. Caught species are Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baeri), white sturgeon (Acipenser ruthenus), white salmon (Stenodus leucichthus nelma), Siberian cisco (Coregonus sardinella), humpback whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus), broad whitefish (chir; Coregonus nasus), muksun (Coregonus muksun), and chastikovaya.
For hunting, fur animals (sable, squirrel, marten, weasel, fox, polar fox) have been most important since colonisation. Moose, and occasionally brown bear, are also hunted.
Gathering (nuts, berries, mushrooms) is an important subsidiary subsistence branch.
Cattle breeding and agriculture have significance only in the southern areas.
Present environmental threats:
Narrowing and destruction of reindeer pastures and hunting grounds due to oil and gas development (Surgut-Samotlor area and many other river basins are widely destroyed);
Cutting-off of reindeer migration routes by transport lines (roads, pipelines) in connection with oil and gas development
Pollution of rivers and bogs from oil-related activities;
Reindeer theft, poaching and other violating activities by oil workers.
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Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): dulgaan (constructed term from 1960), tyaa kihi, sakha
Official names (plural): Russ.: долганы; Engl.: Dolgans
Other names (plural): Khaka (old self-designation of one big group of Dolgans)
Residence area(s): Taymyrskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug and northwestern Yakutia
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 6945, Russian Federation: 6584, Sakha Republic (Yakutia): 731, Taymyrskiy Avt. Okrug: 4939, remaining part of Krasnoyarskiy Kray: 444
Population number (2002): 7330
Rural population (% in R.F.): 80.5%
National language: Dolgan (a dialect of the Yakut language)
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 84.0%; speaking fluently: 85.4%
Cultural centre(s): Khatanga, Dudinka
Traditional culture:
Trad. Nomadic, combination subsistence, mainly hunters; today settled and semi-nomadic; Dolgan subgroups: western, eastern and Popigay-Anagar
Ethno-geography:
The Dolgans live in the tundra of the Taymyr Peninsula, along the rivers Kheta and Khatanga and south of them, within the Taymyrskiy (Dolgano-Nenetskiy) Avtonomyy Okrug. The latter is administratively associated with the Krasnoyarskiy Kray. The Dolgan hunting areas stretch into the Putorana and Anabarskoye plateaus to the south of the rivers. 5.5 % of the Dolgan population (385 individuals, 1989) live in Dudinka, the okrug capital.
Although their ethnogenesis was not completed prior to the beginning of the century, the Dolgans are a culturally distinct group with a comparatively large intelligentsia, and a high migration to sociologically important occupations like medical doctors and teachers. Their national language is well preserved.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Dolgans were traditionally a nomadic hunter and reindeer breeder society. They adopted a sedentary way of life under Russian and Soviet influence and collectivisation.
Their small-scale reindeer breeding culture is a result of amalgamation of elements from the adjacent indigenous cultures. Herding dogs are used, which is not common among Turkic reindeer breeders. The winter pastures are in the tundra areas, while the summer pastures are situated in the forest tundra of the main river basins. Migration routes are considerably shorter than those of the Samoyedic neighbour societies, and have not been changed after the introduction of collective reindeer farms. In the main Dolgan reindeer breeding region, the Khatanga district, each collective farm had several thousand animals. In central and eastern Taymyr, most Dolgan state farms have lost their domestic reindeer due to the recent increase of the wild reindeer population.
Dolgans hunt mainly wild reindeer (autumn, winter), but also birds like ptarmigans, geese and ducks (spring) and trap fur animals (polar fox, fox, weasel). Annual wild reindeer hunts are undertaken by hunter brigades together with Nganasan and, locally, Enets hunters, as well professional hunters from outside the region. The game is traditionally encountered at river crossings with decoy reindeer and masking shields on runners.
Fishing is of economic importance, and locally carried out in a commercial way. Import
ant species are the sturgeon species Acipenser ruthenus, white salmon (Stenodus leucichthus nelma) and schokur.
Present environmental threats:
Heavy-metal and SO2 pollution of pastures and rivers from industry in Norilsk area
Competition of domestic and wild reindeer on reindeer pastures through increase of wild reindeer population
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Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): ėvenki (subgroups: ile, mata, orochen, oro [olen], kilen)
Official names (plural): Russ.: эвенки, Engl.: Evenks, Chin.: Kilin / Cilin, Mong.: Hamnegan
Other names (plural): Tungus; (the name орочоны [Engl. Orochons] is used for a southern subgroup)
Residence area(s):
Wide-spread from Lower Yenisey valley through Evenkiyskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Irkutskaya and Amurskaya Obl. to Khabarovskiy Kray, Buryatiya, NW and S Yakutia; also in China (N Manchuria) and a small group in Mongolia (Iro River and Lake Buir-Nur)
Population numbers (1989):
Total population (icl. China and Mongolia): ca. 50,000, former Soviet Union: 30,163, Russian Federation: 29,901, Sakha Republic (Yakutia): 14,428, Evenkiyskiy Avt. Okrug: 3480, Amurskaya Oblast: 1617, Buryat Republic: 1679, Khabarovskiy Kray: 3691, Chtinskaya Oblast: 1271
Population number (2002): 35,377
Rural population (% in R.F.): 79.6%
National language: Evenk; main dialects: Northern (Khakayuschi) and southern (Sekayuschi)
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 30,3%; speaking fluently: 32,8%
Traditional culture:
Trad. Nomadic, combination subsistance; mainly reindeer hunters in N, horse and cattle pastoralists in S; Today settled or semi-nomadic
Ethno-geography:
The Evenks are the largest group of Tungus speaking peoples, and the second largest indigenous group in the Russian North. They are settled wide-spread, in many places together with Yakuts. Half of the Russian Evenks live in western and southern Yakutiya, while only 12 % live in their own administrative area, the Evenkiyskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, where they account for 14% of the total population. The latter is administratively associated with the Krasnoyarskiy Kray. Various groups of reindeer hunting Evenks call themselves ile (Lena, Tunguska and Vitim River basins), mata (Olekma River), orochen, oro, or olen (Trans-Baykal) or kilen (Sea of Okhotsk). The remaining Evenks live in various districts of southern Siberia and, across the border, in northern China, and a small area (Lake Buir-Nur) in Mongolia. Wide-spread settling in ethnically mixed areas explains the low preservation of their national language. The rapid decrease of Evenk population numbers in Russia from 58,000 to 24,000 during the ca. 60 years 1897-1959 is both due to rapid assimilation into Russian, Buryat and other population of the southern pastoralists, and to the post-war distinction of the Evens that previously were grouped with the Evenks as “Tungus”.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
Small-scale reindeer breeder culture: Traditionally Evenks used reindeer for transportation. The number of reindeer ranged from a few animals per family up to two or three dozens. Reindeer breeding is presently the basic occupation of Evenks in the taiga and tundra areas of northern and central Siberia, and far south towards the Baykal and Amur districts. Summer pastures are in the watershed areas, winter pastures in the river basins. Reindeer breeders traditionally hunted wild reindeer as a secondary occupation, mostly in small groups, seasonally, at river crossings. Nomadism is crucial for the Evenk breeding culture. Since Soviet collectivisation started, nomads were forced to settle and experienced a subsequent dissolution of their social pattern and cultural identity. Modern trends to revive nomadism as well as the associated subsistence pattern and social structure are pursued. Reindeer are used for travel (riding animals) and transportation and herded without dogs. Modern transportation has only partly substituted the reindeer.
Hunter culture: Most Evenks hunt with reindeer as transport animals. The Evenk hunting areas stretch across most of the Evenk territory. Hunted animals in northern areas are mainly wild reindeer, but also moose, deer, musk-ox, lynx, wolverine, wolf, brown bear and birds. Mountain sheep and wild goats are hunted in southern areas. Fur animal trapping (sable, fox, polar fox, squirrel, weasel) gained importance due to the yasak system during colonisation. Reindeer are hunted at river crossings during their autumn migrations. An unsual Evenk hunting method is the use of tamed and specially trained decoy reindeer with lines bound to their antlers. These start fights with wild animals that get caught in the lines. Moose and musk-ox are attracted by imitating their sound with special whistles (many other peoples use this method).
Horse breeder culture: Horse breeding is confined to southern parts of Siberia and the Russian Far East.
Gathering and fishing are secondary occupations of both cultural groups. White salmon and other freshwater fish are caught in rivers and lakes. Fishing has gained commercial importance.
Present environmental threats:
Heavy-metal and SO2 pollution of pastures and rivers from industry in Norilsk area
Impacts on reindeer pastures and rivers in N Yakutiya due to coastal and river shipping and related development of infrastructure, as well as river pollution
Loss of various traditional subsistence due to deforestation in Evenk. Avt. Okrug
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Evens
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): ėven
Official names (plural): Russ.: эвены; Engl.: Evens
Other names (plural): Lamuts
Residence area(s): Wide-spread in N Khabarovskiy Kray, Magadanskaya Obl., Kamchatka, Koryakskiy and W Chukotskiy avt. okrugs, N and E Yakutia
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 17,199, Russian Federation: 17,055, Sakha Republic (Yakutia): 8668, Chukotskiy Avt. Okrug: 1336, Magadanskaya Oblast: 2433, Kamchatskaya Oblast (incl. Koryakskiy AO): 1485, Khabarovskiy Kray: 1919
Population number (2002): 19,242
Rural population (% in R.F.): 75,0%
National language:
Even: western, central and eastern dialect groups; writing based on Olsk dialect; also wide-spread: Yakut
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 43.8%; speaking fluently: 46,0%
Traditional culture:
Traditionally semi-nomadic, combination subsistance, mainly reindeer-hunters, small-scale reindeer breeding; hunting. A small group, which mingled with the Koryaks, has maintained sea mammal hunting. Today settled and semi-nomadic.
Ethno-geography:
The Evens are the second largest group of Tungus speaking peoples in the Russian North. Their wide-spread residence areas, in many places mingled with other native peoples (Yakuts, Chukchi, Koryaks, Yukagirs), were a hindrance for the establishment of a national, later autonomous, okrug. Wide-spread settling in ethnically mixed areas also explains the low preservation of their national language.
About half of the Even population live in north-eastern Yakutiya as a scattered minority. The remaining Evens live in the western Chukotskiy and Koryakskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, and also in the Magadanskaya Oblast and northern part of the Khabarovskiy Kray; a small colony exists in central Kamchatka.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Even subsistence culture is traditionally a semi-nomadic reindeer breeder culture with small herds (a few dozens of animals) and hunting.
Small-scale reindeer breeding is the basic occupation of Evens in the interior land areas and in northern Siberia. Reindeer were used for transportation. During the long journeys reindeer were ridden during hunting fur animals and on summer trips to the rivers for fishing. Nomadism was crucial for the Even breeding culture. Since Soviet collectivisation started in the 1930s, nomads were forced to settle and experienced a subsequent dissolution of their social pattern and cultural identity. Modern trends to revive nomadism as well as the associated subsistence pattern and social structure are pursued. Even reindeers are known to be large, strong and persevering. They are traditionally used for both riding and transportation of cargo. Modern transportation has only partly substituted the reindeer. Dog sledges are used in the eastern areas, where Evens have close contact with Koryak and Chukchi breeders. For housing on hunting or herding trips, traditional chums, leaf and wooden huts and modern tents are used.
Hunting is an important occupation. Hunted animals are mainly wild reindeer and mountain sheep, but also fur animals, particularly squirrels. Even hunting dogs have famous qualities.
River fishing is an important traditional subsistence, and has modern industrial application. Valuable fish are white salmon (Stenodus leucichthus nelma), sturgeon (Acipenser baeri), omul (Coregonus autumnalis), muksun (Coregonus muksun) and Siberian cisco (Coregonus sardinella).
Cattle breeding and agriculture have been introduced in southern areas.
Fishing in river mouths (humpback salmon and dog salmon) and seal hunting is common among the Evens at the Sea of Okhotsk. The coastal Evens are sedentary, living in log cabins (uran). Traditional earth huts (utan) were used in the past. Dog sledges were common for inland transportation.
Present environmental threats:
Impacts on reindeer pastures and rivers in N Yakutiya due to coastal and river shipping and related development of infrastructure; pollution of Shamanikha and Omolon rivers from gold mining; radioactive pollution due to atomic tests
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Yukagirs
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): odul (in taiga), vadul (in tundra)
Official names (plural): Russ.: юкагиры; Engl.: Yukagirs, Yukaghirs
Other names (plural): Omoks
Residence area(s): Middle and Lower Kolyma River basin, and between mouths of Kolyma and Indigirka rivers, mostly within Yakutia and Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 1142, Russian Federation: 1112, Chukotskiy Avt. Okrug: 160, Magadanskaya Oblast: 15, Sakha Republic (Yakutia): 697
Population number (2002): 1529
Rural population (% in R.F.): 62.8%
National language:
Yukagir; subdivided into tundra (Nizhnekolymsk) a. taiga (Verkhnekolymsk) dialects also wide-spread: Yakut, Chukchi, Even
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Yukagiran group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 32.0%; speaking fluently: 35.7%
Cultural centre(s): Tundra: Nizhnekolymsk; Taiga: Verkhnekolymsk
Traditional culture:
Trad. nomadic and semi-nomadic hunters; today settled. Tundra culture: Vaduls; Taiga culture: Oduls
Ethno-geography:
During the 17th century, the Yukagirs still formed the native population of large parts of north-eastern Siberia, in an 800 km wide strip from the Lena delta to Anadyr. They were not only replaced by Russian immigrants, but primarily by Yakuts, and also Evens and other indigenous peoples, that migrated northward as a result of social changes during Russian colonialism. They suffered a severe loss of population, both due to epidemics and warfare during colonisation (1640: 4500-5000; 1897: 948 people).
Today, Yukagir settlements are confined to two minor areas, Nizhnekolymsk at the Kolyma mouth and westward towards the Indigirka mouth (Vaduls, or tundra Yukagirs), and Verkhnekolymsk (Republic of Yakutiya) and Srednekansk (Magadanskaya Oblast), along the upper Kolyma River (Oduls, or taiga Yukagirs). In both areas, they live together with Evens, Chukchi and Yakuts, mainly as a result of the Soviet nationality policy. Their history of repeated assimilation, their small number and their being mingled with other ethnic groups, explains the endangered state of their native language.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Yukagirs have traditionally been nomadic and semi-nomadic hunters. Hunted animals were mainly wild reindeer, moose, deer, mountain sheep (in the taiga only), fur animals (sable, polar fox) and water fowls. Fishing in rivers and estuaries was a secondary occupation.
Small-scale reindeer breeding among the tundra Yukagirs was mainly for reasons of transportation, although they also use(d) dogs, both as draught animals and for hunting.
The development of subsistence patterns since collectivisation was different for the two subgroups (see below). Yukagirs are today settled, but some lead a semi-nomadic life during reindeer herding and hunting seasons. They are recently revitalising their traditional clan-based economical structure. Traditional housing in the urasu, a conical, tepee-shaped yurt type, is restricted to herding, hunting and fishing purposes.
1. The Verkhnekolymsk (taiga) Yukagirs since collectivisation:
The collective farms first continued hunting and fishing, but started additional reindeer breeding, together with traditional Even and Yakut breeders. Reindeer breeding became the main subsistence of part of the population, although hunting (now mainly fur animals) and fishing has continuous importance. The other part of the population joined Yakut-dominated collective farms that lived of cattle and horse breeding and vegetable gardening.
2. The Nizhnekolymsk (tundra) Yukagirs since collectivisation:
The traditional wild reindeer hunt became increasingly ineffective, when the wild reindeer population started to suffer from the unsustainable competition by domestic animals since reindeer breeding had been effectuated in collective farms. Hunting has since become less important and is confined to fur animals and occasionally moose. Reindeer breeding has become the main occupation for most of the population, while the Even-speaking Yukagirs at the Indigirka River became fishers.
Present environmental threats:
Impacts on reindeer pastures and rivers in N Yakutiya due to coastal and river shipping and related development of infrastructure; pollution of Shamanikha river from gold mining; Radioactive pollution from atomic tests
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Chuvans
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): čuvan, ėtèl, ėtal
Official names (plural): Russ.: чуванцы; Engl.: Chuvans
Residence area(s): Upper Anadyr River and lower Penzhina River valley
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 1511, Russian Federation: 1384, Chukotskiy Avt. Okrug: 944, Kamchatskaya Oblast (with Koryakskiy Avt. Okrug): 17, Magadanskaya Oblast: 41
Population number (2002): 1300
Rural population (% in R.F.): 46.8%
National language: Yukagir dialect (extinct); Chuvans speak today Chukchi and Russian
Affiliation of national language: see Yukagirs and Chukchi
Status of national language (1989): Chukchi language: Mother tongue: 18.5%; speaking fluently: 22.3%
Cultural centre(s): Chuvanskoe
Traditional culture: Trad. nomadic hunters and reindeer breeders; today settled and semi-nomadic
Ethno-geography:
The Chuvans are ethnically derived from Yukagir clans, which resided in western Chukotka, along the Anyuy, Chaun, Palyavaam, and the upper part of the Amguema rivers in the 17th century. During Russian colonisation in the late 1600s and early 1700s, the Chuvans became one of the first groups which had to pay iasak (a tribute mostly raised in the form of furs). Subsequently they were used by the colonialists as allies in their struggle to subdue neighbouring ethnic groups, the Chukchi and Koryaks. After having suffered severe losses from these skirmishes, they retreated to Russian villages and partly assimilated intoRussians, Chukchi and Koryaks in the middle of the 18th century. By the end of the 18th century, the main part of the population had emigrated to the upper Anadyr River area, separated into a sedentary group in the Markovo District, mostly living in the small town of Markovo, and a nomadic group. The latter resides in the upper reaches of the Anadyr River and its tributaries in the Chuvanskii Khrebet (villages Chuvanskoe, Lamutskoe and Tavaivaam), and since the 1910s at the Penzhina River (villages Slautnoe and Aianka). Most of this residence area belongs to the Chukotkan Autonomous Okrug, except for the Penzhina ara, which belongs to the Koryak Autonomous Okrug.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Chuvans are traditionally nomadic reindeer breeders, hunters (hunting mainly wild reindeer, but also mountain sheep, wolf, brown bear) and trappers (trapping squirrel, hare, fox, red fox, polar fox), fishers (mainly salmon) and dog breeders. They also had small stocks of domestic reindeer for transportation. Prior to colonisation, they also worked as traders and dog-drivers for the Chukchi, bartering trade with the population at the Sea of Okhotsk. They lived in Siberian chums, tent-like frameworks covered with birch bark. In the 19th century, after the major migrations, the remaining nomadic Chuvans developed a large-scale reindeer husbandry and lived in yarangas (hide-covered framework buildings of Chukotkan type).
When in the19th century a group of Chuvans in the the Markovo District became sedentary, they maintained in general their Yukagiran type of subsistence, fishing and hunting wild reindeer during reindeer migrations. They lived together with starozhily (Russian "Old Settlers") and Yukagirs in log houses with flat roofs and dirt floors, clay stoves, wooden beds, sometimes with sweat baths. For the summer months, they moved to summer residences at the river banks to catch red fish (Siberian salmon and humpback salmon), using Russian boats (karbasses). Fish was caught with fishnets, rods and salmon traps. In autumn, they hunted wild reindeer from kayak-like boats with spears. At the end of the 19th century, an avearge hunter would kill 40-50 animals. They also hunted or trapped squirrels, wolves, bears, hares, wolverines, foxes and birds.
The sedentary Chuvans in Markovo deal today with fish processing and community services. Stock breeding (since the 1930s) and green-house vegetable gardening (since the 1950s) have in addition been introduced. Dog breeding has vanished as an economic occupation. The other segment of the Chuvan population residing in the smaller villages still pursue semi-nomadic reindeer-breeding, partly in common collective farms with Evens, Koryak and Chukchi, in the upper reaches of the Anadyr River.
Traditional clothes are today only used occasionally by the semi-nomadic people. The clothes are are of Chukotkan type: a cotton shirt, a kukhlyanka (double fur jacket) and fur trousers in winter, or a kamleika (cotton jacket) in summer, as well as shoes of seal skin.
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Chukchi (Lauravetlans)
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): lyg''oravetl''an, chauchu (reindeer-breeders)
Official names (plural): Russ.: чукчи; Engl.: Chukchi (Chukchee)
Other names (plural): Russ.: Лаураветланы, луораветланы; Engl.: Luoravetlans (derived from self-designation)
Residence area(s): Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug and adjacent areas.
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 15,184, Russian Federation: 15,107, Chukotskiy Avt. Okrug: 11,914, Kamchatskaya Oblast (with Koryakskiy Avt. Okrug): 1530, Magadanskaya Oblast: 649, Sakha Republic (Yakutia): 473
Population number (2002): 15,827
Rural population (% in R.F.): 86.0%
National language: Chukchi
Affiliation of national language: Chukotko-Kamchatkan family (Palaeo-Asiatic)
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 70.4%; speaking fluently: 73.9%
Cultural centre(s): Anadyr
Traditional culture:
Traditional twofold culture with trade links: Nomadic reindeer-breeding (70%); coastal (sedentary) sea mammal hunting (30%)
Ethno-geography:
The Chukchi form, together with the Yupik, the native population of the Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug. During colonisation, the Chukchi managed through warfare to avoid forced payment of yasak to the Russian colonisers, which collaborated with the Koryaks, Yukagirs and Evens. After a period of stagnation, the Chukchi number slowly increased (1970: 13,500; 1979: 13,937; 1989: 15,107). According to statistics of 1998 the Chukchi number had dropped to 12,995. In 1989 the Chukchi constituted 7.3% of the okrug population (9.5% were indigenous). Now the indigenous population (>14,400 Chukchi, Yupik, Kereks, Koryaks, Chuvans, Evens) amounts to more than 16% of a total of less than 90,000. Chukchi live mostly in indigenous-dominated villages, while non-natives mostly live in urban areas. In the administrative centre, Anadyr, the Chukchi portion was only 2.3% (408 individuals, 1989).
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Chukchi have a traditional twofold cultural subdivision into sedentary, coastal sea mammal hunters (30%), using baydars (walrus skin boats) and dog sledges, and nomadic, inland reindeer breeders (70%), using reindeer sledges. They were linked by trade, which was particularly an exchange of sea mammal and reindeer products. The coastal villages were formed by up to 20 yarangas (family accommodations), while reindeer breeder camps only had 2-10. Modern coastal villages have hundreds of inhabitants (e.g. Uelen ca. 1000).
Intensive reindeer breeding is the economically most important occupation. The herds, like those of the Koryaks often exceeding 1,000 animals, graze in the open tundra in the summer, and migrate between protected areas in the winter. The domestic reindeer population of Chukotka has been decreasing since the end of the1980s from 500,000 to 112,000. Nevertheless, reindeer breeding is becoming increasingly important due to the stagnation in food delivery from outside the okrug.
Sea mammal hunting is the main traditional occupation of Chukchi and Yupik at the Bering Strait. They have practiced collective hunting of whale and walrus with harpoons. Sea mammals provide food, oil, skins, ivory and other products. During the Soviet period most of the meat went to feed foxes in fur farms, but in recently, in privatised hunting brigades, more and more food is used for human consumption. Environmental law that forbids the hunting of walrus on the beaches, results in large losses of killed animals that sink. Since the purchase of grey whales from Russian whaling boats has become too expensive in the last years, the local population has started to re-adopt traditional whaling methods.
Fishing, mainly of salmon, is traditionally developed in the Anadyr, Kolyma and Chaun River mouths, with a varying, but generally declining quota. Hunting on land (wild reindeer, moose, wolverine, brown bear, lynx, mountain sheep, polar fox, birds) is carried out by both reindeer breeders and sea mammal hunters. It is an important factor in the reconstruction of self-sufficiency with regard to supplies of food and winter clothing. Gathering of berries, herbs, roots and mushrooms, like in most of the North, has regained an increasing importance due to the present economic disaster.
Fur farms were introduced to broaden the native economy and to create local employment, especially for women. Fur farms had consumed major portions of the sea mammal harvest in the coastal villages, which made them inappropriate in the present situation where supply of other foodstuff for the population is lacking. Now fur farms are closed. Livestock raising (cattle, poultry) and vegetable gardening were introduced, mainly during the 1970s and 1980s, but has now mostly disappeared. Only in a few villages of southern Chukotka, vegetable gardening is an important factor for the local population.
Present environmental threats:
Possible decrease of sea mammal population due to shipping and/or possible oil and gas development;
Impacts on reindeer pastures and rivers due to mining (gold etc.) and other development of infrastructure; radioactive pollution of pastures;
Environmental protection laws endanger sustainable harvest;
Commercial marine fishing takes fish stocks from coastal fishers; poaching;
Nuclear waste disposal from Bilibino power station threatens environment.
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Siberian Yupik
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): jupik, juit
Official names (plural): Russ.: эскимосы; Engl.: Siberian Yupik(s)
Other names (plural): Yupigyt, Yuit, Yugyt, Siberian Eskimo, Asiatic Eskimo
Residence area(s): Chukotkan coast of Bering Strait and Vrangel Island. Yupik live also in southwestern Alaska and at the Alaskan coast/islands of the Bering Strait; Inuit live across the North American Arctic to Greenland.
Population numbers (1989):
Total Inuit (Eskimo) population (incl. North America and Greenland): ca. 125,000, total Yupik population (including Alaska): ca. 23,000, Former Soviet Union: 1719, Russian Federation: 1704, Chukotskiy Avt. Okrug: 1452,
Population number (2002): 1798
Rural population (% in R.F.): 77.2%
National language: Siberian Yupik-tut, 3 dialects: N: Navukagmit, S: Ungazigmit, Sirenigmit (in Sireniki)
Affiliation of national language: Eskimo-Aleutian family, Eskimoic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 51.6%; speaking fluently: 54.8%
Cultural centre(s): Anadyr
Traditional culture: Traditional sedentary marine hunter culture
Ethno-geography:
The Yupik are the native population of the Bering Strait coasts and western Alaska, and lived previously also farther inland on eastern Chukotka. Only ca. 7% live on the territory of the Russian Federation, the others in Alaska. They belong to the major ethnic group of the Inuit or Eskimo. The name “Inuit” has been formally adopted by the ICC (Inuit Circumpolar Conference) as the embracing name for the entire “Eskimo” population.
Siberian Yupik reside together with Chukchi today in a few villages along the coast of the Bering Strait: Uelen, Lavrentiya, Lorino, Novo-Chaplino, Provideniya, Sireniki, Uelkal. 62 Yupik (1989) lived in the okrug capital Anadyr.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The traditional subsistence pattern of the Siberian Yupik is very close to that of the coastal Chukchi. They are marine hunters, with game and bird hunting, as well as gathering and fishing as secondary occupations. Yupik villages had traditionally 15-40 yarangas, which substituted former earth huts since the middle of the 19th century. For transportation, they use baydars (walrus skin boats) and dog sledges, as well as modern, open boats.
Sea mammal hunting (seals, walrus, whales) is the main traditional occupation of the Yupik and the Chukchi at the Bering Strait. Techniques used by them were the most advanced in the world (toggling harpoons, open-water hunting). During the Soviet period most of the mammal’s meat went to feed foxes in fur farms, but in recently privatised hunting brigades, more and more food is used for human consumption. Environmental law that forbids the hunting of walrus on the beaches, results in large losses of killed animals that sink. In recent years, the Russian government issued the permission to kill Greenland whales. Ivory tusks are used in a variety of functional and decorative industries and are important trade items.
Fishing and hunting on land (wild reindeer, moose, wolverine, brown bear, lynx, mountain sheep, polar fox, birds) constitutes an important factor in the reconstruction of self-sufficiency. Gathering of berries, herbs, roots and mushrooms, like in most of the North, has regained an increasing importance due to the present economic disaster.
Fur farms were introduced to broaden the native economy and to create local employment, especially for women. Foxes had consumed major portions of the sea mammal harvest in the coastal villages, which was inappropriate in the present situation where supply of other foodstuff for the population is lacking. Fur fams are left in two vilages.
Present environmental threats:
Possible decrease of sea mammal population due to shipping and/or oil and gas development
Environmental protection laws endanger sustainable harvest
Commercial marine fishing takes fish stocks from coastal fishers
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Aleuts
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Unangan, anangin
Official names (plural): Russ.: алеуты; Engl.: Aleut(s)
Other names (plural): Aleutians
Residence area(s): In Russian Federation: Komandorskiye Ostrova (Russian part of Aleutian Islands) in Kamchatskaya Oblast; also in Alaska: Aleutian Islands and Alaskan Peninsula
Population numbers (1989):
Total population (including Alaska): ca. 2700, Former Soviet Union: 702, Russian Federation: 644, Aleutskiy Natsionalnyy Rayon: 346 (in 1996), remaining part of Kamchatskaya Oblast: 390,
Population number (2002): 592
Rural population (% in R.F.): 63.7%
National language:
Aleut
Affiliation of national language: Eskimo-Aleutian family
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 52.4%; speaking fluently: 57.8%
Cultural centre(s): Nikolskoe
Traditional culture:
Traditional sedentary marine hunter and fisher culture
Ethno-geography:
The Aleuts are the native population of the Aleutian Islands who number ca. 3,000 individuals and mainly belong to Alaska. Approximately one fourth live on the territory of the Russian Federation, of which one half resides on the Komandorskiye Ostrova (Commander Islands) which constitute the Aleutskiy Natsionalnyy Rayon, situated within the Kamchatskaya Oblast. Aleuts form 46% (346 individuals) of the rayon population.
Aleuts suffered enormously under the cruel exploitation, enslavement and massacres by Russian fur traders after 1741, when their population decreased from ca. 16,000 or more to less than 2,000 prior to the American purchase of Alaska in 1867. The Commander Islands, likewise the Pribiloff Islands (Alaska), were uninhabited until the beginning of the 19th century, when the Russian-American Company, at that time being in charge of the trade development on the Aleutian Islands, enforced transmigration of Aleuts from other islands. Both in Alaska and in the Russian Federation, only a quarter of the Aleuts have maintained their national language.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The traditional subsistence of the Aleuts is a sedentary combination of marine hunting (various seal species and sea otter), fishing, birding and gathering. The whaling techniques of Aleut like Itelmen were based on the use of poisoned darts or arrows and thus differed essentially from the harpoon whaling of Yupic and Chukchi. Traditional Aleutian settlements consisted of 2-4 half-earthen houses, accommodating 10-40 families. They used large baydars (seal skin boats) for transportation.
The traditional subsistence, although still preserved, has been partly substituted by fur farming, stock farming and vegetable gardening.
Due to the present social and economic crisis, more than half of the population of the islands is now unemployed. There are efforts to reorganise traditional occupations, including coastal fishing, crab fishing, marine and terrestrial plant gathering, both for economic and self-sufficiency purposes.
Present environmental threats:
Environmental protection laws are a hindrance for reorganisation of traditional occupations
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Koryaks
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): čauču (reindeer breeders); nymylgyn (coastal inhabitants)
Official names (plural): Russ.: коряки; Engl.: Koryaks
Other names (plural): Nymyllan, Chavchuveny (Russian, derived from self-designation)
Residence area(s): Koryakskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug and adjacent areas
Population numbers (1989) (including Alyutors and Kereks):
Former Soviet Union: 9242, Russian Federation: 8942, Koryakskiy Avt. Okrug: 6572, remaining part of Kamchatskaya Oblast: 618, Magadanskaya Oblast: 1013
Population number (2002): 9077
Rural population (% in R.F.): 71.3%
National language: Koryak, 9 dialects, of which 2 (Alyutor, Kerek) are considered as independent languages
Affiliation of national language: Chukotko-Kamchatkan family (Palaeo-Asiatic)
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 52.4%; speaking fluently: 57.8%
Cultural centre(s): Palana
Traditional culture:
Trad. Nomadic reindeer-breeders, hunters and sea mammal hunters
Coastal (sedentary) and inland (nomadic) culture
Ethno-geography:
The Koryaks form the native population of the Koryakskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, the northern and middle part of Kamchatka, which is administratively associated with the Kamchatskaya Oblast. It is a mountainous land almost entirely covered with tundra and forest tundra. The southern part of the country is volcanically active. The Koryak residence area overlaps with those of the Evens (N and S), the Chukchi and Chuvans (N) and the Itelmens/Kamchadals (S). Population numbers have been slowly increasing during the last century. 71% of the Koryaks live in the okrug, where they form 16.5% of the population. They form 22.6% of the population of the okrug capital Palana (1003 individuals). (All numbers from the census of 1989.)
The nomadic reindeer breeding Koryaks submitted early to Russian sovereignty and joined Russians, Evens, Yukagirs in attacking resistant coastal Koryaks as well as Chukchi, during the 18th century. This warfare, as well as a smallpox epidemic in 1769/70, substantially reduced the original population, from 10-11,000 in 1700 to ca. 4,800 in 1800. Two subgroups of the Koryaks were considered as individual ethnic groups in pre-Soviet times because of their distinct languages: the Alyutors living on the isthmus of Kamchatka and east of Penzhinskaya Guba (combined small-scale reindeer breeding with sea hunting and fishing), and the Kereks, of which only a very small group is left at Mys Navarin in the Chukotskiyy Avt. Okrug (coastal sea hunters). They regained the official status of indigenous groups in 2000.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Koryaks are, like the Chukchi, traditionally subdivided into a sedentary, coastal sea mammal hunter and fisher society using baydars (skin boats) and dog sledges, and a nomadic, inland reindeer breeder and hunter society using reindeer and, locally, dog sledges. Traditional camps and coastal villages consisted of yarangas, fur-covered frame buildings, which are still used for herding purposes. Koryak yarangas were large and could accommodate up to 25 persons by the late 19th and early 20th century.
Intensive reindeer breeding and salmon fishing are now the basic occupations of the Koryaks. Koryak reindeer herds are known to be large and can contain several thousand animals. In 1993, the Koryakskiy Avt. Okrug had ca. 200,000 reindeer, distributed within 11 collectives and some private herds. Like in Chukotka, the number has since been drastically decreasing. Reindeer breeders live semi-nomadically now. The Koryak reindeers are not tamed much, and the herds need to watched continuously.
Coastal Koryaks have a traditional, annual cycle comprising spring sea mammal hunting and coastal fishing (July), summer salmon fishing, autumn sea mammal hunt and coastal fishing, including crab fishing (September-October) and winter fur animal hunting (November-March/April).
Salmon fishing in rivers and river mouths has developed into one of the most economically important occupations of the Koryaks, amounting to 1.5 million tons a year, unless the fish is caught by foreign trawlers offshore. Along the shores, herring fishing (Clupea harengus) is economically most important. Other caught fish are red fish species like Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Oncorhynchus tschawytscha, trout (salmo trutta), smelt (Osmerus mordax), grayling (Thymallus thymallus), lenka. Navaga, a cod species, is caught below the winter ice.
Dog breeding for transportation was a traditional secondary occupation. Fur animal trapping (sable, fox, otter, weasel, wolverine, squirrel) was stimulated by Russian colonisers for yasak payment and trade. Newly introduced economical branches, with no cultural tradition, are cattle farming, horse breeding and vegetable gardening.
Present environmental threats:
Impacts on reindeer pastures, rivers and hunting grounds due to infrastructure;
Possible decrease of sea mammal population due to shipping;
Destruction of salmon population by commercial coastal fishing;
Degradation of reindeer pastures and pollution of rivers from gold mining (cyanide poisoning of salmon stocks).
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Itelmens [and Kamchadals]
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): itanmahn, itenmehn
Official names (plural): Russ.: ительмены, камчадалы; Engl.: Itelmens, Kamchadals
Other names (plural): Voguls
Residence area(s):
Itelmens: Western coast of central Kamchatka
Kamchadals: Upper Kamchatka Valley and in Petropavlovsk area, as well as locally at the western coast
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 2481, Russian Federation: 2429, Koryakskiy Avt. Okrug: 1179, remaining part of Kamchatskaya Oblast: 262, Magadanskaya Oblast: 509
Population number (2002): 3474
Rural population (% in R.F.): 62,0%
National language: Itelman, two dialects
Affiliation of national language: Chukotko-Kamchatkan family (Palaeo-Asiatic)
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 18.8%; speaking fluently: 23.2%
Cultural centre(s): Itelmens: Kovran; Kamchadals: Milkovo
Traditional culture: Traditional sedentary intensive fisher and hunter culture
Ethno-geography:
The Itelmens were widely spread across southern Kamchatka prior to colonisation. They are now restricted to a land strip at the south-western coast of the peninsula, with the central village Kovran. In 1991, 369 of ca. 500 inhabitants were Itelmens. The other villages that had suvived the Stalin Era (Utkholok, Moroshechnoye, Sopochnoye) were closed, and the population relocated to Kovran, in the 1960s. Less than half of the Itelmen population still lives in their home country. The national language is severely threatened; ca. 450 individuals had Itelmen as their mother tongue in 1989, and there is no written language in use.
At the arrival of the Russians, there were about 30,000 Itelmens in Kamchatka. The drop can partly be explained by initial warfare and epidemics. But then, large parts of the Itelmen population became intermarried with Koryaks, Russians and other immigrants; their descendants speak the Russian language, and have developed a distinctive, local culture. These people lost their indigenous status and the right to call themselves Itelmens in 1927 and regained it in 2000. They call themselves Kamchadals, a colonial name formerly used for both the Itelmens and mixed population Their number is about 9000, 2000 of which live in the cities Petropavlovsk and Yelizovo. 7000 live in the upper Kamchatka River valley and a few eastern and western coastal areas, namely the regions (rayony) of Sobolevo, Bolsheretsk, Milkovo, Klyuchi and Ust-Kamchatsk in the Kamchatskaya Oblast, as well as the Tigil and Penzhina areas in the Koryakskiyy Avt. Okrug.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
Fishing is the main traditional occupation of the Itelmens and Kamchadals, mainly in rivers (salmon). As for much of the remaining rural population of Kamchatka, fish is the main economic factor. Although offshore trawl fishing threatens the salmon migrations in the rivers, many Itelmens continue traditional net fishing. Important traditional fishing rivers for the Itelmens are the Utkholok, Kovran, Sopochnaya, Moroshechnaya and Belogolovaya. Indigenous salmon fishing was forbidden in the 1980s in order to protect the commercial marine fisheries. Indigenous people have individual fish quota today, but not enough for their needs. The controversial indigenous status of the Kamchadals has led to a confused and changeable situation concerning their fishing rights.
Stock farming is a modern occupation, first introduced in the 18th century, and carried out by the collective farms in Kovran. Meat and milk are exported to urban centres, while there is local food shortage. Horse breeding was important from the 18th century to the beginning of the collectivisation in the 1930s, when it was mostly given up. Stock farming is also done by Kamchadals..
Vegetable gardening is an important occupation for many Kamchadals, in combination with fishing.
Fur animal hunting and trapping had a major economic importance among the Itelmens, also prior to colonisation and prior to the introduction of the yasak system. Important fur animals were sable and fox. Hunting of land and sea mammals mainly mountain sheep, wild reindeer, brown bear, seal and whale, have traditional importance. These occupations are almost abandoned today, mainly due to shortage and hunting restrictions.
Gathering of berries, herbs, roots and cedar nuts has always been an important secondary food source, also during the Soviet Era, but is getting more difficult due to the increasing scarcity of useful plants. During the last years, fees have been levied for gathered products, including drift wood (fire wood).
Present environmental threats:
Destruction of salmon population by commercial coastal fishing and pollution from platinum mining
Deforestation of birch forest leads to depletion of fur animals and reduced quota for trapping
Contamination of fish stocks from new coal mining in Khayryuzovo
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Mansi
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): mansi
Official names (plural): Russ.: манси ; Engl.: Mansi
Other names (plural): Voguls
Residence area(s):
Mainly in Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avt. Okrug and to the SW in the Sverdlovskaya Oblast
Population numbers (1989): Russian Federation: 8279, Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avt. Okrug: 6562
Population number (2002): 11,573
Rural population (% in R.F.): 54.4%
National language: Mansi
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Finno-Ugric group, Ugric subgroup
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 36.7%; speaking fluently: 39.6%
Traditional culture:
Hunting, fishing are main occupations. Reindeer breeding and gathering are important as subsidiary occupations. Only the northern, and to a limited extend the eastern, of the four subgroups have successfully preserved their trad. culture.
Ethno-geography:
Mansi live in the south-western part of the Ob River basin, manily in Khanty-Mansiyskiy Avt. Okrug and to the SW in the Sverdlovskaya Oblast. Their traditional residence areas are along the rivers Sosva, Konda, Lozva, Pelym, Sosva, Tavda, between the Urals and the Ob and Irtysh rivers. The population numbers are stable, but there is an alarming decrease of native language speakers. The explosive increase of the main population, ten-fold during the last 50 years, let their percentage shrink from 6.2% (1938) to 0.5% (1989). Southern and Western subroups are manly assimilated, while the northern, and partly the eastern subgroups, are carrying on the Mansi culture. The written language is based on the northern dialect.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Mansi culture has many similarities with that of the Khants which locally or reginally live mingled with them. Those Mansi which live at the lower reaches of the tributaries of Ob and Irtysch have fishing as their most important subsistence. Seasonal shift from summer to winter dwellings was traditionally common. Those living at the upper reaches of the rivers live mainly of hunting (large animals like moose, and fowl and fur animals). Many combine fishing and hunting, and also reindeer herding pastoralism as a subsidiary occupation. Traditional housing is both sedentary and nomadic depending on the local conditions. By 1979 only about 43 % of the Mansi were still engaged in traditional employment, due to progressive devastation of hunting and fishing grounds.
Present environmental threats:
Exploitation of oil and gas deposits since the 1960s brought about the growth of industry, new settlements and towns, and an uncontrolled flow of immigrants. 20,000-25,000 tons of oil per year is spilled, polluting forest and tundra pastures as well as rivers. The yearly catch of sturgeon in the 1990s in the Tyumenskaya Oblast is now only a tenth of years past (from 170 to 9.3 tons pr family). The benefits of income of the industry have reached the indigenous population only in recent years.
The onslaught of industry has resulted in the forced evacuation of the Mansi and great difficulties in adaptating to the changed environment.
Alcoholism is a common phenomenon. The average life expectancy is only 40-45 years and the percentage of suicides is high.
Reindeer theft, poaching and other violating activities by oil workers.
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Selkups
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): selkup
Official names (plural): Russ.: селькупы ; Engl.: Selkups
Other names (plural): Russ.: енисейские остяки, енисейцы; Engl.: Yenisey-Ostyaks
Residence area(s):
Tomskaya Oblast (southern Selkups) and middle Yenisey with southeastern Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avt. Okrug (northern Selkups)
Population numbers (1989):
Russian Federation: 3564, Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avt. Okrug: 1530, Tomskaya Oblast: 1347, Krasnoyarskiy Kray: 359
Population number (2002): 4367
Rural population (% in R.F.): 74.4%
National language: Selkup, several distinct dialects with limited mutual understanding
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Samodic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 47.7%; speaking fluently: 50.4%
Cultural centre(s): Krasnoselkup
Traditional culture: Sedentary; fishing and hunting, gathering, reindeer breeding only for draught animals.
Ethno-geography:
The Selkups live today in two separate areas. The Narym Selkup (or Obskaya Group) concentrate in the southern area (Tomskaya Oblast) as a result of the former existence of the Tymskiy National District from 1930 to 1950, which gathered much of the Selkup population residing between the upper Ob and middle Yenisey rivers. They live at the rivers Ob, Tym, Vasyugan, Ket and Parabel. Due to the limited mutual understanding of their dialects, Russian became the dominant language. Cultural and linguistic assimilation is today almost complete.
The other residential area lies to the west of the middle Yenisey, mainly in the Yamalo-Nenetskiy Avt. Okrug at the upper Taz River and at the Yenisey River in the Krasnoyarskiy Kay (Tazovsko-Turukhanskaya Group). They form the majority of the population in the Krasnoselkup district. A traditional way of life is only locally preserved.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Selkups have traditionally been hunters and fishermen, but have nonetheless led a more stationary life than the Northern Samoyeds (Nenets, Enets, Nganasans). In summer they lived in conical tents, in winter in log cabins. Squirrels, sables, wolverines and other fur animals as well as forest birds were important game. Reindeer were mainly used as draught animals. Since the 19th century, when the Russians appeared as permanent settlers in the territories of the Selkups and took to hunting their domesticated reindeer, reindeer breeding has grown more difficult for the Samoyeds.
Present environmental threats:
Use of wildlife and land by foreign settlers has severely reduced the resource base of traditional occupations.
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Kets
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): ket
Official names (plural): Russ.: кеты ; Engl.: Kets
Other names (plural): Russ.: енисейские остяки, енисейцы; Engl.: Yenisey-Ostyaks
Residence area(s): Yenisey River and tributaries in the Turukhansk and Baykit districts
Population numbers (1989):
Former Soviet Union: 1,113, Russian Federation: 1084, Krasnoyarskiy Kray: 981
Population number (2002): 1891
Rural population (% in R.F.): 82.2%
National language:
Ket; two main dialects, Symskiy and Imbatskiy; Ket is the only language of the Ket Assan language group which is still in use
Affiliation of national language:
Isolated; by some scientists assigned to the Palaeo-Asiatic languages in a wider sense; historical: Ket-Assan
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 48.8%; speaking fluently: 54.3%
Cultural centre(s): Kellog, Surgutikha, Baklanikha
Traditional culture:
Fishing and hunting; Reindeer breeding only for draught animals (ceased during the 1980s)
Ethno-geography:
The Kets live in three separate residential areas at the Kureyka, Pakulikha, Surgutikha, Yeloguy and Podkamennaya Tunguska tributaries close to the Yenisey River. In only three villages (Kellog, Surgutikha and Baklanikha) they form the majority, living manly beside Russians. The population of the Kets has been more or less stable, but the percentage of native language speakers is on the decline.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
Until the middle of the 20th century, the Kets lived in permanent summer camps in bark-covered chums and dugout log dwellings, and during the winter in temporary camps. Main subsistence branches were fishing in summer and hunting (moose, deer, fur animals) in winter. For fishing, large flat-bottomed boats were used which also could serve as summer dwellings. Reindeer breeding (now abandoned) was subordinate and served mainly transportation purposes. Traditional subsistence, developed into economic branches during the Soviet era, is now only carried out for food supply, but sufficient licenses are not issued. Modern economic branches are animal breeding, kitchen gardening and dairy farming.
Present environmental threats:
Use of wildlife and land by foreign settlers has severely reduced the resource base of traditional occupations.
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Nivkhi
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): nivchgu (nivghu)
Official names (plural): Russ.: нивхи ; Engl.: Nivkhi, Nivkhs
Other names (plural): Gilyaks
Residence area(s): Northern Sakhalin and Amur River mouth area
Population numbers (1989):
Russian Federation: 4631, Khabarovskiy Kray: 2386, Sakhalinskaya Oblast: 2008
Population number (2002): 5287
Rural population (% in R.F.): 49.3%
National language: Nivkhi; 3 dialects: Amurian, Eastern-Sakhalinian, Northern Sakhalinian
Affiliation of national language:
Isolated; by some scientists assigned to the Palaeo-Asiatic languages in a wider sense
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 23.3%; speaking fluently: 26.0%
Traditional culture: Fishing, sea mammal hunting, hunting, gathering
Ethno-geography:
The Nivkhs are considered to be the direct descendants of the neolithic population of their present residence areas close to the mouth of the Amur River and the northern half of the island of Sakhalin. In the past, their habitation was more extensive on the mainland, at least to the Uda River in the northwest. The Sakhalin population arrived in two waves around 2000 and 1000 years B.C. It has been hypothesised that the ancestors of the Nivkhs and other Palaeo-Asians also were the origin of people who emigrated to North America and gave rise to the native American population.
The Nivkhs live wide-spread and mostly side by side with Russians or Negidals (the latter in the lower Amur area). On Sakhalin, the largest groups of Nivkhs live in the villages of Nekrasovka and Nogliki in the north; some live in the Poronaisk District in the south. On the lower Amur, the largest centre is the village of Aleevka, situated at the Amur Strait.
Prior to World War II, the southern part of Sakhalin belonged to Japan, from which some Japanese cultural influnce is derived. A small group of Nivkhs were evacuated to the island of Hokkaido, when southern Sakhalin came under Soviet sovereignty in 1945.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Nivkhs were sedentary or semi-nomadic fishermen, with additional occupations like game and sea mammal hunting, dog breeding and gathering.
Fish, mainly salmon and freshwater fish, was the most important resource of Nivkh subsistence. Fishing was carried on throughout the year with nets, seines, and river barriers with traps. For the coastal-dwelling Nivkhs on Sakhalin and in the Amur River estuary, an additional activity was the hunting of sea mammals, especially seals and sea lions with floating harpoons and clubs from boats or from the shore.
Game hunting (bear, wild reindeer, moose, fur animals) was carried out after the main fishing season, in the autumn, when the families moved to their winter dwellings. It was carried out with bows and spears, later with guns. Trapping sable and other fur animals was periodically important; some Nivkh families from the Amur area would spend the winter on Sakhalin to hunt sable which was abundant there. Dog breeding, both for draught animals and as a food source, was also widespread. In the 17th century, some families may have had between 300 and 500 dogs.
Traditionally, the Nivkhs lived in small settlements of two to five, seldom up to 20, families. Until the end of the 19th century they had separate summer and winter dwellings, which both were permanent. The summer dwellings were at their fishing grounds, while the winter dwellings were situated close to the hunting grounds in the taiga. Houses were pole-frame structures with double pitch roofs. Traditional clothing, mainly the kimono-like women's clothing, women's seal skin coats, and also women's handicrafts, have to some extent been preserved.
Changes in the structure of settlements (Soviet liquidation of settlements, centralisation, boarding school system) have had a detrimental impact on traditional architecture. Nowadays, the Nivkhs live in places of mixed population, in Russian-type houses, and have widely adopted the Russian way of life with commercial jobs in the agricultural, industrial and service sectors. Some contiune fishing and seal hunting.
Industry as a whole has made 30-40% of traditional Nivkh lands useless for traditional occupations. Oil development in the Sea of Okhotsk is devaluating traditional fishing grounds. The pollution of the Amur River with phenols and heavy metals has killed fish stocks in the river. Felling of timber in water-protection zones has a detrimental effect on the water regulation of the river, which ultimately contributes to the depletion of fish stocks.
Present environmental threats:
Oil exploration and development on the Sea of Okhotsk Shelf is devaluating traditional fishing grounds and threatening traditional occupations.
Felling of timber in water-protection zones has a detrimental effect on water regulation.
Industry as a whole has made 30-40% of traditional Nivkhi lands useless for traditional occupations.
Pollution of the Amur River with phenols and heavy metals kills fish stocks and degrades the quality of the natural environment..
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Negidals
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): ilkan bėjenin, na bėjenin, amgun bėjenin
Official names (plural): Russ.: негидальцы ; Engl.: Negidals; name derived from Evenk language
Other names (plural): Gilyaks, Orochons
Residence area(s): Amgun River banks in the Khabarovskiy Kray
Population numbers (1989): Russian Federation: 587, Khabarovskiy Kray: 502
Population number (2002): 806
Rural population (% in R.F.): 61.7%
National language: Negidal; 2 dialects, ‘lower Amgun’ and ‘upper Amgun’ Negidal
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 26.6%; speaking fluently: 31.4%
Traditional culture:
Sedentary taiga hunters and fishermen; small-scale reindeer husbandry (for saddle animals); gathering
Ethno-geography:
The Negidals are a small ethnic group of the Lower Amur cultural region in the Russian Far East (Khabarovskii Krai), living mostly in the basin of the Amgun River, a tributary of the Amur River. Some compact settlements of the Negidals are also found in the Nikolaevsk District at the Amur River and Lake Udyl. Individual families are spread over a much wider area.
The Negidals developed out of a group of Evenks by mingling with Nivkhs, Ulchi, and Nanai. Russian documents about the population of the Amgun River in the 17th century distinguish only between reindeer herding and non-reindeer herding Tungus clans, in addition to "Gilyaks" (Nivkhs) in the area. No notice of Negidals is made, but the clan composition of the Amgun Tungus of the 17th century partly coincides with that of the modern Negidals.
Except for a small number of old settlers, the Russian population of the lower Amur was established first from the second half of the 19th century and in time diluted the local Negidal society considerably. Soviet collectivisation led to the concentration of most Negidals in three large collective farms (Krasnyi Iar, Dyl'ma, Dal'zhda) along the Amgun River by the middle of the 20th century.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Negidals are traditionally sedentary fishermen and hunters. They have preserved many cultural features of their Evenk ancestors. Fishery was prevailent in the lower reaches of the Amgun river and at the Amur River. The Negidal of the upper Amgun fished and hunted, but also dealt with small-scale saddle-reindeer herding.
Fishing was done with various utensils, including small seines, nets, fishhooks, spears, often by a single person. The Negidals fished humpback salmon, Siberian salmon (during summer and autumn migrations), and fish of the sturgeon and carp families. Winter ice fishing was done with rods.
The Negidals hunted throughout the year; wild reindeer and moose were harvested for subsistence. Weapons were bow and arrow, spear, and later guns and spring-gun constructions. Fur-bearing mammals, particularly the sable, were hunted on reindeer back. In the lower reaches of the Amgun River, the hunters walked with a hand sled. In search of fur animals and fowl, the hunters would reach the Amur Strait, Sakhalin, and the Gorin River basin. Hunting methods and equipment did not differ from those used by the Evenks.
Until the 19th century, some Negidal practiced sea mammal hunting in the Amur Strait and off the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. Seals were killed with rifles and spears. In the early 20th century, the Negidals became engaged in winter transportation services, using dogs and reindeer. They also started vegetable gardening under the Russian influence.
Winter buildings at the Amgun River had various shapes, were normally pitch-covered, had several stoves with chimneys that conducted the heat through a broad family plank bed. During the summer, the people lived in settlements at lakes and small rivers in bark-covered pole frame structures.
During the Soviet period, the Negidal culture underwent considerable changes. Today, the people live in larger settlements together with Russians and other ethnic groups. Their houses, means of transportation and economic activities do not differ from those of the surrounding population. Ethnically mixed families predominate. The ethnic self-awareness of the Negidals, however, is still prominent.
Present environmental threats:
Pollution of the Amur River with phenols and heavy metals kills fish stocks and degrades the quality of the natural environment.
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Ulchi
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): olči, nani
Official names (plural): Russ.: ульчи ; Engl.: Ulchi
Other names (plural): Mangus
Residence area(s): Ulchskiy District on the lower Amur River banks
Population numbers (1989): Russian Federation: 3173, Khabarovskiy Kray: 2733
Population number (2002): 3098
Rural population (% in R.F.): 72.4%
National language: Ulchi, close to Nanai language, by some regarded as a Nanai dialect
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 30.7%; speaking fluently: 35.0%
Cultural centre(s): Bulava
Traditional culture: Fishing and hunting; fur farming in Soviet era, replacing former fur animal trapping
Ethno-geography:
The Ulchi live at the lower Amur River. In 1897, they lived in 39 villages, from the villages Addi and Kulgu in the north to Ukhta in the south. Soviet relocations concentrated most Ulchi people in the village of Bulava, which is their communal centre today. A minor part of the population lives in towns along the Amur River (Khabarovsk, Komsomol'sk-na-Amure, etc.). According to archaeological evidence, the Ulchi are related to the ancient Mesolithic population of the lower Amur, which was influenced by unknown newcomers in the 3rd millenium B.C. Their culture contains many common elements with the neighbouring people of the Amur basin (e.g. Nanai, Nivkh, Manchurian, Negidal, Evenk, Ainu).
The first Russian records regarding the Ulchi date back to the 17th century, when first attempts were undertaken to make them pay iasak (a tribute in the form of furs). Russian colonisation of the Amur River basin by Russian Cossacks and Russian peasant migrants began first in the middle of the 19th century, but has since diluted Ulchi settlement and exerted a great impact on their culture, economy and social development.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Ulchi led a sedentary mode of life based on fishing and, secondarily, hunting and trapping.
Fishing was a year-round activity with its climaxes during the salmon migrations. The migratory routes of the salmon also determined the distribution of the Ulchi villages along the right bank of the main channel of the Amur River. Traditional fishing tools included nets, zaezdkas (fishhooks on long shafts), and various types of spears. Fish was not only the main food source of the people, but also for their dogs, which they kept in large numbers as draught animals.
Hunting was of secondary importance. They mostly hunted fur animals - mainly sable, but also weasel, squirrel, otter, fox. Prior to the introduction of guns, weapons were bows and arrows and spears. Pelts were in great demand among Russian and Chinese merchants. When sables became rare in the Amur area at the end of the 19th century, the Ulchi hunters would leave for long expeditions to Sakhalin, to the basins of the Amgun, Gorin, and Tumnin rivers, in order to find them. Moose and wild reindeer were hunted throughout the year. Marine mammals, especially otter and sea lion, were hunted on the coast of the Tatar Strait. The Ulchis travelled there in small groups across Lake Kizi.
The Ulchi lived traditionally in small villages, consisting of two to five houses, with both summer and winter dwellings. The ancient winter dwelling, khagdu, is a frame structure of poles and logs with a double-pitch roof and a dirt or clay floor, heated by two fireplaces.
The main means of summer transport were boats: plank punt boats, ugda, canoes, omorochki, and small birch-bark boats; in winter, the Ulchi used skis and dog sleds of the Amur type, which were narrow and light and had bent runners.
Russian large-scale commercial fishing in the Amur River later forced the Ulchi to compete and to develop their subsistence into a commercial undertaking. Because of the greatly increased scale of fishing, hunting became less important - there were also by this time far fewer fur animals on the Lower Amur. To earn a living, the Ulchi gradually had to take on occupations formerly unknown to them, such as agriculture, forestry, and service jobs. Horse breeding and haymaking were also introduced.
In recent years, commercial overfishing reduced stocks and led to quota regulations severely affecting the indigenous population’s subsistence. Recent environmental damage has almost abolished the fishing trade and deprived people of their customary diet. The pollution of the Amur River with phenols and heavy metals from cellulose and mineral concentration factories and a timber mill kills fish stocks, degrades the quality of the natural environment and causes health problems among the population. Fish stocks have been depleted by a factor of 20 from 1960 to 1990. In addition, timber felling in water-protection zones of the Amur River has a detrimental effect on water regulation, affecting both fishing and transportation.
Present environmental threats:
Pollution of the Amur River with phenols and heavy metals (Amur Cellulose Factory, Solnechny Mineral Concentration Factory, timber mill on Lake Kizi) kills fish stocks, degrades the quality of the natural environment and causes health problems. Fish stocks have been depleted by the factor of 20 from 1960 to 1990.
Felling of timber in water-protection zones has a detrimental effect on water regulation, affecting both fishing and transportation.
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Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): ul'ta, ul'ča, ol'ča
Official names (plural): Russ.: ороки; Engl.: Oroks
Other names (plural): Orochen (therefore confused with Orochi in some statistics)
Residence area(s): Sakhalin, village Val (N) and Poronaysk district (S)
Population numbers (1989):
Total number (incl. Japan): ca. 200, Russian Federation: 179, Sakhalin: 129
Population number (2002): 432
Rural population (% in R.F.): 15.1%
National language: Oroki
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 44.7%; speaking fluently: 46.9%
Traditional culture: Semi-nomadic reindeer husbandry, fishing and hunting
Ethno-geography:
The Oroks live on the island of Sakhalin. Some researchers claim that non-Nivkh and non-Tungusic elements in the Orok language and culture point towards an autochthonous origin. The Orok oral tradition, however, points at a continental and common ethnic origin with the Ulchi people. Migration of the group that became the Oroks from the area of the Amgun'River to Sakhalin, probably took place in the 17th century at the latest. On Sakhalin the Oroks lived in close proximity to the Ainu, Nivkhs, and later also the Evenks.
In the 1920s the Oroks on northern Sakhalin were still divided into five groups, each with their own migratory zone. In the course of Soviet collectivisation, in 1932, the northern Oroks joined the collective farm of Val, which was specialised in reindeer breeding, together with smaller numbers of Nivkhs, Evenks and Russians.
On southern Sakhalin, Oroks have lived in some villages in the Poronaisk District since the 19th century. After having given up reindeer herding for economic reasons, they settled on the coast and took to fishing. Until World War II this part of Sakhalin belonged to Japan. Treated with suspicion on both sides, but risking being sent to labour camps by the Soviet authorities, some Oroks were evacuated to Hokkaido (Japan), when the island was handed over to the Soviet Union in 1945. A small Orok community of possibly 20 people still exists there near the city of Abashiri.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
At first, when the Oroks arived on Sakhalin, they lived only in the northern part of the island. They took to nomadic reindeer breeding, with fishing and hunting as subsidiary activities. They thus differ significantly from their ethnically related neighbours, the Ulchi, in regard to their economy. Reindeer were used for all purposes, including food, clothing and transportation (riding and draught animals). During the summers, the Oroks stayed mostly at the eastern shore and were occupied with fishing and seal hunting. They lived in tents covered with tree bark and reindeer skins. Small huts were build to store fish and meat.
In the early or middle part of the 19th century, part of the Oroks moved southward to the Poronai River mouth and other places in southern Sakhalin, where they became sedentary, gave up reindeer breeding, and adopted the ways of the other indigenous groups there, the Ainu and Nivkhs (fishing, sea mammal and game hunting, dog breeding). But they often kept one or a few reindeer for transportation purposes.
From the 1870s, Russian influence became significant. For the northern Oroks, vegetable farming and cattle breeding are the new occupations gaining ground.
Today, the Oroks inhabit villages of standardised dwellings together with Nanai, Nivkhs and Russians, in Russian-type log cabins. Only the herdsmen in the collective farm of Val (northern Sakhalin) lead a semi-nomadic life. The main occupation of the southern Oroks in the Poronaisk District is fishing, but there are also people employed in industry.
Only a few items, mainly clothing and fishing gear, have been preserved from the old culture. The cultural survival of the Oroks is particularly endangered because of their very low number.
Present environmental threats:
Decrease of fish stocks due to oil development.
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Nanais
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): nani, nanaj
Official names (plural): Russ.: нанайцы; Engl.: Nanais
Other names (plural): Russ.: гольды, Engl.: Golds, others: Khodso, Akani (in China)
Residence area(s): Banks of the Amur River (Khabarovskiy Kray and adjacent area in China).
Population numbers (1989):
Total number (incl. China): ca. 16,000, Russian Federation: 11,883, Khabarovskiy Kray: 10,582, Sakhalin: 173
Population number (2002): 12,355
Rural population (% in R.F.): 60.8%
National language: Nanai. 2 dialects: Upper and Lower Amur
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 44.1%; speaking fluently: 49.4%
Traditional culture: Fishing, hunting
Ethno-geography:
According to the most common view, the Nanais are of a highly variegated origin: groups of Tungus, Turks, Mongols and Manchurians, mixing up with the autochthonous, neolithic population of the Amur area at various times. Prior to Russian colonisation, the Nanais lived in dispersed settlements without a common ethnonym or unified culture, with distinctly different foreign influences in different areas. At the turn of the 19th century, Nanai settlements were still scattered for more than 600 km along the Amur River, and about 100 km upriver along its tributaries.
During Russian colonisation of the Amur basin, the development of steamboat communication and the establishment of new trade centres led to local displacements of the Nanai population. Many inhabitants of the tributary areas moved to the Amur River banks, where more favourable conditions for trade developed.
Today, over 60% (census of 1989, Russian Federation) of the Nanais live in scattered villages on the banks of the Amur River, downstream from the city of Khabarovsk, to the area around Komsomol'sk-na-Amure. Smaller groups live along the tributaries Ussuri and Goriun, in China on the Sungar River, and on the island of Sakhalin. The remaining almost 40 % of the Nanais in the Russian Federation live in cities.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Nanais are traditionally sedentary fishermen and hunters.
Fishing was of primary importance to the traditional subsistence. Nanai fishing had a high degree of specialisation of fishing tools, including various types of spears and nets; dam fishing was carried out with zaezdkas (fishhooks on long shafts). Fishing clothes made of fish skin are a typical expression of Nanai culture.
The importance of hunting seems to have decreased during the 19th century. In numerous folk tales, the characters were mainly engaged in hunting. The Nanais hunted both for fur and for meat. They harvested moose and wild reindeer by means of pitfalls, abatises, and self-shooting constructions. Bears were caught with loops of moose hide, or with spears.
Hunting and fishing were reflected in the calendar of the Nanais, where, e.g., five months had names related to fishing activities.
There were both permanent and seasonal settlements, smaller ones of 2-5 families, and larger ones of 10-15 families. The seasonal character of fishing and hunting often necessitated moving from summer to winter dwellings. The most ancient types of housing were subterranean or semi-subterranean houses with log frames, mostly located close to the river bank slopes. Later, the typical one-chamber house for winter use - the khagdun - developed, with walls of poles, braided brushroll, clay and grass. A sophisticated heating system conducted the heat of the fire place through different parts of the house and through the benches, but made the house quite smoky. Summer houses were birch-bark covered tents or conical pole constructions.
Transportation in summer was by various sorts of boats: dugouts, birch-bark, plank, and framed types. In winter, the Nanais used skis with a special bow staff instead of poles. They had hand-, dog-, and locally also reindeer-pulled sleds. The Ussuri and Sungari Nanais also used horses which they bred themselves.
During the second half of the 20th century, considerable pollution of the Amur River has gradually killed fish stocks and degraded the natural living environment. Fishing and hunting restrictions as a consequence of wildlife depletion have changed both the subsistence pattern and traditional diet of the Nanais. Though fishing still is done, especially by elder people, many kolkhozes adopted agriculture and lifestock husbandry, and a large number of Nanais work now in highly skilled professions, e.g. as teachers or in health care.
Present environmental threats:
Pollution of the Amur River kills fish stocks and degrades the quality of the natural environment.
Wildlife depletion and resulting hunting and fishing restrictions severely endangers traditional subsistence and diet.
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Orochi
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): nani, oročicel
Official names (plural): Russ.: орочи ; Engl.: Orochi
Other names (plural): Orochon
Residence area(s): Southern Khabarovskiy Kray, particularly at the Tumnin River
Population numbers (1989):
Russian Federation: 883, Khabarovskiy Kray: 499, Sakhalin: 212
Population number (2002): 884
Rural population (% in R.F.): 53.1%
National language: Orochi
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 17.8%; speaking fluently: 20.3%
Traditional culture: Hunting
, f
ishing
Cultural centre(s):
Us'ka-Russkaya (Us'ka-Orochskaya), Koppi, Ommi
Ethno-geography:
The Orochi live dispersed in the southern part of the Khabarovskiy Kray, particularly on the lower reaches of the Tumnin River (Usjka, Usjka-Russkaya), but also on the Amur and Kopp rivers. In the wide area between the Lower Amur and the Tatarsk Strait there used to be numerous small Orochi settlements for winter and summer use, divided into five territorial groups. In a search for better fishing grounds and hunting forests there were migrations to the River Amur and Sakhalin Island in the 19th century. In the first decades of the 20th century the Orochi left the coast of the Sea of Japan for regions inland, seeking refuge from the war.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The traditional means of subsistence for the Orochi has been fishing and hunting. In coastal regions the Orochi have also practiced hunting sea animals. Breeding sledge dogs was a widespread occupation. Agriculture was introduced only at the beginning of the 20th century by the Russians. Though the same occupations have persisted, their relative importance has changed considerably.
The Orochi are a more-or-less settled people among whom only the hunters led a more vagrant life. This differentiates them clearly from their nomadic kindred people, the Udege. Formerly, the seasonal nature of fishing and hunting necessitated the erection of summer and winter settlements. Their modes of construction differed greatly - bark dwellings sufficed for the summer while sod huts cased inside with timber were built for the winter. The hunters erected conical tents covered with grass in winter. Russian-type log cabins were introduced towards the end of the 19th century.
Vegetable farming and animal husbandry have become the main occupations in the villages. Some people are still engaged in fishing and hunting, however, shooting animals for fur is strictly regulated by licence system and a general decrease in the numbers of fish and wildlife sets additional restrictions. Ethnic traditions have persisted to an extent in clothing and in diet.
Present environmental threats:
Wildlife depletion and resulting hunting and fishing restrictions severely endangers traditional subsistence and diet.
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Udege
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): udėė, udėhė, udihė
Official names (plural): Russ.: удэгейцы ; Engl.: Udegey, Udege
Other names (plural): Kekar
Residence area(s): Southernmost Khabarovskiy Kray and northern part of Primorskiy Kray
Population numbers (1989):
Russian Federation: 1902, Primorskiy Kray: 766; Khabarovskiy Kray: 697
Population number (2002): 1665
Rural population (% in R.F.): 62.4%
National language: Udege. 3 dialects.
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Tungus-Manchurian group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 24.3%; speaking fluently: 31.2%
Traditional culture: Nomadic hunting
,
gathering, fishing (subsidiary)
Ethno-geography:
The Udege have a complex origin with Palaeo-Siberian and Machurian/Chinese elements. In the 19th century, they used to live in eight territorial groups over a vast area between the rivers Ussuri and Amur and the Sea of Japan. They had no common ethnic identity.
Today, the Udege are scattered over an extensive area in the southernmost Khabarovskiy Kray and in the Ussuri taiga, in the northern part of the Primorskiy Kray. They have no compact settled area. They live in the neighbourhood of the Nanais and the Nivkhs and in places are mixed with them.
The southern subgroup, the Taz in the Olgino district (southern Primorskiy Kray), who once were heading linguistically toward Chinese, are now almost entirely russified. in the 1950s there were about 300 of them.
It was customary for the Udege to live dispersed, in separate families, and to move often, according to the areas being hunted. Influenced by the Nanai, in the19th century the first permanent settlements began to grow on the River Anyui. The Taz were settled. More permanent Udege settlements developed after the 1930s, when the forcible collectivization of households began. This was completed in about 1937. At present there are nine Udege settlements all located some distance apart. Resettlement caused many families to have to change their mode of living, for example, from hunting to land cultivation and animal breeding. This transformation was hastened by the diminishing area of the hunting grounds, caused by the felling of timber (especially in the Primorskiy Kray). This was the reason for the constant resettling of the Udege from their native areas into the Khabarovskiy Kray.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Udege's way of life was closely connected with their taiga forest and hunting. This necessitated a more mobile lifestyle. In spite of their nomadic life the Udege and Orochi did not raise reindeer, a fact which distinctly separated them from many other taiga peoples. The primary object of hunting was gaining furs and meat, though obtaining the antlers was also essential. The antlers were sold to the Chinese. The Chinese also bought the root of the ginseng plant which grew in the Ussuri taiga; searching for this plant was one of the vital occupations of the Udege.
Unlike other Amur peoples, fishing played a less important part in their life. And only the southern Taz, following the example of the Chinese, tilled their fields in the coastal river basins.
Present environmental threats:
Timber industry destroys hunting grounds, depriving the Udege of their subsistence and traditional diet.
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Veps
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Bepsja, veps’, vepsja, ljudinikad, tjagalažet
Official names (plural): Russ.: вепсы; Engl.: Veps
Other names (plural): Russ.: чудь (pre-Soviet)
Residence area(s):
Republic of Karelia (SW coastal area of Lake Onega), Leningradskaya Oblast (NE), Vologodskaya oblast (NW)
Population numbers (1989): Total: 12,500; Russian Federation: 12,142
Rural population (% in R.F.): 51.5%
National language: Vepsan. Dialects: Northern (Sheltozerskiy; SW coast of Lake Onega), Middle (NE Leningradskaya Obl. and Babayevskiy District of Vologodskaya oblast), Southern (Yefimovskiy; Boksitogorskiy District of Leningradskaya Obl.)
Affiliation of national language: Uralic-Yukagiran family, Finno-Ugric group, Finnic subgroup
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 37.5% (Karelia); 69.9% (Leningradskaya Obl.)
Traditional culture: Peasant culture
Ethno-geography:
The main residence area of the Veps is situated between the lakes Onega, Ladoga and Beloye. The Veps have inhabited this area since the end of the first millennium AD. In the 12-15th centuries some groups of Veps immigrated to areas situated to the North of the River Svir, where they underwent Karelian influence and contributed to the formation of sub-ethnic groups of Karelians (lyudiks and livviks). Until the 15th century the major part of the Veps population had lived in the Republic of Novgorod. After Novgorod joined the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Veps were registered as state (so called black-plough) peasants. Their villages (kyulya, pagast) were situated on river banks and lake shores. After the October Revolution of 1917, Vepsan districts (Vinnitskiy Rayon in Leningradskaya Oblast, etc.) and village soviets were established. These were abolished after the Second World War.
At present almost half of the Vepsan population (47.6%) lives in Karelia, 34.2% in the Leningradskaya Oblast, and the remaining number in the Vologodskaya Oblast, Saint Petersburg, etc.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The traditional subsistence of the Veps was an extensive agriculture. The main crops were barley, rye, oats, flax, and turnip. Stock-breeding was next in importance after agriculture, while hunting and fishing were subsidiary occupations. Ceramics was one of the oldest crafts. In the second part of the 18th century, such occupations as timber cutting and floating, and the trade of barge haulier were widespread among the Veps. During the Soviet period mining enterprises were established in the Vepsan residence areas and forests diminished due to timber cutting. Vepsan representatives were involved in administrative work, education, public health care and other spheres of life.
Traditional dwellings are similar to those elsewhere in Northern Russia, though they have some specific features, like household buildings forming one T-shaped complex (izba). Inside the northern Vepsan izba (pert’) a table is situated near a façade wall (“Finnish” arrangement) while the opening of the stove points towards a side wall.
Traditional clothing is similar to that of Northern Russia. However, there were some differences: women wore a skirt, not a sarafan, while men had hats of hare fur, neckerchiefs (kaglan payk), wedding trousers with embroidery and a fringe on their lower part (kaldyat).
The main elements of traditional food were porridge, broth, pies with a fish filling, oat kissel, liquorice rye pastry, home-brewed beer, kvas, etc.
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Tofalar
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Tofa, tocha
Official names (plural): Russ: тофалары; Engl.: Tofalar(s) [sgl.: Tofa]
Other names (plural): Russ.: карагасы; Engl.: Karagas
Residence area(s): Nizhneudinskiy District (Irkutskaya Oblast)
Population numbers (1989): Total: 731; in R.F.: 722
Population number (2002): 1020
Rural population (% in R.F.): 86.6% (1989)
National language: Tofa
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 43%; speaking fluently: 45%
Traditional culture: Hunting and small-scale reindeer breeding
Ethno-geography:
Tofalar live in the Nizhneudinskiy District of the Irkutskaya Oblast, in the basins of the rivers Uda, Biryusa, Kan, Gutara, Iya, etc., in the mountain-taiga zone. In 1930, the Tofa National District (Tofalarskiy Natsionalnyy Rayon) was established in the settlement Alygdzher. It was later abolished. The formation of the Tofalar as a nation took place in the Sayan area and in adjacent territories of southern Siberia. Samoyedic groups, Ket-speaking tribes and the Turkic tribes of Tuba were involved in the ethnogenesis. By the 19th century the Tofalar represented an ethnic group with a Pan-Turkic language.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
A basis of traditional subsistence was hunting. They hunted sable, squirrel, otter, beaver, fox and wolverine in late autumn and winter, and moose, Siberian deer and wild goat during the whole year. They used battue as a way of hunting. Up to the 20th century their weapons were simple cross-bows and rifles. Traditionally they were nomads using reindeers for migrations. There were 20-30 head in one household. In the 19th century the Tofalar started to use horses for riding. The most common domestic crafts were blacksmith’s work, and processing of wood, birch bark and leather.
Gathering was a subsidiary occupation. They gathered cedar nuts, plants (sarana, etc.). Nomads lived in conical chums (tents) that were covered with boiled birch bark in summer, and moose or Siberian deer skin in winter. During the 20th century the transition to a sedentary way of life took place, a house with a framework of logs became the main type of dwelling.
Traditional clothes were made of moose, reindeer and Siberian deer skin. Common clothes were fur coats with the fur facing inward, and robes made of reindeer skin and wild goat rovduga (a kind of processed leather) with a straight cut, widening to the bottom and with straight sleeves. In summer men wore kaftans made of broad cloth. In winter women wore hats of reindeer skin with the fur outside.
The traditional staple food of the Tofalar was the meat of ungulates: moose, wild goat, musk deer, reindeer; as well as bear, hare, squirrel, and game-birds. They used the milk of domestic reindeer, which was boiled and added to tea. They also used this milk to make cheese and curdled milk; frozen milk was kept in birch-bark containers, cleaned guts and stomachs of animals.
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Chulyms
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Ljus kižiler, pestyn kižiler
Official names (plural): Russ.: чулымцы; Engl.: Chulyms
Other names (plural): Russ.: хакасы (Soviet period)
Residence area(s): Tomskaya Oblast and Krasnoyarskiy Kray, along the rivers Chulym,Yaya and Kiya
Population numbers: Total: 750 (1980)
National language: Chulym-Turkish. Dialects: Lower and Central Chulym
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic group
Traditional culture: Fishing, hunting, gathering, plough agriculture, etc.
Ethno-geography:
The residence area of the Chulyms is situated in the basin of the River Chulym and its tributaries Yaya and Kiya, belonging to Tomskaya Oblast and Krasnoyarskiy Kray. In this area they established their winter and summer settlements, called uluses.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
A basis of traditional subsistence was fishing. Fish (pike, bream, perch, crucian, sterlet, etc.) were caught with nets, seines, harpoons, locks, and traps. In summer, part of Chulym population was busy in plough agriculture cultivating barley, and – with arrival of the Russians – oats, rye, and wheat. In addition, they were occupied with tending herds. In winter they hunted fur-bearing animals using composite (sogan) and simple bows, lassos, snares, billets, etc. Gathering was a subsidiary occupation. They gathered edible plants and herbs, berries, cones, etc. The most common domestic crafts were weaving, timbering, leather-processing, manufacturing of ropes, birch-bark and wooden crockery, boats, skis, sledges, etc.
The main traditional food included fish, game and plants. Fish was jerked, dried and smoked for long-term preservation. They also prepared fishsoup, porridge of kurmach (hulled and dried barley), talkan (a mash of ground grains or flour), etc.
Traditional dwellings were dugouts (odyg), semi-underground houses (kyshtag) with frameworks of logs and roofs shaped like truncated pyramids, frame yurts with rectangular or polygonal bases and conical roofs, temporary dwellings covered with a birch-bark, felt, or bast. Since the 18th century – under Russian influence – the Chulyms started to build frame houses with five walls and cross-vaulting houses.
Transportation was traditionally by horse waggon, sledges, and draggers. One or two dogs were often harnessed to sledges. For transportation on water, they used boats made of hollowed trees, planks and birch-bark. In winter, hunters used skis with animal skin soles.
National clothing includes shirts and trousers made of sackcloth, printed cotton, or silk, as well as camisoles. Women coats were made of squirrel and fox fur, while men wore sheepskin coats, fur coats and coats made of goat and reindeer skin. Footwear were chirki (with a soft sole), boots (made of burbot or mammal skin), and brodni boots. In the 18-19th centuries the traditional clothing was replaced by Russian clothing.
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Shors
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Šor
Official names (plural): Russ.: шорцы; Engl.: Shors
Other names (plural): Russ.: кузнецкие татары, абинцы, кондомские и мрасские татары
Residence area(s): Kemerovskaya Oblats, Republic of Khakasiya, Republic of Altay
Population numbers: Total: 16,600, Rusian Federation: 15,745 (1989)
Rural population (% in R.F.): 26.5% (1989)
National language: Shor. Dialects: Mras, Kondoma
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic group
Status of national language (1989): Mother tongue: 58%; speaking fluently: 64%
Traditional culture: Fishing, gathering, slash-and-burn agriculture
Ethno-geography:
Shors live mostly in the Kemerovskaya Oblast, the Republic of Khakasiya and the Republic of Altay. They settle in the basin of the River Tom, along its middle course, and in the basins of its tributaries Kondoma and Mras-Su, and in rural areas of the Tashtagolskiy, Mezhdurechenskiy and Novokuznetskiy districts. They also live in the towns Myski, Mezhdurechensk, Tashtagol, Novokuznetsk, and Kemerovo. Ethnographers distinguish between a Northern (forest-steppe) group, the Abins, and a Southern (mountain-taiga) group, the Shors.
In the 6-9th centuries, parts of the latter group was included in the Turks, Uygurs and Yenisey-Kaganats, respectively, and experienced a Turkic influence, partly mingled with ancient Altaian, Uygurs, Yenisey-Kirgiz and Mongolian tribes, and in the 17-18th centuries with the nomadic stock-breeders, the Teleuts. In 1925, the Gorno-Shor National District was established, which existed until 1939. The District’s centre was situated in the village Myski, later in the village Kuzdeyevo.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The Shors lived in tribal communities. Fishing was the main source of subsistence. The Shors caught grayling, naymen’, ide, pike and burbot using nets, seines, traps, rods, harpoons and bows. For transportation, they used boats made of hollowed trees or birch-bark. Hunting was one of the common occupations for 75-90% of the Shors. Hunted animals were reindeer, Siberian deer, horse, fur animals (squirrel, Siberian weasel, otter, ermine, fox, sable, lynx).
Gathering was a subsidiary occupation. They gathered cedar cones, berries, tubers, roots, bulbs and stems of sarana, kandyk, wild onion, ramson, peony, and cow-parsnip.
Another main occupation of the Shors was iron smelting and forging. In the south, slash-and-burn hoe agriculture was common. They cultivated barley, wheat, hemp. In summer they moved into summer huts for sowing and harvesting. From the Russians, they adopted plough agriculture.
Weaving was also developed: hemp and nettle were used. They processed leather, manufactured utensils of wood and birch-bark.
Men’s clothing comprised shirts, trousers, and robes, while women wore long shirts. The Southern Shors made their clothes of hemp and dogs’ wool.
Hunting and fishing products were the basis of traditional food. Horse meat and game were broiled or boiled. Northern Shors widely used milk products: curdled milk, unsalted cheese, curd, butter. Common beverages were home-brewed beer of barley flour (abyrtka), and tea.
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Teleuts
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Telenget, payat, tatar
Official names (plural): Russ.: телеуты; Engl.: Teleuts
Other names (plural): Russ.: белые калмыки (“White Kalmyks”)
Residence area(s): Kemerovskaya Oblast, Altayskiy Kray, Republic of Altay
Population numbers (1989): Total: ca. 3000
National language: Altay, southern dialect
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic group
Traditional culture: Nomadic stock-breeding
Ethno-geography:
Most Teleuts (2500), live in the Kemerovskaya Oblast (Belovskoy, Gurevskiy and Novokuznetskiy districts), the remaining part in the Altayskiy Kray (Zarinskiy and Kytmanovskiy districts), in the Republic of Altay (Shebalinskiy District). In the 19th, ethnographers distinguished several groups of Teleuts: Bachatsk, Tomsk, Altay and Chumysh. Ancient tribes of Tele settled in Central Asia. One of the first reference to the Teleuts as “White Kalmyks” was found in Russian sources from the beginning of the 17th century. Since that time, the Teleut clans of Ashkyshtym, Togul, Tagap, and Keret at first, and then others joined the Russian Empire. On their residence area of Kuznetsk “steppe”-volosts (superior districts) were established and they were forced to pay yasak (fur tax). Climatically, the residence areas of the Teleuts belong to the forest-steppe, mountain and taiga-steppe zones.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The main traditional occupations of the Teleuts were nomadic stock breeding in the mountain-steppe zone (until the first half of the 18th century) and hunting by foot in the taiga-steppe zone. They hunted hare, fox, wolf, bear, Siberian weasel, weasel, sable, moose, goat, lynx, duck, woodgrouse, etc. Until the beginning of the 19th century they used bow and arrow and spears, and then rifles. They also used snares, axes, simple cross-bows, etc. Since the Teleuts joined the Russian Empire a specific form of sedentary economy combining agriculture and stock-breeding developed. They started horse breeding, cattle farming (especially in the north of the Altay Mountains area). They cultivated barley, wheat, millet, oats, and rye.
Fishing was a subsidiary occupation. They caught fish with harpoons, rods, nets, seines, bow and arrow. Gathering was widespread everywhere (cedar nuts, ramson, sarana). Domestic crafts of the Teleuts were leather, wood and metal processing, weaving, wicker-work, sewing.
Today most of rural population work at industrial enterprises and mines.
Traditional women clothes have been in use until now: long dressess (kyunek) with attached breastplates, light kaftans, knickerbockers of printed cotton or sackcloth; coloured woven belts (kur), boots of sheepskin and leather with high tops, conical headdresses of quilted cloth with tassels on the top, winter hats of sheepskin with trimming made of beaver or sable fur. Outer clothing are warm quilted robes (syrmal) and fur coats (ton, kaptal). More of women’s than of men’s clothing elements are still in use; these include the kaftan (telen), warm quilted robes, fur coats and leather boots.
The basis of traditional food was horse-meat and mutton dishes (broth and soups, sausages) and milk (beverages like ayran, chegen, varenets, cheeses, sour cream, etc.)
The most common types of dwellings were stationary conical frame buildings and semi-underground frame or shell houses with rectangular bases and flat or gable roofs. Inside there was a loam stove. Household buildings were barns, bathhouses, enclosures for stock, cattle-sheds, hen-houses, etc.
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Tuvinian-Todzhins
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Tožu, tyva, sojoty, sojony, urjanchajcy
Official names (plural): Russ.: тувинцы-тоджинцы; Engl.: Tuvinian-Todzhins
Other names (plural): Eastern Todzhins
Residence area(s): Mountain-taiga areas in the northeast and southeast of the Republic of Tyva
Population numbers (1989): Ca. 5200
National language: Tuvinian, northeastern dialect
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic group
Traditional culture: Hunting, small-scale reindeer breeding
Ethno-geography:
In the end of the 1st millennium AD Ket-speaking, Samoyedic and probably Tungus tribes inhabited the eastern mountain-taiga part of Tuva. At that time the Turkic tribes of Tuba (related to the Uygurs) appeared; it was their influence that caused a “turkization” of the whole local population that ended by the 19th century, and that resulted in the self-designation Tuba or Tuva. In the 13-14th centuries Mongolian tribes immigrated to the territory of present-day Tyva, which initiated the formation of the Central Asiatic Mongolid racial type to which the Tuvinians belong. In the Middle Age (end of 16th to second half of 17th century) Tuva was a part of the Mongolian state of Altynkhan, and was then under China’s jurisdiction from the middle of the 18th century to 1911. In 1914 the People’s Republic Tannu-Tuva was established, after 1926 called Tuvinian People’s Republic. In 1944 Tuva became a part of the Russian Federation as an autonomous oblast. In 1961 it was transformed into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Tuva, in 1991 into the Republic of Tuva, and in 1993 renamed Republic of Tyva.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
Unlike the western Tuvinians, who were nomadic stock-breediers (sheep, goats, cattle, horses, camels), the Tuvinian-Todzhins were hunters and reindeer breeders. Their main subsistence-related occupation was hunting. They hunted wild ungulates (Siberian deer, wild goat, moose, wild reindeer), fur-bearing animals (sable, squirrel) using bow and arrow with blunt tips, simple cross-bows, and rifles with tripods. The common way of hunting was battue using abatis. Reindeer breeding was only carried out with small herds. Reindeer were also used as a pack animals. Each household possessed a small amount of reindeer.
The traditional dwelling was the chum (tent). In summer and autumn it was covered with birch-bark, in winter with moose skin.
Gathering was a subsidiary occupation. People gathered sarana bulbs, dried and stored them in packsacks. Cedar nuts were gathered as well.
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Alyutors
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Alutalu
Official names (plural): Russ.: алюторцы; Engl.: Alyutors
Residence area(s):
Koryak Autonomous Okrug, mainly the eastern coastal areas of the Kamchatkan Isthmus
Population numbers: ca. 3000
National language: Alyutor
Affiliation of national language: Chukotko-Kamchatkan (Palaeo-Asiatic) family
Traditional culture:
Reindeer breeding in combination with marine hunting and fishing; nomadic and sedentary
Ethno-geography:
Sedentary Alyutors have traditionally lived in the north of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug in the Kamchatkan Oblast, mainly on the eastern coast (villages Tymlat, Kichiga, Anapka, Vyvenka, Tilichiki, Kultushino, Olyutorka, Khaylino, Vetvey) and on the western coast (village Rekinniki). Nomadic Alyutors migrated from the eastern to the western coast of Kamchatka. Traditional settlements were situated on elevations along rivers banks.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
The basic subsistence of the Alyutors was a combination of reindeer breeding and marine hunting and fishing. There were kinship and economic connections between the nomadic and sedentary groups. On the basis of these connections they established artels, which included 7-8 participants, for spring and autumn marine hunting, and larger cooperatives for summer fishing.
Reindeer breeding is characterized by small herds with joint ownerships by 4-6 herders. Up to several animals in these herds belonged to sedentary Alyutors. The most important hunted sea mammals and seals that were hunted not far from the shore line. Hunting groups armed with rifles and spears hunted with dog sledges. Sea mammals’ fat was used for lighting the houses. The meat was consumed at once or stored. The skin was used to make belts and footwear. Hunting of fur-bearing animals on land (otter, fox, wolverine, ermine, hare) was carried out from December to February. Salmon fishing (Siberian salmon, humpback salmon, etc.) using seines was carried out from the middle of June to the middle of September when salmon went to spawning areas. Sun-dried fish (yukola) was stored asfood for people and dogs. Gathered foods were eggs of wild birds, nuts, laminaria, wild sorrel, berries, etc.
The traditional type of dwelling was a semi-underground house with an octagonal base, vertical walls and vaults shaped like truncated cones, and with exterior funnel-shaped shield-screens, which served as entrances. There were wooden stairs leading to dwellings where 3-5 families lived, each comprising 22-25 members. In summer the Alyutors lived in tent-shaped huts. The clothing, mostly made of reindeer skin, was similar to that of Chukchi and Koryaks: kukhlyanka, trousers for men, overalls for women. Footwear was made of reindeer kamus (skin from the lower part of the reindeer leg), seal skin, and reindeer chamois. Transportation was by dog or reindeer sledges.
Ethnographers believe the Alyutors were subjected to significant cultural and linguistic influence of Yupiks (Siberian Eskimos); in particular they adopted the art of carving and engraving on a walrus tusk.
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Kereks
Self-designation (singular, ISO spelling): Ankalakku (“coast-dwellers”)
Official names (plural): Russ.: кереки; Engl.: Kereks
Other names (plural): Chukchi: kerekit; Kerek: karakykku
Residence area(s): Mys Navarin area (Chukotkan Auton. Okrug), nortern part of Koriakski AO
Population numbers: less than 100
National language: Kerek
Affiliation of national language: Chukotko-Kamchatkan (Palaeo-Asiatic) family
Cultural centre(s): Village Meynypilgino (Beringovsk District)
Traditional culture:
Combination subsistence of fowling, fishing, hunting, sea mammal hunting, fur animal trapping, reindeer breeding
Ethno-geography:
According to ethnographical data the Kereks once inhabited the territory from Mys Baranova (Chukotkan Auton. Okrug) to Mys Olyutorskiy (Koryak Auton. Okrug). According to the census of 1897 there were about 600 Kereks. By the beginning of 20th century many groups of Kereks had been assimilated, mostly by the Chukchi. The Kereks were divided into two territorial groups: yjulallakku (“upper Kereks”; Navarin Bay) and iutylallakku (“lower Kereks”; Khatyrka River). Today the remaining people live in the Mys Navarin area, in the village Meynypilgino and other villages of the Chukotkan Auton. Okrug.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
Fowling and hunting for small animals traditionally started in spring. One of the ways of fowling consisted in using nets made of whale tendon (paynintyn) which were lowered from a rock where birds were nesting. The Kereks used also bows. In summer they fished (red salmon, hunchback salmon, Siberian salmon, loach, etc.) using harpoons, locks, clubs. In autumn they hunted wild reindeer, wild sheep and bears. In contrast to the Chukchi and Yupik, the Kereks were occupied in coastal sea mammal hunting (seal, walrus). In winter the Kereks hunted fur-bearing animals (fox, wolverine, Arctic fox, etc.).
During the Soviet era Kereks were occupied in reindeer breeding together with Chukchi and Koryaks.
Gathering was a subsidiary occupation. They gathered sea cabbage, algae, clams, cedar nuts, and berries.
Among the traditional means of transportation there was a skin baydara, which was shorter and broader than that of Chukchi and Yupik. They also used stocky dog sledges. The Kereks’ skis were similar to those of Chukchi and were called “crow’s skis”.
The Kereks traditionally inhabited small hills and spits living in dugouts (kuymayaana). They deepened the floor of the winter dwelling by 0.5 m. It had a rectangular base; they placed pillars in corners at a distance of 2-4 m from each other and joined them by cross-beams. On these cross-beams, they set poles in a circle deepening a base of each pole into the ground. They covered the dwelling with sod and sand. In winter they faced it with ice.
Food was prepared in an earth oven (puyalkyk) that was faced with large flat stone slabs. Bird carcasses and animal flesh with the skin left on, but intestines removed, were placed on the heated stone slabs. The food was edable after long stewing.
The Kereks’ clothing was similar to that of Chukchi and Koryaks, made of reindeer skin and edged with dog or other animal fur.
One of the main heroes of the Kereks’ myths was Raven Kukki, which also was typical for other Palaeo-Asiatic peoples (Chukchi, Koryaks, Itelmens). Close interactions between Kereks and surrounding peoples resulted in a significant influence of the Chukchi and Koryak languages; some elements of Yupik language were also borrowed.
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Soyot
Self-designation
(singular
,
ISO
spelling):
Sojon (Sojan, Sojot, Sojong)
Official
names
(plural):
Russian:
сойоты, Engl.: Soyot(s)
Other
names
(plural):
Russian:
урянхайцы.
In
pre-revolutionary
Russia
the
Soyots
were
dessignated
as
Tuvininas
Residence
area(s): Buryat
Republic
, Okinskiy
and
Tunkinskiy
rayons
Population
numbers:
| 17th
century
|
1500
|
| 1926
census
|
229
|
| 1995 |
1973
|
| 2002 |
2769
|
Rural
population
(%
in
RF):
42.8% (1995)
Ethnic
affiliation:
Samodic
group
National
language:
The
original
Turkic
language
has
vanished.
Today
they
speak
a
Buryat
dialect.
Affiliation
of
national
language:
Altaic
family
, Ugro-Oguzian
group
, Uiguro-Tukyuian subgroup
Status
of
national
language:
In
2001
a
spelling
and
grammar
of
the
Soyot
language
was
developed.
A
Soyot-Buryat-Russian
dictionary
was
published
in
2003.
Cultural
centre:
Village
Sorok
Ethnic
% of
total
district
population:
Okinskiy
Rayon:
42.8% (1995)
Traditional
culture:
Traditionally
the
Soyot
were
hunters;
they
pursued
reindeer
breeding
for
the
purpose
of
transportion.
Ethnogeography:
Scientists
assume
that
the
Soyots
are
descendants
of
the
most
ancient
Samodic
population
of
the
eastern
Sayan
mountains
, which was later
influenced
by
a
Turkic
population
and
changed
their
language.
In
the
17th
century
,
there
were
probably
about
2500
people.
The
name
of
the
ethnic
group
has
developed
from
the
root
soyon
or
soyan;
the
latter
is
connected
with
the
Sayan
mountains.
The
Okinskiy
Rayon
in
Buryatia, where
the
Soyots are concentrated,
is
bordered
by
the
Todzhinskiy
Rayon
of
the
Republic
of
Tuva,
where
the
Tuvinian-Todzhins
live
,
and
by
the
Khubsogul Aymak
in
Mongolia,
in
the
north
of
which
the
related
Tsaatan
people
live.
All
three
ethnic
groups
–
the
Soyots
in
Buryatia,
the
Todzhins
in
Tuva
and
the
Tsaatans
in
Mongolia –
are
closely
related
in
language
,
occupation
and
way
of
life.
In
the
19th
century
the
Soyots
assimilated
largely
into
the
Buryats, who
migrated
into
the
present
territory
of
the
Buryat
Republic
from
the
south.
As
a
result
of
close
cultural
contacts
with
the
Buryats
a
second
change
of
language
occured,
the
Soyots
adopted
cattle
breeding,
started
partially
to
use
Buryat
clothes
and
food
,
and
adopted
a lamaist religion.
They
live
now
in
the
west
of
Buryatia.
Lifestyle and
subsistence
of
rural
population:
In
the
past
the
Soyots
were
hunters
and
taiga
reindeer
breeders.
Their
basic
subsistence
was
hunting game (Baikal
elk
,
reindeer
,
wild
boar
, etc.),
birds
and
fur
mammals using traps, inlcuding snares and self-triggered
arrows
,
and
manza
bows.
Reindeer, in herds of up to 30 head,
were
used
for
transportation.
A
hunter
had
three
riding
deer.
The
deer
were
milked once or twice
a
day.
Their
meat
was
seldom
eaten.
On
the
Sayan
mountains
a taiga form of
reindeer
breeding developed, mainly aimed at breeding pack
and
riding
animals
,
which
is consequently
called
the Sayan type.
The
Sayan
type
is
a
residual
form
of
reindeer
breeding
from
the
ancient
population
of
the
Sayan-Altay
region.
From
here
the
Karagas
breed
of
reindeer
was
derived.
At the beginning
of
the
20th
century
diverging
economic
activities
emerged
among
the
Soyots:
reindeer
breeding
combined
with
hunting;
reindeer
and
cattle
breeding
in
combination
with
fur
farming; and
cattle
breeding
and
farming.
In
the
1930s
collectivisation
started
in
the
USSR
and
the
inhabitants
of
Siberia who were still nomads
were
forced
into
a
settled
way
of
life. Reindeer husbandry was converted into socialistic enterprises and people were permanently settled
in
the
settlements
of Sorok, Khurga, Bokson, Orlik
and
on
numerous
cattle-breeding
farms.
The
Soyots
were
compelled
to switch to Buryat-style husbandry, including
breeding
yak
, khaynyk (a yak-cow hybrid),
cows
,
horses
and
sheep
,
while
adopting
more generally the Buryat
way
of
life.
Reindeer herds were
kept
in
the
collective
farms
to
provide transport
during
winter
hunting
in
the
mountain
taiga.
In
1963
reindeer
breeding
was
abandoned
in
the
Okinskiy Rayon, in accordance with
the
decision
of
the
government
of
the
Buryat
ASSR.
Later
, a state farm was established on
the
best
hunting
grounds
of
the
former Soyot lands.
Since
then the Soyots
have
remained
without
hunting
grounds.
With
the
loss
of
hunting
and
reindeer
breeding
,
the
traditional
Soyot lifestyle,
together
with
the
Turkic
Soyot
language
and
much
of
their culture,
was
finally
abandoned.
People
even
forgot
their
self-designation.
During
the
last
decades
of
the
20th
century
the
majority
of
the
Soyots
considered
themselves Buryats,
which
, besides
some
cultural
interaction
, contributed to a common worldview and shared folklore.
Modern development:
In
1992, on
the
initiative
of
aboriginals
from
the
village
of Sorok,
on
a
village meeting,
the
Soyot
Cultural
Center
was
established. Its aim is to
promote
the
cultural
and
spiritual
development
of the Soyot and to revive their traditional crafts.
The
Soyot
Cultural
Centre also represents
the
Akhalar
Foundation
,
a
public
charitable
environmental
organisation
that
deals
with
environmental
issues.
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Taz
Self-designation
(singular
,
ISO
spelling):
Tadzy, Daczy
(Chinese)
Official
names
(plural):
Russian:
тазы, Engl.: Taz
Other
names
(plural):
Tadza, Manzu tadza, Solon tadza
(Mongolian)
Residence
area(s): Primorskiy Kray, Olginskiy
Rayon
Population
numbers:
| 1872 |
638
|
| 1902 |
782
|
| 1910 |
554
|
| 1959
census
|
154
(under
the
ethnic
group
dessignation “Udzhegutsy”)
|
| 1971 |
172
(acc.
to
a
study
by
Yu. Sema)
|
| 1989
census
|
203
|
| 2002
census
|
276
|
Rural
population
(%
in
RF):
Mainly
a
rural
population
Ethnic
affiliation:
Tunguso-Manchurian
group
National
language:
A
northern
Chinese
dialect.
Vanished.
Status
of
national
language:
Today
the
Taz
speak
predominantly
Russian.
National
district:
Olginskiy
Rayon
Traditional
culture:
The
main
occupations
in
the
past
were
hunting
,
fishing
and
gathering;
from
the
end
of
the
19th
century
farming
and
livestock
breeding.
Ethnogeography:
The
Taz,
an
ethnically
mixed
group
,
live
in
the
south
of
the
Primorskiy Kray (Primorye
Territory)
in
the
Olginskiy
Rayon.
In
the
19th century
and
the beginning
of
the 20th
century
the
lands inhabited by
the
Taz were
assigned
to
the
Southern
Ussuri Okrug.
During
the
Soviet
period
they
were virtually invisible
in
public
censuses.
The
ethnic group was
formed
by
Tungus
elements
close
to
Nanai, Udege, Orochi,
etc.
The
Taz
settled
in
the
valleys
of
the
rivers
Tadushi, Sudzukhe, Tetyukhe
and
Avvakumovka.
Lifestyle
and
subsistence
of
rural
population:
The
lifestyle
of
the
Taz
in
the
past
was
based on
hunting
,
fishing
and
gathering.
They
hunted
moose
and
Baikal
elk
in
the
summer
,
in
the
winter
sable
and
squirrel
,
and
birds
in
both autumn
and
winter.
Their hunting kit included
bows
,
nets
,
various
sorts
of
wooden
traps
, snares, bow-ejected
lassos
and
self-triggered
arrows.
Fishing
had
minor
importance.
At
the
end
of
the
19th
century
agriculture
and
animal
farming
were
adopted
under
Chinese
influence.
Words
for
the
main
agricultural
crops
,
tools
, techniques
and
terms related
to
work in the natural environment
are
connected
with
Chinese
culture.
Housing
is
similar
to
that
of
Nanai
and
Udege with respect to construction
and
design.
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Kumandin
Self designation (pl.): Kumandy, kubandy, kuvandy
Official designation (pl.): Russian: кумандинцы, English: Kumandins
Other names: Russian: Татар Кижи (Kizhi Tatars); черневые татары (Taiga Tatars) in pre-revolutionary Russia; Northern Altaians
Residence areas:
Altai Territory: Soltonskiy, Krasnogorskiy, Kytmanovskiy, Tselinnyy districts
Altai Republic: Turochakskiy, Mayminskiy, Choyskiy districts, towns of Biysk, Tashtagol, Gorno-Altaysk
Population numbers:
| 1897 |
4092 |
|
| 1926 census |
6334 |
|
| 1989 |
Altai Territory: ca. 2000; |
Altai Republic: ca. 700 |
| 2002 |
3114 |
|
Rural population (total in RF): 685 (1999)
Ethnic affinity: Turkic group
National language: Kumandin
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic (Kypchak = Northeastern Turkic) group
Status of national language: The majority speak Russian
Cultural centre: Krasnogorskoe
Traditional culture:
Main occupations in the past: hunting, fishing, gathering, horse breeding.
Ethno-geography:
In the 17th century, until the arrival of Russians, the majority of the Kumandins lived in the lower reaches of the river Charysh (a tributary of the Ob). Later, as a result of resettlement, territorial groups (seoka) were formed: Upper Kumanda (upper reaches of river Bii) and Lower Kumanda (lower reaches of river Bii). The Kumandins were subdivided into clan units (seoki): So, Kubandy, Tastar, Chooty, Chabash (Chabat) and Ton. Each group kept its animals in a separate river valley.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
In the past Kumandins hunted taiga animals. They used spears, self-triggered arrows, and traps that killed or live-trapped animals. They hunted sable, squirrel, fox, ermine and wild boar. In addition to hunting they fished for pike, Hucho trout and burbot. They were also engaged in mattock agriculture, growing barley, rye, hemp and tobacco. At the beginning of the 20th century the Kumandins processed nuts and produced ramson. Their contact with neighbouring Russian peasants led to the gathering of wild honey. Forging, weaving and felt production were widespread. During Soviet times the Kumandins worked in collective and state farms, in the timber factory of Biysk and other enterprises.
In the end of the 1980s as a result of democratic processes in the country the Kumandin National Rural Council was created in the Altai Territory, and the public organization “Revival of Kumandin People” was founded. In 1992 the Association of Northern Altaians was formed in the Altai Republic. In 1998 the Association of Kumandin People was formed in the Altai Territory as the successor of “Revival of Kumandin People”.
Present environmental threats:
Pollution of rivers and degradation of pastures.
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Chelkan
Self designation (pl.): Chalkandu (Shalkandu), Kuu-kizhi (“swan”)
Official designation (pl.): Russian: челканцы, English: Chelkans
Other names: Russian: лебединцы (“swan people“) or лебединские татары (“swan tatars”), Altaians
Residence areas: Altai Republic: Turuchakskiy district (villages Kurmach-Baygol, Suranash, Malyy Chibechen, Mayskiy)
Population numbers:
| 1926 (census) |
not counted separately from Altaians |
| 1997 |
1689 |
| 2000 |
1689 |
| 2002 |
855 |
Rural population (total in RF): Predominantly rural population
Ethnic affinity: Subetnichan group of Altaians
National language: Chelkan
Affiliation of national language: Altaic family, Turkic (Uigro-oguzsk) group, Khakas subgroup
Status of national language: The majority speak Russian
Cultural centre: Kurmach-Baygol
Name of district, centre: Turuchakskiy district
Traditional culture:
The basic occupations in the past were hunting, fishing, gathering, horse breeding, farming, forging and weaving.
Ethno-geography:
The residence territory of the Chelkans in the 17th century was called Shchelkany or Shchelkanskaya Volost. In 1642 a part of the Chelkan population moved to the Sayan Mountains and the Telesskuya land area, where the Altaians lived. The Chelkans are subdivided into two exogamous clan groups, the Shalkanyg and the Shagshylyk.
Lifestyle and subsistence of rural population:
In the past Chelkans hunted bear, elk, maral (Altaian mountain deer), wild goat, deer, fur animals and wild birds. They used a variety of techniques, including loops, traps, self-triggered arrows, and muzzle-loaded guns. They caught fish such as perch, bream and pike using fishing tackles, nets, locks and other implements. Practising slash-and-burn agriculture using mattocks, they cultivated millet, wheat, barley, rye, flax and hemp. Horse breeding was a part-time activity. In the 19th century the Chelkans adopted beekeeping, and in the 20th century vegetable gardening.
Common traditional dwellings were dugouts with two-sided birch-bark roofs, conical yurts, barns, summer kitchens, etc.
Means of transportation were skis of the Sayan-Altaian type, sledges made of skins and fir branches, birch-bark canoes, dug-out boats and other boats. Horseback riding was widespread.
Traditional religious views are connected with shamanism. Christianisation started during the middle of the 18th century.
Present environmental threats:
Environmental degradation of homelands through timber felling.
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