According to researchers from different areas, the indigenous peoples of Siberia settled in this territory in the Late Paleolithic. It was this time that is characterized by the greatest development of hunting as a craft.
Today, most of the tribes and nationalities of this region are small and their culture is on the verge of extinction. Next, we will try to get acquainted with such an area of \u200b\u200bthe geography of our Motherland as the peoples of Siberia. Photos of representatives, features of the language and housekeeping will be given in the article.
Understanding these aspects of life, we are trying to show the versatility of peoples and, perhaps, arouse in readers an interest in travel and unusual experiences.
Ethnogenesis
Practically throughout Siberia, the Mongoloid type of man is represented. Its homeland is considered to be Central Asia. After the start of the retreat of the glacier, people with exactly these facial featurespopulated the region. In that era, cattle breeding was not yet developed to a significant extent, so hunting became the main occupation of the population.
If we study the map of the language groups of Siberia, we will see that they are most represented by the Altaic and Ural families. Tungusic, Mongolian and Turkic languages on the one hand - and Ugrian-Samoyedic on the other.
Socio-economic characteristics
The peoples of Siberia and the Far East, before the development of this region by Russians, basically had a similar way of life. First, tribal relations were common. Traditions were kept within separate settlements, marriages were tried not to spread outside the tribe.
Classes were divided depending on the place of residence. If there was a large water artery nearby, then settlements of settled fishermen were often found, in which agriculture was born. The main population was engaged exclusively in cattle breeding, for example, reindeer breeding was very common.
These animals are convenient to breed not only because of their meat, unpretentiousness in food, but also because of their skins. They are very thin and warm, which allowed such peoples as, for example, the Evenks, to be good riders and warriors in comfortable clothes.
After the arrival of firearms in these areas, the way of life has changed significantly.
Spiritual sphere of life
The ancient peoples of Siberia still remain adherents of shamanism. Although it has undergone various changes over the centuries, it has not lost its strength. The Buryats, for example, first added some rituals, and then completely switched to Buddhism.
Most of the other tribes were formally christened after the eighteenth century. But this is all official data. If we drive through the villages and settlements where the small peoples of Siberia live, we will see a completely different picture. Most adhere to the centuries-old traditions of their ancestors without innovation, the rest combine their beliefs with one of the main religions.
Especially these facets of life are manifested on national holidays, when attributes of different beliefs meet. They intertwine and create a unique pattern of the authentic culture of a particular tribe.
Let's talk further about what the indigenous peoples of Siberia are.
Aleuts
They call themselves Unangans, and their neighbors (Eskimos) - Alakshak. The total number barely reaches twenty thousand people, most of whom live in the northern United States and Canada.
Researchers believe that the Aleuts formed about five thousand years ago. True, there are two points of view on their origin. Some consider them an independent ethnic entity, others - that they stood out from the environment of the Eskimos.
Before these people became acquainted with Orthodoxy, of which they are adherents today, the Aleuts professed a mixture of shamanism and animism. The main shaman costume was in the form of a bird, and wooden masks depicted the spirits of various elements and phenomena.
Today they worship a single god, which in their language is called Agugum and is in full compliance with all the canons of Christianity.
OnOn the territory of the Russian Federation, as we will see below, many small peoples of Siberia are represented, but these live in only one settlement - the village of Nikolsky.
Itelmens
The self-name comes from the word "itenmen", which means "a person who lives here", local, in other words.
You can meet them in the west of the Kamchatka Peninsula and in the Magadan region. The total number is a little over three thousand people, according to the 2002 census.
In appearance, they are closer to the Pacific type, but still have clear features of northern Mongoloids.
The original religion - animism and fetishism, the ancestor was considered Raven. Burying the dead among the Itelmens is customary according to the rite of "air burial". The deceased is hung up to decay in a domino on a tree or placed on a special platform. Not only the peoples of Eastern Siberia can boast of this tradition; in ancient times it was spread even in the Caucasus and North America.
The most common trade is fishing and hunting coastal mammals such as seals. In addition, gathering is widespread.
Kamchadals
Not all the peoples of Siberia and the Far East are aborigines, an example of this can be Kamchadals. Actually, this is not an independent nation, but a mixture of Russian settlers with local tribes.
Their language is Russian with admixtures of local dialects. They are distributed mainly in Eastern Siberia. These include Kamchatka, Chukotka, Magadan region,coast of the Sea of Okhotsk.
According to the census, their total number fluctuates within two and a half thousand people.
Actually, as such Kamchadals appeared only in the middle of the eighteenth century. At that time, Russian settlers and merchants intensively established contacts with the locals, some of them married Itelmen women and representatives of the Koryaks and Chuvans.
Thus, the descendants of these intertribal unions today bear the name of Kamchadals.
Koryaki
If you start listing the peoples of Siberia, the Koryaks will not take the last place on the list. They have been known to Russian researchers since the eighteenth century.
In fact, this is not a single people, but several tribes. They call themselves Namylan or Chavchuven. Judging by the census, today their number is about nine thousand people.
Kamchatka, Chukotka and the Magadan region are the territories where representatives of these tribes live.
If we make a classification based on the way of life, they are divided into coastal and tundra.
The first are nymylans. They speak the Alyutor language and are engaged in sea crafts - fishing and seal hunting. The Kereks are close to them in terms of culture and way of life. This people is characterized by a settled life.
Second - Chavchy nomads (reindeer herders). Their language is Koryak. They live in Penzhina Bay, Taigonos and adjacent territories.
A characteristic feature that distinguishes the Koryaks, like some other peoplesSiberia, are the yarangas. These are mobile cone-shaped dwellings made of skins.
Mansi
If we talk about the indigenous peoples of Western Siberia, we cannot fail to mention the Ural-Yukaghir language family. The most prominent representatives of this group are the Mansi.
The self-name of this people is “Mendsy” or “Voguls”. "Mansi" means "man" in their language.
This group was formed as a result of the assimilation of the Ural and Ugric tribes in the Neolithic era. The former were sedentary hunters, the latter were nomadic pastoralists. This duality of culture and farming persists to this day.
The very first contacts with Western neighbors were in the eleventh century. At this time, the Mansi get acquainted with the Komi and Novgorodians. After joining Russia, the colonization policy intensifies. By the end of the seventeenth century, they were pushed back to the northeast, and in the eighteenth they formally adopted Christianity.
Today there are two phratries in this nation. The first is called Por, he considers the Bear his ancestor, and the Urals form its basis. The second is called Mos, its founder is a woman K altashch, and the majority in this phratry belongs to the Ugrians.
A characteristic feature is that only cross-marriages between phratries are recognized. Only some indigenous peoples of Western Siberia have such a tradition.
Nanais
In ancient times they were known as golds, and one of the most famous representatives of this people was Dersu Uzala.
According to the census, there are a little over twenty of themthousand. They live along the Amur in the Russian Federation and China. The language is Nanai. On the territory of Russia, the Cyrillic alphabet is used, in China it is an unwritten language.
These peoples of Siberia became known thanks to Khabarov, who explored this region in the seventeenth century. Some scientists consider them to be the ancestors of the settled farmers of the Duchers. But most are inclined to believe that the Nanais simply came to these lands.
In 1860, thanks to the redistribution of borders along the Amur River, many representatives of this people became overnight citizens of two states.
Nenets
Listing the peoples of Western Siberia, it is impossible not to dwell on the Nenets. This word, like many names of the tribes of these territories, means "man". Judging by the data of the All-Russian population census, more than forty thousand people live from Taimyr to the Kola Peninsula. Thus, it turns out that the Nenets are the largest of the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
They are divided into two groups. The first is the tundra, whose representatives are the majority, the second is the forest (there are few of them left). The dialects of these tribes are so different that one cannot understand the other.
Like all the peoples of Western Siberia, the Nenets have the features of both Mongoloids and Caucasoids. Moreover, the closer to the east, the less European signs remain.
The basis of the economy of this people is reindeer breeding and, to a small extent, fishing. The main dish is corned beef, but the cuisine is replete with raw meat from cows and deer. Thanks to the vitamins contained in the blood, the Nenets do not have scurvy, but such exoticism is rare.guests and tourists alike.
Chukchi
If you think about what peoples lived in Siberia, and approach this issue from the point of view of anthropology, we will see several ways of settling. Some tribes came from Central Asia, others from the northern islands and Alaska. Only a small fraction are locals.
The Chukchi, or luoravetlan, as they call themselves, are similar in appearance to the Itelmens and Eskimos and have facial features like those of the indigenous population of America. This makes one wonder about their origins.
They met the Russians in the seventeenth century and fought a bloody war for more than a hundred years. As a result, they were pushed back beyond the Kolyma.
The Anyui fortress became an important trading point, where the garrison moved after the fall of the Anadyr prison. The fair in this stronghold had a turnover of hundreds of thousands of rubles.
The richer group of Chukchi - chauchus (reindeer herders) - brought skins here for sale. The second part of the population was called ankalyn (dog breeders), they wandered in the north of Chukotka and led a simpler household.
Eskimos
The self-name of this people is the Inuit, and the word "Eskimo" means "one who eats raw fish." So they were called by the neighbors of their tribes - the American Indians.
Researchers identify these people as a special "Arctic" race. They are very adapted to life in this territory and inhabit the entire coast of the Arctic Ocean from Greenland to Chukotka.
Judging by the 2002 census, their number in the Russian Federation is onlyabout two thousand people. The main part lives in Canada and Alaska.
The Inuit religion is animism, and tambourines are a sacred relic in every family.
For lovers of the exotic, it will be interesting to learn about the igunaka. This is a special dish that is deadly for anyone who has not eaten it since childhood. In fact, this is the rotting meat of a slaughtered deer or walrus (seal), which was kept under pressure from gravel for several months.
Thus, in this article we have studied some of the peoples of Siberia. We got acquainted with their real names, peculiarities of beliefs, housekeeping and culture.
