What peoples inhabited Siberia. Indigenous peoples of Siberia in the modern world

The peoples of average size are the West Siberian Tatars, Khakassians, and Altaians. The remaining peoples, due to their small numbers and similar features of their fishing life, are classified as the group of “small peoples of the North”. Among them are the Nenets, Evenks, Khanty, notable for their numbers and preservation of the traditional way of life of the Chukchi, Evens, Nanais, Mansi, and Koryaks.

The peoples of Siberia belong to different linguistic families and groups. In terms of the number of speakers of related languages, the first place is occupied by the peoples of the Altai language family, at least from the turn of our era, which began to spread from Sayan-Altai and the Baikal region to the deep regions of Western and Eastern Siberia.

The Altai language family within Siberia is divided into three branches: Turkic, Mongolian and Tungusic. The first branch - Turkic - is very extensive. In Siberia, it includes: Altai-Sayan peoples - Altaians, Tuvans, Khakassians, Shors, Chulyms, Karagases, or Tofalars; West Siberian (Tobolsk, Tara, Barabinsk, Tomsk, etc.) Tatars; in the Far North - the Yakuts and Dolgans (the latter live in the east of Taimyr, in the Khatanga River basin). Only the Buryats, settled in groups in the western and eastern Baikal region, belong to the Mongolian peoples in Siberia.

The Tungus branch of the Altai peoples includes the Evenks (“Tungus”), living in scattered groups over a vast territory from the right tributaries of the Upper Ob to the Okhotsk coast and from the Baikal region to the Arctic Ocean; Evens (Lamuts), settled in a number of areas of northern Yakutia, on the Okhotsk coast and Kamchatka; also a number of small nationalities of the Lower Amur - Nanais (Golds), Ulchi, or Olchi, Negidals; Ussuri region - Orochi and Ude (Udege); Sakhalin - Oroks.

In Western Siberia, since ancient times, ethnic communities of the Uralic language family have been formed. These were Ugric-speaking and Samoyedic-speaking tribes of the forest-steppe and taiga zone from the Urals to the Upper Ob region. Currently, the Ob-Irtysh basin is inhabited by Ugric peoples - the Khanty and Mansi. The Samoyeds (Samoyed-speaking) include the Selkups on the Middle Ob, the Enets in the lower reaches of the Yenisei, the Nganasans, or Tavgians, on Taimyr, the Nenets inhabiting the forest-tundra and tundra of Eurasia from Taimyr to the White Sea. Once upon a time, small Samoyed peoples lived in Southern Siberia, on the Altai-Sayan Highlands, but their remnants - Karagases, Koibals, Kamasins, etc. - were Turkified in the 18th - 19th centuries.

The indigenous peoples of Eastern Siberia and the Far East are Mongoloid in the main features of their anthropological types. The Mongoloid type of the population of Siberia could genetically originate only in Central Asia. Archaeologists prove that the paleotic culture of Siberia developed in the same direction and in similar forms as the Paleolithic of Mongolia. Based on this, archaeologists believe that it was the Upper Paleolithic era with its highly developed hunting culture that was the most suitable historical time for the widespread settlement of Siberia and the Far East by “Asian” - Mongoloid in appearance - ancient man.

Mongoloid types of ancient “Baikal” origin are well represented among modern Tungus-speaking population groups from the Yenisei to the Okhotsk coast, also among the Kolyma Yukaghirs, whose distant ancestors may have preceded the Evenks and Evens in a large area of ​​Eastern Siberia.

Among a significant part of the Altai-speaking population of Siberia - Altaians, Tuvinians, Yakuts, Buryats, etc. - the most common Mongoloid Central Asian type is widespread, which is a complex racial and genetic formation, the origins of which go back to the Mongoloid groups of early times mixed with each other (from ancient times until the late Middle Ages).

Sustainable economic and cultural types of indigenous peoples of Siberia:

1. foot hunters and fishermen of the taiga zone;
2. wild deer hunters in the Subarctic;
3. sedentary fishermen in the lower reaches big rivers(Ob, Amur, and also in Kamchatka);
4. taiga hunters and reindeer herders of Eastern Siberia;
5. reindeer herders of the tundra from the Northern Urals to Chukotka;
6. hunters of sea animals on the Pacific coast and islands;
7. pastoralists and farmers of Southern and Western Siberia, the Baikal region, etc.

Historical and ethnographic areas:

1. Western Siberian (with the southern, approximately to the latitude of Tobolsk and the mouth of the Chulym on the Upper Ob, and the northern, taiga and subarctic regions);
2. Altai-Sayan (mountain taiga and forest-steppe mixed zone);
3. East Siberian (with internal differentiation of commercial and agricultural types of tundra, taiga and forest-steppe);
4. Amur (or Amur-Sakhalin);
5. northeastern (Chukchi-Kamchatka).

The Altai language family was initially formed among the very mobile steppe population of Central Asia, outside the southern outskirts of Siberia. The division of this community into proto-Turks and proto-Mongols occurred on the territory of Mongolia within the 1st millennium BC. The ancient Turks (ancestors of the Sayan-Altai peoples and Yakuts) and the ancient Mongols (ancestors of the Buryats and Oirats-Kalmyks) later settled in Siberia, already fully formed separately. The area of ​​origin of the primary Tungus-speaking tribes was also in the Eastern Transbaikalia, from where the movement of foot hunters of the Proto-Evenks began around the turn of our era to the north, to the Yenisei-Lena interfluve, and also subsequently to the Lower Amur.

The Early Metal Age (2-1 millennia BC) in Siberia is characterized by many streams of southern cultural influences that reached the lower reaches of the Ob and the Yamal Peninsula, the lower reaches of the Yenisei and Lena, Kamchatka and the Bering Sea coast of the Chukotka Peninsula. The most significant, accompanied by ethnic inclusions in the aboriginal environment, these phenomena were in Southern Siberia, the Amur region and Primorye of the Far East. At the turn of the 2nd-1st millennium BC. There was a penetration of steppe pastoralists of Central Asian origin into Southern Siberia, the Minusinsk Basin and the Tomsk Ob region, leaving monuments of the Karasuk-Irmen culture. According to a convincing hypothesis, these were the ancestors of the Kets, who later, under pressure from the early Turks, moved further to the Middle Yenisei and partially mixed with them. These Turks are carriers of the Tashtyk culture of the 1st century. BC. - 5th century AD - settled in the Altai-Sayans, in the Mariinsky-Achinsk and Khakass-Minusinsk forest-steppe. They were engaged in semi-nomadic cattle breeding, knew agriculture, widely used iron tools, built rectangular log dwellings, had draft horses and riding domestic reindeer. It is possible that it was through them that domestic reindeer husbandry began to spread in Northern Siberia. But the time of the truly widespread spread of the early Turks across the southern strip of Siberia, north of Sayano-Altai and in the Western Baikal region, is most likely the 6th-10th centuries. AD Between the X and XIII centuries. The movement of the Baikal Turks to the Upper and Middle Lena begins, which marked the beginning of the formation of the ethnic community of the northernmost Turks - the Yakuts and the Dolgans.

The Iron Age, most developed and expressive in Western and Eastern Siberia, in the Amur region and Primorye in Far East, was marked by a noticeable rise in productive forces, population growth and an increase in the diversity of cultural means not only in the coastal areas of large river communications (Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur), but also in deep taiga regions. Possession of good vehicles (boats, skis, hand sleds, sled dogs and reindeer), metal tools and weapons, fishing gear, quality clothing and portable housing, as well as perfect methods of farming and storing food for future use, i.e. The most important economic and cultural inventions and the labor experience of many generations allowed a number of aboriginal groups to widely settle in the inaccessible, but rich in animals and fish, taiga areas of Northern Siberia, develop the forest-tundra and reach the coast of the Arctic Ocean.

The largest migrations with the widespread development of the taiga and assimilative introduction into the “Paleo-Asian-Yukaghir” population of Eastern Siberia were made by Tungus-speaking groups of foot and reindeer hunters of elk and wild deer. Moving in various directions between the Yenisei and the Okhotsk coast, penetrating from the northern taiga to the Amur and Primorye, coming into contact and mixing with the foreign-speaking inhabitants of these places, these “Tungus explorers” ultimately formed numerous groups of Evenks and Evens and Amur-Coastal peoples . The medieval Tungus, who themselves mastered domestic reindeer, contributed to the spread of these useful transport animals among the Yukagirs, Koryaks and Chukchi, which had important consequences for the development of their economy, cultural communication and changes in the social system.

Development of socio-economic relations

By the time the Russians arrived in Siberia, the indigenous peoples of not only the forest-steppe zone, but also the taiga and tundra were by no means at that stage of socio-historical development that could be considered deeply primitive. Social and economic relations in the leading sphere of production of conditions and forms of social life among many peoples of Siberia reached a fairly high level of development already in the 17th-18th centuries. Ethnographic materials of the 19th century. state the predominance among the peoples of Siberia of relations of the patriarchal-communal system associated with subsistence farming, the simplest forms of neighborly and kinship cooperation, the communal tradition of owning land, organizing internal affairs and relations with the outside world with a fairly strict account of “blood” genealogical ties in marriage, family and everyday (mainly religious, ritual and direct communication) spheres. The main social-production (including all aspects and processes of production and reproduction of human life), socially significant unit of social structure among the peoples of Siberia was the territorial-neighborhood community, within which everything necessary for existence and production communication, material means and skills, social and ideological relations and properties. As a territorial-economic association, it could be a separate sedentary settlement, a group of interconnected fishing camps, or a local community of semi-nomads.

But ethnographers are also right that in the everyday sphere of the peoples of Siberia, in their genealogical ideas and connections, living remnants of the former relations of the patriarchal-tribal system were preserved for a long time. Among these persistent phenomena is clan exogamy, extended to a fairly wide circle of relatives over several generations. There were many traditions that emphasized the holiness and inviolability of the ancestral principle in the social self-determination of an individual, his behavior and attitude towards people around him. The highest virtue family mutual assistance and solidarity were considered even to the detriment of personal interests and affairs. The focus of this tribal ideology was the expanded paternal family and its lateral patronymic lines. A wider circle of relatives of the father’s “root”, or “bone” was also taken into account, if, of course, they were known. Based on this, ethnographers believe that in the history of the peoples of Siberia, the patrilineal system represented an independent, very long stage in the development of primitive communal relations.

Production and everyday relations between men and women in the family and local community were built on the basis of the division of labor by gender and age. The significant role of women in the household was reflected in the ideology of many Siberian peoples in the form of the cult of the mythological “mistress of the hearth” and the associated custom of “keeping the fire” by the real mistress of the house.

The Siberian material of past centuries used by ethnographers, along with the archaic, also shows obvious signs of ancient decline and decomposition of tribal relations. Even in those local societies where social class stratification did not receive any noticeable development, features were found that overcome tribal equality and democracy, namely: individualization of methods for appropriating material wealth, private ownership of craft products and objects of exchange, property inequality between families , in some places patriarchal slavery and bondage, the selection and elevation of the ruling clan nobility, etc. These phenomena in one form or another are noted in documents of the 17th-18th centuries. among the Ob Ugrians and Nenets, the Sayan-Altai peoples and the Evenks.

The Turkic-speaking peoples of Southern Siberia, the Buryats and Yakuts at this time were characterized by a specific ulus-tribal organization, combining the orders and customary law of the patriarchal (neighborhood-kinship) community with the dominant institutions of the military-hierarchical system and the despotic power of the tribal nobility. The tsarist government could not help but take into account such a complex socio-political situation, and, recognizing the influence and strength of the local ulus nobility, practically entrusted to them the fiscal and police control of the ordinary mass of accomplices.

It is also necessary to take into account that Russian tsarism was not limited only to collecting tribute from the indigenous population of Siberia. If this was the case in the 17th century, then in subsequent centuries the state-feudal system sought to make maximum use of the productive forces of this population, imposing on it increasingly large payments and in-kind duties and depriving it of the right of supreme ownership of all lands, lands and mineral wealth. An integral part The economic policy of the autocracy in Siberia was to encourage trade and industrial activities of Russian capitalism and the treasury. In the post-reform period, the flow of agrarian resettlement of peasants from European Russia to Siberia intensified. Along the most important transport routes, pockets of economically active newcomer populations quickly began to form, which entered into diverse economic and cultural contacts with the indigenous inhabitants of the newly developed areas of Siberia. Naturally, under this generally progressive influence, the peoples of Siberia lost their patriarchal identity (“the originality of backwardness”) and became accustomed to new living conditions, although before the revolution this happened in contradictory and not painless forms.

Economic and cultural types

By the time the Russians arrived, indigenous peoples had developed much more cattle breeding than agriculture. But since the 18th century. agriculture occupies everything bigger place among the West Siberian Tatars, it also spreads among traditional pastoralists of southern Altai, Tuva and Buryatia. Material and living forms also changed accordingly: strong settled settlements arose, nomadic yurts and half-dugouts were replaced by log houses. However, among the Altaians, Buryats and Yakuts for a long time there were polygonal log yurts with a conical roof, according to appearance imitating the felt yurt of nomads.

The traditional clothing of the pastoral population of Siberia was similar to Central Asian (for example, Mongolian) and was of the swing type (fur and cloth robe). The characteristic clothing of South Altai cattle breeders was a long-brimmed sheepskin coat. Married Altai women (like Buryat women) wore a kind of long sleeveless vest with a slit in the front - “chegedek” - over their fur coat.

The lower reaches of large rivers, as well as a number of small rivers in North-Eastern Siberia, are characterized by a complex of sedentary fishermen. In the vast taiga zone of Siberia, on the basis of the ancient hunting way of life, a specialized economic and cultural complex of hunters and reindeer herders was formed, which included the Evenks, Evens, Yukaghirs, Oroks, and Negidals. The trade of these peoples consisted of hunting wild elk and deer, small ungulates and fur-bearing animals. Fishing was almost universally a secondary occupation. Unlike sedentary fishermen, taiga reindeer hunters led a nomadic lifestyle. Taiga transport reindeer husbandry is exclusively pack and riding.

The material culture of the hunting peoples of the taiga was completely adapted to constant movement. A typical example of this is the Evenks. Their dwelling was a conical tent covered with reindeer skins and tanned leather (“rovduga”), also sewn into wide strips of birch bark boiled in boiling water. During frequent migrations, these tires were transported in packs on domestic reindeer. To move along the rivers, the Evenks used birch bark boats, so light that they could easily be carried on the back of one person. Evenki skis are excellent: wide, long, but very light, glued with the skin of an elk’s leg. The ancient clothing of the Evenks was adapted for frequent skiing and riding a deer. This clothing is made of thin but warm deer skins - swinging, with flaps diverging in front; the chest and stomach were covered with a kind of fur bib.

The general course of the historical process in various regions of Siberia was dramatically changed by the events of the 16th-17th centuries associated with the appearance of Russian explorers and the eventual inclusion of all of Siberia in the Russian state. Lively Russian trade and the progressive influence of Russian settlers made significant changes in the economy and life of not only the pastoral and agricultural, but also the commercial indigenous population of Siberia. Already by end of the XVIII V. Evenks, Evens, Yukaghirs and other fishing groups of the North began to widely use firearms. This facilitated and quantitatively increased the production of large animals (wild deer, elk) and fur-bearing animals, especially squirrels - the main object of the fur trade of the 18th and early 20th centuries. New occupations began to be added to the original crafts - more developed reindeer husbandry, the use of horse draft power, agricultural experiments, the beginnings of crafts in the local raw material base etc. As a result of all this, the material and everyday culture of the indigenous people of Siberia also changed.

Spiritual life

The area of ​​religious-mythological ideas and various religious cults was least amenable to progressive cultural influence. The most common form of belief among the peoples of Siberia was.

Distinctive feature shamanism is the belief that certain people - shamans - have the ability, having brought themselves into a frenzied state, to enter into direct communication with spirits - the shaman's patrons and assistants in the fight against disease, hunger, loss and other misfortunes. The shaman was obliged to take care of the success of the craft, the successful birth of a child, etc. Shamanism had several varieties corresponding to different stages social development the Siberian peoples themselves. Among the most backward peoples, for example, the Itelmens, everyone, and especially old women, could shamanize. Remnants of such “universal” shamanism have been preserved among other peoples.

For some peoples, the functions of a shaman constituted a special specialty, but the shamans themselves served a clan cult, in which all adult members of the clan took part. Such “tribal shamanism” was noted among the Yukaghirs, Khanty and Mansi, Evenks and Buryats.

Professional shamanism flourishes during the period of collapse of the patriarchal clan system. The shaman becomes a special person in the community, opposing himself to uninitiated relatives, and lives on income from his profession, which becomes hereditary. It is this form of shamanism that has been observed in the recent past among many peoples of Siberia, especially among the Evenks and the Tungus-speaking population of the Amur, among the Nenets, Selkups, and Yakuts.

The Buryats acquired complex forms under the influence, and with late XVII V. generally began to be replaced by this religion.

The tsarist government, starting from the 18th century, zealously supported missionary activities in Siberia Orthodox Church, and Christianization was often carried out through coercive measures. By the end of the 19th century. Most of the Siberian peoples were formally baptized, but their own beliefs did not disappear and continued to have a significant impact on the worldview and behavior of the indigenous population.

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Literature

1. Ethnography: textbook / ed. Yu.V. Bromley, G.E. Markova. - M.: Higher School, 1982. - P. 320. Chapter 10. “Peoples of Siberia.”

Siberia is a vast historical and geographical region in the northeast of Eurasia. Today it is almost entirely located within the Russian Federation. The population of Siberia is represented by Russians, as well as numerous indigenous peoples (Yakuts, Buryats, Tuvinians, Nenets and others). In total, at least 36 million people live in the region.

This article will talk about general features population of Siberia, about largest cities and the history of development of this territory.

Siberia: general characteristics of the region

Most often, the southern border of Siberia coincides with state border RF. In the west it is limited by the ridges of the Ural Mountains, in the east by the Pacific Ocean, and in the north by the Arctic Ocean. However, in a historical context, Siberia also covers the northeastern territories of modern Kazakhstan.

The population of Siberia (as of 2017) is 36 million people. Geographically, the region is divided into Western and Eastern Siberia. The demarcation line between them is the Yenisei River. The main cities of Siberia are Barnaul, Tomsk, Norilsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Omsk, Tyumen.

As for the name of this region, its origin is not precisely established. There are several versions. According to one of them, the toponym is closely related to the Mongolian word “shibir” - this is a swampy area overgrown with birch groves. It is assumed that this is what the Mongols called this area in the Middle Ages. But according to Professor Zoya Boyarshinova, the term comes from the self-name of the ethnic group “Sabir,” whose language is considered the ancestor of the entire Ugric language group.

Population of Siberia: density and total number

According to the census taken back in 2002, 39.13 million people lived within the region. However, the current population of Siberia is only 36 million inhabitants. Thus, it is a sparsely populated area, but its ethnic diversity is truly enormous. More than 30 peoples and nationalities live here.

The average population density in Siberia is 6 people per 1 square kilometer. But it is very different in different parts of the region. Thus, the highest population density indicators are in the Kemerovo region (about 33 people per sq. km.), and the minimum are in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Tyva (1.2 and 1.8 people per sq. km., respectively). The valleys of large rivers (Ob, Irtysh, Tobol and Ishim), as well as the foothills of Altai, are most densely populated.

The level of urbanization here is quite high. Thus, at least 72% of the region’s residents currently live in the cities of Siberia.

Demographic problems of Siberia

The population of Siberia is rapidly declining. Moreover, the mortality and birth rate rates here, in general, are almost identical to the all-Russian ones. And in Tula, for example, birth rates are completely astronomical for Russia.

The main reason for the demographic crisis in Siberia is the migration outflow of the population (primarily young people). And the Far Eastern region is leading in these processes federal district. From 1989 to 2010, it “lost” almost 20% of its population. According to surveys, about 40% of Siberian residents dream of traveling to permanent place residence in other regions. And these are very sad indicators. Thus, Siberia, conquered and developed with such great difficulty, becomes empty every year.

Today, the balance of migration in the region is 2.1%. And in the coming years this figure will only grow. Siberia (in particular, its western part) is already experiencing a very acute shortage of labor resources.

Indigenous population of Siberia: list of peoples

Ethnically, Siberia is an extremely diverse territory. Representatives of 36 indigenous peoples and ethnic groups live here. Although, of course, Russians predominate in Siberia (approximately 90%).

The ten most numerous indigenous peoples in the region include:

1. Yakuts (478,000 people).
2. Buryats (461,000).
3. Tuvans (264,000).
4. Khakassians (73,000).
5. Altaians (71,000).
6. Nenets (45,000).
7. Evenks (38,000).
8. Khanty (31,000).
9. Evens (22,000).
10. Muncie (12,000).

The peoples of the Turkic group (Khakas, Tuvans, Shors) live mainly in the upper reaches of the Yenisei River. Altaians are concentrated within the Altai Republic. Mostly Buryats live in Transbaikalia and Cisbaikalia (pictured below), and in the taiga Krasnoyarsk Territory- Evenks.

The Taimyr Peninsula is inhabited by Nenets (in the next photo), Dolgans and Nganasans. But in the lower reaches of the Yenisei, the Kets live compactly - a small people who use a language that is not included in any of the known language groups. In the southern part of Siberia, within the steppe and forest-steppe zones, Tatars and Kazakhs also live.

The Russian population of Siberia, as a rule, considers itself Orthodox. Kazakhs and Tatars are Muslims by religion. Many of the region's indigenous peoples adhere to traditional pagan beliefs.

Natural resources and economics

“The Pantry of Russia” is how Siberia is often called, meaning the region’s enormous scale and diversity of mineral resources. Thus, colossal reserves of oil and gas, copper, lead, platinum, nickel, gold and silver, diamonds, coal and other minerals are concentrated here. About 60% of all-Russian peat deposits lie in the depths of Siberia.

Of course, the economy of Siberia is completely focused on the extraction and processing of the region’s natural resources. Moreover, not only mineral and fuel and energy, but also forest. In addition, the region has a fairly developed non-ferrous metallurgy, as well as the pulp industry.

At the same time, the rapid development of the mining and energy industries could not but affect the ecology of Siberia. So, this is where the most polluted cities in Russia are located - Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk and Novokuznetsk.

History of the region's development

After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the lands east of the Urals were effectively no man's land. Only the Siberian Tatars managed to organize their own state here - the Siberian Khanate. True, it did not last long.

Ivan the Terrible took up the colonization of Siberian lands seriously, and even then only towards the end of his tsarist reign. Before this, the Russians had practically no interest in the lands located beyond the Urals. IN late XVI century, Cossacks under the leadership of Ermak founded several fortified cities in Siberia. Among them are Tobolsk, Tyumen and Surgut.

At first, Siberia was developed by exiles and convicts. Later, already in the 19th century, landless peasants began to come here in search of free hectares. Serious development of Siberia began only in late XIX century. This was largely facilitated by the construction of the railway line. During the Second World War, large factories and enterprises of the Soviet Union were evacuated to Siberia, and this had a positive impact on the development of the region's economy in the future.

Main cities

There are nine cities in the region whose population exceeds the 500,000 mark. This:

• Novosibirsk
• Omsk.
• Krasnoyarsk
• Tyumen.
• Barnaul.
• Irkutsk
• Tomsk
• Kemerovo.
• Novokuznetsk.

The first three cities on this list are “millionaire” cities in terms of the number of residents.

Novosibirsk is the unofficial capital of Siberia, the third most populous city in Russia. It is located on both banks of the Ob - one of the largest rivers in Eurasia. Novosibirsk is an important industrial, commercial and Cultural Center countries. The leading industries of the city are energy, metallurgy and mechanical engineering. The basis of the Novosibirsk economy is about 200 large and medium-sized enterprises.

Krasnoyarsk is the oldest of the large cities in Siberia. It was founded back in 1628. This is the most important economic, cultural and educational center of Russia. Krasnoyarsk is located on the banks of the Yenisei, on the conventional border of Western and Eastern Siberia. The city has a developed space industry, mechanical engineering, chemical industry and pharmaceuticals.

Tyumen is one of the first Russian cities in Siberia. Today it is the most important oil refining center in the country. Oil and gas production contributed to the rapid development of various scientific organizations in the city. Today, about 10% of the working population of Tyumen works in research institutes and universities.

Finally

Siberia is the largest historical and geographical region of Russia with a population of 36 million people. It is unusually rich in various natural resources, but suffers from a number of social and demographic problems. There are only three million-plus cities within the region. These are Novosibirsk, Omsk and Krasnoyarsk.

Buryats
this is another Siberian people with their own republic. The capital of Buryatia is the city of Ulan-Ude, located east of Lake Baikal. The number of Buryats is 461,389 people. Buryat cuisine is widely known in Siberia and is rightfully considered one of the best among ethnic cuisines. The history of this people, its legends and traditions is quite interesting. By the way, the Republic of Buryatia is one of the main centers of Buddhism in Russia.
National home
The traditional dwelling of the Buryats, like all nomadic pastoralists, is the yurt, called ger (literally dwelling, house) among the Mongolian peoples.

Yurts were installed both portable felt and stationary in the form of a frame made of timber or logs. Wooden yurts of 6 or 8 corners, without windows. In the roof big hole for smoke release and lighting. The roof was installed on four pillars - tengi. Sometimes there was a ceiling. The door to the yurt is oriented to the south. The room was divided into the right, male, and left, female half. There was a fireplace in the center of the dwelling. There were benches along the walls. On the right side of the entrance to the yurt there are shelves with household utensils. On the left side there are chests and a table for guests. Opposite the entrance is a shelf with burkhans or ongons.

In front of the yurt there was a hitching post (serge) in the form of a pillar with an ornament.

Thanks to the design of the yurt, it can be quickly assembled and disassembled, has light weight- all this is important when migrating to other pastures. In winter, the fire in the hearth provides warmth; in summer, with an additional configuration, it is even used instead of a refrigerator. The right side of the yurt is the men's side. On the wall hung a bow, arrows, a saber, a gun, a saddle and harness. The left one is for women; here were household and kitchen utensils. In the northern part there was an altar. The door of the yurt was always on the south side. The lattice frame of the yurt was covered with felt, soaked in a mixture of sour milk, tobacco and salt for disinfection. They sat on quilted felt - sherdeg - around the hearth. Among the Buryats living on the western side of Lake Baikal, wooden yurts with eight walls were used. The walls were erected mainly from larch logs, while inner part the walls had a flat surface. The roof has four large slopes (in the form of a hexagon) and four small slopes (in the form of a triangle). Inside the yurt there are four pillars on which the inner part of the roof - the ceiling - rests. Large pieces of coniferous bark are placed on the ceiling (inside down). The final covering is carried out with even pieces of turf.

In the 19th century, wealthy Buryats began to build huts borrowed from Russian settlers, preserving elements of the national home in the interior decoration.
Traditional cuisine
Since ancient times, products of animal and combined animal-plant origin have occupied a large place in the food of the Buryats: (b helyor, sh len, buuza, khushuur, hileeme, sharbin, shuhan, hiime, oreomog, hoshkhonog, z hey-salamat, x sh en - milk foam, rme, arbin, s mge, z heitey zedgene, goghan, as well as drinks hen, zutaraan sai, aarsa, x renge, tarag, horzo, togonoy arkhi (tarasun) - an alcoholic drink obtained by distilling kurungi). Sour milk of a special leaven (kurunga) and dried compressed curdled mass - huruud - were prepared for future use.

Like the Mongols, the Buryats drank green tea, into which they poured milk and added salt, butter or lard.

Unlike Mongolian cuisine, a significant place in Buryat cuisine is occupied by fish, berries (cherry cherry, strawberries), herbs and spices. Baikal omul, smoked according to the Buryat recipe, is popular.

The symbol of Buryat cuisine is buuza (traditional name buuza), a steamed dish. Corresponds to Chinese baozi.(dumplings)
National clothes
Outerwear
Each Buryat clan (obsolete - tribe) has its own national clothing, which is extremely diverse (mainly for women). The national clothing of the Transbaikal Buryats consists of degel - a kind of caftan made of dressed sheepskin, which has a triangular cutout on the top of the chest, trimmed, as well as the sleeves, tightly clasping the hand, with fur, sometimes very valuable. In summer, the degel could be replaced by a cloth caftan of a similar cut. In Transbaikalia, robes were often used in the summer, the poor had paper ones, and the rich had silk ones. In inclement times, in addition to the degel in Transbaikalia, a saba, a type of overcoat with a long kragen, was worn. In the cold season, especially on the road - dakha, a type of wide robe made from tanned skins, with the wool facing out.

Degel (degil) is tied at the waist with a belt on which a knife and smoking accessories were hung: a flint, a hansa (a small copper pipe with a short chibouk) and a tobacco pouch. A distinctive feature from the Mongolian cut is the chest part of the degel - enger, where three multi-colored stripes are sewn into the upper part. At the bottom there is a yellow-red color - hua ungee, in the middle there is a black color - hara ungee, at the top there are various; white - sagan ungee, green - nogon ungee or blue - huhe ungee. The original version was yellow-red, black, white. The history of introducing these colors as insignia goes back to ancient times towards the end of the 4th century AD. e., when the Proto-Buryats - Xiongnu (Huns) before Sea of ​​Azov divided into two directions; the northern ones accepted the black color and became the black Huns (hara hunud), and the southern ones accepted White color and steel - the White Huns (Sagan Hunud). Part of the Western (northern) Xiongnu remained under the rule of the Xianbei (proto-Mongols) and adopted hua ungee - yellow-red color. This division by color later formed the basis for the formation of clans (omog) - Huasei, Khargana, Sagangud.

The history of Siberian peoples goes back thousands of years. Since ancient times, great people lived here, preserving the traditions of their ancestors, respecting nature and its gifts. And just as the vast lands of Siberia are vast, so are the diverse peoples of the indigenous Siberians.

Altaians

According to the results of the population census in 2010, the Altaians number about 70,000 people, which makes them the largest ethnic group in Siberia. They live mainly in the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic.

The nationality is divided into 2 ethnic groups - Southern and Northern Altaians, differing both in their way of life and the characteristics of their language.

Religion: Buddhism, shamanism, Burkhanism.

Teleuts

Most often, Teleuts are considered an ethnic group related to the Altaians. But some distinguish them as a separate nationality.

They live in the Kemerovo region. The number is about 2 thousand people. Language, culture, faith, traditions are inherent to the Altaians.

Sayots

Sayots live on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia. The population numbers about 4,000 people.

Being descendants of the inhabitants of the Eastern Sayans - the Sayan Samoyeds. The Sayots have preserved their culture and traditions since ancient times and to this day remain reindeer herders and hunters.

Dolgans

The main settlements of Dolganov are located on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Territory - Dolgano-Nenets municipal district. The number is about 8,000 people.

Religion – Orthodoxy. The Dolgans are the northernmost Turkic-speaking people in the world.

Shors

Adherents of shamanism, the Shors, live mainly in the Kemerovo region. The people are distinguished by their distinctive ancient culture. The first mentions of the Shors go back to the 6th century AD.

The nationality is usually divided into mountain taiga and southern Shors. The total number is about 14,000 people.

Evenks

The Evenks speak the Tungusic language and have been hunting since time immemorial.

The nationality numbers about 40,000 people settled in the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, China and Mongolia.

Nenets

A small nationality of Siberia, they live near the Kola Peninsula. The Nents are a nomadic people engaged in reindeer herding.

Their number is about 45,000 people.

Khanty

More than 30,000 Khanty live on the territory of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. They engage in hunting, reindeer herding, and fishing.

Many of the modern Khanty consider themselves Orthodox, but some families still profess shamanism.

Muncie

One of the oldest indigenous Siberian peoples is Mansi.

Ivan the Terrible also sent entire armies to battle with Mansi during the development of Siberia.

Today their number numbers about 12,000 people. They live mainly on the territory of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug.

Nanai people

Historians call the Nanais ancient people Siberia. The number is about 12,000 people.

They mainly live in the Far East and along the banks of the Amur River in China. Nanai is translated as - people of the earth.

1. Features of the peoples of Siberia

2.general characteristics peoples of Siberia

3. Peoples of Siberia on the eve of Russian colonization

1. Features of the peoples of Siberia

In addition to anthropological and linguistic features, the peoples of Siberia have a number of specific, traditionally stable cultural and economic characteristics that characterize the historical and ethnographic diversity of Siberia. In cultural and economic terms, the territory of Siberia can be divided into two large historical regions: 1) southern - the region of ancient cattle breeding and agriculture; and 2) northern – the area of ​​commercial hunting and fishing. The boundaries of these areas do not coincide with the boundaries of landscape zones. Stable economic and cultural types of Siberia developed in ancient times as a result of historical and cultural processes that were different in time and nature, occurring in conditions of a homogeneous natural and economic environment and under the influence of external foreign cultural traditions.

By the 17th century Among the indigenous population of Siberia, according to the predominant type of economic activity, the following economic and cultural types have developed: 1) foot hunters and fishermen of the taiga zone and forest-tundra; 2) sedentary fishermen in the basins of large and small rivers and lakes; 3) sedentary hunters of sea animals on the coast of the Arctic seas; 4) nomadic taiga reindeer herders-hunters and fishermen; 5) nomadic reindeer herders of the tundra and forest-tundra; 6) cattle breeders of steppes and forest-steppes.

In the past, foot hunters and fishermen of the taiga mainly included some groups of foot Evenks, Orochs, Udeges, separate groups of Yukaghirs, Kets, Selkups, partly Khanty and Mansi, Shors. For these peoples great importance There was hunting for meat animals (elk, deer), and fishing. A characteristic element of their culture was the hand sledge.

The settled-fishing type of economy was widespread in the past among the peoples living in the river basins. Amur and Ob: Nivkhs, Nanais, Ulchis, Itelmens, Khanty, among some Selkups and Ob Mansi. For these peoples, fishing was the main source of livelihood throughout the year. Hunting was of an auxiliary nature.

The type of sedentary hunters of sea animals is represented among the sedentary Chukchi, Eskimos, and partly sedentary Koryaks. The economy of these peoples is based on the production of sea animals (walrus, seal, whale). Arctic hunters settled on the coasts of the Arctic seas. The products of the marine hunting industry, in addition to satisfying personal needs for meat, fat and skins, also served as an object of exchange with neighboring related groups.

Nomadic taiga reindeer herders, hunters and fishermen were the most common type of economy among the peoples of Siberia in the past. He was represented among the Evenks, Evens, Dolgans, Tofalars, Forest Nenets, Northern Selkups, and Reindeer Kets. Geographically, it covered mainly the forests and forest-tundras of Eastern Siberia, from the Yenisei to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and also extended to the west of the Yenisei. The basis of the economy was hunting and keeping deer, as well as fishing.

The nomadic reindeer herders of the tundra and forest-tundra include the Nenets, reindeer Chukchi and reindeer Koryaks. These peoples have developed a special type of economy, the basis of which is reindeer husbandry. Hunting and fishing, as well as marine fishing, are of secondary importance or are completely absent. The main food product for this group of peoples is deer meat. The deer also serves as a reliable means of transportation.

Cattle breeding of the steppes and forest-steppes in the past was widely represented among the Yakuts, the world's northernmost pastoral people, among the Altaians, Khakassians, Tuvinians, Buryats, and Siberian Tatars. Cattle breeding was of a commercial nature; the products almost completely satisfied the population's needs for meat, milk and dairy products. Agriculture among pastoral peoples (except the Yakuts) existed as an auxiliary branch of the economy. These peoples were partly engaged in hunting and fishing.

Along with the indicated types of economy, a number of peoples also had transitional types. For example, the Shors and northern Altaians combined sedentary cattle breeding with hunting; The Yukaghirs, Nganasans, and Enets combined reindeer herding with hunting as their main occupation.

The diversity of cultural and economic types of Siberia determines the specifics of indigenous peoples' development of the natural environment, on the one hand, and the level of their socio-economic development, on the other. Before the arrival of the Russians, economic and cultural specialization did not go beyond the framework of the appropriating economy and primitive (hoe) farming and cattle breeding. The diversity of natural conditions contributed to the formation of various local variants of economic types, the oldest of which were hunting and fishing.

At the same time, it must be taken into account that “culture” is an extra-biological adaptation that entails the need for activity. This explains so many economic and cultural types. Their peculiarity is their gentle attitude towards natural resources. And in this all economic and cultural types are similar to each other. However, culture is, at the same time, a system of signs, a semiotic model of a particular society (ethnic group). Therefore, a single cultural and economic type is not yet a community of culture. What is common is that the existence of many traditional cultures is based on a certain method of farming (fishing, hunting, sea hunting, cattle breeding). However, cultures can be different in terms of customs, rituals, traditions, and beliefs.

2. General characteristics of the peoples of Siberia

The indigenous population of Siberia before the start of Russian colonization was about 200 thousand people. The northern (tundra) part of Siberia was inhabited by tribes of Samoyeds, called Samoyeds in Russian sources: Nenets, Enets and Nganasans.

The main economic occupation of these tribes was reindeer herding and hunting, and in the lower reaches of the Ob, Taz and Yenisei - fishing. The main fish species were arctic fox, sable, and ermine. Furs served as the main product for paying yasak and for trade. Furs were also paid as dowry for the girls they chose as wives. The number of Siberian Samoyeds, including the Southern Samoyed tribes, reached about 8 thousand people.

To the south of the Nenets lived the Ugric-speaking tribes of the Khanty (Ostyaks) and Mansi (Voguls). The Khanty were engaged in fishing and hunting, and had reindeer herds in the area of ​​the Gulf of Ob. The main occupation of the Mansi was hunting. Before the arrival of the Russian Mansi on the river. Ture and Tavde were engaged in primitive agriculture, cattle breeding, and beekeeping. The settlement area of ​​the Khanty and Mansi included the areas of the Middle and Lower Ob with its tributaries, the river. Irtysh, Demyanka and Konda, as well as the western and eastern slopes of the Middle Urals. The total number of Ugric-speaking tribes in Siberia in the 17th century. reached 15-18 thousand people.

To the east of the settlement area of ​​the Khanty and Mansi lay the lands of the southern Samoyeds, southern or Narym Selkups. For a long time, Russians called the Narym Selkups Ostyaks because of the similarity of their material culture with the Khanty. The Selkups lived along the middle reaches of the river. Ob and its tributaries. The main economic activity was seasonal fishing and hunting. They hunted fur-bearing animals, elk, wild deer, upland and waterfowl. Before the arrival of the Russians, the southern Samoyeds were united in a military alliance, called the Piebald Horde in Russian sources, led by Prince Voni.

To the east of the Narym Selkups lived tribes of the Keto-speaking population of Siberia: Ket (Yenisei Ostyaks), Arins, Kotta, Yastyntsy (4-6 thousand people), settled along the Middle and Upper Yenisei. Their main activities were hunting and fishing. Some population groups extracted iron from ore, products from which were sold to neighbors or used on the farm.

The upper reaches of the Ob and its tributaries, the upper reaches of the Yenisei, the Altai were inhabited by numerous Turkic tribes that differed greatly in their economic structure - the ancestors of modern Shors, Altaians, Khakassians: Tomsk, Chulym and “Kuznetsk” Tatars (about 5-6 thousand people), Teleuts ( White Kalmyks) (about 7–8 thousand people), Yenisei Kirghiz with their subordinate tribes (8–9 thousand people). The main occupation of most of these peoples was nomadic cattle breeding. In some places of this vast territory, hoe farming and hunting were developed. The “Kuznetsk” Tatars developed blacksmithing.

The Sayan Highlands were occupied by the Samoyed and Turkic tribes of Mators, Karagas, Kamasins, Kachins, Kaysots, etc., with a total number of about 2 thousand people. They were engaged in cattle breeding, horse breeding, hunting, and knew farming skills.

To the south of the areas inhabited by the Mansi, Selkups and Kets, Turkic-speaking ethnoterritorial groups were widespread - the ethnic predecessors of the Siberian Tatars: Barabinsky, Tereninsky, Irtysh, Tobolsk, Ishim and Tyumen Tatars. By the middle of the 16th century. a significant part of the Turks of Western Siberia (from Tura in the west to Baraba in the east) was under the rule of the Siberian Khanate. The main occupation of the Siberian Tatars was hunting and fishing; cattle breeding was developed in the Barabinsk steppe. Before the arrival of the Russians, the Tatars were already engaged in agriculture. There was home production of leather, felt, bladed weapons, and fur dressing. The Tatars acted as intermediaries in transit trade between Moscow and Central Asia.

To the west and east of Baikal were the Mongol-speaking Buryats (about 25 thousand people), known in Russian sources as “brothers” or “brotherly people”. The basis of their economy was nomadic cattle breeding. The secondary occupations were farming and gathering. The iron-making craft was quite highly developed.

A significant territory from the Yenisei to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, from the northern tundra to the Amur region was inhabited by the Tungus tribes of the Evenks and Evens (about 30 thousand people). They were divided into “reindeer” (reindeer breeders), which were the majority, and “on foot”. “On foot” Evenks and Evens were sedentary fishermen and hunted sea animals on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. One of the main activities of both groups was hunting. The main game animals were moose, wild deer, and bears. Domestic deer were used by the Evenks as pack and riding animals.