Altai people
From Kazakhstan Encyclopedia
Template:Infobox ethnic group The Altay or Altai are a Turkic people living in the Siberian Altai Republic and Altai Krai. For alternative ethnonyms see also Teleut, Tele, Telengit, Mountain Kalmuck, White Kalmuck, Black Tatar, Oirot.
The Altaians are represented as a totality of small Turkic peoples like the Altai-Kizhi, the Teleut, the Kumandin, the Chelkans, the Shors, etc.
The Altaians are presented by two ethnographic groups:
- The Northern Altaians include the Tubalar (the Tuba-Kizhi), the Chelkans, the Kumandin, the Shors
- The Southern Altaians include the Altaian (the Altai-Kizhi), the Teleut, the Teles, the Telengit
The Northern and Southern Altayans formed in the Altay area on the basis of tribes of Kimek-Kipchaks.[1][2] Turkic people
History
The Altaians were annexed by the Four Oirat of Western Mongols in the 16th century. The Mongols called them "Telengid" or "Telengid aimag" in period of the Northern Yuan dynasty. After the fall of the Zunghar Khanate in the 18th century, the Altaians were subjugated by the Qing Dynasty. That court referred to them as Altan Nuur Uriyangkhai.[3] But Altaians are not genetically related to the Uriyangkhai, which is a distinct neighbouring Oirat-Mongol ethnic group in Mongolia.
Their skills in metalworking have been seen in artifacts dating to the 2nd millennium BC.[4]Template:Better source The Altay came into contact with Russians in the 18th century. In the tsarist period, the Altay were known as oirot or oyrot (this name means oirat and would later be carried on for the Oyrot Autonomous Oblast). The Altay report that many of them became addicted to the Russians' vodka, which they called "fire water".[5]
The Altay were originally nomadic, with a lifestyle based on hunting / trapping and pastoralism (mainly based on herds of cattle, sheep, goats). As a result of the Soviet Union and Russian influence, many were settled into sedentary communities.
In regard to religion, some of the Altay remain Tengriists or Shamanists, while others (in a trend beginning in the mid-19th century) have converted to the Russian Orthodox Church. (The Altai mission was developed under Saint Makarii Glukharev († 1847), known as the 'Apostle to the Altai.') In 1904, a religious movement called Ak Jang or Burkhanism arose, perhaps in response to Russian colonization.[6]
Prior to 1917 the Altai were considered to be made up of many different ethnic groups.[7]
With the rise of the 1917 revolution, the Altay attempted to make their region a separate Burkhanist republic called Oyrot. Their support for the Mensheviks during the Civil War led to the venture's collapse after the Bolshevik victory and the later rise of Joseph Stalin. In the 1940s, during World War II and when he was directing numerous purges, his government declared the Altay of being pro-Japanese. The word "oyrot" was declared to be counterrevolutionary. By 1950, Soviet industrialization policies and development in this area resulted in considerable migration of Russians to this republic, reducing the proportion of Altay in the total population from 50% to 20%.[8] In the early 21st century, ethnic Altaians make up about 31% of the Altai Republic's population.[9]
- Altais.jpg
Altai people
- SB - Altay shaman with drum.jpg
Altay shaman
- SB - Altai man in national suit on horse.jpg
Altay man in national suit on horse
- SB - Altay woman with horse.jpg
Altay woman in national dress
- Altaian horseman.jpg
Altaian horseman
- Altaian woman Pazyryk.jpg
Altaian woman
Demographics
According to the 2010 Russian census, there was a total of 69,963 Altaians who resided within the Altai Republic. This represented 34.5% of the total population of the republic, compared with 56.6% ethnic Russians, which makes the former a minority in their own homeland. However, ethnic Altaians have a much higher fertility rate than Russians and other Slavic peoples who have transplanted into the region, and while the median age of the Altaian population is much lower than Russians, the Altaian population growth is expected to continue exceeding that of the others for the foreseeable future.Template:Citation needed
See also
- Altay language
- Altay Mountains
- Altai Republic
- Altay S.K.
- Altay Prefecture
- Govi-Altai Province
- Altay Airport
- Altay (tank)
- Altay City
- Altay Alsancak Stadium
Notes
External links
Template:Turkic peoples Template:Ethnic groups of Russia
Template:Authority control
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