The Sart Kalmyks are an ethnic group of the
Oirats
Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.
Histor ...
, who live in
Issyk Kul Province
Issyk-Kul Region ( ky, Ысык-Көл облусу, Ysyk-Köl oblusu; russian: Иссык-Кульская область, Issyk-Kulskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kaz ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
. Their population is estimated to be 12,000. They are descendants of the
Ööled tribes, who moved to the territory of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
after the failure of the
Dungan revolt, some part inhabited the area during the rule of the
Zunghar Khanate.
They used to speak in a dialect of the
Oirat language
Oirat (Clear script: , , ; Kalmyk: , ; Khalkha Mongolian: , ) is a Mongolic language spoken by the descendants of Oirat Mongols, now forming parts of Mongols in China, Kalmyks in Russia and Mongolians. Largely mutually intelligible to other co ...
, but now completely switched to the
Kyrgyz language
Kyrgyz (; autonym: , tr. ''Kyrgyz tili'', ) is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia. Kyrgyz is the official language of Kyrgyzstan and a significant minority language in the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture in ...
. As a result of the long co-inhabitance with
Kyrgyz people
The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is the nation state of the Kyrgyz people and significant diaspora can be found in China, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Th ...
their incorporation into Kyrgyz nation occurred, and now the
Kyrgyzs
The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is the nation state of the Kyrgyz people and significant diaspora can be found in China, Russia, and Uzbekistan. T ...
consider them to be one of their tribes. Today majority of them identify themselves as Kyrgyz. They belong to the Muslim faith.
B.Z. Nanzatov, M.M. Sodnompilova. "Sart-kalmaks in contemporary Kyrgyzstan". Cultural inheritance of the Central Asian nations. Edition 3: Культурное наследие народов Центральной Азии. Выпуск 3: collection of articles (in Russian)
// Ulan-Ude, Publishing House of The Buryat Scientific Center of the Siberian Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2012, pg. 34-37
History
Kalmyks in Kyrgyzstan are one of the isolated sub-ethnic groups of Oirat people
Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.
Histor ...
, who live in Issyk-Kul Region
Issyk-Kul Region ( ky, Ысык-Көл облусу, Ysyk-Köl oblusu; russian: Иссык-Кульская область, Issyk-Kulskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kaz ...
in the east part of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
. In 1999 Kyrgyzstan census 5,824 Kalmyks were registered, which is c. 5% of the world population. In 2009 Census there were 3,800 Kalmyks in Kyrgyzstan.
Kalmyk people
The Kalmyks ( Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, ''Xaľmgud'', Mongolian: Халимагууд, ''Halimaguud''; russian: Калмыки, translit=Kalmyki, archaically anglicised as ''Calmucks'') are a Mongolic ethnic group living mainly in Russia, w ...
are one of the Mongolian people
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
and speak in the Oirat language
Oirat (Clear script: , , ; Kalmyk: , ; Khalkha Mongolian: , ) is a Mongolic language spoken by the descendants of Oirat Mongols, now forming parts of Mongols in China, Kalmyks in Russia and Mongolians. Largely mutually intelligible to other co ...
. In the 17th century part of the Oirats
Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia.
Histor ...
moved to the European territory, which consist the republic of Kalmykia
he official languages of the Republic of Kalmykia are the Kalmyk and Russian languages./ref>
, official_lang_list= Kalmyk
, official_lang_ref=Steppe Code (Constitution) of the Republic of Kalmykia, Article 17: he official languages of the ...
now. Some little group of Kalmyks and the other Mongolic people lived in the isolation from the main Mongolic area in Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
until the Dungan revolt. After the failure of the revolt in 1771 and return of the Ili region from Russia to China, more than 10,000 Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia, Cent ...
, 5,000 Dungans
Dungan, Xiao'erjing: ; zh, s=东干族, t=東干族, p=Dōnggān zú, w=Tung1kan1-tsu2, , Xiao'erjing: ; russian: Дунгане, ''Dungane''; ky, Дуңгандар, ''Duñgandar'', دۇنغاندار; kk, Дүңгендер, ''Düñgende ...
and dozens of Oirat families moved to the territory of the Russian Empire, the territories of the contemporary Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
and Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
.
Resettlement
Since the 19th century Sart Kalmyks have been living in the east of Issyk-Kul Region
Issyk-Kul Region ( ky, Ысык-Көл облусу, Ysyk-Köl oblusu; russian: Иссык-Кульская область, Issyk-Kulskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Karakol. It is surrounded by Almaty Region, Kaz ...
, where approximately 91.2% of Kalmyks of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
live – mostly in Karakol
Karakol ( ky, Каракол, Karakol, قاراقول, ; zh, 卡拉科尔), formerly Przhevalsk (russian: Пржевальск), is the fourth-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, near the eastern tip of Lake Issyk-Kul, about from the Kyrgyzstan– ...
city and Ak-Suu District
Ak-Suu ( ky, Ак-Суу району) is a district of Issyk-Kul Region in eastern Kyrgyzstan. The administrative center lies at the village Teploklyuchenka. Its area is , and its resident population was 69,439 in 2021.
Geography
Located in Kyrgy ...
. During the last decades some of them moved to Chüy Region
Chüy Region ( ky, Чүй облусу, Chüy oblusu; russian: Чуйская область, Chuyskaya oblast) is the northernmost region (''oblast'') of the Kyrgyz Republic. This region surrounds the national capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek. It ...
and Bishkek
Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
in search of a better life. In general, Sart Kalmyks make 1.5% of the population of the region and 0.1% of the Kyrgyzstan population. They are traditionally engaged in cattle breeding.
Bibliography
*''Ferghana Valley: The Heart of Central Asia''
*James Stuart Olson. ''An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires'', 1994
*S.K. Khoyt. ''The latest figures about localization and population of the Oirat people.'' //Ethnogenesis and ethnic culture problems of the Turko-Mongolic nations. 2nd Edition. Elista, 2008. p. 184-195 (Russian)
External links
President of Mongolia Received the Kalmyk Citizens of the Kyrgyz, 2012-04-08
Demographic tendencies, formation of the nations and interethnic relations in Kyrgyzstan (Russian)
References
{{Mongol_Yastan, state=uncollapsed
Mongols
Oirats
Dzungar Khanate