The Tuvans ( tyv, Тывалар, Tıvalar) are a
Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation)
** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language
* ...
[Otto Maenchen-Helfen, Journey to Tuva, p. 169] ethnic group indigenous to Siberia who live in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
(
Tuva),
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
, and
China. They speak
Tuvan, a
Siberian Turkic language. They are also regarded in Mongolia as one of the
Uriankhai peoples.
Tuvans have historically been cattle-herding
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...
s, tending to herds of goats, sheep, camels, reindeer, cattle and yaks for the past thousands of years. They have traditionally lived in
yurts covered by felt or
chum
Chum may refer to:
Broadcasting
* CHUM Limited, a defunct Canadian media company
* CHUM Radio, now Bell Media Radio, a Canadian radio broadcasting company
* CHUM (AM), a Toronto radio station
* CHUM-FM, a Toronto radio station
* CHUM Chart, a C ...
s, layered with birch bark or
hide that they relocate seasonally as they move to newer pastures. Traditionally, the Tuvans were divided into nine regions called ''khoshuun'', namely the
Tozhu, Salchak, Oyunnar, Khemchik, Khaasuut, Shalyk, Nibazy, Daavan and Choodu, and Beezi. The first four were ruled by Uriankhai Mongol princes, while the rest were administered by
Borjigin Mongol princes.
History
Besides prehistoric rock-carvings to be found especially along the
Yenisei banks, the first internationally important archaeological findings have been near
Arzhan, in the north central Tuva. Here,
Scythian kurgan burials are being researched, revealing the earliest (7th, 6th century BC) and easternmost remains of these people who spread all the way from Central Asia. Their story and fantastic gold treasures can be appreciated in the National Museum in
Kyzyl.
The
Xiongnu ruled over the area of Tuva prior to 200 AD. At this time, a people known to the Chinese as
Dingling 丁零 inhabited the region. Chinese chroniclers further associated the Dingling with the Tiele, one of whose tribes was named Dubo (都波) and was located in the eastern Sayans. The word ''tuwa'' also occurs three times in the
Inscription of Hüis Tolgoi. While it is not clear what it means, Dieter Maue suggested that it could be related to the tribal name "Dubo". This name is recognized as being associated with the Tuvan people and is the earliest written record of them. The
Xianbei
The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into t ...
鮮卑 (descendants of the Donghu 東胡, once conquered by the Xiongnu) attacked and defeated the Xiongnu and they, in turn, were defeated by the
Rouran 柔然. From around the end of the 6th century, the
Göktürks held dominion over Tuvans (''Doubo'' 都播), who constituted one of the three Wooden-Horse Turkic tribes, up until the 8th century when the
Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
took over.
Tuvans were subjects of the Uyghur Khanate during the 8th and 9th centuries. The Uyghurs established several fortifications within Tuva as a means of subduing the population. There are plans being discussed to restore the remains of one of these fortresses,
Por-Bazhyn in lake Tere-Khol in the southeast of the country. The memory of Uyghur occupation could still be seen up until the end of the 19th century due to the application of the name ''Ondar Uyghur'' for the Ondar Tuvans living near the Khemchik river in the southwest. Uyghur dominance was broken by the
Yeniseian Kyrgyz in 840 AD, who came from the upper reaches of the Yenisei.
In 1207, the
Oirat prince Quduqa-Beki led
Mongol
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 ...
detachments under
Jochi to a tributary of the Kaa-Khem river. They encountered the Tuvan Keshdims, Baits, and Teleks. This was the beginning of Mongol suzerainty over the Tuvans. After the collapse of the
Naiman Khanate, Tuvans moved to modern
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
and some Naimans moved to modern
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...
territory.
Tuvans came to be ruled for most of the 17th century by Khalka Mongol leader Sholoi Ubashi
Altan-Khan. It was at this time in 1615 that the first Russians, Vasily Tyumenets and Ivan Petrov, visited Tuva as emissaries to the Altan-Khan. Russian documents from this time record information about different groups that contributed to the composition of modern Tuvans. Tyumenets and Petrov describe the Maads, who became Russian subjects in 1609, living in the Bii-Khem basin, 14 days' ride from
Tomsk
Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...
. The Maads travelled to the area of the Khemchik and Ulug-Khem next to the lands of the Altan-Khan near the lake
Uvs Nuur. The ambassadors also described the Sayan raising reindeer with the Tochi (Todzhi) from the
Sayan to the
Altai
Altai or Altay may refer to:
Places
*Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia
In China
* Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China
* Altay City (阿 ...
mountain ranges. The descendants of the Ak-Sayan and Kara-Sayan live mostly around
Tere-Khol rayon.
The Altan-Khan's control over the area lessened over time due to constant warring between the Oirat and the Khalka of
Jasaghtu Khan aimag. The Tuvans then became part of the
Dzungarian
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian language, Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang" ...
Empire ruled by the Oirats. The Dzungars ruled over all of the Sayano-Altay Plateau until 1755. It was during this time of Dzungarian rule that many tribes and clans broke up, moved around, and intermingled. Groups of Altayan Telengits settled in western Tuva on the Khemchik and Barlyk rivers and in the region of Bai-Taiga. Some Todzhans, Sayans, and
Mingats ended up in the Altay. The Siberians (Xianbei) established Manchu-
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
migrated other Tuvans north across the Sayan range and they became known as
Beltirs (Dag-Kakpyn, Sug-Kakpyn, Ak-Chystar, Kara-Chystar). The languages of the Beltirs and Tuvans still contain common words not found in the language of the other Khakas (Kachins or Sagays). Other Russian documents mention Yeniseian Kyrgyz (Saryglar and Kyrgyz), Orchaks (Oorzhaks) and Kuchugets (Kuzhugets) moving into Tuva from the north.
Besides the Turkic tribes mentioned above, there is indication that modern Tuvans are descended also from
Mongolic,
Samoyedic, and
Yeniseian groups of peoples. Of the extinct
Southern Samoyed groups,
Mator,
Koibal,
Kamas, and
Karagas were assimilated mostly into the eastern Tuvans such as the Todzhins, Tofalars,
Soyots, and
Dukha. The Irgit tribe is also suggested as being from Samoyedic ancestors. The Tuvan name for the Yenisei river may stem from an ancient Samoyedic name. Tribes such as Tumat, Mingat, Mongush, and Salchak are recognized as having a Mongolic origin.
According to Ilya Zakharov of
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
's Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, genetic evidence suggests that the modern Tuvan people are the closest genetic relatives to the
indigenous peoples of the Americas
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
. A recent (2016) study suggests that Tuvans assimilated a small number of
Yeniseian people, which are closely related to the
Paleo-Eskimo groups.
The name ''Uriankhai''
There does not seem to exist a clear ethnic delineation for the application of the name ''Uriankhai''. Mongols applied this name to all tribes of ''Forest People''. This name has historically been applied to Tuvans. In Mongolia there are peoples also known by this name. A variation of the name, ''Uraŋxai'', was an old name for the
Sakha. Russian Pavel Nebol'sin documented the ''Urankhu'' clan of Volga Kalmyks in the 1850s. Another variant of the name, ''Orangkae'' (오랑캐), was traditionally used by the
Koreans
Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula.
Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply re ...
to refer indiscriminately to "
barbarians" that inhabited the lands to their north.
They are two groups under the name Uriankhai: Mongol
Uriankhai, Uriankhai (Tuva) of mixed Turkic-Mongol origin. All clans of the Mongol Uriankhai are Mongol, and Tuva Uriankhais have both Turkic and Mongol clans. In the beginning of the
Mongol Empire (1206–1368), the Mongol Uriankhai (Burkhan Khaldun Uriankhai) were located in central
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
but in the mid 14th century they lived in
Liaoyang province
Manchuria under Yuan rule refers to the Yuan dynasty's rule over Manchuria, corresponding to modern Northeast China and Outer Manchuria (including Sakhalin), from 1271 to 1368. Mongol rule over Manchuria was established after the Mongol Empire ...
of modern
China. In 1375,
Naghachu, Uriankhai leader of the Mongolia-based colonial dynasty in
Liaoyang province invaded
Liaodong with aims of restoring the Mongols to power. Although he continued to hold southern
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...
, Naghachu finally surrendered to the Chinese
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
in 1387–88 after successful diplomacy of the latter. After the rebellion of the northern Uriankhai people, they were conquered by
Dayan Khan in 1538 and mostly annexed by the northern Khalkha. Batmunkh Dayan Khan dissolved Uriankhai tumen and moved them to Altai Mountains and Khalkha land.
Currently, Tuvans form the majority of the population in Tuva Republic. According to the 2010 Russian census, there was a total of 249,299 Tuvans who resided within Tuva. This represented 82.0% of the total population of the republic. In addition, Tuvans have a much higher fertility rate than Russians and the other Slavic peoples, while the median age of the Tuvan population is much lower than Russians. This basically ensures that the Tuvan population would continue to grow during the foreseeable future.
Geography
There are two major groups of Tuvans in Tuva: Western or the Common Tuvans and
Tuvans-Todzhins
The Tozhu Tuvans, Tozhu Tuvinians, Todzhan Tuvans or Todzhinians (own name: Тугалар ''Tugalar'' or Тухалар ''Tukhalar''; Russian Тувинцы-тоджинцы ''Tuvincy-todžincy'', Тоджинцы ''Todžincy'') are a Turkic subg ...
(Тувинцы-тоджинцы). The latter ones live in
Todzhinsky District
Todzhinsky District (russian: Тоджи́нский кожуун; tyv, Тожу кожуун, ''Toju kojuun'') is an administrativeResolution #1648 ZP-1 and municipalLaw #268 VKh-1 district (raion, or ''kozhuun''), one of the seventeen in the Tuv ...
,
Tuva Republic and constitute about 5% of all Tuvans.
A people similar by language to Tuvans live in
Okinsky District of
Buryatia (autonym:
Soyots (сойоты), sometimes referred to as Oka Tuvans).
Mongolia
A noticeable proportion of Tuvans lives in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...
. The
Dukha live in
Khövsgöl Aimag Khövsgöl may refer to several locations in Mongolia:
*Lake Khövsgöl
*Khövsgöl Province
Khövsgöl ( mn, Хөвсгөл) is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.
Geography and ...
. The largest population of Tuvans in Mongolia are the ''Tsengel Tuvans''.
[Mongush, M. V. "Tuvans of Mongolia and China." ''International Journal of Central Asian Studies'', 1 (1996), 225–243. Talat Tekin, ed. Seoul: Inst. of Asian Culture & Development.] Around 1,500 live in the Tsagaan Gol River Valley,
Altai Tavan Bogd National Park
Altai Tavan Bogd National Park (, ''Altai five saints nature complex'') is a national park in Bayan-Ölgii Province of western Mongolia. The park includes the Mongolian side of the Tavan Bogd massif, which is divided by the triple border with Rus ...
,
Tsengel Sum of
Bayan-Ölgii Aimag. Other Tuvans live in
Khovd Aimag and in
Ubsunur Hollow.
China
Tuvans in
China, who live mostly in the
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 northwest ...
Autonomous Region, are included under the
Mongol
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 ...
ethnicity.
Some Tuvans reportedly live at
Lake Kanas in the northwestern part of
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 northwest ...
in
China where they are not officially recognized, are counted as a part of the local
Oirat Mongol community that is counted under the general label "Mongol". Oirat and Tuvan children attend schools in which they use
Chakhar Mongolian and
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
.
Culture
The famous
bogtag headdress worn by women seems to have been restricted to married women of very high rank. In the 13th century, it was worn only by Tuvan women of very high rank.
Language
The Tuvan language belongs to the Northern or Siberian branch of the
Turkic language family. Four dialects are recognized: Central, Western, Southeastern and Northeastern (Todzhinian). In writing, a variety of the
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking cou ...
is used. A talking dictionary is produced by Living Tongues Institute.
Religion
The traditional religion of Tuvans is a type of
Tengriism, or
Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation)
** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language
* ...
animistic shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
. During the 18th century, the Tuvans converted to
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in maj ...
via contact with the Mongols. However, many shamanistic elements continued to be widely practiced along with the new religion the Tuvans adopted.
Traditional life
The Tuvans were mainly semi-nomadic livestock herders. They raised sheep, goats, camels, horses, reindeer, cattle, and yaks. Today, some Tuvans still retain their semi-nomadic way of life. The mobile dwellings of the Tuvans were usually circular yurts used in the steppes or conical hide tents when they were near or inside a forest.
Music
A unique form of music exists in Tuva – commonly known as throat singing or as
khoomei. There are various techniques of khoomei, some giving the effect of multiple tones by emphasizing
overtones. Some famous groups from Tuva who feature throat-singing are
Yat-Kha,
Huun-Huur-Tu,
Chirgilchin
Chirgilchin, meaning "dance of the air in the heat of the day" or "miracle" in Tuvan, is a group of Tuvan musicians performing traditional Tuvan music. It was established in 1996.
The group consists of Igor Koshkendey, Mongun-ool Ondar, Aldar ...
and the
Alash Ensemble
The ensemble Alash is a throat singing band from Tuva, Russia, that performs traditional Tuvan music with some non-traditional influences.
History
The musicians of Alash are Bady-Dorzhu Ondar, Ayan-ool Sam, and Ayan Shirizhik. All were trained ...
.
A documentary called ''
Genghis Blues'' was made in 1999 about an American blues/jazz musician,
Paul Pena, who taught himself overtone singing and traveled to Tuva to compete in a throat-singing competition. This is where he also met famous Khoomeizhi Kongar-ol Ondar one of the masters of Khoomei.
Notable people
*
Galsan Tschinag (shaman and writer)
*
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka (Tuvan/Soviet politician, first non-royal female head of state)
*
Khün Khürtü (throat singing music group)
*
Sergey Shoigu (Russian Minister of Defence and general)
*
Kongar-ool Ondar
Kongar-ool Borisovich Ondar ( tyv, Ондар Коңгар-оол Борис оглу, ''Ondar Konggar-ool Boris oglu'', , russian: Конгар-оол Борисович Ондар; 29 March 1962 – 25 July 2013) was a master Soviet and Russia ...
(throat singer)
*
Mongush Kenin-Lopsan (shaman and ethnographer)
*
Albert Kuvezin
Albert Budachievich Kuvezin (Russian: ''Альберт Будачиевич Кувезин'' / Tuvan: ''Күвезин Альберт Будачи оглу'', Küvezin Albert Budachi oglu, , alternatively spelled ''Kögeezin'' (Көгээзин, ) ...
(throat singer and guitarist)
See also
*
Lists of indigenous peoples of Russia
*
Tannu Uriankhai
References
Citations
Sources
*
* The title means “Shamans in Eurasia”, the book is published also in German, Estonian and Finnish
Site of publisher with short description on the book (in Hungarian).
*
*
*
*
* Sečenbaγatur, Qasgerel, Tuyaγ-a
уяa Bu. Jirannige, Wu Yingzhe, Činggeltei. 2005. ''Mongγul kelen-ü nutuγ-un ayalγun-u sinǰilel-ün uduridqal''
guide to the regional dialects of Mongolian Kökeqota: ÖMAKQ. .
*
*
External links
Research among the Tyvans in South Siberiawith
ttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/photogalleries/reindeer_people/ Photo galleryTuva – Sayan Mountains
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuvans
Ethnic groups in China
Ethnic groups in Mongolia
Ethnic groups in Russia
Indigenous peoples of North Asia
Modern nomads
Nomadic groups in Eurasia
Turkic peoples of Asia