Teleuts () are a Turkic Indigenous people of Siberia living in

Kemerovo Oblast Kemerovo Oblast (, ), also known as Kuzbass (, ), after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Kemerovo is the administrative center and largest city of the oblast. Kemerovo Oblast is one of Rus ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. According to the 2010

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 2,643 Teleuts in Russia. They speak the Teleut language/dialect of Southern Altai language. In the Soviet years and until 2000, the authorities considered the Teleuts to be part of the

Altai people The Altai people (, ), also the Altaians (, ), are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group of indigenous peoples of Siberia mainly living in the Altai Republic, Russia. Several thousand of the Altaians also live in Mongolia (Altai Mountains) and C ...

. Currently, according to the Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 255 dated March 24, 2000, as well as

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2010 Russian Census The 2010 Russian census () was the second census of the Russian Federation population after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Preparations for the census began in 2007 and it took place between October 14 and October 25. The census The cen ...

, they are recognized as a separate ethnic group within Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East.

History

The Teleuts were once part of the

Tiele people The Tiele ( zh, c=鐵勒, p=Tiělè),, Mongolian ''*Tegreg'' " eople of theCarts" also transliterated as Chile ( zh, c=敕勒, links=no), Dili ( zh, c=狄歷, links=no), Zhile ( zh, c=直勒, links=no) and Tele ( zh, c=特勒, links=no), who wer ...

. They came under the rule of the First Turkic Khaganate. Near the end of the 16th century, the Teleuts wandered the steppe between the Irtysh and the Ob' rivers. They became nominal subjects to the

Oirats Oirats (; ) or Oirds ( ; ), formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths ( or ; zh, 厄魯特, ''Èlǔtè'') are the westernmost group of Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. ...

at this period. Their population at this time numbered 4,000 tents. The Russians gained control of the region in the mid-eighteenth century and the Teleuts subsequently became their subjects. The Russians called the Teleuts "White Kalmyks" in their documents despite the ethnic and linguistic differences between the

Kalmyks Kalmyks (), archaically anglicised as Calmucks (), are the only Mongolic ethnic group living in Europe, residing in the easternmost part of the European Plain. This dry steppe area, west of the lower Volga River, known among the nomads as ...

and Teleuts. The Teleuts consider themselves to be a distinct people and many do not accept being labeled as Altaian. The majority of the Teleuts live along the Great and Little Bachat Rivers in

. However, a few Teleuts also live in the

Altai Republic The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...

Culture

Most Teleuts used to be nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock herders and horses, goats, cattle, and sheep were the most common types of animals they raised. Some Teleuts were hunters and relied on animals living in the

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

for subsistence. Traditional Teleut dwellings included conic yurts made out of bark or perches. Traditional Teleut dress was composed of linen shirts, short breeches, and single-breasted robes.

Religion

Most Teleuts are Orthodox Christians. However, there is a minority that practice shamanism. Burkhanism was once widely practiced by the Teleuts but was effectively eliminated during the Soviet era. Contemporary revivals of the religion among other Altaian groups have not affected the Teleuts. A group of Teleuts known as Kalmaks are Muslims. Around the 17th century, these Teleuts moved up to the north of Kemerovo Oblast and interacted with local Siberian Tatars and became

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

. Today they number around 500 and have mostly assimilated into Tatar culture while retaining their Teleut roots. They speak a local dialect of the Siberian Tatar language heavily influenced by the Teleut language.

References

External links

Association of the Teleut People
*ELAR archive o
Documentation and Analysis of the Endangered Teleut Language
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teleuts Turkic peoples of Asia Indigenous peoples of Siberia Ethnic groups in Russia Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East

History

Culture

Religion

See also

References

External links