Paraba,Barama, параба, барама | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Russia | 8,380
|
| Languages | |
| Baraba dialect[1] ofSiberian Tatar,Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam[1] | |
TheBaraba (Siberian Tatar: параба, бараба, барама, бараба татарлар) are a sub-group ofSiberian Tatars and theindigenous people of theOb-Irtyshinterfluve.[2] After a strenuous resistance toRussian conquest and much suffering at a later period fromKyrgyz andKalmyk raids, they now live byagriculture — either in separate villages or along with Russians. Some of them still speak theBaraba dialect ofSiberian Tatar. They traditionally live on theBaraba steppe.
They were first mentioned as a separate ethnic group in theRussian Empire Census in 1897 andFirst All-Union Census of the Soviet Union in 1926. According to1897 Census their population was 4,433. In 1926 there were 7,528 Baraba Tatars.
Ethnographers estimated that their population reached 8,380 in 1971.[3]
According to the data of theInstitute of Philology of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, there were 8,000 Baraba Tatars inNovosibirsk Oblast in 2012.[4]
The Baraba Tatars are descended fromKipchak tribes who inhabited the region during the 12th and 13th centuries. The region was conquered by theMongols in the 13th century and was incorporated into theWhite Horde. The Baraba Tatars lived in the eastern portion of theKhanate of Sibir when it was established in the 15th century.[5]
The Russians subjugated the Baraba Tatars in the 18th century. During the 19th century, theautonomy of the Baraba Tatars eroded away due to the influx of Russian settlers to the region and the high taxes imposed on them by the Russian state.[5] The Russian settlers pushed out the Baraba from more fertile lands.[6] In 1722, a rebellion arose among the Baraba after Peter the Great issued a decree that mandated all subjects must pledge allegiance to the tsar. The Russians quelled the conflict and severely punished the Baraba. In the reign ofElizabeth of Russia, she began a brutal campaign to forcefully convert the Tatars (including the Baraba) to Christianity; punishments included imprisonment or beating if the Tatars refused to convert.[7]
TheDzungar Khanate extractedyasaq (tribute) from their Baraba Muslim underlings. Becoming Russian subjects was a tactic by the Baraba to find an excuse not to pay yasaq to the Dzungars.[8] Since MuslimSiberian Bukharans had legal advantages and privileges under Russia, Barabas pretended to be them.[9]
The Baraba Tatars areSunni Muslims. They adoptedIslam at around the latter half of the 18th century. However, the Baraba Tatars may have been exposed to Islam as early as the late 16th century and some may have been Muslim by the early 17th century.[8] The form of Islam practiced by the Baraba is significantly influenced by shamanism and residual beliefs in nature spirits and deities.[10]
Baraba Tatars have traditionally engaged in hunting, fishing, agriculture, andbreeding some cattle and horses.[11]
The most commonY-DNAhaplogroup among Baraba Tatars is thehaplogroup Q, specifically the Q-YP4000 and Q-L330 subclades. Among northern Baraba Tatars, the most widespread is haplogroup N1b-P43. Other, less common haplogroups are R1a1-Z93 and R1b-M73.[12]
Wixman, Ronald.The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook (Armonk: M. E. Shapre, 1984) p. 22
