Tuvans have historically beenlivestock-herding nomads, tending to herds of goats, sheep,camels,reindeer, cattle, and yaks for the past thousands of years (This is, in fact, evident in the Tuvan folk song "Tooruktug Dolgai Tangdym"). They have traditionally lived inyurts covered by felt orchums, layered with birch bark orhide that they relocate seasonally as they move to newer pastures. Traditionally, the Tuvans were divided into nine regions calledkhoshuun, namely theTozhu, 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 byBorjigin Mongol princes.[8]
Besides prehistoric rock-carvings to be found especially along theYenisei banks, the first internationally important archaeological findings have been nearArzhan, in the north central Tuva. Here,Scythiankurgan burials are being researched, revealing the earliest (7th, 6th century BC) and easternmost remains of these people who spread from Central Asia and predate Turcomongol tribes.[citation needed] Their story and artifacts can be viewed in the National Museum inKyzyl.
TheXiongnu ruled over the area of Tuva prior to 200 AD. At this time, a people known to the Chinese asDingling 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.[9][10][11][12][13] The wordtuwa also occurs three times in theInscription of Hüis Tolgoi. While it is not clear what it means, Dieter Maue suggested that it could be related to the tribal name "Dubo".[14] This name is recognized as being associated with the Tuvan people and is the earliest written record of them. TheXianbei 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 theRouran 柔然. From around the end of the 6th century, theGöktürks held dominion over Tuvans (Doubo 都播), who constituted one of the three Wooden-Horse Turkic tribes,[15] up until the 8th century when theUyghurs took over.[citation needed]
Map showing extent of Uyghur Khanate and placement of Kyrgyz in 820 AD.
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.[16] The memory of Uyghur occupation could still be seen up until the end of the 19th century due to the application of the nameOndar Uyghur for the Ondar Tuvans living near the Khemchik river in the southwest.[17] Uyghur dominance was broken by theYeniseian Kyrgyz in 840 AD, who came from the upper reaches of the Yenisei.
In 1207, theOirat prince Quduqa-Beki ledMongol detachments underJochi 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 theNaiman Khanate, Tuvans moved to modernMongolia and some Naimans moved to modernKazakhstan territory.
Tuvans came to be ruled for most of the 17th century by Khalka Mongol leader Sholoi UbashiAltan-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.[18] 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 fromTomsk. The Maads travelled to the area of the Khemchik and Ulug-Khem next to the lands of the Altan-Khan near the lakeUvs Nuur. The ambassadors also described the Sayan raising reindeer with the Tochi (Todzhi) from theSayan to theAltai mountain ranges. The descendants of the Ak-Sayan and Kara-Sayan live mostly aroundTere-Khol rayon.
Tuvan shaman, c. 1900
The Altan-Khan's control over the area lessened over time due to constant warring between the Oirat and the Khalka ofJasaghtu Khanaimag. The Tuvans then became part of theDzungarian Empire ruled by the Oirats. The Dzungars ruled over all of the Sayano-Altay Plateau until 1755.[19] 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, andMingats ended up in the Altay. The Siberians (Xianbei) established Manchu-Qing Dynasty migrated other Tuvans north across the Sayan range and they became known asBeltirs (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).[20] Other Russian documents mention Yeniseian Kyrgyz (Saryglar and Kyrgyz), Orchaks (Oorzhaks) and Kuchugets (Kuzhugets) moving into Tuva from the north.
Genetic research revealed that Tuvans are most closely related to otherTurkic peoples, specifically theAltaians and theKhakas. It was found that Tuvans display differences toMongolic peoples and are closer related to Siberian Turkic groups. Tuvans seem to be the direct descendants of the Indigenous Southern Siberian peoples.[21]
According to Ilya Zakharov ofMoscow's Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, genetic evidence suggests that the Tuvan people are among the close genetic relatives to theindigenous peoples of the Americas in Eurasia.[22]
There does not seem to exist a clear ethnic delineation for the application of the nameUriankhai. Mongols applied this name to all tribes ofForest 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 theSakha.[23] Russian Pavel Nebol'sin documented theUrankhu clan of Volga Kalmyks in the 1850s.[24] Another variant of the name,Orangkae (오랑캐), was traditionally used by theKoreans to refer indiscriminately to "barbarians" that inhabited the lands to their north.
Ethnic Tuvans in 2017
They are two groups under the name Uriankhai: MongolUriankhai, Uriankhai (Tuva) of mixed Turkic-Mongol origin. All clans of the Mongol Uriankhai are Mongol, and Tuva Uriankhais have both Turkic and Mongol clans.[25][26] In the beginning of theMongol Empire (1206–1368), the Mongol Uriankhai (Burkhan Khaldun Uriankhai) were located in central Mongolia[27] but in the mid 14th century they lived inLiaoyang province of modernChina. In 1375,Naghachu, Uriankhai leader of the Mongolia-based colonial dynasty inLiaoyang province invadedLiaodong with aims of restoring the Mongols to power. Although he continued to hold southernManchuria, Naghachu finally surrendered to the ChineseMing dynasty in 1387–88 after successful diplomacy of the latter.[28] After the rebellion of the northern Uriankhai people, they were conquered byDayan 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.
Russian PresidentVladimir Putin with young Tuvan cadets in Kyzyl, Tuva, 2024
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.
In the context of theRussian invasion of Ukraine since 2022,[29] the Tuvans have been reported as one of Russia's ethnic minority groups suffering from a disproportionally large casualty rate among Russian forces.[30]
Distribution of the Tuvans in Russia and the Dukha in neighbouring Mongolia.
There are two major groups of Tuvans in Tuva: Western or the Common Tuvans andTuvans-Todzhins (Тувинцы-тоджинцы). The latter ones live inTodzhinsky District,Tuva Republic and constitute about 5% of all Tuvans.
A people similar by language to Tuvans live inOkinsky District ofBuryatia (autonym:Soyots (сойоты), sometimes referred to as Oka Tuvans).
Tuvans inChina, who live mostly in theXinjiang Autonomous Region, are included under theMongol ethnicity.[7] Some Tuvans reportedly live atLake Kanas[31][32] in the northwestern part ofXinjiang inChina where they are not officially recognized, are counted as a part of the localOirat Mongol community that is counted under the general label "Mongol". Oirat and Tuvan children attend schools in which they useChakhar Mongolian[33] andMandarin Chinese.
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.[35]
The Tuvan language belongs to the Northern or Siberian branch of theTurkic language family. Four dialects are recognized: Central, Western, Southeastern and Northeastern (Todzhinian). In writing, a variety of theCyrillic script is used. A talking dictionary is produced by Living Tongues Institute.[36]
The traditional religion of Tuvans is a type ofTengriism, orTurkicanimisticshamanism. During the 18th century, the Tuvans converted toTibetan Buddhism via contact with theMongolians. However, many shamanistic elements continued to be widely practiced along with the new religion the Tuvans adopted.[37]
A unique form of music exists in Tuva – commonly known as throat singing or askhoomei. There are various techniques of khoomei, some giving the effect of multiple tones by emphasizingovertones. Some famous groups from Tuva who feature throat-singing areYat-Kha,Huun-Huur-Tu,Chirgilchin and theAlash Ensemble.
A documentary calledGenghis 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 the famous KhoomeizhiKongar-ol Ondar one of the masters of Khoomei.[38]
The Tuvan people have been skiing for thousands of years, primarily for the purpose of hunting elk. Tuvan hunters would track anelk in a heavy snow region and once they spotted an elk, they would ski downhill fast and throw a lasso to catch their game.[39][40] Although the origin of skiing is hotly debated, some experts believe that the Tuvan people in the Altay mountains may have been the earliest humans to master skiing for the purpose of hunting, due to ancient cave paintings in the region depicting ancient skiers chasing big game. However, nowadays in the same region within Xinjiang, the hunting of animals has been banned by the Chinese government, who had made the entire mountain into aconservation area.[41][42] But the Tuvan people still actively and legally engage in "catch-and-release" hunting of elk using their traditional methods.[43][44]
^"Uriyangqad, which is the plural form of Uriyangqan, itself originally a plural of Uriyangqai." KRUEGER, John (1977).Tuvan Manual. p. 10. Which quotes from Henry Serruy's "The Mongols in China during the Hung-wu Period", Melanges chinois et bouddhiques, vol 11. pp. 282–283, Brussels 1959.
^abcMongush, 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.
^The Uralic and Altaic Series By Denis Sinor, John R. Krueger, Jüri Kurman, Larry Moses, Robert Arthur Rupen, Vasilij Vasilevič Radlov, Kaare Grłnbech, George Kurman, Joshua A. Fishman, Stephen A. Halkovic, Robert W. Olson, V Diószegi, American Council of Learned Societies, Melvin J. Luthy,Luc Kwanten, Karl Nickul, A. A. Popov, Susan Hesse, Routledge, 1996.
^Xin Tangshuvol. 217a "回紇，其先匈奴也，俗多乘高輪車，元魏時亦號高車部，或曰敕勒，訛為鐵勒。" tr: "Uyghurs, their predecessors were the Xiongnu. Because, customarily, they rode high-wheeled carts. InYuan Wei time, they were also called Gaoju (i.e. High-Cart) tribe. Or called Chile, or mistakenly as Tiele."
^WeishuVol 103 Gaoche "高車，蓋古赤狄之餘種也，[...] 諸夏以為高車丁零。" tr. "Gaoche, probably the remnant stock of the ancient Red Di. [...] The various Xia (i.e. Chinese) considered them Gaoche Dingling (i.e. High-Cart Dingling)"
^Cheng, Fanyi. "The Research on the Identification between the Tiele (鐵勒) and the Oğuric tribes" inArchivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi ed. Th. T. Allsen, P. B. Golden, R. K. Kovalev, A. P. Martinez. 19 (2012). Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden. p. 87
^KRUEGER, John (1977).Tuvan Manual. p. 41. which cites fromPOTAPOV, L.P. (1964). "The Tuvans".The Peoples of Siberia.
^KRUEGER, John (1977).Tuvan Manual. p. 25. which cites from an English translation of Большая Советская Энциклопедия (The Great Soviet Encyclopedia), vol. 43, (1956), by William H. Dougherty.
^Haines, R Spencer (2016). "The Physical Remains of the Zunghar Legacy in Central Eurasia: Some Notes from the Field".Paper Presented at the Social and Environmental Changes on the Mongolian Plateau Workshop, Canberra, ACT, Australia. The Australian National University.
^KRUEGER, John (1977).Tuvan Manual. p. 42. which cites fromPOTAPOV, L.P. (1964). "The Tuvans".The Peoples of Siberia.
^Damba, L. D.; Balanovskaya, Е. V.; Zhabagin, M. K.; Yusupov, Y. М.; Bogunov, Y. V.; Sabitov, Z. M.; Agdzhoyan, A. T.; Korotkova, N. A.; Lavryashina, M. B.; Mongush, B. B.; Kavai-ool, U. N.; Balanovsky, O. P. (1 August 2018)."Estimating the impact of the Mongol expansion upon the gene pool of Tuvans".Вавиловский журнал генетики и селекции.22 (5):611–619.doi:10.18699/VJ18.402.ISSN2500-0462.S2CID92784110.All the results derived – 'genetic portraits', the matrix of genetic distances, the dendrogram and the multidimensional scaling plot, which mirror the genetic connections between Tuvinian clans and populations of South Siberia and East Asia, demonstrated the prominent similarity of the Tuvinian gene pools with populations from and Khakassia and Altai. It could be therefore assumed that Tuvinian clans Mongush and Oorzhak originated from autochthonous people (supposedly, from the local Samoyed and Kets substrata). The minor component of Central Asian haplogroups in the gene pool of these clans allowed to suppose that Mongol expansion did not have a significant influence upon the Tuvinan gene pool at a whole.
KRUEGER, John R. (1977). John R. Krueger (ed.).Tuvan Manual. Uralic and Altaic Series Volume 126. Editor Emeritus: Thomas A. Sebeok. Indiana University Publications.ISBN978-0-87750-214-2.
MONGUSH, M.V. (1996). "Tuvans of Mongolia and China".International Journal of Central Asian Studies.1:225–243.
1 Central Asian (i.e.Turkmeni,Afghani andIranian)Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e.Iraqi andSyrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. formerOttoman territories).
1These are traditional areas of settlement; the Turkic group has been living in the listed country/region for centuries and should not be confused with modern diasporas. 2State with limited international recognition.
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