TheSouthern Altaians, who speak theSouthern Altai language with its dialects, include the Altai-Kizhi,Teleuts, andTelengits. The Telesy were previously included but are now assimilated into the Telengits.
The Northern and Southern Altaians formed in the Altai area on the basis of tribes ofKimek-Kipchaks.[12][13]
One study in 2016 suggest that, the Altaians, precisely some Southern Altaians, mixed with localYeniseian people up to ~20% which were closely related to thePaleo-Eskimo groups.[16]
From the 13th to 18th century, the Altai people were dominated politically and culturally by theMongols. The origin of the Southern Altaians can be traced during this period from the result of the mixing ofKipchak and Mongol tribes. Meanwhile, the Northern Altaians were a result of the fusion ofTurkic tribes withSamoyeds,Kets, and otherindigenous Siberian ethnic groups.[15]
The Altaians were annexed by theFour Oirat of Western Mongols in the 16th century.[citation needed] The Mongols called them "Telengid" or "Telengidaimag" in the period of theNorthern Yuan dynasty, with the region known as Telengid Province.[17] After the fall of theZunghar Khanate in the 18th century, the Altaians were subjugated by theQing dynasty, which referred to them asAltan Nuur Uriyangkhai.[18] Altaians are genetically related to theUriyangkhai, which is a common neighbouringOirat Mongol ethnic group inMongolia.
The Altai people came into contact withRussians in the 18th century. In theTsarist period, the Altai were also known asOirot orOyrot (this name means "Oirat" and would later be carried on for theOyrot Autonomous Oblast). The name was inherited from their being former subjects of the 17th-centuryOirat-ledDzungar Khanate.[19] The Altai report that many of them became addicted to the Russians'vodka, which they called "fire water".[20]
With regard to religion, some of the Altai remainedshamanists and others (in a trend beginning in the mid-19th century) have converted to theRussian Orthodox Church. In 1904, amillenarianindigenist religious movement calledAk-Jang orBurkhanism arose among these people.[21][22] Prior to 1917, the Altai were considered to be made up of many different ethnic groups.[23]
With the rise of the1917 Russian revolution, Altai nationalists andSocialist-Revolutionaries attempted to make a separateBurkhanistrepublic called theConfederated Republic of Altai (Karakorum-Altai Region),[21] although only as part of the Russian Federation.[24] They also hoped to extend its territory to form a larger Oyrot republic that would include other former subjects of theDzungar Khanate or even all Turkic peoples of Siberia.[25] Many Altai leaders supported theMensheviks during theCivil War. After theBolshevik victory, a separateOyrot Autonomous Oblast was established as a national home for the Altais.[26] In the 1940s, during World War II,Joseph Stalin's government accused Altai nationalists of beingpro-Japanese. After the war, the word "Oyrot" was declared to becounter-revolutionary due to its associations with the idea of a larger Oyrot state that could secede from the USSR.[27] Because of that, the oblast was renamed toGorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast. By 1950,Soviet industrialization policies and development in this area resulted in considerable migration of Russians to this republic, reducing the proportion of Altai in the total population from 50% to 20%.[28]
In 1990, theGorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast was declared an autonomous republic, theGorno-Altai Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which was renamed to theAltai Republic in 1992.[29] In the early 21st century, ethnic Altaians make up about 31% of the Altai Republic's population.[30] Today, the special interests of the Altaians are articulated and defended by the Association of Northern Ethnoses of Altai.[11]
According to the 2010 Russian census, there was a total of 69,963 Altaians who resided within the Altai Republic. This represented 34.5% of the total population of the republic, compared with 56.6% with a Russian background, Altaian families are the majority only in certain villages. However, Altaian culture is still the local culture between people and communities.
The Southern Altaians were mostly nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock holders. They raisedhorses,goats,sheep, andcattle.[15] The Northern Altaians mainly engaged inhunting as their primary form of subsistence. Their main prey were animals from thetaiga (boreal forests). However, some Altaians also engaged insmall scale agriculture,gathering, andfishing.[15][31]
Most of the Southern Altaians traditionally lived inyurts. Many Northern Altaians mainly built polygonal yurts with conic roofs made out of logs and bark. Some Altai-Kizhi also lived in mud huts with birch bark gable roofs and log or plank walling. The Teleuts and a few Northern Altaians lived in conic homes made out of perches or bark. With the influx of Russians near the homeland of the Altaians, there was an increase of the construction of large huts with two to four slope roofs in consequence of Russian influence.[15] Despite the many social and political changes the Altaians have endured, many modern and settled families still keep a yurt in their yards. These yurts are usually used as a summertime kitchen or extra room.[32]
Historically, the traditional clothing of Southern Altaian men and women was very similar with little differences between the two.[33] Average clothing consisted of long shirts with wide breeches, robes, and fur coats. Other apparel often included fur hats, high boots, and sheepskin coats.[33] Northern Altaians and some Teleuts traditionally wore short breeches, linen shirts, and single-breasted oriental robes. Despite the fact that most Altaians today wear modern clothes, traditional wear still remains in use.[11]
Altai cuisine consists of soups of horseflesh ormutton. Dishes withgopher,badger,marmot,fermented milk,cream (from boiled milk), blood pudding, butter, fried barley flour, and certain vegetables are also staples of Altai cuisine. Popular drinks includearyki (hard liquor made fromkumis).[11][34]
TraditionalAltai shamanism is rich withmythology andsupernatural beings. Popular deities includedErlik, the god of the underworld, and Oyrot-Khan, a heroic figure who is a composite blend taken from historicalZungarian (Oirat) Khans and ancient legendary heroes. However, with many migrations, settlement changes, and the presence ofRussians and their eventual union with theRussian Empire, the Altaians encountered three world religions:Buddhism,Christianity, andIslam. At first, the Altaians were indifferent and at times even hostile to these foreign faiths and their expansion in the region (modernAltai Republic). In 1829, aRussian Orthodoxmission was founded in the region soon after it became aprotectorate of the Russian Empire.[11] The mission and its missionaries were initiallyculturally sensitive and tolerant to the Altaians and their customs. However, the rise ofRussian nationalism during the late 19th century caused theRussification of Orthodox Christianity in the country, and the mostly Russian clergy inSiberia also took up the ideology. This created intolerant views of the natives of Siberia (including the Altaians) and of their culture. This led to the rejection of Christianity by many Altaians, who saw it as a foreign Russian religion. However, Russian rule continued to grow increasingly strict both politically and religiously.[11] Russian Orthodox missionariesregularly confiscated land from Altaians who refused to convert to Christianity.[36] Altaians were often forcefully converted to Christianity.[37][38]
Mongolian Buddhist missionaries attempted to spread the faith among the Altaians during the 19th century. The Buddhist missionaries also encouraged the Altaians to unite together against the Russians. However, their activities and preaching were suppressed both by the Russian state and Orthodox Christian missionaries.[36] Buddhism made little headway among the Altaians but many Buddhist ideas and principles filtered into Altai spiritual beliefs.[36] However, some Altaians reportedly visited Mongolia and studied at Buddhist centers of learning before and after the rise of theBurkhanist movement in the early 20th century; indicating a significant Buddhist influence on the new religion.[39] Additionally, MongolianLamas were reported to have occasionally visited the region throughout the rest of the 19th century and into the early 20th century to dispense religious services to locals that requested them.[40]
Around 1904, the development of Burkhanism among the Altaians was underway. Burkhanism is amonotheistic religion named after Ak-Burkhan, a deity who is believed and recognized by its adherents to have been the sole god. Burkhanism was opposed to both the Russians and the traditional Altai shamans. The hostility towards the shamans was so great that the shamans had to seek protection from Russian authorities. The rise of theBolsheviks in the first quarter of the 20th century also led to thebrutal repression of all religions, which included the indigenous faiths of the Altai people. For the next few decades, public expressions of religion severely declined with only shamanistic and ancientpolytheistic beliefs surviving the chaos. This was believed to have occurred because ancient religious beliefs could be easily orally transmitted from generation to another. It's also likely that no Burkhanist texts survived the repression and main sources for the beliefs of the religion come from Russian missionaries, travellers, and scholars.[11]
Recently, bothBurkhanism andtraditional Altai shamanism have seen a revival in the Altai region, which is especially popular among Altaian youth. According to recent statistical studies, up to 70%[5] or 86 % (data of the Research State Institute of Altaic Studies)[4] of the Altaians continue to profess the "Altai Faith": Burkhanism, shamanism, and othernative religions. According toNatalia Zhukovskaia, traditional Altai shamanism is the supreme religion of the majority of the Altai people.[8]
At present, shamanism is practiced by many Telengits, although there is a large amount that also profess Orthodox Christianity. Burkhanism is the main religion of the Altai-Kizhi, the largest group of Altaians, but there is a significant number of Orthodox Christians. The majority of Kumandins, Tubalars, Teleuts, and Chelkans are Russian Orthodox, although there is a significant minority that practice shamanism.[11] A few Altaians areEvangelical Christians[7] andTibetan Buddhists.[32] There has been a revival of Tibetan Buddhism amongst the Altaians since the 1980s and there are now several Buddhist organizations,stupas and other religious infrastructure in the region.[41]
In principle, the division into the Burkhanists and shamanists has ceased to be relevant for the contemporary religiosity of the Altaians. According to a number of studies, by the beginning of the 21st century, there were practically no traditional shamans or classical Burkhanists anti-shamanists. The main one was the single "Altai Faith" (Altay:Алтай јаҥ,romanized: Altai jang)—a traditionalethnic religion in the form of a synthesis ofBurkhanism with the remnants of Altai shamanism,Mongolian andTibetanBuddhism, and other tribal beliefs and customs.[42][6]
Altai population can be divided into northern and southern clusters based on linguistics, culture, and genetics. According to a 2012 study that analyzedmtDNA (byPCR-RFLP analysis andcontrol region sequencing) and nonrecombinantY-DNA (by scoring more than 100 biallelic markers and 17Y-STRs) obtained from Altaian samples, northern Altaians are genetically more similar toYeniseian,Ugric, andSamoyeds to the north, while southern Altaians having greater affinities to other Turkic speaking populations of southern Siberia and Central Asia. The same study conducted a high-resolution analysis of Y chromosomeHaplogroup Q-M242 that was found in Altaian samples and concluded that southern Altaians andindigenous peoples of the Americas share a recentcommon ancestor.[43]
According to a new study by Russian geneticists, a genetic separation of the northern and southern Altaians is undeniable. The southern Altaians are dominated by such variants of the Y chromosome haplogroup as Q-M242 andR1a, and there are alsoI-M170 andO-M175. Within the northern Altaians, the R1a haplogroup is dominant, Q-M242 is rarely found, and I-M170 and O-M175 are not found at all.[44]
Mitochondrial DNA
The maternal genetic ancestry of northern and southern Altaian populations was explored by characterizing coding region SNPs and control region sequences from 490 inhabitants of the Altai Republic. Differences in mtDNA haplogroup profiles were observed among northern Altaian ethnic groups and between northern Altaians and Altai-kizhi, with the Chelkans being extraordinarily distinct. Nevertheless, comparisons among other Altaian ethnic groups revealed some consistent patterns. mtDNA haplogroups B, C, D, and U4 were found in all Altaian populations, but at varying frequencies, whereas southern Altaians (Altai-kizhi, Telengits, and Teleuts) tended to have a greater variety of West Eurasian haplogroups at low frequencies. Shors, who have sometimes been categorized as northern Altaians,18 exhibited a similar haplogroup profile to other northern Altaian ethnic groups, including moderate frequencies of C, D, and F1, although they lacked others (N9a and U). Haplogroups C and D were the most frequent mtDNA lineages in the Altaians, consistent with the overall picture of the Siberian mtDNA gene pool.[45]
^abBourdeaux, Michael; Filatov, Sergey, eds. (2006).Современная религиозная жизнь России. Опыт систематического описания [Contemporary Religious Life of Russia. Systematic description experience] (in Russian). Vol. 4. Moscow:Keston Institute; Logos. p. 105.ISBN5-98704-057-4.
^abTadina, Nadezhda (2013)."Два взгляда на бурханизм у алтай-кижи" [Two views on Burkhanism among the Altai-Kizhi].Журнал социологии и социальной антропологии [Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology] (in Russian).16 (4):159–166.
^Potapov, Leonid P. (1969).Этнический состав и происхождение алтайцев. Историко-этнографический очерк [Ethnic composition and origin of the Altaians. Historical ethnographical essay] (in Russian).Leningrad: Nauka. pp. 16–17.
^Altan, KH. (10 August 2018)."Ulaanbaatar hosts Altaic People International Conference". The UB Post. Retrieved25 February 2021 – via PressReader.com.Altains are presented by two ethnographic groups including the Northern Altains; the Tulbar, Chelkans, Kumandin, and the Shor. The Southern Altaians consist of Altaian (Altai-Kizhi), the Teleut, the Teles, and the Telengit. The history of Altains is deeply rooted to Mongolia as for a period of time they were ruled by Mongolia as Telengid Province during the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
^C.P.Atwood-Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p.9
^Hoppál, Mihály (2005).Sámánok Eurázsiában (in Hungarian). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.ISBN978-963-05-8295-7. pp. 77, 287;Znamensky, Andrei A. (2005). "Az ősiség szépsége: altáji török sámánok a szibériai regionális gondolkodásban (1860–1920)". In Molnár, Ádám (ed.).Csodaszarvas. Őstörténet, vallás és néphagyomány. Vol. I (in Hungarian). Budapest: Molnár Kiadó. pp. 117–34.ISBN978-963-218-200-1., p. 128
^Halemba, Agniezka (2003). "Contemporary religious life in the Republic of Altai: the interaction of Buddhism and Shamanism".Sibirica.3 (2).doi:10.1080/1361736042000245295.
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).
