Къуманды, Къуванды(г) Kumandy,Kuvandy(g) | |
|---|---|
 Distribution of Kumandins in theSiberian Federal District | |
| Total population | |
| 2,892 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Russia
| 2,892[1][2] |
| Languages | |
| Northern Altai (Kumandin dialect) | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Christianity,[2] alsoShamanism,Burkhanism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Altaians,Siberian Tatars,Khakas,Shors,Teleuts,Tofalar | |
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TheKumandins (natively,Kumandy,Kuvandy(g)) are aTurkicIndigenous people of Siberia. They reside mainly in theAltai Krai andAltai Republic of theRussian Federation.[2] They speak theNorthern Altai Kumandin language.[3][4]
According to the 1926 census, 6,335 Kumandins lived within the territory of Russia. In the 2010 census, the number was only 2,892, but possibly the 1926 census included some related peoples. Some Kumandins, living on the banks of theBiya River, from theKuu River downstream, almost to the city ofBiysk, and along the lower course of theKatun River, by 1969 were conflated with theRussians population.[5]
In the Soviet years and until 2000, the authorities considered the Kumandins to be part of theAltai people. Currently, according to theResolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 255 dated March 24, 2000, as well as theRussian Census (2002), they are recognized as a separate ethnic group withinindigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East.[3] For ethnic rights protection was established the "Association of the Kumandin People Revival".[4]
Omeljan Pritsak claimed thatkuman- in the name of the Kumandins is identical in meaning to the names given to theTurkic people,Cumans-Kipchaks andPolovets (a Slavic term forCumans).[6][7]
However, theseoks (tribes) of the Kumandins have varying origin myths; L. Potapov proposed that they were originally a federation of peoples from different backgrounds: nomadicsteppe pastoralists (such as theCumans),taiga hunters (Chuvash), deer pastoralists (Nenets), and fishers (Tatars).[8]
[The] Kumans belonged to the Kuman-Kipchak confederation (Polevetses of the Rus annals, Comans of Byzantine sources, Folban of German annals) [and] during the period from the end of the 800s to 1230s CE spread their political influence in the broad steppes fromAltai toCrimea andDanube.Irtysh with its adjoining steppes (at least below the lakeZaisan) was in the sphere of that confederation. Members of the confederation undoubtedly also were the ancestors of the present Kumandy and Teleuts, which is evidenced by their language that like the language of theTobol-Irtysh andBaraba Tatars belongs to theKypchak group.[9]
By the 17th century, the Kumandins lived along the riverCharysh, near its confluence with the riverOb. A subsequent relocation to the Altai was driven by their unwillingness to payyasak (financial tribute) to the Russian sovereign.[10]N. Aristov linked the Kumandins – and theChelkans – to the ancient Turks, "who in the 6th-8th CC AD created inCentral Asia a powerful nomadic state, which received ... the nameTurkic Kaganate".[11]
Potapov regarded the Kumandins as being related anthropologically to the peoples of the Urals, and suggested that they were lessEast Asian than the Altaians proper.[13] This subjective impression has been borne out to an extent by genetic research (see below).
Sixseoks have been identified:[14]
| Kumandinseok names | Proposed ethnolinguistic links | Period | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soo (So) | possibly aproto-Turkic people; tribal names similar to Soo – the Sogo, Soko, Soo, and Soky – have been recorded among theKhakas andYakuts | before 4th century | [7][15] |
| Kubandy | possibly part of theKangar confederation and/orCumans | 7th century | [16] |
| Tastar | possibly also part of the Kangar confederation, Cumans and/orAses | 7th century | [17] |
| Diuty (Chooty) | possiblyTele/Teleuts (part of theTürkic Kaganate) | 6th to 8th centuries | [18] |
| Chabash (Chabat) | possiblyChuvash | unknown | [8] |
| Ton (Ton-Kubandy) | possibly aNenets tribe,Tongjoan (Altays) and/orTongak (Tuvinians) | 12th century (The Secret History of the Mongols)[17] |
An ancient Turkic legend recorded in the Chinese annal (Book of Zhou 周書, 636 CE) mentions the origin of the Göktürks' ancestors from a possession or state namedSuǒ (索國;MC: *sak̚-kwək̚), located "north of the Xiongnu country" (which, in this case, apparently meant Mongolia).[16][19][20][21]
The name of theseok Ton is explained as an ethnonym that reflects their economic specialization, as a word meaning "deer" and "reindeer breeder".Potapov (1969), pp. 60, 61 The remote ancestors of this Kumandyseok Ton were reindeer breeders, reflected in Kumandy hunting legends and fairy tales, for example about milking deer (which is attributed to the Kumandy's mountain spirits). The memory about breeding and milking reindeer belongs to some remote historical ancestors of a part of Kumandy; they can be explained by participation in the Kumandy ethnogenesis of the southern Nenets tribes, who cultivated riding deer, typically used not only for transport but also for food and dress.
Genetically, the Kumandins are different from the neighboringAltai people, into which they were tried to be included in the Soviet years. They are genetically isolated not only from the southern, but also from the northern Altaians. This is evidenced by the complete absence of the variants of theY chromosomehaplogroups—R1a and Q—which are absolutely dominant in Altai. At the same time, the haplogroupR1b is widespread within them, and except for the Kumandins themselves, no one in Altai has found it in any quantity.[22]
By genetic research suggesting that most Kumandin males belong toY-DNA haplogroups that are generally found in populations further to the west, such asR1b (although the Kumandins belong to R1b-M73 rather than R1b-M269, the latter being the subclade to which a majority of Europeans belong) andN-P43 have remarked that, in fact, Chelkans and Kumandins have N-P43 Y chromosomes very similar to ones found in the Ugric-speaking Khanty).[23] However, a majority ofmitochondrial DNA lines belonged to theNorth East Asian haplogroupsC orD with also a large minority of west Eurasian lineages such asU5a1 (5/52),H8 (3/52), U4b1b (2/52),X2e (2/52), andT1a (1/52).[23]
The Kumandins were originally hunters and animals living in the taiga were vital to the local subsistence economy.[24] Around the 19th century, Kumandins took up pickingcedar nuts as an additional economic activity.[25]
The traditional dwellings of the Kumandins included polygonal yurts made out of bark or log and topped with a conic bark roof. Other types of dwellings also included conic yurts made out of bark or perches.[24]
Traditional Kumandin dress included short breeches, linen shirts, and single-breasted robes.[24]
Most modern Kumandins areOrthodox Christians,[2] butshamanism andBurkhanism is also practiced by some.[24][26]
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