According to Alexey Kulakovsky, the Russian wordyakut was taken from theEvenkiекэ,yekə̄, while Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer claims the Russian word is actually a corruption from theTungusic form.[7] According to ethnographerDávid Somfai, the Russianyakut derives from theBuryatyaqud, which is the plural form of the Buryat name for the Yakuts,yaqa.[8] The Yakuts call themselvesSakha, orUrangai Sakha (Yakut:Уран Саха,Uran Sakha) in some old chronicles.[9] All of these are derived from a word related to Turkishyaka (geographical edge, collar) referring to theYakuts' remote position in Siberia.
An early work on the Yakut ethnogenesis was drafted by the RussianCollegiate Assessors I. Evers and S. Gornovsky in the late 18th century. At an unspecified time in the past certain tribes resided around the western shore of theAral Sea. These peoples later migrated eastward and settled near theTunka Goltsy mountains of modernBuryatia. Pressure from the expansionist Mongolian Empire later made many of those around the Tunka Goltsy relocate to the Lena River. Several additionalAltai-Sayan region tribes later arrived on the Lena to flee from the Mongols. The subsequent cultural melding that occurred between these incoming migrants eventually created the Yakuts. The SagayKhakas ofAbakan River were presented as the origin of the ethnonym Sakha by Evers and Gornovsky.[10][11]
In the mid-19th century, Nikolai S. Schukin wrote "A Trip to Yakutsk” based on his experiences visiting the area. He presented a somewhat different origin of the Yakuts based upon local oral histories. Groups of Khakas inhabiting the southernYenisey watershed migrated north to theNizhnyaya Tunguska River to theLena Plateau and finally onward to the Lena River.[12] Schukin is credited as introducing the concept of Yenisey Khakas as the ancestors of the Yakut into Russian historiography.[13] The most authoritative account in support of the Yenisey origin hypothesis was written by Nikolai N. Kozmin in 1928.[14] He concluded that some Khakas moved from the Yenisey to theAngara River due to difficulties in the regional economy. In the 12th century Buryats arrived at Lake Baikal and through military force pushed the Khakas to the Lena.[15][16]
In 1893, Turkologist scholarVasily Radlov connected theKurykans or Gǔlìgān (Chinese:骨利干)Tiele people from Chinese historical accounts with the Yakuts. They are mentioned as 7th-century tributaries of theTang dynasty, reportedly living on the Angara and around Lake Baikal. Radlov hypothesized they were a mixture of Tungusic and Uyghur peoples and the forebears of the Yakut.[17]
The Khoro (Khorin, Khorolors,Khori) Yakut maintain their progenitor was Uluu Khoro, rather than Omogoy or Ellei. Scholarship has not definitively established their ancestral ethnic affiliations. Their homeland was somewhere in the south and called Khoro sire. When the Khorolors arrived in the Middle Lena remains uncertain, with scholars estimating from the first millennium to the 16th century AD.[18]
Among scholars a commonly accepted hypothesis is that the Khoro Yakut originate from the Khori Buryat of Lake Baikal,[19][20] and therefore spoke a Turko-Mongolic language.[according to whom?][21] This is largely based on their similar ethnonyms. Proponents see the word Khoro as arising from the Tibetan word hor (Standard Tibetan:ཧོར).[22][23] For example, according to G. N. Runyanstev, during the 6th through 10th centuries CE the inhabitants of Lake Baikal were called Chor.[24] Okladnikov guessed that Khoro sire was near China and adjacent to the X[vague].
This premise is not universally accepted and has been challenged by some researchers.[25]George de Roerich has argued that the word is based on the Chinese word hu (Chinese:胡), a term used as general reference by the Chinese to refer to nomadic Mongolic peoples of Central Asia. In contemporary Tibetan hor is used to describe any pastoralist "nomad of mixed origin" regardless of their ethnonym.[26] After researching their origins,Gavriil Ksenofontov concluded that while the Khorolors were "formed from parts of some alien tribe that mixed with the Yakuts", there was no compelling evidence connecting them with the Khori Buryat.[27]
A more recent argument by Zoriktuev proposes that the Khorolors were originally Paleo-Asians from the Lower Amur River.[18] In contrast to their Yakut relatives, Khoro folklore focuses largely on the Raven, with some tales about the Eagle as well. In the mid 18th century Lindenau noted the Khorolors focused their religious devotion on the Raven,[28] who was alternatively referred to as “Our ancestor”, "Our deity", and “Our grandfather" by the Khorolors. This reverence arises from the Raven enabling a struggling human (either the first Khoro man or his mother) to survive by giving a flint and tinder box. Their mythos is similar to cultures from both sides of the Bering Sea.[according to whom?] The Haida, Tlingit, Tshisham of the North American Pacific Northwest Coast and the Paleoasians of the Siberian Coast like the Chukchi, Itelmen, and Koryaks all share reverence for the Raven.[29]
Many researchers have concluded that the Yakut ethnogenesis was an admixture of Turks migrating from Lake-Baikal and native Yukaghir and Tungusitic peoples residing around the Lena River.[30][31][32][33] Okladnikov detailed this conceived admixture process as the following:
"...the Turkic-speaking ancestors of the Yakuts not only pushed out the aborigines but also subjected them to their influence by peaceful means; they assimilated and absorbed them into their mass... With this, the local tribes lost the former ethnic name and a proper ethnic consciousness, no longer separating themselves from the mass of Yakuts, and [were] not opposed to them... Consequently, as a result of the mixing with Northern aborigines, the southern ancestors of the Yakuts supplemented their culture and language with new features distinguishing them from other steppe tribes."
Traditional Yakut histories contain stories of the aboriginal peoples of Yakutia. From thesubarcticBulunsky andVerkhoyansky Districts, accounts state that the Black Yukaghir (Yakut: хара дъукаагырдар) descended from migrants pushed north from the Lena River.[34] Related stories recorded inUst'-Aldanskiy Ulus andMegino-Kangalassky District mention certain tribes leaving the region due to rising pressure from the incoming Yakuts. While some remained and intermarried with the newcomer, most went to the northern tundra.[35]
TheYmyyakhtakh are an ancient people of the Lena River.[according to whom?] A burial ground was excavated[when?] and anthropologists I.I. Gokhman and L.F. Tomtosova studied the human remains and published their results in 1992. They concluded that some of the Late Neolithic population took part in the formation of the modern Yakuts.[36] The consistency of related artistic embellishments on the traditional clothing of the Buryat, Samoyed, and Yakut led one scholar to conclude they are related.[37] Toponymic data of Yakutia indicates there was once a presence of Paleoasian and Samoyed habitation in the region.[38] Vilyui Tumats reportedly practicedanthropophagy and seen as an "ethnocultural marker" of the Samoyedic peoples.[39]
The Tumat stand out in Yakut tradition as a numerous and powerful society, with constant conflict once happening with them on theVilyuy River.[40] Their households were semi-subterranean with sod roofing and are comparable to traditional Samoyed dwellings.[41] The term Doubo (Chinese:都播) was used in medieval Chinese historical works in reference to the Sayano-Altai forest peoples.Vasily Radlov concluded that Doubo referred to the Samoyedic peoples.[42] Doubo is additionally seen as the origin of the ethnonym "Tumat" by L. P. Potapov.[43]
The Yakuts called the Tumat people "Dyirikinei" or "chipmunk people" (Yakut: Sдьирикинэй), arising from the Tumatian "tail-coat." Bundles of deer fur were dyed with red ocher and sewn into Tumatian jackets as adornments. Tumat hats were likewise dyed red.[44] This style was likely spread by the Tumatians to some Tungusic peoples. Similar clothing has been reported during the 17th century for the Evenks on the upper Angara and for Evens residing on the lower Kolyma in the early 19th century.[45] Additionally there are many similarities between the clothing of the Tumats and Altaic cultures. Archeological work onPazyryk culture sites have turned up both hats dyed red and tail-coats made of sables. While the "tails" were not dyed red, they were sewn with red dyed thread. Stylistic and design choices are also comparable to traditionalKhakas andKumandin clothing.[46]
Some peaceable interactions including intermarriage did occur with the Tumats. One such example is the life of Džaardaakh (Russian:Джаардаах), a Tumatian woman. She was renowned for her physical strength and martial repute as an archer. However Džaardaakh eventually married a Yakut man and is considered a notable ancestor of the local Vilyuy Yakut.[47] The origin of her name has been linked to a Yukaghir word for ice (Yukaghir: йархан).[48]
The ancestors of Yakuts wereKurykans who migrated fromYenisey river toLake Baikal and were subject to a certain Mongolian admixture prior to migration in the 7th century.[49] The Yakuts originally lived aroundOlkhon and the region ofLake Baikal. Beginning in the 13th century they migrated to the basins of the MiddleLena, theAldan andVilyuy rivers under the pressure of the risingMongols. The northern Yakuts were largely hunters, fishermen andreindeer herders, while the southern Yakuts raisedcattle andhorses.[50][51]
In the 1620s, theTsardom of Muscovy began to move into their territory and annexed or settled down on it, imposed a fur tax andmanaged to suppress several Yakut rebellions between 1634 and 1642. The tsarist brutality in collection of the pelt tax (yasak) sparked a rebellion and aggression among the Yakuts and alsoTungusic-speaking tribes along the RiverLena in 1642. Thevoivode Peter Golovin, leader of the tsarist forces, responded with a reign of terror: native settlements were torched and hundreds of people were killed. The Yakut population alone is estimated to have fallen by 70 percent between 1642 and 1682, mainly because ofsmallpox and otherinfectious diseases.[52][53]
In the 18th century the Russians reduced the pressure,[citation needed] gave Yakut chiefs some privileges,[citation needed] granted freedom for all inhabitants,[citation needed] gave them all their lands,[citation needed] sent Eastern Orthodox missions, and educated the Yakut people regarding agriculture.[citation needed] The discovery ofgold and, later, the building of theTrans-Siberian Railway, brought ever-increasing numbers of Russians into the region. By the 1820s almost all the Yakuts claimed to have converted to theRussian Orthodox church, but they retained (and still retain) a number of shamanist practices. Yakut literature began to rise in the late 19th century, and a national revival occurred in the early 20th century.
In 1922, the new Soviet government named the area theYakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In the late 1920s through the late 1930s, Yakut people were systematically persecuted, whenJoseph Stalin launched his collectivization campaign.[54] It is possible that hunger and malnutrition during this period resulted in a decline in the Yakut total population from 240,500 in 1926 to 236,700 in 1959. By 1972, the population began to recover.[55]
The percentage of Yakuts in the districts ofYakutia, in the 2010 census
Currently, Yakuts form a large plurality of the total population within the vastRepublic of Sakha. According to the 2010 Russian census, there were a total of 466,492 Yakuts residing in the Sakha Republic during that year, or 49.9% of the total population of the Republic.
The Yakuts engage in animal husbandry, traditionally having focused on rearinghorses, mainly theYakutian horse,reindeer and theSakha Ynagha ('Yakutian cow'), a hardy kind ofcattle known asYakutian cattle which is well adapted to the harsh local weather.[56][57] There is a widespread notion among other ethnic minorities inRussia based on their experience (for example, among geographically close MongolicBuryats) that the Sakha (i.e. Yakuts) are the leastrussified ethnic group in Russia and that the knowledge of the native language is widespread, particularly (as is often said) due to the cold and freezing nature of their geographical habitat, andRussians’ general avoidance of colonizing those lands.
The cuisine of Sakha prominently features the traditional drinkkumis, dairy products of cow, mare, and reindeer milk, sliced frozen salted fishstroganina (строганина), loaf meat dishes (oyogos),venison, frozen fish, thick pancakes, andsalamat—a millet porridge with butter and horse fat.Kuerchekh (Куэрчэх) orkierchekh, a popular dessert, is made of cow milk or cream with variousberries.Indigirka is a traditional fish salad. This cuisine is only used inYakutia.[citation needed]
According to the 2010 census, some 87% of the Yakuts in the Sakha Republic are fluent in theYakut (or Sakha) language, while 90% are fluent in Russian.[59] The Sakha/Yakut language belongs to the Northern branch of theSiberian Turkic languages. It is most closely related to theDolgan language, and also to a lesser extent related toTuvan andShor.
The primaryY-chromosome DNA haplogroup for the Yakut isN-M231. While found in around 89% of the general population,[49] in northern Yakutia it is closer to 82%. N-M231 is shared with various other Eastern Siberian populations.[60] The remaining haplogroups are approximately: 4%C-M217 (including subcladesC-M48 and C-M407), 3.5%R1a-M17 (including subclade R1a-M458), and 2.1%N-P43, with sporadic instances ofI-M253,R1b-M269,J2, andQ.[61][60]
According to Adamov,haplogroup N1c1 makes up 94% of the Sakha population. This genetic bottleneck has been dated approximately to 1300 CE ± 200 ybp and speculated to have been caused by high mortality rates in warfare and later relocation to the Middle Lena River.[62]
The primarymitochondrial DNA haplogroups are various East Asian lineages, making up 92% of the total:haplogroup C at 36% to 45.7% andhaplogroup D at 25.7% to 32.9% of the Yakut.[60] Minor Eastern Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups include: 5.2%G, 4.49%F, 3.55%M13a1b, 1.89%A, 1.18%Y1a, 1.18%B, 0.95%Z3, and 0.71%M7.[60] According to Fedorova, besides East Asian maternal lineages, "the mtDNA pool of the native populations of Sakha contains a small (8%), but diverse set of western Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups, mostly present among Yakuts and Evenks", the most common being H and J.[60]
The Sakha American Cultural Association, a non-profit organization established in Seattle, Washington in 2024[63]
"The Sakha people had made a temporary footprint in the U.S. in 1820 at Fort Ross[64] in Jenner, California. According to the 1820 census,[65] five Sakha men lived in the fort with 260 people, working for theRussian-American Company, a fur-trading business. This fort became a melting pot of different cultures, including Russians, Native Alaskans and local Native American tribes, such as the Kashaya Pomo. The Sakha were part of the diverse workforce that supported the fort operations in areas, such as hunting, trapping, farming and construction. By 1860, there were at least 20 Sakhas living at Fort Ross before the Russian-American Company ended its North American operations in the early 1880s." - Lynnwood Today[63]
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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).
