Misplaced Pages

#99900

69-751: The Evenki or Ewenki are sometimes conjectured to be connected to the Shiwei people who inhabited the Greater Khingan Range in the 5th to 9th centuries, although the native land of the majority of Evenki people is in the vast regions of Siberia between Lake Baikal and the Amur River . The Evenki language forms the northern branch of the Manchu-Tungusic language group and is closely related to Even and Negidal in Siberia . By 1600

138-528: A written language in the 1930s. Many nomadic Evens were forced to settle down, join the kolkhozes , and engage in cattle - breeding and agriculture . The economy of the Evens people, both historically and now, is largely based around reindeer herding and migration, as well as hunting. The Evens kept smaller herds of reindeer than other indigenous groups in eastern Siberia, such as the Chukchi, Koryak, and

207-709: A common origin. The Shiwei were descendants of the Yuwen Xianbei , but also included some tribes of the Tungusic Mohe people . Shiwei is a variant transcription for Xianbei. Chinese dynastic histories describe the Shiwei as somewhat related to the Khitan, who were of Xianbei origin. They were local Xianbei tribes who became independent after the Xianbei state dissolved in 234 with the death of Budugen . In

276-589: A fact that convinced Tuoba Dao that the legendary cave that gave birth to his people had been located. The Weishu goes on to say that the emperor sent an emissary, Li Chang, to investigate the report. Li Chang verified the story, and held various ceremonies to worship the Xianbei ancestors, and left an inscription describing the ceremonies. The cave, known today as Gaxian cave site, and the inscription were discovered in 1980 by archaeologists. This find and other historical and archaeological evidence has helped to verify that

345-778: A group which also includes Even and Negidal . Many Evenki in Russia still engage in a traditional lifestyle of raising reindeer, fishing, and hunting. According to the 2021 census 39,226 Evenki lived in Russia. At the 2000 census, there were 30,505 Evenki in China, mainly made up of the Solons and the Khamnigans . 88.8% of China's Evenki live in the Hulunbuir region in the north of the Inner Mongolia Province, near

414-670: A larger territory. According to the administrative structure, the Evenki live, from west to east, in: However, the territory where they are a titular nation is confined solely to the Evenk Autonomous Okrug, where 3,802 of the 35,527 Evenki live (according to the 2002 census). More than 18,200 Evenki live in the Sakha Republic . Evenki is the largest of the northern group of the Manchu-Tungus languages ,

483-457: A lesser extent, their traditional Baikal region. Russian invasion of the Evenki caused them (and other indigenous peoples) language erosion , a decline in traditions, and identity loss, among others. This was especially true during the Soviet regime. Soviet policies of collectivization , forced sedentarization (sometimes referred to as sedentism ), " unpromising villages ", and Russification of

552-440: A life of mobility   ... they wore brief garments of soft reindeer or elk skin around their hips, along with leggings and moccasins, or else long supple boots reaching to the thigh" (49). They also wore a deerskin coat that did not close in front but was instead covered with an apron-like cloth. Some Evenkis decorated their clothing with fringes or embroidery (50). The Evenki traditional costume always consisted of these elements:

621-568: A loincloth made of animal hide, leggings, and boots of varying lengths Facial tattooing was also very common. The traditional Evenki economy was a mix of pastoralism (horses or reindeer), fishing, and hunting. The Evenki who lived near the Okhotsk Sea hunted seal, but for most of the taiga-dwellers, elk, wild reindeer, and fowl were the most important game animals. Other animals included "roe deer, bear, wolverine, lynx, wolf, Siberian marmot, fox, and sable" Trapping did not become important until

690-664: A people in Siberia and the Russian Far East . They live in regions of the Magadan Oblast and Kamchatka Krai and northern parts of Sakha east of the Lena River , although they are a nomadic people. According to the 2002 census , there were 19,071 Evens in Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 22,383 Evens in Russia. They speak their own language called Even , one of the Tungusic languages ; it

759-485: A type of earth and log dugout. Sheds were erected near the dwellings in order to house stocks of frozen fish and meat. Their economy was supplemented by winter hunts to obtain wild game. Hunters sometimes rode reindeer, and sometimes moved along on wooden skis. During the Soviet reign the government collectivized reindeer herding, which drastically changed the lives of the Evens and other indigenous groups in Siberia. With

SECTION 10

#1732765963100

828-728: A visit to the Tang court. The Shiwei chieftain Dale came to visit the Tang court along with the Xi during the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang (reigned 859–873). After the Uighur Empire was brought to an end by the Kirghiz in 840, they submitted to the Tang and killed the Uighur commissioners by an order of the Tang. From 789 onward, no aggressive actions conducted by the Shiwei could be found throughout

897-507: Is N (34 %). 18 percent belong to its subgroup N1b-P43 and 16 percent belong to subgroup N1c . Other paternal haplogroups found among them are R1a (14 %), R1b (6 %), F (4 %) and I (2 %). Shiwei people Shiwei ( simplified Chinese : 室 韦 ; traditional Chinese : 室 韋 ; pinyin : Shìwéi ; Wade–Giles : Shih -wei ) were a Mongolic people that inhabited far-eastern Mongolia , northern Inner Mongolia , northern Manchuria and

966-528: Is centered upon nomadic pastoralism of domesticated reindeer, supplemented with hunting, fishing and animal-trapping. Outside of Russia, there are 104 Evens in Ukraine, 19 of whom spoke Even. (Ukr. Cen. 2001) The Evens people are part of the Eastern Siberians that migrated out of central China around 10,000 years ago. They are located in extreme northeast Siberia, and they are somewhat isolated from

1035-933: Is forbidden to torment an animal, bird, or insect, and a wounded animal must be finished off immediately. It is forbidden to spill the blood of a killed animal or defile it. It is forbidden to kill animals or birds that were saved from pursuit by predators or came to a person for help in a natural disaster." Prior to contact with the Russians, the belief system of the Evenki was animistic . Many have adopted Tibetan Buddhism . The Evenki, like most nomadic, pastoral, and subsistence agrarian peoples, spend most of their lives in very close contact with nature. Because of this, they develop what A. A. Sirina calls an "ecological ethic". By this she means "a system of responsibility of people to nature and her spirit masters, and of nature to people"(9). Sirina interviewed many Evenki who until very recently spent much of their time as reindeer herders in

1104-574: Is heavily influenced by their lifestyle and reindeer herding . It is also closely related to the language of their neighbors, the Evenks. The Evens are close to the Evenks by their origins and culture , having migrated with them from central China over 10,000 years ago. Officially, they have been considered to be of Orthodox faith since the 19th century, though the Evens have retained some pre- Christian practices, such as shamanism . Traditional Even life

1173-505: Is reasonable to assume that this is where the name Lamut originates. The name Even came from the Evens people themselves. The Evens had yet to distinguish themselves as a separate group from the Evenk even up until the 1800s. As such, Evenk culture and language heavily influenced that of the Evens. However, there are some key differences in language that made the two separate. In the Even language

1242-667: Is said to be another name for the Uriankhai Mongols. The Da Shiwei tribe is thought to be descended from some Rouran who fled east after being defeated by the Turks in 555. They were led by their chieftain Tantan (Tatar) and were incorporated into the Shiwei. In fact, Tatar is held to be an alternative name for some major Shiwei tribes. The Da Shiwei are thought to be the same as the Taichiud Mongol tribe. According to

1311-561: The Book of Wei , it is claimed that the language of the Shiwei was the same as the Khitan's, who spoke the Khitan language ; in the Book of Sui , it is claimed that the Shiwei belonged to the same kind of people as the Khitan; and in both the New Book of Tang and Old Book of Tang , it is claimed that the Shiwei were a collateral branch of the Khitan. It is likely that at least some tribes of

1380-682: The Amur and Okhotsk Sea   ... the Lena Basin   ... and the Yenisey Basin". In the 17th century, the Russian empire made contact with the Evenki. Cossacks , who served as a kind of "border-guard" for the tsarist government, imposed a fur tax on the Siberian tribes. The Cossacks exploited the Evenki clan hierarchy, taking hostages from the highest members to ensure payment of

1449-639: The Liaoshi , at one time the Khitan learnt the art of cart-making from the Heichezi clan. The Huangtou ("yellow head") Shiwei may have been named so because of a high incidence of blondness within their tribe, but it is not certain. However, blondness still occurs regularly in the region today. In describing the Shiwei tribes, the Tang Huiyao vol. 96 records, "Eastward again, there was the Wuluohu tribe,

SECTION 20

#1732765963100

1518-474: The Tacheng and Ghulja areas of Xinjiang , in order to strengthen the empire's western border. Another 1020 Xibe families (some 4000 persons) also came the following year. Since then, however, the Solons of Xinjiang have assimilated into other ethnic groups, and are not identified as such anymore. The Japanese occupation led to many murders of Evenkis, and Evenki men were conscripted as scouts and rangers by

1587-510: The Tang period (618–907), it is known that there were twenty Shiwei tribes, according to the records in dynastic histories. They were the Wusugu, Yisaimo, Saiezhi, Hejie, Wuluohu, Nali, Lingxi, Shanbei, Huangtou (Yellow-head), Da (Great) Ruzhe, Xiao (Lesser) Ruzhe, Powo, Nebeizhi, Luotuo, Dong (Eastern) Shiwei, Xi (Western) Shiwei, Da (Great) Shiwei, Mengwu Shiwei, Luozu Shiwei and Dagui. Wuluohun

1656-519: The 1900s. Because the Evens did not raise reindeer specifically for their skins and meat, they relied mostly on hunting small game such as reindeer they had not domesticated and other animals in the Tundra. Hunting animals for their fur, squirrel in particular, became a large source of income after the indigenous groups of Siberia came into contact with the Russians. The fur trade was extremely lucrative, and as such reindeer herding became less important to

1725-625: The Chinese historical data, until some of their tribes were incorporated into the Khitan and some others migrated to the northwest around the turn of the 10th century. In 1087 representatives of the subject Menggu Shiwei came to show respect to the Khitan court at Yanjing (Beijing). The Menggu Shiwei aided the Liao dynasty against the Jurchens till the end. According to the Qidan Guozhi, in 1124

1794-460: The Chukchi and the Koryak lived in a type of larger circular tent called a chorama-diu. These tents were usually made out of reindeer hides, although the Evens that lived by the sea used fish skins in addition to the hides. Since the Evens were and still are largely a nomadic people, everyone in the group shared with one another, and people were forbidden from hoarding meat from hunts, even if they were

1863-904: The Evenki Banner (county) of the Hulunbuir Prefecture, in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. While not a particularly good informant, she described her initiatory illness, her multiyear apprenticeship with a Mongol shaman before being allowed to heal at the age of 25 or 26, and the torments she experienced during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s when most of her shamanic paraphernalia was destroyed. Mongol and Buddhist Lamaist influences on her indigenous practice of shamansim were evident. She hid her prize possession—an Abagaldi (bear spirit) shaman mask, which has also been documented among

1932-875: The Evenki or Ewenki of the Lena and Yenisey river valleys were successful reindeer herders . By contrast the Solons (ancestors of the Evenkis in China) and the Khamnigans (Ewenkis of Transbaikalia ) had picked up horse breeding and the Mongolian deel from the Mongols . The Solons nomadized along the Amur River . They were closely related to the Daur people . To the west the Khamnigan were another group of horse-breeding Evenki in

2001-884: The Evenki to "colonize vast areas of the eastern taiga which had previously been impenetrable" The Evenki used a saddle unique to their culture, placed on the shoulders of the reindeer to lessen the strain on the animal, and used a stick rather than stirrups to balance. Evenki did not develop reindeer sledges until comparatively recent times They instead used their reindeer as pack animals and often traversed great distances on foot, using snowshoes or skis. The Evenki people did hunt and eat wild reindeer, but not their domesticated reindeer, which they kept for milk. Large herds of reindeer were very uncommon. Most Evenki had around 25 head of reindeer, because they were generally bred for transportation. Unlike in several other neighboring tribes Evenki reindeer-breeding did not include "herding of reindeer by dogs nor any other specific features". Very early in

2070-628: The Evenki, the Evens are now considered to be a separate ethnic group. The Evenki are spread over a huge territory of the Siberian taiga from the River Ob in the west to the Okhotsk Sea in the east, and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to Manchuria and Sakhalin in the south. The total area of their habitat is about 2,500,000 km. In all of Russia only the Russians inhabit

2139-610: The Evens people. In the 17th century, the people today known as the Eveni were divided into three main tribes: the Okhotsk reindeer Tungus (Lamut), the Tiugesir, Memel' and Buiaksir clans as well as a sedentary group of Arman' speakers. Today, they are all known as Eveni. The traditional lodgings of the Evens were conical tents which were covered with animal skins. In the southern coastal areas, fish skins were used. Settled Evens used

Evenki people - Misplaced Pages Continue

2208-765: The Iranic/Sogdian title Bagapuhr/βɣpwr, meaning "Son of God". For example, the Khitan Mofuhe Hechen who paid tribute to the Northern Wei at Datong in 466–470 and the Khitan Mofuhe Wuyu who fled from Goguryeo and the Rouran Khaganate in 479. Concerning the ethnic relationship between the Shiwei and the Khitan, "the ethnonymic distinction between the Shiwei and Khitan suggests that the division had been completed between

2277-627: The Japanese secret service in 1942. Some Evenkis fled to Soviet Siberia across the Amur river after murdering a Japanese officer to avoid punishment from the Japanese. The Evenki of China today tend to be settled pastoralists and farmers. (Only includes counties or county-equivalents containing >0.1% of China's Evenki population.) According to the 2001 census, there were 48 Evenki living in Ukraine . The majority (35) stated that their native language

2346-535: The Mongols and Dauer peoples in the region. The field report and color photographs of this shaman are available online. Olga Kudrina (c. 1890–1944) was a shaman among the Reindeer Evenki of northern Inner Mongolia along the Amur River 's Great Bend (today under the jurisdiction of Genhe , Hulunbuir ). 40 percent of Evenki men carry haplogroup C-M217 . Their second most common Y-DNA haplogroup

2415-719: The Northern Wei dynasty founded by the Tuoba Xianbei , in 443 CE a contingent of horsemen known as the Wuluohou (of the Shiwei) asked for an audience with the Northern Wei emperor Tuoba Dao. They informed him that their people had heard of a cave located in what is now the Elunchun Autonomous Banner in northeastern Inner Mongolia. The local inhabitants worshiped this cave as a Xianbei ancestral shrine,

2484-422: The River Oro'), orochon ('a rearer of reindeer '), ile ('a human being'), etc. At one time or another tribal designations and place names have also been used as self-designations, for instance manjagir , birachen , solon , etc. Several of these have even been taken for separate ethnic entities. There is also a similarly named Siberian group called the Evens (formerly known as Lamuts ). Although related to

2553-468: The Shiwei and Khitan tribes in 629. Until 632, the Wuluohu and some other Shiwei tribes submitted to the Tang. According to the historical records, in the fourth year of Zhenyuan (788), the Xi raided the Zhenwu army (located in modern Hohhot) together with the Shiwei, slaughtering both the Chinese and the Uighur commissioners, capturing the frontier people and plundering their domestic animals. The Shiwei as relative weak tribes almost always wavered between

2622-407: The Shiwei had some ethnic similarities with the Khitan. Tang dynasty historian Wan Guowei describes the Shiwei as a Khitan tribe. The Book of Sui states that the title of the northern Shiwei chieftain was Mohefu , which is the same as the Khitan title for their chieftain – Mohefu ( traditional Chinese : 莫賀弗 ) or "Mofuhe" ( traditional Chinese : 莫弗賀 ), which is the Chinese transliteration of

2691-512: The Shiwei helped the Khitans against the invading Jurchens. The Dajin Guozhi recording the same event says that in 1124 the Tatars helped the Khitans against the invading Jurchens. This, among other indications, has led to the opinion that the Tatars were identical with the Shiwei. Bodonchar Munkhag and Khaidu were pre-Genghis Khan chieftains of the Shiwei. Evens The Evens /əˈvɛn/ ( Even : эвэн; pl. эвэсэл, evesel in Even and эвены, eveny in Russian ; formerly called Lamuts ) are

2760-404: The Stele of Kul Tigin the Thirty Tatars and Nine Tatars were formidable eastern rivals of the Göktürks along with the Khitan. The number of Tatar tribes are roughly equal to the number of Shiwei tribes. Although linguistically Mongolic, the Da Shiwei may have been descended in some part from the Dingling . The Heichezi ("black-cart") was a Shiwei clan famous for their cart industry. According to

2829-448: The Transbaikalia area. Also in the Amur valley a body of Siberian Evenki-speaking people were called Orochen by the Manchus . The ancestors of the south-eastern Evenki most likely lived in the Baikal region of Southern Siberia (near the modern-day Mongolian border) since the Neolithic era. Considering the north-western Evenki, Vasilevich claims: "The origin of the Evenki is the result of complex processes, different in time, involving

Evenki people - Misplaced Pages Continue

2898-440: The Tuoba Xianbei probably emigrated south from this area sometime in the early first century CE. In 544 the Shiwei chieftain Chaniandoufa brought gifts from his homeland to the Tuoba Wei court. The Shiwei's political fate, as the Khitan in great part of their pre-dynastic period, was largely determined by their far more powerful neighbors and by ever-changing balance of power between the successive regimes ruling northern China, on

2967-422: The Turkic Shabolue khaghan. At the beginning of the 7th century, the great Chinese Tang dynasty was established. The Shiwei and many other tribal peoples were gradually drawn into its political orbit. In the period from 618 to 629, the Shiwei frequently presented homage and paid tributes to the Tang court. As a response, the Tang court set Shizhou, which was subordinate to the governor-general of Yingzhou to control

3036-521: The Turks, the Chinese and the Khitan as the political climate changed. The Mengwu Shiwei, one of the 20 Shiwei tribes during the Tang dynasty (618–907), were also called the Menggu during the Liao dynasty (907–1125) and are generally considered to be the ancestors of the Mongols of Genghis Khan. The modern Korean pronunciation of Mengwu (蒙兀 Měngwù ) is Mong-ol (/moŋ.ol/). Mongolia is still called "Menggu" (蒙古 Měnggǔ ) in Chinese today. The names Shiwei , Sibe , Xibe and possibly Xianbei have

3105-482: The Yakut; these other groups used reindeer as food sources and trade goods, while the Evens mainly used them as a mode of transportation. Reindeer herding in this area is believed to have begun around the start of the Common Era by the ancestors of the Evens. Around this time, the ancient Tungus people had come into contact with the Mongols and Turks who introduced them to horses and horse breeding culture. The Tungus experimented with riding horses, but this failed because of

3174-572: The area near the Okhotsk Sea beach. Records mentioning the Shiwei were recorded from the time of the Northern Wei (386–534) until the rise of the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1206 when the name "Mongol" and " Tatar " were applied to all the Shiwei tribes. The Shiwei-Mongols were closely related to the Khitan people to their south. As a result of pressure from the west, south and south-east they never established unified, semi-sedentarized empires like their neighbors, but remained nomadic confederations led by tribal chieftains, alternately submitting to

3243-449: The branches leading to Proto-Mongolic and Para-Mongolic". The Shiwei and Wuluohou are known as the Shiwei tribes in the period of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534), but are separately recorded in the Book of Wei . During the period from the Northern Qi (550–577) to the Sui dynasty (581–618), there were five groups of Shiwei, they were the Nan (Southern) Shiwei, Bei (Northern) Shiwei, Da (Great) Shiwei, Bo Shiwei and Shenmoda Shiwei. In

3312-427: The city of Hailar . The Ewenki Autonomous Banner is also located near Hulunbuir. There are also around 3,000 Evenki in neighbouring Heilongjiang Province. The Manchu Emperor Hong Taiji conquered the Evenki in 1640, and executed their leader Bombogor . After the Manchu conquest, the Evenki were incorporated into the Eight Banners . In 1763, the Qing government moved 500 Solon Evenki and 500 Daur families to

3381-516: The concept of a nomadic lifestyle and moving from one place to another. All of these words come from the word "nulgä", which can be a measure of distance - in this case the distance one can travel in a single night - or it can also describe a group of reindeer herders. There are fourteen words in the Even language that describe very similar actions and people relating to herding and grazing, including daytime grazing and herdsmen, as well as reindeer drivers; reindeer are economically and culturally crucial to

3450-417: The development of the views of spirit-masters There are few sources on the shamanism of the Evenki peoples below the Amur/Helongkiang river in Northern China. There is a brief report of fieldwork conducted by Richard Noll and Kun Shi in 1994 of the life of the shamaness Dula'r (Evenki name), also known as Ao Yun Hua (her Han Chinese name). She was born in 1920 and was living in the village of Yiming Gatsa in

3519-428: The economy of the Evens than it had been previously, however it is still the primary venture of the mainland Evens. While the Evens that lived further inland focused more on herding and the fur trade, the Evens that lived on Okhotsk Sea relied heavily on fishing in order to sustain themselves. The traditional clothing worn by the Evens people consists of a coat with an apron, as well as pants and boots; both genders wear

SECTION 50

#1732765963100

3588-466: The education system compromised social, cultural, and mental well-being of the Evenki. The Evenki were formerly known as tungus . This designation was spread by the Russians , who acquired it from the Yakuts (in the Yakut language tongus ) in the 17th century. The Evenki have several self-designations, of which the best known is evenk . This became the official designation for the people in 1931. Some groups call themselves orochen ('an inhabitant of

3657-405: The harsh climate of the Tundra. However, the saddles that they used for the horses also worked on reindeer, and a new method of transportation was born. While large scale reindeer breeding was commonplace in other parts of Siberia, it did not become a common practice where the Evens live in the north and east of Siberia until the 1600s-1700's, with the Evens not practicing it until the late 1800s into

3726-504: The horse and cattle pastoral Evenki as well as some farming Evenki". The Evenki lived mostly in taiga , or boreal forest. They lived in conical tents made from birch bark or reindeer skin tied to birch poles. When they moved camp, the Evenki would leave these frameworks and carry only the more portable coverings. During winter, the hunting season, most camps consisted of one or two tents while spring encampments had up to 10 households Their skill at riding their domesticated reindeer allowed

3795-418: The imposition of the fur tax by the tsarist government. Before they acquired guns in the 18th century, Evenki used steel bows and arrows. Along with their main hunting implements, hunters always carried a "pike"—"which was a large knife on a long handle used instead of an axe when passing through thick taiga, or as a spear when hunting bear". The Evenki have deep respect for animals and all elements of nature: "It

3864-412: The last vowel and consonant of each word is dropped, while in the Evenk language the last vowel and consonant are spoken. The Even language has a multitude of words relating to their nomadic lifestyle and reindeer herding, and a good portion of words in the Even language have to do with actions relating to these things. For example, "oralchid'ak", "nulgän", "nulgänmäj", and "nulgädäj", are their words for

3933-436: The mixing of different ancient aboriginal tribes from the north of Siberia with tribes related in language to the Turks and Mongols. The language of these tribes took precedence over the languages of the aboriginal population". Elements of more modern Evenki culture, including conical tent dwellings, bone fish-lures, and birch-bark boats, were all present in sites that are believed to be Neolithic. From Lake Baikal, "they spread to

4002-410: The one hand, and belligerent tribal neighbors on the other. When China had fallen into an anarchy at the end of the Sui dynasty and the other nomadic people, the Türks, were getting stronger in northern Asia simultaneously, the Shiwei submitted to the Türks , under the control of the three Tutuns sent by the Turkic supreme leader, so did the Khitan who were controlled by the Tutun, Pandie, who was sent by

4071-407: The other name was Wuluohun, it was called Wuluohou in the Yuan Wei. It inhabited north of the Mount Mogaidu, and beside the Chuo River. This tribe had presented homage and paid tributes continually since the fourth year of Taiwu Zhenjun (444) (of the Northern Wei), throughout the Northern Qi, Zhou and Sui until the years after reign period of Wude (618–626)." According to the Weishu , the history of

4140-407: The rest of the indigenous groups in Siberia, with the closest groups being the Yakuts and the Evenks who are over 1,000 kilometers away. Before the beginning of the Soviet reign the Evens were referred to as the Lamut by other groups, originally coined by the Yakut people, a nearby Siberian indigenous group. The word Lamu refers to the Okhotsk Sea in the languages spoken in eastern Siberia, thus it

4209-404: The rise of Communism after 1917, the new government aimed to "civilize" the nomadic tribes of Siberia by constructing permanent housing, and by standardizing and collectivizing reindeer herding, their main occupation and lifestyle. The Soviet government seized and redistributed the reindeer of the Evens people and forced the Evens people to use specific migration routes and dates. The Soviets created

SECTION 60

#1732765963100

4278-479: The same type of clothing. Their clothing is usually made using reindeer hides and skins, as well as moose hair. Evens are known to be very enthusiastic about smoking, and as such, most Evens also wear a pouch on their coat to keep a pipe and tobacco in. The Evens' housing and clothes are unique from the indigenous groups around them, with the Evens wearing open coats and aprons, as well as living in somewhat small conical tents called churns, while indigenous groups such as

4347-416: The spring season, winter camps broke up and moved to places suitable for calving. Several households pastured their animals together throughout the summer, being careful to keep "[s]pecial areas   ... fenced off   ... to guard the newborn calves against being trampled on in a large herd" The Evenki wore a characteristic garb "adapted to the cold but rather dry climate of the Central Siberia and to

4416-457: The stronger powers. They were involved in the campaign over the Chinese frontier, probably by the coercion of the Xi, their stronger neighbors to the southwest. In 789, the Shiwei sent envoys to the Tang court to apologize for their offence. During the period from 792 to 842, while having been Uighur vassals, the Shiwei still frequently presented tributes to the Tang court. In 835 the Shiwei chieftain Dasheng Duacheng led 30 Shiwei representatives in

4485-504: The taiga" The religious beliefs and practices of the Evenki are of great historical interest since they retain some archaic forms of belief. Among the most ancient ideas are spiritualization and personification of all natural phenomena, belief in an upper, middle, and lower world, belief in the soul ( omi ) and certain totemistic concepts. There were also various magical rituals associated with hunting and guarding herds. Later on, these rituals were conducted by shamans. Shamanism brought about

4554-538: The taiga, just like their ancestors. The Evenki people also spoke along the same lines: their respect for nature and their belief that nature is a living being. This idea, "[t]he embodiment, animation, and personification of nature—what is still called the animistic worldview—is the key component of the traditional worldview of hunter-gatherers" Although most of the Evenkis have been "sedentarized"—that is, made to live in settled communities instead of following their traditional nomadic way of life —"[m]any scholars think that

4623-470: The tax. Although there was some rebellion against local officials, the Evenki generally recognized the need for peaceful cultural relations with the Russians. The Russians and their constant demands for fur taxes pushed the Evenki east all the way to Sakhalin island, where some still live today. In the 19th century some groups migrated south and east into Mongolia and Manchuria. Today there are still Evenki populations in Sakhalin, Mongolia, and Manchuria, and to

4692-408: The worldview characteristic of hunter-gatherer societies is preserved, even if they make the transition to new economic models. Although nominally Christianized in the 18th century, the Evenki people maintain many of their historical beliefs—especially shamanism The Christian traditions were "confined to the formal performance of Orthodox rites which were usually timed for the arrival of the priest in

4761-451: Was Russian ; four indicated Evenki as their native language, and three that it was Ukrainian . Traditionally they were a mixture of pastoralists and hunter-gatherers —they relied on their domesticated reindeer for milk and transport and hunted other large game for meat. Today "[t]he Evenki are divided into two large groups   ... engaging in different types of economy. These are the hunting and reindeer-breeding Evenki   ... and

#99900