Yukaghir
The
Yukaghir, or
Yukagirs (
Юкагиры in
Russian; self-designation:
одул (odul),
деткиль (detkil')) are a people in
East Siberia, living in the
basin of the
Kolyma River. According to the
2002 census, their total number was 1509 people, up from 1112 recorded in 1989.
The
Tundra Yukagirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in
Sakha, the
Taiga Yukagirs - in the Upper Kolyma region in Sakha and
Srednekansky District of the
Magadan Oblast. By the time of the Russian
colonization in the
17th century, the Yukagir tribal groups (
Chuvans,
Khodyns,
Anauls, etc.) occupied territories from the
Lena River to the mouth of the
Anadyr River. The number of the Yukagirs decreased between the 17th and
19th centuries due to
epidemics, internecine wars and
tsarist colonial policy. Some of the Yukagirs have
assimilated with the
Yakuts,
Evens and
Russians.
The
Yukaghir language is a
language isolate. Some scholars consider it distantly related to the
Uralic languages, but this classification is not accepted by the majority of specialists in Uralic linguistics. The language is regarded as seriously endangered.
The Yukaghirs were divided into 13 tribes, of whom only 3 are surviving now. The surviving tribes are the
Odul of Nelemnoe, the
Vadul of Andryushkino and the
Chuvan of Anadyr river area. The other groups are extinct, of them the important ones were the
Khodynt, the
Anaoul (Both of Anadyr River Area), and the
Omok (North of the Chuvan). Sometimes the Chuvan is considered as a separate tribe. The Chuvantsy language has been extinct since early 20th century. In 2002 only 1087 identified themselves as Chuvan compared to over 1300 in 1989. The Vadul are mainly involved in reindeer herding while the Odul (Kogime) are mostly hunter-gatherers. The Vadul are also known as tundra Yukaghir. The Odul are also known as taiga/forest Yukaghir or Kolyma Yukaghir. The Vadul and Odul languages are as different as German is from Dutch. Both are nearing extinction and Odul is in a much weaker state compared to Vadul. In the 1989 census, more than 700 of the Yukaghirs reported were Vadul while less than 400 were Odul.
The 13 tribes which constituted the Yukaghir group are :1.
Vadul-Alais 2.
Odul 3.
Chuvan 4.
Anaoul 5.
Lavren 6.
Olyuben 7.
Omok 8.
Penjin 9.
Khodynt 10.
Khoromoy 11.
Shoromboy 12.
Yandin 13.
Yandyr*
Paleosiberian languages*
Uralic-Yukaghir languages*
Uralic*
Nostratic*
Eurasiatic
