Udege

Udege (Удэгейцы in Russian; ethnonym: удээ and удэхе, or udae and udekhe correspondingly) are a people who live in the Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai regions in Russia. They live along the tributaries of the Ussuri, Amur, Kungari and Anyuy Rivers. The Udege speak the Udege language, which belongs to the Tungusic language family. Their religious beliefs include animism, animal worship and shamanism. The Udege are mainly engaged in hunting, fishing and ginseng picking. According to the 2002 census, there were 1,657 Udege in Russia, a slight increase from 1,500 in 1970).