| Altay ethnic flag, adopted by Russia as the official flag of the Altai Republic. | |||
| Total population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 70,800[1] | |||
| Regions with significant populations | |||
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| Languages | |||
| Religion | |||
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Tibetan Buddhism,[2] Russian Orthodox,[3] Tengriism, Shamanism, Burkhanism |
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| Related ethnic groups | |||
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other Turkic peoples |
The Altay or Altai are an ethnic group of Turkic people living in the Siberian Altai Republic and Altai Krai and surrounding areas of Tuva and Mongolia. For alternative ethnonyms see also Teleut, Tele, Telengit, Mountain Kalmuck, White Kalmuck, Black Tatar, Oirat/Oirot.
The Uriankhai people were annexed by the Oirat Zunghars in the 16th century. After the fall of the Zunghar Khanate in the 18th century, the Uriankhai were subjugated by the Qing Dynasty; and their one part, Altayans, was called by the Qing court as Altan Nuur Uriyangkhai.[4] They have had skills in metalworking dating back to the 2nd millennium BC.[5] The Altay came into contact with Russians in the 18th century. In the tsarist period, the Altay were known as oirot or oyrot (this name means oirat and would later be carried on for the Oyrot Autonomous Oblast). The Altay report that many of them became addicted to the Russians' vodka, which they called "fire water".[6]
The Altay were originally nomadic, with a lifestyle based on hunting / trapping and pastoralism (mainly cattle, sheep, goats), but many of them settled as a result of Russian influence. In regard to religion, some of the Altay remain Tengriists or Shamanists, while others (in a trend beginning in the mid-19th century) have converted to the Orthodox. (The Altai mission took shape under Saint Makarii Glukharev, Apostle to the Altai.) In 1904, a religious movement called Ak Jang or Burkhanism arose, perhaps in response to Russian colonization.[7]
Prior to 1917 the Altai were actually considered to be many different ethnic groups.[8]
With the rise of the 1917 revolution, the Altay attempted to make their region a separate Burkhanist republic called Oryot, but their support for the Mensheviks during the Civil War led to the venture's collapse after the Bolshevik victory and the rise of Stalin. In the 1940s, the Altay were accused of being pro-Japanese, and the word "oyrot" was declared counterrevolutionary. By 1950, Soviet industrialization policies brought Russian immigrants reducing the proportion of Altay from 50% to 20% of the population.[9] Ethnic Altaians currently make up about 31% of the Altai Republic's population.[10]
The Altaians are presented as a totality of small Turkic peoples like the Altai-Kizhi, the Teleut, the Kumandin, the Tchalkan, the Shor, etc.
The Altaians are presented by two ethnographic groups
Northern Altaians include the Tubalar (the Tuba-Kizhi), the Tchelkan, the Kumandin, the Shor
Southern Altaians include The Altaian (the Altai-Kizhi), the Teleut, The Teles, the Telengit
The Northern and Southern Altayans formed in the Altay area on the basis of ancient Turkish tribes of Uygurs, Kimak-Kipchaks, Yenisey-Kyrgyz, Oguz and others [11] [12]
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