The Problem of the Sakha People's Ethnogenesis: a New Approach
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Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 8 (2016 9) 1822-1840 ~ ~ ~ УДК 930: 398 (=512.157) The Problem of the Sakha People’s Ethnogenesis: a New Approach Vasiliy V. Ushnitskiy* Institute for Humanitarian Research and Indigenous Peoples of the North SB RAS 1 Petrovskogo Str., Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), 677007, Russia Received 30.01.2016, received in revised form 28.02.2016, accepted 13.05.2016 The subject of the research is the problem of ethnogenesis and early ethnic history of the Sakha people. The issue of the research is interaction of the Sakha people’s ancestors with Turko-Mongol ethnic groups of the Baikal region, the comparative method being the methodology applied. The Sakha people’s tribal composition and ethnonyms are subject to the comparison with the names of the medieval Turko-Mongol tribes of the Baikal region and modern Turko-Mongol peoples. The main result of the research is the conclusion about an organic connection between the Sakha people’s origin with the ethnic history of the medieval tribes of Central Asia. The results of the research can be used in writing a new conception of Yakutia’s history. The conclusions obtained are the following ones. Firstly, the analysis of the Yakut ethnonyms helped to trace ethnocultural parallels with the neighboring nations: the Buryats, the Evenks and the Evens, and the Yukagirs. Secondly, the main role in the ethnogenesis of the Sakha people was played by the Usutu-Mangun tribe, the carriers of Ust’-Tal’kinsk culture of the Southern Angara Region of the XII-XIV centuries. Thirdly, the Usutu-Manguns descended from the Buir-Nur Tatars, defeated by the Mongols’ and Jurchens’ united army. Therefore, the article presents numerous parallels between the Central Asian Tatars and the Sakha people. Fourthly, along with the Angara River Tatars the Barga, the Khori-Tumats, the Batulin people, and, probably, the Merkits, etc. played a vital role in the Sakha people’s ethnogenesis. Keywords: ethnogenesis, the Sakha-Yakuts, Turkology, study of the Mongolian language, ethnic and cultural contacts, the Tungus-Evenks, the Buryats, the Baikal region history, archeology. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-2016-9-8-1822-1840. Research area: history. Introduction to the problem interested in the Northern cattle-breeders’ origin The problem of the Sakha people’s origin has and their linguistic affiliation. They came to the been the subject of research since the Northern conclusion that the Sakha people’s motherland cattle-breeders were first mentioned. In the end was the Baikal region, the Sakha constituting of the XVII century N. Witsen (Witsen, 2010), one people with the Mongols and the Buryats I. Edes (Ivanov, 1978), foreign travelers, got until they were forced out by the latter. Folklore © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved * Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected] – 1822 – Vasiliy V. Ushnitskiy. The Problem of the Sakha People’s Ethnogenesis: a New Approach information about the Sakha people’s origin belonging to different language families. was gathered by G.F. Miller (Miller, 1999) and Geneticists say that every ethnic group has its I. Lindenau (Lindenau, 1983), participants of genetic ancestor who lived several thousand the II Kamchatka expedition. According to I. years ago. They even claim mathematical Lindenau’s materials (Ibid.), the Sakha people precision in their studies and try to restore an were formed around the Baikal steppes, the ethnic picture of the past millennia. However, place where Ellei Bootur and Omogoi Baai, the certain haplogroups’ introduction to language legendary ancestors of the Sakha people, met. families and groups in compliance with the Every historic period, associated with the Klyosov method was repeatedly criticized in rise of the Sakha people’s national identity and scientific literature. For example, what does large-scale expeditions with the aim to study the assertion that the Yakuts belong to the the history of the region, advanced the interest Finno-Ugric haplogroup mean? The point is in this problem. Almost all the researchers that the paternal haplogroup inherits only one (ethnographers, folklorists, linguists, historians haplogroup, erasing the lines of other paternal and archaeologists), who studied the Sakha haplogroups; so, this leads to the idea that modern people, expressed their opinions about their ethnic groups descend from one specific father- ethnogenesis. The discourse on this problem ancestor. Archaeologists base their guesses has recently focused on the issue of a native, about the change of ethnic groups while tracing local origin or an alien, migration nature of the the changes in the materials of archeological Sakha people’s ethnogenesis. Right up till the culture. Formation of a new culture takes 90-s of the XX century all the authors proceeded place in every historical epoch. It results from from the point of view considering the Sakha evolutionary changes in neighbouring regions people’s southern origin. After the Republic of and trade relations. Sometimes a new culture is Sakha (Yakutia) received its sovereignty in 1992 formed without a radical change in the ethno- the issue of the Sakha people’s origin became linguistic picture of the region. Linguistic politicized. Such a politicized attitude to the materials give information on a certain people’s scientific problem of ethnogenesis, focusing language affiliation to various representatives on autochthony of an indigenous people of a of language groups. And what if a language is particular national republic in the modern area of acquired as a result of the neighbours’ cultural residence, is generally characteristic of the entire influence? Thus, language can change over post-Soviet space. thousands of years. In the course of cultural exchange folklore data also tend to change due Conceptual foundation to ethnic contacts. Nevertheless they say about of the research an ethnic group’s identity, determining ethos to This raises the question of what be a people’s ethnic code. ethnogenesis and an ethnic group formed are. Thus, the habitat is one of the key factors What differs one ethnic group from another? in the people’s formation. An ethnic group is How are the people educated? Normal ethnic formed in a particular cultural landscape that is in identity establishes a fundamental difference a geographic environment determining particular between the Yakuts and the Tungus people, or features of economic activities and everyday between the Yakuts and the Buryats, considering life and also material and spiritual culture traits these peoples to be completely different and formed on their basis. – 1823 – Vasiliy V. Ushnitskiy. The Problem of the Sakha People’s Ethnogenesis: a New Approach Problem statement the Yakuts, dwelling in the lake areas, became The paper studies the problem of the Sakha fishermen. Thus, the Yakuts of the XVII century people’s ethnogenesis, and namely introduces a and those of the modern XIX-XX centuries are new approach to it that results from the analysis of not quite the same as per the territory of their ethno-cultural contacts and linkages with related habitat and housekeeping. Permafrost conditions Altai peoples within the frame of an integrated and unworthiness of most of its territory for cattle approach to the problem (folklore, archaeology, breeding should be considered by those researchers ethnology, oriental studies). who advocate for the Yakuts’ autochthonous origin and their appearance before the Russians Methodology arrived at Vilyuy and Northern areas. The comparative method is applied to the T he Tu rk ic cat tle breeder s’ fi r st appea r a nce research. The genesis of main ethnonymic groups in the Lena area, in its upper streams and down of the Sakha people is studied in the course of the to the Middle and Lower Lena river can be dated analysis of the issues of the origin of major tribal back to Old Turkic time (Alekseev, 1996). The groups of Central Asia and Siberia in the middle country of the Guligan tribe belonging to the ages and in modern times. Tiele people (they are Kurykans in the Orkhon inscriptions), the area of their habitat reached Discussion the Polar circle, the territory from which they Appropriate haying lands and pastures were brought mammoth bones. The researchers found by the Yakuts in three vast valleys of the also link the Guligan people with Hanghai- Middle Lena, the valleys being Ensieli, Tuimaada, desert area, the name being associated by the Erkeeni with their forest-steppe landscape. A researchers either with Lake Baikal or with large part of Yakutia’s territory cannot be used the Gobi (Kiuner, 1961). It is worth while for cattle breeding because of its cryosolic emphasizing a comparative accuracy of the landscape. S.I. Nikolaev-Somogotto divides the Chinese information about the ethno-territorial territory of Yakutia into lands that are good for geography of the North. Thus, according to cattle breeding – ‘doidu sire’ (homeland) – and the Chinese annals of the Ming dynasty, the lands that cannot be used for this – ‘iurekh basa’ Hamnigan Evenks live in Khingan, and at the (distant rivers). The first type of land resembles the same time the area of their habitat stretches up former homeland and is good for pasturing cattle to the Lower Yenisei. and gathering summer grass. Cattle-breeders had The Khori people are generally thought to develop river and taiga lands stubbing up the to be the Kurykans’ descendants. According roots to release them from forests and digging the to the Buryat legends, Khoridoi-Mergen, their canals to drain lakes (Nikolaev, 2009). progenitor, and Bargu Bator, the Buryats’ ancestor, Thus, the area for cattle breeding and, went to Yakutia where they lived by hunting only consequently, the Yakuts’ habitat gradually and had only one dog. Khoridoi-Mergen even died expanded. At the same time assimilation of the on the Lower Lena (Baldaev, 1970).