Koryaks are indigenous peoples of the Russian Far East who dwell immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the Bering Sea coastlines. Koryaks' cultural boundaries include southern Tigilsk and northern Anadyr.
Koryaks are culturally comparable to extreme northeast Siberia's Chukchis. Koryak language and Alutor (sometimes considered Koryak's dialect) are linguistically related to Chukchi language. All these languages are Chukotko-Kamchatkan family members.
They are closer to the Itelmens on Kamchatka Peninsula. All these and other unrelated minorities in and around Kamchatka are together known as Kamchadals.
The Koryaks' neighbours include the west Evens, the south Alutor (on the Kamchatka peninsula isthmus), the east Kerek, and the northeast Chukchi.
Koryaks are traditionally divided into two groups. The coastal inhabitants are called Nemelan (or Nymylan) because they live in communities. Their lifestyle is centred on local and marine mammal hunting. The interior Koryak, reindeer herders, are nicknamed Chaucu, meaning 'rich in reindeer.' They're more nomadic after herds since they graze with seasons.
Etymology
Koryak's name comes from the exonymous word 'Korak,' meaning 'with the reindeer (kor)' in a local Chukotko-Kamchatkan language. The earliest allusions to the name 'Koryak' were written by the Russian cossack Vladimir Atlasov, who captured Kamchatka for the Tsar in 1695. Russia used the alternative term in official state papers, popularising it subsequently.
Origin
Koryak's origin is unknown. Anthropologists speculated that during Late Pleistocene, a land bridge connected the Eurasian and North American continents. Migratory peoples may have crossed modern-day Koryak territory on the way to North America. Scientists claimed that people migrated between this location and Haida Gwaii before the ice age receded. They assume that this time the Koryak's forefathers returned from North America to Siberian Asia.Cultural and linguistic similarities exist between Nivkh and Koryak.
According to the 2010 census, Russia has 7,953 Koryaks.
History
The Koryak once occupied far-east Russia's considerably wider area. Their overlapping borders extended to Khabarovsk Krai's Nivkh regions until the Evens arrived, pushing them into their present region. [Needed page] A smallpox epidemic in 1769-1770 and conflict with Russian cosacks decreased Koryak from 10-11,000 in 1700 to 4,800 in 1800.
Under the Soviet Union, in 1931 a Koryak Autonomous Okrug was founded, named for this tribe. Based on the 2005 local referendum, this amalgamated with Kamchatka Krai on 1 July 2007.
Culture
Families frequently formed bands in groups of six or seven. The nominal head had no predominant authority, and the groups relied on consensus to decide, reflecting typical equality in the tiny group.
Indoor people's existence focused around reindeer, their major food source. They also used all the bodily parts to manufacture sewing materials, clothing, utensils and weapons. The flesh was typically roasted and consumed or eaten uncooked blood, marrow, and milk. Liver, heart, kidneys, and tongue were delicacies.
Salmon and other freshwater fish as well as berries and roots played a vital role in the diet as reindeer flesh did not contain some vitamins and minerals needed to thrive in the harsh tundra.
The Koryaks also buy conventional foods like bread, cereal and tinned fish today. They sell some reindeer each year for money, but thanks to the enormous reindeer population, they can increase their herds.Women's coat Koryak
Reindeer skin made clothing, however nowadays men and women often replaced it with cloth. The males wore baggy pants and a hide blouse, typically fitted with a hood, boots and traditional headgear made of reindeer skin.
Still using boots and caps. Women wore the same as men, except a longer shirt reached the calves. Today, ladies generally wear head cloth and skirt, but in winter wear the reindeer hide robe.
The Koryak lived in dome-shaped tents, called jajanga, or yaranga, similar to a tipi of the American Plains Indians, but less vertical, while some lived in yurts.
Many reindeer skins wrapped the frame. Few families still utilise yaranga as residences, although some utilise it on tundra treks.
The yaranga centre had a heart, replaced by an iron stove. Reindeer hide bedding in the chum to the east. They used small cupboards to store food, clothing, and personal items for families.
Transportation
Inland Koryak rode to go around, chopping off their antlers to prevent damage. They also fitted a reindeer team with harnesses and hooked them to sleds for hauling camp items and people.
Today the Koryak uses more snowmobiles than reindeer. Most inter-village mobility is by air or boat, although tracked vehicles are utilised to travel to other settlements.
They developed snowshoes they utilised (and still do) when the snow is deep. Snowshoes are sinewed by tying reindeer and skin strips to a tennis racket-shaped birch bark or willow hoop. The sinew straps attach the shoe to the foot.
Children learned to ride, sleep, and utilise snowshoes quite young.The other Koryak were expert mariners chasing whales and other marine creatures.
Religion
Koryaks believe in a Supreme Being whom they call by different names: ubiquitous (Universe/World), ubiquitous (Supervisor), ubiquitous (One-on-High), etc.
He is said to reside with his family in Heaven, and when he wants to punish mankind for immoral activities, he sleeps and leaves man open to failed hunts and other illnesses.
Koryak mythology revolves on the supernatural shaman Quikil (Big-Raven), created by the Supreme Being as Koryak's first man and guardian.
Big Raven myths are also present in Tlingit culture in Southeast Alaska, among Haida, Tsimshian, and other Pacific Northwest Coast Amerindians
Environment
Koryak lands are mountains and volcanic, especially in Arctic tundra. Coniferous trees lie near southern sections along Okhotsk Sea's Shelekhova Bay shoreline. Inland northern regions are substantially colder, where only different bushes grow, but these are enough to sustain reindeer movement.
Mean winter temperature is −13°C (9°F), but short summers are +12°C (54°F). The territory they covered before Russian annexation was 301,500 km2 (116,410 mi2), roughly equivalent to Koryak Okrug, Palana being the administrative centre.
Today the Koryak is the largest minority with 8,743 people. The Krai population is currently predominantly ethnic Russian, descendants of the Cossack colonists.
See also
- Haplogroup G (mtDNA)
- Alyutors (Koryak sub group)
- Anapel
- Apuka District
- Olyutorsky District
Share This
0 comments: