Chuvans (russian: чуванцы) are one of the forty or so "
" recognized by the Russian government. Most Chuvans today live within
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...
in the far northeast of Russia. Based on first-hand field research by several ethnographers in the 1990s, people who self-identify as Chuvans seem to do so by living in small villages and in the tundra in areas that are primarily associated with reindeer herding.
History
Historical accounts describe the Chuvans as a
Yukaghir group. They roamed along the upper tributaries of the Anadyr River and
Anyuy River in the 17th century. The Chuvans were engaged in hunting, fishing and reindeer-breeding. In the 18th century, some Chuvans retreated to the
Kolyma River
The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia.
The Kolyma is froz ...
following attacks by the
Chukchi. There they gradually
russified. The other part was assimilated by the
Koryaks
Koryaks () are an indigenous people of the Russian Far East, who live immediately north of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Kamchatka Krai and inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea. The cultural borders of the Koryaks include Tigilsk in the south ...
and Chukchis. According to the 2002 Russian Census, there were 1087 Chuvans in Russia.
Language
The
Chuvan language
Chuvan (Russian: Чуванский язык) is an extinct Yukaghir language of Siberia, part of a dialect continuum with the two surviving languages. It was most likely last spoken in the 18th century. Chuvan was widespread in the lower region ...
, which was a
Yukaghir language, became extinct in the early 1900s. Many Chuvans speak
Chukchi in addition to Russian, and some have intermarried with the
Chukchis
The Chukchi, or Chukchee ( ckt, Ԓыгъоравэтԓьэт, О'равэтԓьэт, ''Ḷygʺoravètḷʹèt, O'ravètḷʹèt''), are a Siberian indigenous people native to the Chukchi Peninsula, the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Berin ...
. On the other hand, some, such as those living in the village of
Markovo on the
Anadyr River
The Anadyr (russian: Ана́дырь; Yukaghir: Онандырь; ckt, Йъаайваам) is a river in the far northeast of Siberia which flows into the Gulf of Anadyr of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous ...
, neither herd reindeer nor are they able to speak Chukchi.
Ethnographic maps shows the Chuvans as the indigenous population of the
Chuvanskoye
Chuvanskoye (russian: Чуванское) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Anadyrsky District of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Russia, located west of Markovo on the banks of the Yeropol river (a tributary of the Anadyr River meaning "place of ...
village some 100 km west of Markovo.
Map 3.16 (Chukotskiy Avtonomnyi Okrug)
from th
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See also
*Chuvan Mountains
The Chuvanay Range (russian: Чуванайские Горы), also known as Chuvan Mountains (Чуванский хребет), is a range of mountains in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russian Far East. Administratively the range is part of Bilibin ...
References
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Ethnic groups in Siberia
Yukaghir people
Indigenous peoples in the Arctic
Indigenous peoples of North Asia
Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East
People from Chukotka Autonomous Okrug