The Alyutors (; self designation: Алутальу, or Alutal'u; Alyutor: нэмэлу, nəməlʔu;) are an ethnic group (formerly classified as a subgroup of

Koryaks Koryaks () are an Indigenous people#North Asia, 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 i ...

) who live on the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

and

Chukchi Peninsula The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; , ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form , ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the easternmost peninsula of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village ...

of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. Today most of them live in

Koryak Okrug Koryak Okrug (; Koryak: , ''Cav’cәvaokrug''), or Koryakia (), was an administrative division with a special status within Kamchatka Krai, Russia.

Kamchatka Krai Kamchatka Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East. It is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center and largest types of inhabited l ...

. The name also occurs as Olyutors or Olutors, as well as Olyutorka, a settlement where many of the Alyutor people formerly lived. According to the

2010 Russian Census The 2010 Russian census () was the second census of the Russian Federation population after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Preparations for the census began in 2007 and it took place between October 14 and October 25. The census The cen ...

, 482 people identified as Alyutors, but some estimates suggest that there could be approximately 2,000 to 3,000 of them living in Russia in the present day.

Language

Alyutors spoke the Alyutor language (also known as Nymylan language), which belongs to the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family; however less than 10% of the Alyutors still speak it.Kibrik, Alexandr E.; Kodzasov, Sandro V. and Muravyova, Irina A. (2000) ''Yazyk i folklor alutortsev'' Nasledie, Moscow; English edition: Kibrik, Alexandr E.; Kodzasov, Sandro V. and Muravyova, Irina A. (2004) ''Language and folklore of the Alutor people'' (translated by Megumi Kurebito) Osaka Gakuin University, Faculty of Informatics, Osaka, Japan, Most present Alyutors instead speak Koryak and Russian. Today, many Russian experts believe it to be a separate language, though it was previously considered a dialect of the

Koryak language Koryak ( ), also known as Nymylan, Korjakische, Chavchuven and Koræiki, is a Chukotko-Kamchatkan language spoken by 1,665 people as of 2010 in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Koryak Okrug. It is mostly spoken by Koryaks. It ...

.See Young (2008), above, for the reclassification of eastern Siberian ethnicities.

History

The Alyutors are mentioned in the very first chronicles about the Russian colonisation of

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively. Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...

. In 1697, the Russian

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

imposed taxes on the Alyutors, who would show armed resistance in the next few years. After the suppression of the 1751 uprising, the number of the Alyutors significantly decreased. Also, they were constantly under attack from the Chukchis, who often confiscated their

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

herds. In the late 18th century, the Alyutors were an isolated and secluded group of people, which helped them to avoid the

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemics almost unharmed. Also, such isolation helped them to preserve their traditional way of life. Traditionally the Alyutors were engaged in reindeer breeding, fishing, trapping, and hunting. They positioned their settlements along the rivers on elevated spots with good visibility around them.

Octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

earth house An earth shelter, also called an earth house, earth-bermed house, earth-sheltered house, earth-covered house, or underground house, is a structure (usually a house) with earth (soil) against the walls and/or on the roof, or that is entirely burie ...

s with vertical walls meant for 3 to 5 families were the only type of housing among the Alyutors up until the 19th century. Beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1970s, Alyutor children were sent to boarding schools which increased their loss of the Alyutor language and decreased their training in Alyutor traditions. Many Alyutors became teachers, doctors, geologists, and zoo technicians during the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period. Presently, the Alyutor traditions, culture, and art are endangered because of the decreases in reindeer population and reproduction caused by the worsening ecology of the region. Most Alyutors are practitioners of shamanism and Orthodox Christianity.

Notes

References

Wixman, Ronald (1984) ''The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook''

External links

The Red Book: Description of the Alyutors
{{authority control Indigenous peoples of Siberia Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East History of the Kamchatka Peninsula Kamchatka Peninsula Modern nomads Nomadic groups in Eurasia People from Kamchatka Krai

Language

History

Notes

See also

References

External links