The Semeiskie are a community of orthodox

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

who have lived in the Transbaikal since the reign of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

. The sacred rites and rituals of the Old Believers came to be in opposition to those of the official state church after the introduction of the 17th century religious reforms known as the Raskol. Those who rejected the reforms became known as "

" and continued to practice their faith despite repression. The Semeiskie were a particular group of Old Believers who fled to Gomel in Belarus (at that time part of Poland). Catherine the Great then exiled the group to

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...

, on the pretext that they could there become farmers for the

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

guards who defended the borders of the empire. The descendants of these original Semeiskie have lived in the region ever since.

Culture

The Semeiskie have a long oral tradition, in speech as well as vocal music. The Semeiskie songs are notable for their polyphonic dissonance in both sacred and secular music. The themes of the songs vary widely, from religious texts to everyday songs. The cultural space and oral culture of the Semeiskie was placed on the UNESCO List of the

Intangible Cultural Heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...

of Humanity in 2001.

References

{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible Eastern Europe Old Believers Ethnoreligious groups Ethnic groups in Siberia Russian sub-ethnic groups Social groups of Russia Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity