Бүряттар: Тарихы, мәдениеті және тілінің қауіпсіздігі

Siberian ethnic group
Buryats share many customs with other Mongols, including nomadic herding, and erecting gers for shelter. Today the majority of Buryats live in and around Ulan Ude, the capital of the Buryat Republic, although many still follow a more traditional lifestyle in the countryside. They speak a central Mongolic language called Buryat. UNESCO's 2010 edition of the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger classifies the Buryat language as "severely endangered".

It is most likely that the ancestors of modern Buryats are Bayyrku and Kurykans who were part of the tribal union of the Tiele. The Tiele, in turn, came from the Dingling. The first information about Dingling appeared in sources from the 2nd century BC. The name "Buriyad" is mentioned as one of the forest people for the first time in The Secret History of the Mongols (possibly 1240). It says Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, marched north to subjugate the Buryats in 1207. the Buryats lived along the Angara River and its tributaries at this time. Meanwhile, their component, Barga, appeared both west of Baikal and in northern Buryatia's Barguzin valley. Linked also to the Bargas were the Khori Tumed along the Arig River in eastern Khövsgöl Province and the Angara. A Tumad rebellion broke out in 1217, when Genghis Khan allowed his viceroy to seize 30 Tumad maidens. Genghis Khan's commander Dorbei the Fierce of the Dörbeds smashed them in response. The Buryats joined the Oirats challenging the imperial rule of the Eastern Mongols during the Northern Yuan period in the late 14th century. Historically, the territories around Lake Baikal belonged to Mongolia, Buryats were subject to Tüsheet Khan and Setsen Khan of Khalkha Mongolia. When the Russians expanded into Transbaikalia (eastern Siberia) in 1609, the Cossacks found only a small core of tribal groups speaking a Mongol dialect called Buryat and paying tribute to the Khalkha. However, they were powerful enough to compel the Ket and Samoyed peoples on the Kan and the Evenks on the lower Angara to pay tribute. The ancestors of most modern Buryats were speaking a variety of Turkic Tungusic dialects at that time. In addition to genuine Buryat Mongol tribes (Bulagad, Khori, Ekhired, Khongoodor) that merged with the Buryats, the Buryats also assimilated other groups, including some Oirats, the Khalkha, Tungus (Evenks) and others. The Khori Barga had migrated out of the Barguzin eastward to the lands between the Greater Khingan and the Argun. Around 1594, most of them fled back to the Aga and Nerchinsk in order to escape subjection by the Daurs. The Russians reached Lake Baikal in 1643 but the Buryats resisted them and their forces. The Buryats were defeated, though they attempted to revolt a few times. These revolts were suppressed. (27,700–60,000) to 300,000. Another estimate of the rapid growth in people referring to themselves as Buryat is based on the clan list names paying tribute in the form of a sable skin tax. This indicates a population of about 77,000 in 1640 rising to 157,000 in 1823 and more than a million by 1950. The historical roots of the Buryat culture are related to the Mongolic peoples. After Buryatia was incorporated into Russia, it was exposed to two traditions – Buddhism and Orthodox Christianity. Buryats west of Lake Baikal and Olkhon (Irkut Buryats), are more "Russified", and they soon abandoned nomadism for agriculture, whereas the eastern (Transbaikal) Buryats are closer to the Khalkha, may live in yurts and are mostly Buddhists. In 1741, the Tibetan branch of Buddhism was recognized as one of the official religions in Russia, and the first Buryat datsan (Buddhist monastery) was built. The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was a time of growth for the Buryat Buddhist religion (48 datsans in Buryatia in 1914). Buddhism became an important factor in the cultural development of Buryatia. Because of their skills in horsemanship and mounted combat, many were enlisted into the Amur Cossacks host. During the Russian Civil War most of the Buryats sided with the White forces of Baron Ungern Sternberg and Ataman Semenov. They formed a sizable portion of Ungern's forces and often received favorable treatment when compared with other ethnic groups in the Baron's army. After the Revolution, most of the lamas were loyal to Soviet power. In 1925, a battle against religion and clergy in Buryatia began. Datsans were gradually closed down and the activity of the clergy was curtailed. Consequently, in the late 1930s the Buddhist clergy ceased to exist and thousands of cultural treasures were destroyed. Attempts to revive Buddhism started during World War II, and it was officially re established in 1946. A revival of Buddhism has taken place since the late 1980s as an important factor in the national consolidation. In the 1930s, Buryat Mongolia was one of the sites of Soviet studies aimed to disprove Nazi race theories. Among other things, Soviet physicians studied the "endurance and fatigue levels" of Russian, Buryat Mongol, and Russian Buryat Mongol workers to prove that all three groups were equally able. In 1923, the Buryat Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed and included Baikal province (Pribaykalskaya guberniya) with Russian population. The Buryats rebelled against the communist rule and collectivization of their herds in 1929. The rebellion was quickly crushed by the Red Army with loss of 35,000 Buryats. The Buryat refugees fled to Mongolia and resettled, however, only a few of them joined the Shambala rebellion there. In 1937, in an effort to disperse Buryats, Stalin's government separated a number of counties (raions) from the Buryat Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and formed Ust Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug and Agin Buryat Autonomous Okrug; at the same time, some raions with Buryat populations were left out. Fearing Buryat nationalism, Joseph Stalin had more than 10,000 Buryats killed. Moreover, Stalinist purge of Buryats spread into Mongolia, known as the incident of L'humbee. In 1958, the name "Mongol" was removed from the name of the republic (Buryat ASSR). Also around 1958, the Mongolian script was banned and replaced by Cyrillic. Ethnic Buryats often enlist in the army because of financial reasons.

The Buryat national tradition is ecological by origin in that the religious and mythological ideas of the Buryat people have been based on a theology of nature. The environment has traditionally been deeply respected by Buryats due to the nomadic way of life and religious culture. The harsh climatic conditions of the region have in turn created a fragile balance between humans, society and the environment itself. This has led to a delicate approach to nature, oriented not towards its conquest but rather towards a harmonious interaction and equal partnership with it. A synthesis of Buddhism and traditional beliefs that formed a system of ecological traditions has thus constituted a major attribute of Buryat eco culture.

Prior to the arrival of the Russians, Buryats lived in semi nomadic groups scattered across the steppes. Kinship was immensely important in Buryat society, both in spiritual and social terms. All Buryats traced their lineage to a single mythical individual, with the particular ancestor varying based upon geographical region. Kinship also determined proximity, as neighbours were nearly always related. A unique aspect of traditional Buryat marriage was the kalym, an exchange that combined both bride wealth and a dowry. As the situation worsened, many men engaged in multi year work contracts with wealthy herd owners under the promise their employer would aid them in gaining a wife. Shamanism has undergone a revival in rural areas since Soviet repression, however it is still small. Those involved practise either Yellow shamanism, Black shamanism, or a mixture of the two. Similarly, Buddhism has seen a revival among the Buryats. Construction of monasteries, training of monks, and the increasing piety of the Buryats has seen growth.

Buryats traditionally practised shamanism, also called Tengrism, with a focus on worship of nature. A core concept of Buryat shamanism is the "triple division" of the physical and spiritual world. Buryat shamanism is not necessarily hereditary, and other members of the kinship group can receive the calling (however, shamans do keep records of their lineage, and a descendant is preferred). On the slopes of the Sayan and Altai Mountains, there are communities whose way of life is breeding reindeer. However, the Buryats located in Buryatia are more focused on the agriculture aspect of farming and not the livestock raising aspect.

Buryat healing practices incorporates folk shamanic traditions and Tibeto Mongolian medicine. Before the adoption of Buddhism, the Buryats relied on shamanic rituals to stop or cure pain and illness which was said to be caused by evil spirits. With the conversion to Tibetan Buddhism, Buryats incorporated Tibetan medical practices to their healing practices. Medical schools were soon established and Buryats studying in these schools learned about medical and prescription techniques. Training in treatment and diagnostics was also given in these schools. Buryats soon contributed to expanding the Tibeto Mongolian medical literature. Traditional Buryat medicine emphasises the use of mineral and thermal springs for healing. A balanced diet (of meat, offal, plants and herbs) and proper nutrition were recommended to cure illness. The use of herbs for medical purposes was minimal because of the lack of vegetation in the semi deserts and dry steppes. However, Buryat healers were considered skilled in healing wounds, treating head trauma, midwifery and bone setting. In the modern age, some practices derived from Buryat folk medicine have been incorporated into contemporary settings. Another mtDNA study of Buryats shows they have 24% (6/25) of West Eurasian maternal lineages.

Lell et al. (2002) tested a sample of thirteen Buryat males collected in Kushun village, Nizhneudinsk District, Irkutsk Region, representing the Buryats of the Sayan Baikal upland. The Y chromosomes of these individuals were assigned to the following haplogroups: 6/13 = 46.2% O M119, 3/13 = 23.1% N Tat, 2/13 = 15.4% N DYS7Cdel(xTat), 1/13 = 7.7% C M48, 1/13 = 7.7% F M89(xK M9). This sample entirely lacks C M407 and instead has a great proportion of O M119; thus, it appears very different from published samples of Y DNA collected from Buryats east of Lake Baikal. Derenko et al. (2006) tested a sample of 238 Buryat males and found the following Y DNA haplogroup distribution: 4/238 = 1.7% P* 92R7(xQ DYS199/M3, R1 M173), 2/238 = 0.8% R1* M173(xR1a SRY1532b), 5/238 = 2.1% R1a1 M17, 3/238 = 1.3% N* LLY22g(xTat), 45/238 = 18.9% N3 Tat, 152/238 = 63.9% C RPS4Y/M130, 4/238 = 1.7% F* M89(xG M201, H M52, I M170, J 12f2, K M9), 1/238 = 0.4% G M201, 1/238 = 0.4% I M170, 21/238 = 8.8% K* M9(xL M20, N LLY22g, P 92R7). Boris Malyarchuk, Miroslava Derenko, Galina Denisova, et al. (2010) retested 217 of these 238 Buryats and found that they were 148/217 (68.2%) haplogroup C RPS4Y711/M130, including 117/217 (53.9%) C3d M407, 18/217 (8.3%) C3∗ M217(xC3a M93, C3b P39, C3c M77, C3d M407, C3e P53.1, C3f P62), and 13/217 (6.0%) C3c M77. Fourteen of the 217 Buryats (6.5%) had STR haplotypes belonging to the "star cluster" in C3*, from which it might be inferred that they most likely belonged to C2a1a3 P369/M504. Karafet et al. (2006) tested a sample of 81 Buryat males and found that they belonged to the following Y DNA haplogroups: 45/81 = 55.6% C M217(xM86), 4/81 = 4.9% C M86, 1/81 = 1.2% G M201, 1/81 = 1.2% J 12f2, 2/81 = 2.5% N P43, 23/81 = 28.4% N M178, 2/81 = 2.5% O LINE, 3/81 = 3.7% R M207. Karafet et al. (2018) retested the same sample of Buryat males (minus the G M201 singleton) and found that they belonged to the following haplogroups: 4/80 = 5.0% C2a1a2a M86, 5/80 = 6.3% C2a1a3 P369, 40/80 = 50.0% C2b1a1a1a M407, 1/80 = 1.3% J2a1 P354(xJ2a1a L27), 2/80 = 2.5% N1a2b1 P63(xP362), 23/80 = 28.8% N1a1a1a1a3a P89, 2/80 = 2.5% O2a1b JST002611, 1/80 = 1.3% R2a M124, 1/80 = 1.3% R1a1a1b1a Z282, 1/80 = 1.3% R1b1a1b1a1a2 P312(xL21). Kim et al. (2011) reported the following Y DNA haplogroup distribution in a sample of "Mongolians (Buryats)": 16/36 = 44.44% C2 M217, 1/36 = 2.78% D1a1a M15, 1/36 = 2.78% F M89(xK M9), 9/36 = 25.00% N M231, 1/36 = 2.78% O1b2 SRY465(x47z), 1/36 = 2.78% O2a M324(xO2a1b JST002611, O2a2 P201), 6/36 = 16.67% O2a2 P201, 1/36 = 2.78% R M207. Kharkov et al. (2014) examined blood samples obtained from a total of 297 ethnic Buryats, separated into eight geographical groups according to the location of sample collection: Okinsky district (N = 53) (southwest of the Republic of Buryatia, ethnoterritorial group of Oka Buryats); Dzhida (N = 31) and Kyakhta (N = 27) (south, ethnoterritorial group of Selenga Buryats); the Kizhinga (N = 64) and Eravninsky (N = 30) regions (east, ethnoterritorial group of Khorin Buryats); Kurumkan village (N = 23) (north, ethnoterritorial group of Barguzin Buryats); Ulan Ude and Khuramsha (30 km west of Ulan Ude) (N = 26) (ethnoterritorial group of Kudarinsk Buryats); and Aginskoe village (N = 44) (Agin–Buryat Autonomous Region of Chita, Agin Buryats). For the statistical treatment, samples from Ulan Ude and Khuramsha village were united into one group designated as "Ulan Ude". The authors found significant differences among eastern Buryats (Khorin Buryats from Kizhinga and Eravninsky districts of Buryatia plus Agin Buryats from Agin Buryat Okrug of Zabaykalsky Krai), southern and central Buryats (Selenga Buryats from Dzhida and Kyakhta plus Kudarinsk Buryats from Ulan Ude and Khuramsha), and southwestern and northern Buryats (Oka Buryats from Okinsky district of Buryatia plus Barguzin Buryats from Kurumkan village). Similar to the Buryat samples examined by Malyarchuk et al. (2010) and Karafet et al. (2018), the southwestern and northern Buryat samples of Kharkov et al. (2014) exhibited an extremely high frequency of haplogroup C2 M407: 48/76 = 63.2% C3d M407, 14/76 = 18.4% N1c1 Tat, 4/76 = 5.3% O3a3c* M134(xM117), 3/76 = 3.9% C3* M217(xM77, M86, M407), 2/76 = 2.6% C3c M77/M86, 2/76 = 2.6% O3a3c1 M117, 2/76 = 2.6% R1a1a M17, 1/76 = 1.3% N1b P43. In contrast, the eastern Buryat samples of Kharkov et al. (2014) exhibited an extremely high frequency of haplogroup N Tat: 102/138 = 73.9% N1c1 Tat, 19/138 = 13.8% C3d M407, 5/138 = 3.6% C3c M77/M86, 4/138 = 2.9% E, 3/138 = 2.2% C3* M217(xM77, M86, M407), 2/138 = 1.4% R1a1a M17, 1/138 = 0.7% O3a* M324(xM7, M134), 1/138 = 0.7% O3a3c1 M117, 1/138 = 0.7% R2a M124. The southern and central Buryat samples of Kharkov et al. (2014) exhibited a significant proportion of C3* M217(xM77, M86, M407), which may be related to Y DNA subclades that often have been observed among Mongols in Mongolia, while also exhibiting both N Tat and C M407 with moderate frequency: 26/84 = 31.0% N1c1 Tat, 19/84 = 22.6% C3d M407, 16/84 = 19.0% C3* M217(xM77, M86, M407), 8/84 = 9.5% R1a1a M17, 7/84 = 8.3% R2a M124, 4/84 = 4.8% C3c M77/M86, 4/84 = 4.8% O3a* M324(xM7, M134). ), and it mostly belongs to a subclade (N F4205) that reaches its maximal frequency among Buryats, but which also has been found in some other Mongolic peoples as well as in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Ukraine, and Poland. N F4205 is estimated to share a common ancestor with N B202, which has been found in many present day inhabitants of Chukotka, approximately 4,600 (95% CI 3,700 < > 5,500) years before present. Haplogroup C3d (M407) is found mainly among the northern and southwestern Buryats, Barghuts, Hamnigans, Soyots, Kazakh Khongirad, and Dörbet Kalmyks.

A large scale genetic study from 2021 shows that the Buryats, as well as other Mongolic ethnic groups, such as Mongols, have nearly exclusively East Eurasian (East Asian related) genetic ancestry (≈95% to 98%), which can be largely traced back to Neolithic millet agriculturalists of Northeast Asia, but also Paleo Siberians, and "Yellow river farmers" from around the Yellow River region of Northern China. Genetic evidence shows that Northeast Asian like ancestry massively expanded westwards during the Bronze Age and Iron Age in several waves. Although Buryats are closer to their Mongolic and Tungusic speaking neighbors, out of the major East Asian ethnic groups, they are genetically closest to the Koreans, followed by Northern Han, Japanese and Southern Han, in that order, according to FST genetic distance measurements.

According to the Buryat creation myth, there were 11 Buryat tribes or clans. According to the myth, all 11 tribes are descendants of a man and a mysterious but beautiful creature that turns into a swan during the day and a woman during the night. After the two married, the man asked her to give him her wings so that she would not turn into a swan anymore. However, it is said that after some time the woman asked for her wings back and flew away never to return. Today there are a number of different Buryat tribes, or clans.