Shors

Turkic ethnic group in southwestern Siberia

Shors or Shorians (Shor: шор кижи, shor kizhi, тадар кижи, tadar kizhi, шор, shor, тадар, tadar, шор кижилер, shor kizhiler, тадар кижилер, tadar kizhiler, шорлар, shorlar, тадарлар, tadarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Kemerovo Oblast of Russia. Their self designation is Шор (tr. Shor). They were also called Kuznetskie Tatars (кузнецкие татары), Kondoma Tatars (кондомские татары), Mras Su Tatars (мрасские татары) in some of the documents of the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Shors live in the Tom basin along the Kondoma and Mras Su Rivers. This region is historically called Mountainous Shoria. The Shors also live in Khakassia and Altai Republic. According to 2002 census, there were 13,975 Shors in Russia (12,601 in 1926, 16,042 in 1939, 14,938 in 1959, 15,950 in 1970, 15,182 in 1979 and 15,745 in 1989). The Shors speak their own Shor language.

The Shors as a people formed as a result of a long process of intermixing between Turkic, Ugric, Samoyedic, and Ket speaking tribes. Their culture and origins are similar to those of the northern Altaians and some of the ethnic groups of the Khakas. An ancient Turkic legend recorded in the Chinese annal (Book of Zhou 周書, 636 CE) mentions the origin of the Göktürks' ancestors from a possession or state named Suǒ (索國; MC: *sak̚ kwək̚), located "north of the Xiongnu country" (which, in this case, apparently meant Mongolia). The region where the Shors currently reside was Turkicized under the influence of the Yenisei Kyrgyz during the medieval period. The Shors resulted from this ethnic mixing and adopted Turkic speech (the Shor language) as a result.

In the early 17th century, the Shors and their territory were conquered by the Russians. In the 18th century, Russian settlers began to move in to the area. The Shors' niche as producers of ironware for the Oirats, Altaians, and Kyrgyz was soon eroded by the Russian traders. The Russians had more advanced products to offer and this effectively ended Shor blacksmithing.

The Shors were little affected by the Russian Revolution and its civil war until the Bolsheviks took the region in 1920. In 1929, the Shor National Region was formed but was quickly dissolved in 1939. The okrug (district) was disbanded because the Soviet authorities believed its existence might hinder the development of the iron and coal industries in the region. These minerals became important to the state after deposits were discovered in the Kuznetsk Basin in the 1930s. This discovery led to a new wave of Russian settlers and workers to the region which led to the displacement of the Shors. The authorities considered the Shors to be numerically insignificant and that disenfranchising them would inconsequential to the state. The Shors greatly suffered as a result. They were driven out of their farms and villages and forced to work in the coal mines. The population of the Shors declined and the urban Shors struggled with alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, and high lethal accident rates. Traditional Shor culture began to wane. The liberalization of Soviet rule beginning in the 1980s led to a Shor cultural revival and the establishment of many cultural and linguistic institutions (like the creation of The Association of Shor People in the 1990s).

The Shors were originally practitioners of shamanism and animism but were converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity during Russian rule since the early 17th century. Most present Shors are Russian Orthodox Christians.

Despite the conversion of Christianity among the Shors, shamanism has had and still is very important and influential to modern Shor spirituality. Shor Shamanism and its kam (shamans) have suffered persecution since Russian colonization of the region especially from the 17th to 20th centuries. The establishment of the Altai Spiritual Mission in the region resulted in the severe persecution of shamanism and the kam. Christian missionaries routinely lambasted Shor shamanism as being a dark cult and the kam as servants of the devil. During the soviet era, the authorities frequently designated the kam and others as enemies of the state and sentenced them to camps or even death. Graves, drums, ritual clothing, and more were burned or desecrated during this period. The use of Shor in the 1920s and the rising educational standards of the Shors led to an intellectual growth of the people, including skilled artisans teachers, and those with medical and technical qualifications. Shor writers, journalists and clerks became prominent in what had previously been a largely illiterate society for the first time. Shor intellectual culture began to decline after the dissolution of the Shor National Region in 1939 and the removal of Shor as a language of instruction in schools in 1943. The teacher's college was closed while Shor intellectuals were repressed or killed fighting in the Great Patriotic War. Ul'gen returned with his aim failed and saw the condition of the man and dog. The dog revealed what happened and Ul'gen wondered whether Erlik knew how to create souls. He summoned Erlik and he replied that he knew how to create souls. With no other options, Ul'gen agreed that Erlik would create the soul of man if he can have their souls. However, the body of man would belong to Ul'gen. Erlik used a tube made out of a hollow angelica stem and placed the tube in man's mouth. Erlik blew the soul through the tube and into man's body. Ul'gen soon wanted to banish Erlik from Earth but Erlik pleaded to Ul'gen to give him a corner of land for him to live in. Ul'gen raised his staff and a hole opened up where it was resting. Snakes, insects, and other creatures crawled out onto the Earth and Erlik climbed down the hole to the underworld. The Heavenly Realm (Ul'gen Cheri): Realm of the god Ul'gen. This world is further divided into nine "skies" (see below for more information). The Middle Earth (Ortinda or Pistin Cheri): Our physical world. Said to be flat with the Pistag (or Mustag) Mountain lying at its center. The Underworld (Aina Cheri): Realm of the god Erlik and his minions. All these realms were said to be populated by spirits, humans, animals, and other creatures. The three worlds were linked via the axis of the World Tree or Mountain. The top of the World Tree housed the Heavenly Realm whilst its trunk passed through the Middle Earth and its roots reached down to the Underworld. The World Mountain was divided similarly with its peak connected to the Upper World and the foot of the mountain to the Earth.

The Heavenly realm is further divided into nine "skies". By ascending order these include:

The Yellow Sky (keshkan): Realm of lightning. The Blue Belt (kok kur): Realm of the blue portion of the rainbow. The Red Belt (kizil kur): Realm of the red part of the rainbow. The Grey Belt (kir kur): Realm of the Grey portion of the rainbow. The Indigo Belt (kektamosh kur): Realm of the "blue" (indigo) part of the rainbow. The Red Sky (kizil tegri): Realm where the mysterious "red women" are said to live. Realm of the moon and stars. Realm of the sun. Personal realm of Ul'gen. This realm is always lit, warm, and full of life. Vegetation never dies and there's always a plethora of cattle and animals. It's also described as a place where the bodies of the dead never decay.