Altai people

Turkic people living in the Siberian Altai Republic, Russia

The Altai people , also the Altaians , are a Turkic ethnic group of indigenous peoples of Siberia mainly living in the Altai Republic, Russia. Several thousand of the Altaians also live in Mongolia (Altai Mountains) and China (Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang) but are not officially recognized as a distinct group and listed under the name "Oirats" as a part of the Mongols, as well as in Kazakhstan where they number around 200. For alternative ethnonyms see also Tele, Black Tatar, and Oirats. During the Northern Yuan dynasty, they were ruled in the administrative area known as Telengid Province.

The Altai region came within the sphere of influence of the Scythians, Xiongnu, the Rouran Khaganate, the Turkic Khanganate, the Uyghur Empire, and the Yenisei Kyrgyz. According to one study in 2016, the Altaians, precisely some southern Altaians, assimilated local Yeniseian people which were closely related to the Paleo Eskimo groups. From the thirteenth to eighteenth century the Altai people were dominated politically and culturally by the Mongols. The origin of the southern Altaians can be traced during this period from the result of the mixing of Kipchak and Mongol tribes. Meanwhile, the Northern Altaians were a result of the fusion of Turkic tribes with Samoyeds, Kets and other Siberian groups. After the fall of the Zunghar Khanate in the 18th century, the Altaians were subjugated by the Qing Dynasty, which referred to them as Altan Nuur Uriyangkhai. Altaians are genetically related to the Uriyangkhai, which is a common neighbouring Oirat Mongol ethnic group in Mongolia. The Altai came into contact with Russians in the 18th century. In the tsarist period, the Altai were also known as Oirot or Oyrot (this name means Oirat and would later be carried on for the Oyrot Autonomous Oblast). The name was inherited from their being former subjects of the 17 th century Oirat led Dzungar Khanate. The Altai report that many of them became addicted to the Russians' vodka, which they called "fire water". With regard to religion, some of the Altai remained shamanists and others (in a trend beginning in the mid 19th century) have converted to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Altai mission was developed under Saint Makarii Glukharev († 1847), known as the 'Apostle to the Altai'. In 1904, a millenarian indigenist religious movement called Ak Jang or Burkhanism arose among these people. Prior to 1917 the Altai were considered to be made up of many different ethnic groups. With the rise of the 1917 revolution, Altai nationalists and Socialist Revolutionaries attempted to make a separate Burkhanist republic called the Confederated Republic of Altai (Karakorum Altai Region), although only as part of the Russian Federation. They also hoped to extend its territory to form a larger Oyrot republic that would include other former subjects of the Dzungar Khanate or even all Turkic peoples of Siberia. Many Altai leaders supported the Mensheviks during the Civil War. After the Bolshevik victory, a separate Oyrot Autonomous Oblast was established as a national home for the Altais. In the 1940s, during World War II, Joseph Stalin's government accused Altai nationalists of being pro Japanese. After the war, the word "Oyrot" was declared to be counterrevolutionary due to its associations with the idea of a larger Oyrot state that could secede from the USSR. Because of that, the oblast was renamed to Gorno Altai Autonomous Oblast. By 1950, Soviet industrialization policies and development in this area resulted in considerable migration of Russians to this republic, reducing the proportion of Altai in the total population from 50% to 20%. In 1990, the oblast was declared an autonomous republic, the Gorno Altai Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which was renamed to the Altai Republic in 1992. In the early 21st century, ethnic Altaians make up about 31% of the Altai Republic's population. Today, the special interests of the Altaians are articulated and defended by the Association of Northern Ethnoses of Altai.

Most of the Southern Altaians traditionally lived in yurts. Many Northern Altaians mainly built polygonal yurts with conic roofs made out of logs and bark. Some Altai Kizhi also lived in mud huts with birch bark gable roofs and log or plank walling. The Teleuts and a few Northern Altaians lived in conic homes made out of perches or bark. With the influx of Russians near the homeland of the Altaians, there was an increase of the construction of large huts with two to four slope roofs in consequence of Russian influence. Average clothing consisted of long shirts with wide breeches, robes, and fur coats. Other apparel often included fur hats, high boots, and sheepskin coats.

Altaian cuisine consists of soups of horseflesh or mutton. Dishes with gopher, badger, marmot, fermented milk, cream (from boiled milk), blood pudding, butter, fried barley flour, and certain vegetables are also staples of Altaian cuisine. Popular drinks include aryki (hard liquor made from kumis).

Traditional Altaian shamanism is rich with mythology and supernatural beings. Popular deities included Yerlik, the god of the underworld and Oyrot Khan, a sagely and heroic figure who is a composite blend taken from historical Zungarian (Oirat) Khans and ancient legendary heroes. However, with many migrations, settlement changes, and the presence of the Russians and their eventual union with the Russian Empire, the Altaians encountered three world religions: Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity. At first, the Altaians were indifferent and at times even hostile to these faiths and their expansion. In 1829, an Orthodox mission was founded in the region (modern Altai Republic) soon after the region became a protectorate of the Russian Empire. Altaians were often forcefully converted to Christianity. Mongolian Buddhist missionaries attempted to spread the faith among the Altaians during the 19th century. The Buddhist missionaries also encouraged the Altaians to unite together against the Russians. However, their activities and preaching were suppressed by the Russian state and Christian missionaries. Buddhism made little headway among the Altaians but many Buddhist ideas and principles entered into Altaian spiritual thought. The mission and its missionaries were initially culturally sensitive and tolerant to the Altaians and their customs. However, the rise of Russian nationalism during the late nineteenth century caused the Russification of Orthodox Christianity and the mostly Russian clergy in Siberia also took up the ideology. This created intolerant views of the natives of Siberia (including the Altaians) and of their culture. This led to the rejection of Christianity by many Altaians who saw it as a foreign Russian religion. However, Russian rule continued to grow increasingly strict both politically and religiously. or 86 % (data of the Research State Institute of Altaic Studies) of the Altaians continue to profess "Altai Faith": Burkhanism, shamanism and other native spiritual cults and traditions. According to Natalia Zhukovskaia, the Altaian shamanism is supreme religion of the majority of the Altai people. In principle, the division into the Burkhanists and shamanists has ceased to be relevant for the contemporary religiosity of the Altaians. According to a number of studies, by the beginning of the 21st century, there were practically no traditional shamans or classical Burkhanists anti shamanists. The main one was the single "Altai Faith" —a traditional ethnic religion in the form of a synthesis of Burkhanism with the remnants of shamanism and other tribal beliefs and customs.