General information

Since olden days the eight small indigenous nations are inhabiting the Khabarovsk Region territory of the russian Far East: nanais, negidals, nivkhs, oroches, udeghes, ulchas, evenks, evens. Upon a lingual feature the nivkhs are conditionally attributed to paleoasians, the other - to tungus-manchzhuri.

The lifestyle and wildlife management of the indigenous population are defined by a geographic environment and climate conditions. The basic Wildlife occupations are: fishing, game in taiga and hunting of sea mammals , collecting and processing of wild plants. The grounds of the Amur aborigines' world vision constitute the ancient conceptions and belief.

A bright and most traditional layer of the aborigines' culture constitute highly-developed, rich with a different content and forms arts and crafts, interrelated with a folk's wildlife and rite ceremonies.

Decorated (beatified, adorn) embroidery holi- and every day garments from fish skin or deer leather, different-purpose ware from birch bark, purple willow, bone, fur and textile carpets, cult sculpture - all these trends constitute a diversity of folk art of the Amur area. The pinnacle of the aborigines' collective art skills is ornament. Combining an aesthetic and protective functions, ornament most of all matters has reflected a native people's conception of the Universe and Human.

In our days a "heritage ecology" has acquired a special meaning. A considerate attitude toward the roots, oversighting the precious culture traditions - is the care for present or future of not only the small nations but the humanity as a whole.

NANAIS

Self name: nany - "a local man "
the ethnic group, inhabitating primarily on the Khabarovsk Region Territory, along the lower downstream of the Amur river. Population is 12017 people. The desendants of the ancient Amur population and different tungus-language tribes participated in ethnogenesis of Nanais.

NEGIDALS

SELFNAME: Amgun bireneen - "amguni"
Negidals (the former name -gilyaks), the ethnic group, residing on the territory of Khabarovsk Region along the riverbanks of Amgyun and Amur. Population is 622 people. Presumably this ethnos had appeared in the result of merging (confusion) of nivhs and ulchas.

NIVKHS

SELFNAME: NIVH - "a human"
NIVHS (former name -Gilyaks), the ethnic group, residing on the territory of Khabarovsk region in the lower Amur and on Sahalin island. Population is 4673 people. Presumably, the nivkhs are the direct descendants of the most ancient population of Sahalin and Lower Amur.

OROCHES

Self-name: OROCHILI
OROCHESE - the ethnic group, living in Amur and Khabarovsk Region along the Tumnin and Amur rivers' banks. Population is 915 people. In ethnogenesis of Oroches took part aboriginal and evenks tribes.

UDEGHES

SELF-NAME: UDEGHE
UDEHEESE (in the past were called "forest people"), the ethnic group living in Amur and Khabarovsk Region. Population is 2011 people. In Udeghes ethnos formation took part aboriginal and alien tungus tribes.

ULCHAS

SELFNAME: "a Man of the Land"
Ulchas (in the past named manguns - "Amur people"), the ethnic group, residing on the territory of Khabarovsk region in the Lower Amur. Population number is 3233. In the ethnogenesis of ulchas took part nanais, nivkhs, nigedals, ainis, evenks.

EVENKS

SELFNAME: EVEN
EVENKS (the former name - tunguses, also were named as "deer people"), the ethnic group residing on the territory of Siberia and Far East. Population number is 30233. The ancestors of evenks were proptotunguses habitating to the west and to the east of Baikal lake.

EVENS

SELFNAME: EVEN
EVENS (Former name - lamuts), the ethnic group, residing on the territory of Siberia and Far East. Population number is 17199. Evens belonged to the north-eastern branch of the evenks.