Evenki people


The Evenki, or Tungusy, are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Evenki are recognised as one of the Indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 38,396. In China, the Evenki form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China, with a population of 34,617. There are 537 Evenki in The Country of Mongolia, called Khamnigan in the Mongolian language.

Origin

The Evenki are sometimes conjectured to be connected to the Shiwei people who inhabited the Greater Khingan Range in the 5th to 9th centuries, although the native land of the majority of Evenki people is in the vast regions of Siberia between Lake Baikal and the Amur River. The Evenki language forms the northern branch of the Manchu-Tungusic language group and is closely related to Even and Negidal in Siberia. By 1600 the Evenki or Ewenki of the Lena and Yenisey river valleys were successful reindeer herders. By contrast the Solons and the Khamnigans had picked up horse breeding and the Mongolian deel from the Mongols. The Solons nomadized along the Amur River. They were closely related to the Daur people. To the west the Khamnigan were another group of horse-breeding Evenki in the Transbaikalia area. Also in the Amur valley a body of Siberian Evenki-speaking people were called Orochen by the Manchus.

Historical distribution

The ancestors of the south-eastern Evenki most likely lived in the Baikal region of Southern Siberia since the Neolithic era.
Considering the north-western Evenki, Vasilevich claims: "The origin of the Evenki is the result of complex processes, different in time, involving the mixing of different ancient aboriginal tribes from the north of Siberia with tribes related in language to the Turks and Mongols. The language of these tribes took precedence over the languages of the aboriginal population". Elements of more modern Evenki culture, including conical tent dwellings, bone fish-lures, and birch-bark boats, were all present in sites that are believed to be Neolithic. From Lake Baikal, "they spread to the Amur and Okhotsk Sea... the Lena Basin... and the Yenisey Basin".

Contact with Russians

In the 17th century, the Russian Empire made contact with the Evenki. Cossacks, who served as a kind of "border-guard" for the tsarist government, imposed a fur tax on the Siberian tribes. The Cossacks exploited the Evenki clan hierarchy, taking hostages from the highest members to ensure payment of the tax. Although there was some rebellion against local officials, the Evenki generally recognized the need for peaceful cultural relations with the Russians. The Russians and their constant demands for fur taxes pushed the Evenki east all the way to Sakhalin island, where some still live today. In the 19th century some groups migrated south and east into Mongolia and Manchuria. Today there are still Evenki populations in Sakhalin, Mongolia, and Manchuria, and to a lesser extent, their traditional Baikal region.
Russian invasion of the Evenki caused them language erosion, a decline in traditions, and identity loss, among others. This was especially true during the Soviet regime. Soviet policies of collectivization, forced sedentarization, "unpromising villages", and Russification of the education system compromised social, cultural, and mental well-being of the Evenki.

Evenki of Russia

The Evenki were formerly known as tungus. This designation was spread by the Russians, who acquired it from the Yakuts in the 17th century. The Evenki have several self-designations, of which the best known is evenk. This became the official designation for the people in 1931. Some groups call themselves orochen, orochon, ile, etc. At one time or another tribal designations and place names have also been used as self-designations, for instance manjagir, birachen, solon, etc. Several of these have even been taken for separate ethnic entities.
There is also a similarly named Siberian group called the Evens. Although related to the Evenki, the Evens are now considered to be a separate ethnic group.
The Evenki are spread over a huge territory of the Siberian taiga from the River Ob in the west to the Okhotsk Sea in the east, and from the Arctic Ocean in the north to Manchuria and Sakhalin in the south. The total area of their habitat is about 2,500,000 km2. In all of Russia only the Russians inhabit a larger territory. According to the administrative structure, the Evenki live, from west to east, in:
  • Tyumen Oblast
  • Tomsk Oblast
  • Krasnoyarsk Krai
  • Evenkiysky District
  • Irkutsk Oblast
  • Chita Oblast
  • Amur Oblast
  • Republic of Buryatia
  • Sakha Republic
  • Khabarovsk Krai
  • Sakhalin Oblast
However, the territory where they are a titular nation is confined solely to the Evenk Autonomous Okrug, where 3,802 of the 35,527 Evenki live. More than 18,200 Evenki live in the Sakha Republic.
Evenki is the largest of the northern group of the Manchu-Tungus languages, a group which also includes Even and Negidal.
Many Evenki in Russia still engage in a traditional lifestyle of raising reindeer, fishing, and hunting.

Census results

According to the 2021 census 39,226 Evenki lived in Russia.
Administrative unitEvenki population
Sakha Republic24,334
Krasnoyarsk Krai 3,612
Evenk Autonomous Okrug 3,118
Krasnoyarsk Krai 494
Khabarovsk Krai3,709
Amur Oblast1,405
Sakhalin Oblast171
Republic of Buryatia2,995
Irkutsk Oblast1,144
Zabaykalsky Krai957

Evenki of China

At the 2000 census, there were 30,505 Evenki in China, mainly made up of the Solons and the Khamnigans. 88.8% of China's Evenki live in the Hulunbuir region in the north of the Inner Mongolia Province, near the city of Hailar. The Ewenki Autonomous Banner is also located near Hulunbuir. There are also around 3,000 Evenki in neighbouring Heilongjiang Province.
The Manchu Emperor Hong Taiji conquered the Evenki in 1640, and executed their leader Bombogor. After the Manchu conquest, the Evenki were incorporated into the Eight Banners.
In 1763, the Qing government moved 500 Solon Evenki and 500 Daur families to the Tacheng and Ghulja areas of Xinjiang, in order to strengthen the empire's western border. Another 1020 Xibe families also came the following year. Since then, however, the Solons of Xinjiang have assimilated into other ethnic groups, and are not identified as such anymore.
The Japanese occupation led to many murders of Evenkis, and Evenki men were conscripted as scouts and rangers by the Japanese secret service in 1942.
Some Evenkis fled to Soviet Siberia across the Amur river after murdering a Japanese officer to avoid punishment from the Japanese.
The Evenki of China today tend to be settled pastoralists and farmers.

By county

;County-level distribution of the Evenk
Provincial-level administrative divisionPrefecture-level divisionCounty-level divisionEvenki Population% of China's Evenki Population
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirEwenki Autonomous Banner9,73331.91%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirMorin Dawa Daur Autonomous Banner5,12616.8%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirOroqen Autonomous Banner3.15510.34%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirArun Banner2,1447.03%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirOld Barag Banner1,9066.25%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirZhalantun1,2013.94%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirHailar District9713.18%
HeilongjiangQiqiharNehe7782.55%
HeilongjiangHeiheNenjiang6782.22%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirYakeshi4051.33%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirGenhe3691.21%
Inner Mongolia ARHohhotSaihan District1580.52%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirManzhouli1410.46%
HeilongjiangQiqiharMeilisi Daur District1350.44%
HeilongjiangDaxing'anlingJagdaqi1290.42%
Inner Mongolia ARHohhotXincheng District1280.42%
HeilongjiangQiqiharFuyu1110.36%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirErgun1100.36%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirNew Barag Left Banner1030.34%
Beijing MunicipalityHaidian District680.22%
HeilongjiangQiqiharJianhua650.21%
HeilongjiangQiqiharTiefeng650.21%
Inner Mongolia ARHinggan LeagueUlanhot600.20%
HeilongjiangQiqiharGangnan District590.19%
HeilongjiangDaxing'anlingMohe550.18%
HeilongjiangQiqiharHulan Ergi540.18%
Inner Mongolia ARHulunbuirNew Barag Right Banner540.18%
HeilongjiangDaxing'anlingHuma520.17%
Inner Mongolia ARHohhotHuimin District480.16%
HeilongjiangQiqiharLongjiang440.14%
HeilongjiangQiqiharLongsha360.12%
Inner Mongolia ARBaotouQingshan350.11%
Inner Mongolia ARTongliaoHorqin District350.11%
Inner Mongolia ARHinggan LeagueJalaid Banner340.11%
Inner Mongolia ARHeiheWudalianchi320.10%
Other2,2287.33%