Samoyedic peoples

The Samoyedic peoples (sometimes Samodeic peoples)[lower-alpha 1] are a group of closely related peoples who speak Samoyedic languages, which are part of the Uralic family. They are a linguistic, ethnic, and cultural grouping. The name derives from the obsolete term Samoyed used in Russian Empire for some Indigenous people of Siberia, see Samoyedic languages#Etymology for comments of the etymology.

Geographical distribution of Samoyedic-speaking peoples in the 17th (hatched area) and 20th (solid color) centuries

Peoples

Contemporary
People Language Numbers[1] Most important territory Other traditional territories
Nenets Nenets 45,000 Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Nenets Autonomous Okrug

Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District

 Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Enets Enets 200–300 Krasnoyarsk Krai
Nganasans Nganasan 900–1000 Krasnoyarsk Krai
Selkups Selkup 3,700 Tomsk Oblast

Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug

 Krasnoyarsk Krai
Kamasins Kamassian 20[2][lower-alpha 2] Krasnoyarsk Krai

Extinct

Comments

Traditionally, Samoyedic languages and peoples have been divided into two major areal groups: Northern Samoyedic (Nenets, Yurats, Enets, Nganasans), and Southern Samoyedic (Selkups) with a further subgroup of Sayan-Samoyedic (Kamasins, Mators) named after the Sayan Mountains. This classification does not reflect linguistic relations, being purely geographical.

The largest of the Samoyedic peoples are the Nenets, who mainly live in two autonomous districts of Russia: Yamalo-Nenetsia and Nenetsia. Some of the Nenets and most of the Enets and Nganasans used to live in the Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District. Most of the Selkups live in Yamalo-Nenetsia, but there is also a significant population in Tomsk Oblast.

Historical pictures
  • Samoyed in summer dress, in 1781, by Johann Gottlieb Georgi
    Samoyed in summer dress, in 1781, by Johann Gottlieb Georgi
  • Samoyed in 1781 by Johann Gottlieb Georgi
    Samoyed in 1781 by Johann Gottlieb Georgi
  • Habit of a Samoyed woman and child in 1768, by Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche
    Habit of a Samoyed woman and child in 1768, by Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche[4]
  • Samoyed winter dress (before 1906)
    Samoyed winter dress (before 1906)
  • A reindeer herd in Kolguyev Island in 1895.
    A reindeer herd in Kolguyev Island in 1895.

Modern
  • Yenisei Samoyedes (Enets people) around a campfire (1914)
    Yenisei Samoyedes (Enets people) around a campfire (1914)
  • Nganasans, 1927
    Nganasans, 1927
  • Nganasan folkloric group, 2018
    Nganasan folkloric group, 2018
  • Nenets group, 1913
    Nenets group, 1913
  • Nenets family
    Nenets family
  • Nenets children, 2016
    Nenets children, 2016
  • Northern Selkups, 2012
    Northern Selkups, 2012
  • Kamasin family, 1925
    Kamasin family, 1925

See also

Notes
  1. Some ethnologists use the term 'Samodeic peoples' instead 'Samoyedic', see Balzer, Marjorie (1999). The Tenacity of Ethnicity. Princeton University Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-691-00673-4.
  2. 0,2% of the population of Sayansky District (21 ppl) are declared as Kamasins and their descendants by the district administration in the official tourist guide (2021).

References
  1. Demoskop Weekly No 543-544
  2. "Администрация Саянского района. Унифицированный туристский паспорт. Саянский район Красноярского края". Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  3. Unesco Red Book on Endangered Languages
  4. "Habit of a Samoyede woman and child subject to Russia in 1768. Femme Samoyèd". New York Public Library Digital Collections website.


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