Negidals

The Negidalen (Russian Негидальцы / Negidalzy; derived from Evenki нге гида / length gida, " coastal " or " lowland inhabitants"; negidalische proper name элькан бэйэнин / Elkan bejenin, " Native " ) are a small Tungusic people who traditionally on the middle and lower reaches of the Amur left tributary Amgun in the Far East of Russia, today's Rajon imeni Poliny Ossipenko the Khabarovsk region settled.

At the last census in 2010 there were in Russia Negidalen 513 of which still 74 ( 14% 1970 53%) dominate the Negidalische, the Evenki a similar north- Tungusic language. As the vernacular Negidalische was largely replaced by Russian. 1926, 423: 683 (without the " assimilated " 426 ), 1959: 350 1970: 537 1979: 504 1989: 622 2002: 567 Over the past century, the number of Negidalen almost stable at a low level (1897 ).

After local Distinguished in culture, lifestyle and language of the settlement area may underflow ( Russian nisowskije ) and headwater - Negidalen (Russian werchowskije, based on the flow Amgun ) can be distinguished. In the low run - Negidalen outweighs than traditional main livelihood of fishing on hunting; most important means of transport are ( sled ) dogs; they were settled, in winter in heated cabins, summer in huts made of tree bark. In the upper reaches - Negidalen hunting the reindeer plays as a livelihood, as the increased role of transport; they lived in portable Tschums. Your clothing sewed Negidalen originally from fish skins and animal skins, and later from materials Manchurian, Chinese and Russian origin.

For a long time the Negidalen are in close cultural contact with other small indigenous peoples of the Amur region, as Niwchen, Ultschen and Nanai.

Russians met for the first time in the 17th century on Negidalen; close contacts were only from the middle of the 19th century. In that time the ethnonym " Negidale " by Alexander Theodor von Middendorff was introduced. As a result of the Negidalen took home types and clothing of the Russian settlers and began the operation of agriculture. They were officially converted to the orthodox faith; but to date animistic and shamanistic beliefs and customs are common. In Soviet times, the Negidalen were organized together with the Russian inhabitants of the area in the fishing, hunting and agriculture collective farms ( kolkhozes ).

The Negidalen are represented in the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North ( RAIPON ).