Nganasan people

The Nganasans are the northernmost people of Eurasia. They live north of the Arctic Circle in the field of Taymyr Peninsula, in Krasnoyarsk (Russia).

In the Russian Empire the Nganasans under the name tawgijzy ( тавгийцы ) were known. The ethnonym Nganasans goes to the Russian linguists and ethnographers GN Prokofiev back, who derived it from the word nganasanischen nganasa ( " man ", " man "). The Nganasans themselves do not use this name. Men are referred to with the word nja - nganasa, women with nja - ny and the people with nja - Tanzanian.

The Nganasans are a samojedisches people of Uralfamilie, belong, besides Nenets and Enzen to the Nordsamojeden. Their language, endangered Nganasan, with Nenets and Enzisch related (see also: Samoyedic languages). The number of Nganasans tends according to the last census, to 900, of which 83% of respondents call Nganasan as their mother tongue. The Nganasans divided into 2 groups: the western ( Awamische Nganasans with centers in Dudinka and in the villages of Ust- Awam, Wolotschanka ) and eastern ( Wadeische Nganasans with center in the village of Novaya ). The awamischen Nganasans are 5, the wadeischen in 7 tribes divided, although the awamischen Nganasans represent a much larger group (about 80 %).

The Nganasans is samojedisierte descendants of Tungusic tribes of the Evenki ( Pjasinskaja Samojed, Kuraken, Tidirisen, Tawgen and others). Until the end of the 17th century, the nation, and language was formed finally. Even today, the language of very many similarities with the Selkupischen and Jukagirischen.

In the 18th century Nganasans were conquered by the Russians and gradually Christianized. However, many places mingled Christian ideas with the traditional belief in nature. Since the 19th century the Nganasans living from reindeer herding as pastoral nomads, but originally they were exclusively hunters and fishermen. Since the 17th century the people were displaced by the Yakut, Dolgan and Nenets from some of its original habitats.

At the end of the 20th century Nganasans have their traditional way of life almost completely abandoned and now live settled in the small towns and villages hunters. The Regional Radio regularly broadcasts programs in Nganasan out in the newspaper articles are printed in that language.

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