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Telengits

The Telengits are a Turkic ethnic group belonging to the southern Altai branch, indigenous to the mountainous regions of the Altai Republic in southern Siberia, Russia.^[1] Recognized as one of the small-numbered indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation since 2000, they maintain a distinct cultural identity tied to their ancestral lands along rivers such as the Chuy and in districts like Ulagansky.^[2] Numbering approximately 2,730 according to Russia's 2021 census, the Telengits' official population figures contrast with community self-estimates exceeding 15,000, reflecting potential undercounting due to assimilation or identification with broader Altaian categories.^[1] Traditionally semi-nomadic herders, they have raised livestock including sheep, cattle, goats, and horses, adapting seasonal migrations to the Altai landscape while increasingly engaging in settled agriculture and modern livelihoods.^[3] Their language, a dialect of Southern Altai recognized independently since 2000, preserves Turkic linguistic roots with influences from historical interactions.^[4] Telengit spiritual life integrates pre-Christian shamanistic and Tengrist elements with Russian Orthodox Christianity and elements of Burkhanism, a late-19th-century Altai revivalist movement emphasizing ethical monotheism.^[5] Community practices include celebrating national holidays alongside traditional rituals, with efforts to document and revive customs through cultural centers and publications in the Altai language.^[1] As stewards of remote highland territories, the Telengits face challenges from environmental changes and integration pressures but continue to embody resilience in preserving their heritage amid Russia's diverse ethnic mosaic.^[6]

Origins and Ethnogenesis

Archaeological and Genetic Evidence

Archaeological evidence links the Telengits to ancient nomadic pastoralist cultures in the Altai Mountains, particularly the Pazyryk culture of the 6th to 3rd centuries BCE, characterized by frozen kurgan burials containing mummified remains, horse sacrifices, and artifacts indicative of Scytho-Siberian horse-riding societies.^[7] Excavations on the Ukok Plateau, a site revered by Telengits as an ancestral burial ground, reveal continuity in burial practices, tattooing, and equestrian traditions that align with modern Telengit horse-breeding and shamanistic elements.^[8] Craniological studies indicate morphogenetic continuity between Pazyryk populations and southern Altaians, including Telengits, suggesting descent from these Iron Age nomads who combined eastern and western Eurasian influences in their material culture.^[9] Genetic analyses of Telengits reveal a predominantly paternal lineage of Y-chromosome haplogroup R1a1a1 (subclade YP1518) at 58% frequency in samples of 99 males, interpreted as a marker of ancient Turkic-speaking Tele tribes that contributed to their ethnogenesis through admixture with local Altai populations.^[10] Maternal mtDNA profiles from 55 Telengit individuals show high frequencies of East Asian haplogroups D4 (18.2%), C (14.6%), and B (14.6%), alongside lower West Eurasian lineages like H (9.1%), reflecting genetic diversity from southern Siberian hunter-gatherers and steppe migrants, with haplotype diversity exceeding that of northern Altaians.^[11] This admixture pattern supports origins involving proto-Turkic expansions into the Altai region around the 1st millennium CE, overlaying earlier Bronze and Iron Age substrates, rather than isolation.^[11]^[10]

Linguistic and Historical Roots

The Telengits trace their ethnonym to the ancient "tele," a designation shared among tribes inhabiting the Sayan-Altai highlands, reflecting continuity with pre-Turkic nomadic groups in the region.^[4] Their self-appellation "telenut" or "telenet" derives directly from this ethnonym, which appears in historical records linking them to the Tiele (or Tele) confederation of pastoralist tribes active in Central Asia during the early medieval period.^[4]^[12] Ancestral lineages are associated with the Gaoju (Gaogyu) tribes, documented in 5th–6th century Chinese annals as comprising twelve tribal generations, from which the Telengits emerged as skilled cattle breeders and warriors.^[1] These roots connect to broader Turkic ethnogenesis, with the Telengits descending from ancient Tele and Tüküi tribes that contributed to the formation of early Turkic khaganates around the 6th century CE, emphasizing a nomadic heritage centered on the Altai Mountains.^[13] Linguistically, the Telengit language belongs to the Turkic family, specifically the Altai subgroup within the southern branch, manifesting as a dialect of the Southern Altai language continuum.^[4] Classified under the northwestern (Kypchak) Turkic group, it shares phonological and lexical affinities with neighboring languages such as Kyrgyz and Kazakh, including terms for yurt construction and dairy processing like kurut (dried curd) and kaimak (clotted cream).^[12] The language features two primary subdialects—Telengit-Teles in the Ulagan district and Chuy in Kosh-Agach—further subdivided into variants like Balyktyyul and Chibit, preserving archaic Turkic elements tied to the group's pastoral and shamanistic traditions.^[4] Recognized as a distinct language in 2000 under Russian policy for indigenous minorities, it underscores the Telengits' retention of linguistic traits from their Tele forebears amid interactions with Oirat and Kyrgyz groups in the 17th century.^[4]^[12]

Historical Development

Pre-Modern Period

The Telengits, a Turkic-speaking nomadic group inhabiting the southeastern Altai Mountains, trace their ethnonym to the ancient Tiele (or Tele) confederation of Turkic tribes documented in Central Asian sources from the 5th to 8th centuries CE.^[1] Their ancestors formed one of the twelve tribes within the Gaoju (or Gaoche) nomadic groupings noted in Chinese chronicles dating to the 5th-6th centuries, engaging in pastoralism and warfare across the steppes north of the Gobi Desert.^[1] By the 13th-14th centuries, during the Mongol Empire's expansion, Telengit precursors were integrated as the "Telenged aimag," a tribal subunit under Mongol overlordship, contributing warriors and herds to imperial campaigns while retaining distinct Turkic linguistic and clan structures.^[14] In the 16th century, the Telengits fell under the influence of the Oirat (Western Mongol) confederation, allying with Mongol tribes in a loose tribal union that facilitated shared defense against eastern Khalkha Mongols and facilitated transhumant herding in Altai valleys.^[15] This period saw the Telengits organized into patrilineal clans (seoks), each tied to specific territories, sacred mountains, and totemic animals—such as the Sagal clan's association with Sailugem-Iyik peak—enforcing exogamy and ritual obligations centered on animistic shamanism.^[16] Economically, they practiced seasonal transhumance, breeding yaks, camels, horses, and sheep for milk, wool, and transport, supplemented by rudimentary agriculture in riverine lowlands like the Chuya Valley, where Chuy Telengit subgroups maintained semi-permanent camps.^[1]^[17] By the early 17th century, the rising Dzungar Khanate, an Oirat-led polity, extended hegemony over Mountain Altai, imposing tribute (alman) in livestock and military levies on Telengit communities while allowing local autonomy in clan governance.^[18] Telengit warriors participated in Dzungar campaigns against Kazakh and Qing forces, leveraging Altai terrain for raids and retreats, until the khanate's collapse following Qing military victories in 1757-1758, which destabilized the region and prompted initial Telengit migrations toward Russian frontiers for refuge.^[13]^[18] Throughout this era, their society emphasized oral epics, throat-singing rituals, and fire-based offerings to appease mountain spirits, preserving cultural continuity amid shifting overlords.^[16]

Imperial Russian and Soviet Eras

The Telengits, inhabiting the Chuya River valley in southern Altai, entered Russian suzerainty in the mid-18th century amid the collapse of the Dzungar Khanate, which had previously exerted influence over the region.^[13] This incorporation followed broader Russian expansion into Siberia, with Telengit groups submitting voluntarily after the Dzungars' defeat by Qing forces around 1757, though Russian administrative control solidified gradually through military outposts and tribute systems.^[13] By the early 19th century, the Telengits organized into volosts, such as those along the Chuya River, functioning as semi-autonomous units under Russian oversight while maintaining nomadic pastoralism centered on horse breeding and herding.^[13] The 1822 administrative reforms promulgated by Mikhail Speransky restructured indigenous governance in Siberia, imposing elected councils and taxes on Altaic peoples including the Telengits, which curtailed clan-based autonomy and integrated them more firmly into imperial structures.^[13] Border ambiguities with the Qing Empire persisted until the Chuguchak Protocol of October 1864, which delineated the Altai frontier and definitively assigned Telengit territories, particularly the Second Chui Volost, to Russian jurisdiction, ending dual influences and affirming tributary obligations.^[1] Under imperial rule, the Telengits numbered around 2,000–3,000 by the late 19th century, predominantly nomadic and engaged in transhumant livestock rearing, though Russian settlement and mining concessions in the Altai began eroding traditional land use.^[13] Orthodox missionary activity intensified from the 1830s, targeting shamanistic practices, but conversion rates remained low, with most Telengits retaining ancestral beliefs amid resistance to cultural assimilation.^[13] In the Soviet period, the Telengits were subsumed into the Oirot Autonomous Oblast created on October 1, 1922, as part of Bolshevik nationality policies granting limited autonomy to non-Russian groups in the Altai region; this entity was redesignated the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast in 1948.^[13] Collectivization drives in the 1930s forcibly sedentarized nomadic Telengit herders, compelling them into kolkhozy (collective farms) that prioritized state quotas over traditional mobility, leading to livestock losses and cultural disruptions for a population then estimated at under 2,500.^[13] Shamanism and clan rituals faced systematic suppression under atheist campaigns, with sacred sites repurposed and knowledge-holders marginalized, though underground practices persisted.^[13] Soviet ethnographers classified Telengits as a sub-group of the consolidated "Altai people" in censuses from the 1920s to 1989, obscuring distinct identity amid policies favoring ethnic unification to foster socialist homogeneity.^[13] Rural consolidation programs between 1959 and 1980 reduced Telengit settlements from approximately 388 to 240 villages, promoting mixed-ethnic communities and infrastructure like schools, which boosted literacy but accelerated Russification and erosion of dialect use.^[13] By the late Soviet era, economic focus shifted to forestry and animal husbandry within collectives, with Telengits comprising a small fraction of the oblast's population, officially around 1,500–2,000 self-identifying individuals amid broader Altaian demographics.^[13]

Post-1991 Independence and Recognition

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast transitioned into the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and was subsequently renamed the Altai Republic in 1992, gaining status as a federal subject of the Russian Federation with enhanced regional self-governance. For the Telengits, primarily residing in the remote Kosh-Agach District, this shift facilitated ethnic revitalization amid broader post-Soviet decentralization, enabling advocacy for distinct cultural and linguistic preservation separate from the amalgamated "Altai" classification imposed during the Soviet period.^[19] A pivotal development occurred in 2000 with the establishment of the Telengit Cultural Center in Kosh-Agach, dedicated to researching, documenting, and promoting Telengit language, folklore, shamanistic practices, and traditional knowledge systems, reflecting community-driven initiatives to counter assimilation pressures.^[1] This period also saw Telengits formally incorporated into Russia's unified register of small-numbered indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia, and Far East, a designation conferring legal entitlements such as priority access to ancestral territories for subsistence activities like herding and gathering, exemptions from certain land taxes, and support for cultural education programs under federal laws like the 1999 statute on indigenous obshchinas (traditional communities).^[20]^[19] By the mid-2000s, Telengits actively participated in national indigenous forums, including the 2005 Congress of Small-Numbered Peoples of Russia, where representatives lobbied for expanded protections against resource extraction encroachments on their habitats and for state funding of native-language schooling.^[19] This recognition, while not conferring political sovereignty, has underpinned efforts to mitigate demographic decline and cultural erosion, though implementation remains inconsistent due to regional administrative challenges and competing economic interests in the Altai mining sector. No formal independence movements have emerged among Telengits, with identity assertions focusing instead on integration within Russia's federal framework while safeguarding indigenous prerogatives.^[21]

Demographics and Geography

Population Estimates and Trends

According to the 2021 All-Russian Population Census, 2,769 Telengits were recorded, with the vast majority residing in the Altai Republic.^[2] This represents a slight increase from the 2,644 Telengits enumerated in the 2010 census and approximately 2,400 in the 2002 census, suggesting demographic stability or modest growth in official counts over the past two decades.^[22] However, Telengit community representatives and ethnographic studies contend that census figures significantly undercount the actual population, estimating it at 15,000 or more due to widespread self-identification as broader "Altaians" rather than specifically Telengit, a pattern rooted in historical assimilation and ethnic consolidation policies during the Soviet era.^[1]^[4] This discrepancy highlights challenges in ethnic self-reporting among small indigenous groups, where cultural and administrative pressures favor pan-ethnic labels. Recent demographic analyses note population stability in core settlement areas despite urbanization trends drawing some to urban centers like Gorno-Altaysk.^[21] Historically, Telengit numbers were substantially larger; the 1859 Imperial Russian census recorded 18,470 individuals, a figure that has declined over 160 years primarily through intermarriage, Russification, and integration into the Altai ethnic category, rather than sharp mortality events.^[4] No significant migration outflows have been documented, with the group remaining concentrated in southern Altai districts such as Kyzyl-Ozek and Chagan-Uzun.^[21] Overall, while official data indicate a small, stable minority, broader estimates underscore ongoing identity fluidity affecting perceived trends.

Settlement and Migration Patterns

The Telengits primarily inhabit the southern regions of the Altai Republic in Russia, concentrated in the Kosh-Agach and Ulagan districts along the Chuya and Chulyshman rivers.^[21]^[1] Villages such as Yazula in the Ulagansky District exemplify their traditional settlements, where populations have remained stable at around 240–260 individuals over recent decades.^[21] Historically, the Telengits trace their ethnogenesis to ancient Turkic groups, including the Tele tribes mentioned in 5th–6th century Chinese annals, establishing residence in the Altai Mountains without evidence of large-scale outward migrations.^[1] Traditional settlement patterns involved semi-nomadic pastoralism, with seasonal migrations within the mountainous terrain to access summer and winter pastures for livestock such as yaks, horses, camels, sheep, and goats.^[1]^[23] In the modern era, demographic stability persists in these historical territories, though improved road infrastructure has facilitated increased internal mobility, including short-term migrations to central areas for economic or cultural purposes.^[21] Soviet-era sedentarization policies reduced full nomadism, but elements of seasonal herding and hunting continue among some communities bordering Mongolia, Tuva, Kazakhstan, and China.^[1] Overall, Telengit populations show low rates of permanent out-migration, maintaining a strong attachment to ancestral lands despite broader urbanization trends in the Altai Republic.^[21]

Language and Ethnic Classification

Telengit Language Characteristics

The Telengit language belongs to the Turkic family, specifically within the Southern Altai subgroup, where it is often classified as a dialect alongside Altai-Kizi and Teleut varieties.^[24] As a member of the Kipchak-Kyrgyz branch of Turkic languages, it shares core typological traits with Siberian Turkic varieties, including agglutinative morphology characterized by suffixation to express grammatical categories such as case, number, tense, and mood.^[25] Nominal and verbal roots are extended through sequential affixes, with no inflectional classes for nouns or verbs, and postpositions rather than prepositions govern relational meanings. Phonologically, Telengit features an eight-vowel system typical of many Turkic languages, incorporating front rounded vowels such as /y/ (ü) and /ø/ (ö), alongside unrounded front and back vowels.^[26] Vowel harmony operates primarily on backness, requiring affixes to match the root's vowel series (front or back), while rounding harmony applies optionally in certain affixal contexts, such as nominal case endings, but remains obligatory within roots.^[26] Consonant inventory includes stops, fricatives, and nasals, with retention of archaic Turkic elements like initial /tʃ/ (č) in positions where other Altai dialects show /ʃ/ (š), and preservation of /ŋ/ as a distinct phoneme.^[4] Syntactically, Telengit follows the subject-object-verb (SOV) word order predominant in Turkic languages, with flexible but head-final tendencies in noun phrases and relative clauses.^[25] Questions form through intonation or interrogative particles rather than inversion, and possession is marked by genitive suffixes on the possessum. Despite these shared features, Telengit remains underdescribed compared to neighboring Turkic varieties, with early documentation limited to lexical collections from the late 19th century by researchers such as G.N. Potanin, and morphological differences in case paradigms and verbal conjugations noted in relation to standard Southern Altai.^[4] Comprehensive grammars are scarce, reflecting its status as one of the least studied Altai-group languages.^[4]

Identity Debates and Sub-Ethnic Relations

In Soviet-era ethnographic literature, Telengits were classified as a sub-ethnic group of the Altaians, with their dialect integrated into the Southern Altai language group, and they were enumerated under the Altaian category in censuses from 1959 to 1989.^[4] This subsumption reflected broader policies of ethnic consolidation, limiting distinct recognition despite historical distinctions noted as early as the 19th century, when Telengits along the Chuya River were referred to interchangeably as Altaians.^[4] Post-Soviet reforms, driven by ethno-political dynamics in the 1990s and early 2000s, led to their designation in 2000 as a small-numbered indigenous people of the Russian Federation, enabling separate legal status and benefits unavailable to the larger Altaian population exceeding the 50,000-person threshold for such protections.^[21] Concurrently, the Telengit language received independent recognition, though linguists continue to debate its status as a dialect rather than a fully autonomous tongue.^[4] Self-identification practices among Telengits exhibit variability, shaped by these institutional changes and local contexts; options include pure Altaian identity, Telengit as a discrete ethnicity, or Altai-Telengit as a localized subgroup, with the Altai language serving as a core marker of continuity amid Russian bilingualism.^[21] The 2010 Russian census recorded 3,712 self-identified Telengits, primarily in the Altai Republic's Ulagan and Kosh-Agach districts, though community assessments estimate up to 15,000, attributing discrepancies to prior assimilation pressures or incomplete documentation of ethnic affiliation in personal records.^[4]^[1] This fluidity underscores ongoing debates over autonomy versus integration, where separate status facilitates cultural preservation but risks fragmenting broader Altaian unity.^[21] Sub-ethnic relations position Telengits within the Southern Altaian cluster alongside groups like the Altai-kizhi and Teleuts, sharing Turkic linguistic roots, nomadic heritage, and territorial overlaps in the Altai Mountains, which promote historical amalgamation rather than sharp divisions.^[4] Predominant settlement in remote riverine areas reinforces distinct local practices, such as specific kinship networks and shamanistic traditions, yet intermarriage and economic interdependence with neighboring Altaian subgroups mitigate isolation.^[21] No major inter-group conflicts are documented, though the 2000s recognition efforts introduced competitive dynamics for indigenous quotas and resources, occasionally straining relations with non-indigenous Altaians who view subgroup separatism as diluting collective claims.^[21]

Economy and Livelihoods

Traditional Subsistence Practices

The Telengits traditionally relied on semi-nomadic pastoralism as their primary subsistence strategy, herding livestock across the mountainous terrain of southern Altai along rivers such as the Chuya and Argut.^[27] This involved seasonal migrations to access pastures, maintaining herds of yaks, horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, which provided meat, milk, wool, skins, and transport.^[1] ^[28] Horses held particular cultural significance, often described as "human wings" and used in rituals, with their meat considered a delicacy following slaughter practices that included hanging the head from trees.^[1] Yak and, to a lesser extent, camel breeding supplemented these efforts, yielding products for both consumption and trade.^[1] Hunting complemented pastoralism, targeting game such as elk, wild boar, roe deer, and bears in small group expeditions, historically driven by the need for furs to fulfill Russian tribute obligations known as yasak.^[1] This activity provided essential protein and materials for clothing, persisting as a cultural practice despite environmental restrictions in areas like the Ukok Plateau.^[1] Gathering wild edible plants and low-intensity agriculture, involving crops like barley, wheat, and millet, offered supplementary nutrition but remained secondary to animal-based resources.^[1] ^[29] The resulting diet emphasized meat and dairy derivatives, including sour milk, curds, butter, cheese, and fermented araka, processed through traditional methods suited to mobile herding life.^[1] Dwellings such as felt yurts (kerege or kijis ail) and conical tents (alanchik) facilitated this lifestyle, enabling efficient movement with herds until Soviet-era sedentarization disrupted nomadic patterns.^[1] ^[30]

Contemporary Economic Challenges and Adaptations

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Telengits faced acute economic disruptions as state-subsidized collective farms (kolkhozy) collapsed, eliminating guaranteed markets, veterinary services, and fodder supplies essential for pastoralism, resulting in widespread herd reductions and subsistence crises throughout the 1990s.^[31] This transition to a market economy exacerbated poverty in the remote Altai Republic, where the agricultural sector—dominated by livestock—proved vulnerable due to insufficient private capital, poor infrastructure, and isolation from broader Russian markets.^[32] Traditional livelihoods centered on herding yaks, camels, sheep, goats, and horses for meat, dairy, wool, and transport remain predominant, supplemented by seasonal hunting of elk, boar, and deer despite regulatory restrictions in protected zones.^[1] Contemporary challenges include environmental degradation from climate change, such as glacier retreat and desertification, which diminish pasture quality and water availability, directly undermining herding sustainability in the mountainous Altai terrain.^[33] Resource extraction activities, including mining and proposed pipelines, further encroach on grazing lands, while the influx of tourism—reaching 2.2 million visitors to the Altai Republic in 2020—introduces land-use conflicts and cultural commodification pressures without equitable benefits for indigenous groups.^[34] Limited formal employment opportunities persist, compounded by remoteness and skill mismatches, leading to high unemployment and reliance on informal economies.^[3] Telengits have adapted by diversifying into tourism-related ventures, such as guiding ecotourism treks, offering homestays, and producing cultural crafts that leverage traditional knowledge for market sales, including startups focused on sustainable practices.^[3] Many households maintain mixed strategies, combining reduced-scale pastoralism with off-farm income from wage labor or remittances, as younger Telengits migrate seasonally to urban centers like Gorno-Altaysk for education and jobs while returning to uphold herding cycles.^[3] Community initiatives, such as the Telengit Cultural Center established in 2000 in Kosh-Agach, promote economic viability through folk ensembles, museums, and craft workshops that attract visitors and foster local entrepreneurship.^[1] These adaptations reflect pragmatic responses to structural constraints, though they risk diluting traditional self-sufficiency amid ongoing dependency on external sectors.^[21] Telengit society is organized around patrilineal clans known as seoks, or "bones" or "generations," which represent lineages of common descent and number up to 24 among Altaian groups including the Telengits.^[35] Clan members reside intermingled within communities rather than in segregated encampments, fostering alliances through exogamous marriages that prohibit unions within the same seok.^[35] These clans form the basis of local communities bound by kinship ties, with social hierarchy emphasizing seniority among relatives.^[35] Kinship terminology distinguishes paternal and maternal lines, reflecting patrilineal descent; for instance, ahagay or abagay denotes a paternal uncle or older clansman, tatay a maternal uncle, uchim a paternal nephew, degnym a maternal nephew, and edem an elder sister.^[35] Newly married couples typically reside in the groom's ulus (family or clan group), reinforcing patrilocal family structures.^[35] Marriage practices are exogamic, requiring partners from different clans, and involve a symbolic bride capture with prior consent, marked by a kerchief token and the erection of an odalch—a special yurta of nine birch poles that stands for three days.^[35] The groom negotiates a kalym (bride price) in cattle or goods, which may double as dowry, followed by multi-stage feasts (hai/ga or bayga, totaling five in some accounts) alternating between the groom's and bride's homes, including rituals like algysh-sez (bride blessing) and ail-buzar (symbolic destruction of part of the groom's yurta by the bride's male kin).^[35] Post-marriage avoidance customs persist, such as the bride concealing her head and feet from her father-in-law.^[35] These customs align with broader Altaian patrilineal organization, where clans underpin social cohesion amid pastoral mobility.^[36]

Religious Beliefs and Practices

The Telengits traditionally adhere to an animistic belief system centered on shamanism, involving veneration of spirit-masters (eezi) associated with natural features such as mountains, rivers, and lakes, alongside a tripartite cosmology comprising the upper world governed by benevolent deity Ul’gen’, the human middle world, and the underworld ruled by malevolent Erlik.^[1] Shamans, known as kams, serve as intermediaries between these realms, classified as "white" shamans aligned with Ul’gen’ for healing and protection or "black" shamans focused on Erlik for dealing with malevolent forces; they employ ritual drums inscribed with cosmological maps, perform purifications using burning juniper, and conduct offerings of dairy products, meat, or animal sacrifices in ceremonies like San Salary at new moons or tajylga invocations.^[1] Ancestral spirits and clan guardians are honored through rituals, reflecting a worldview emphasizing interconnectedness and balance with nature, where disrespect toward spirits risks misfortune such as illness or environmental imbalance.^[3] In the nineteenth century, shamanistic Telengits encountered Tibetan Buddhism through interactions with neighboring Oirat Mongols and state-imposed Russian Orthodox Christianity, leading to selective adoption of elements like Buddhist-influenced rituals while maintaining core animistic practices; however, full conversions were limited, with Orthodoxy often nominal among rural communities.^[37] ^[38] Burkhanism (Ak Jang), a syncretic movement emerging around 1904 among Altai peoples including Telengits, integrated shamanic rituals with Buddhist and Christian motifs, promoting a "white faith" of non-violence and nature reverence under a supreme deity Burkhan, though Telengits view it as an extension rather than replacement of their indigenous spirituality.^[39] Soviet-era suppression of shamanism from the 1920s onward targeted kams through persecution and promotion of atheism, yet practices persisted clandestinely in villages, with rituals tied to hunting, herding, and healing.^[40] Contemporary Telengit religious life blends these traditions, with many self-identifying as Eastern Orthodox Christians—evidenced by church attendance and baptisms—while invoking shamans for personal crises, ancestral veneration, or environmental harmony; Burkhanist temples and festivals see periodic revival, particularly amid ethnic activism, but lack centralized doctrine, as Telengits reject rigid labels for their fluid, knowledge-based spiritual culture.^[41] ^[42] Rituals continue at sacred sites like mountain passes (oboo cairns) with ribbon-tying and offerings, underscoring causal links between spiritual observance and communal well-being, despite urbanization pressures eroding full-time shamanic roles.^[1]

Material Culture and Folklore

The Telengits traditionally resided in portable felt yurts known as kerege or kijis ail, featuring a south-facing entrance oriented toward the sun for symbolic and practical reasons, with interiors organized around a central hearth for cooking and warmth.^[1] These were complemented by conical tents called alanchik, covered in birch or larch bark for durability against mountain weather or felt for mobility during seasonal herding; such structures remain in use for summer pastures and wedding rituals, reflecting adaptation to nomadic pastoralism centered on yaks, horses, and sheep.^[1] Traditional clothing emphasized functionality for harsh Altai climates and horse-based mobility, with women's garments like the chedek—a long, sleeveless cloak made from layered cotton or silk fabrics such as daba and dalimba—worn by married women to denote marital status and used in weddings, daily wear, and funerals until death.^[43] Fur overcoats termed ton or emen ton, crafted from sheepskin, sable, otter, or fox pelts, included summer variants like kaptal with rectangular chest cut-outs for ventilation; these featured ornate kadyrma decorations of velvet stripes, embroidered motifs resembling sea buckthorn berries, and horse-hoof-shaped cuffs, symbolizing wealth and ritual roles in ceremonies.^[43] Headwear such as the cylindrical sürü börük cap, adorned with brocade ribbons, otter fur edging, and silk tassels, was reserved for solemn occasions, while men's attire paralleled these with added leather elements for hunting and herding.^[43] Contemporary workshops in the Kosh-Agach District preserve these sewing techniques, producing garments and souvenirs that incorporate revived Scythian animal-style motifs in embroidery and metalwork, linking to ancient steppe heritage.^[1]^[44] Telengit folklore encompasses a rich oral tradition of heroic epics, myths, and legends performed by kaichi singer-storytellers using kai throat singing accompanied by the two-stringed topshuur lute, preserving narratives of ancestry, nature, and moral lessons passed down across generations.^[1]^[45] Key legends include accounts of Telengits serving as Genghis Khan's elite guard, emphasizing bravery and loyalty; the flood survival of ancestor Jarynak atop Kokora Mountain; and protective spirits like river mistresses who shielded the people during historical wars.^[1] These tales intertwine with animistic beliefs in landscape spirits and ancestral heroes, often recited during rituals to reinforce ethnic identity amid modernization pressures.^[46]^[47]

Contemporary Issues and Debates

Land Rights and Environmental Pressures

The Telengits, recognized as a small-numbered indigenous people of the Russian North, Siberia, and Far East, have pursued formal acknowledgment of their ancestral territories in the Kosh-Agachsky District of the Altai Republic, where they have resided since ancient times. This effort intensified after their official indigenous status, with community leaders advocating for the district's designation as protected indigenous land to safeguard traditional pastoral activities like yak and camel breeding against external encroachments.^[48] Despite Russian federal laws nominally protecting indigenous land use and natural resources as foundational to their livelihoods, implementation remains inconsistent, often prioritizing industrial development over communal rights.^[20] ^[19] A prominent land rights conflict arose from the proposed "Power of Siberia 2" gas pipeline in the 2010s, which threatened to traverse the Ukok Plateau—a UNESCO World Heritage site within the Golden Mountains of Altai and a sacred landscape central to Telengit spiritual identity and reindeer herding routes. Telengit activists, alongside other Altaian indigenous groups, mobilized against the project, citing irreversible disruption to permafrost ecosystems and cultural heritage; their sustained protests contributed to Gazprom's decision to reroute the pipeline, avoiding the highlands as of 2021.^[49] ^[34] Broader resource extraction, including mining expansions in the Altai Republic, has similarly strained land access, as corporate operations encroach on grazing pastures without adequate consultation, exacerbating poverty and ethnic tensions in remote districts.^[50] ^[19] Environmental pressures compound these land disputes, with accelerating climate change causing permafrost melt across the Altai Mountains, which destabilizes sacred sites like the Ukok Plateau and alters hydrological patterns essential for Telengit subsistence herding.^[33] This thaw, documented in regional studies since the early 2000s, reduces available pastureland and increases erosion risks, directly threatening the viability of traditional livestock practices that sustain approximately 2,000 Telengits in the district.^[51] Additional stressors include proposed hydropower stations and highway expansions, which fragment habitats and pollute waterways, prompting calls for enhanced biodiversity protections under Russia's environmental framework, though enforcement lags due to economic priorities in the resource-rich republic.^[51] In response, Telengit cultural centers have promoted traditional ecological knowledge to advocate for sustainable land management, emphasizing the plateau's role in preserving both biophysical and cultural integrity.^[1]

Political Activism and Ethnic Tensions

Telengits have pursued political activism centered on securing distinct indigenous recognition and safeguarding sacred territories from industrial encroachment. Leaders from the Ulagan district played a key role in advocating for the Telengits' separate status as one of Russia's small-numbered indigenous peoples, formalized in federal law around the early 2000s, distinguishing them from the broader Altaian ethnic category.^[19] A prominent example of this activism involves opposition to the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, proposed to cross the Ukok Plateau—a site central to Telengit rituals, burial mounds, and ancestral heritage. From 2006 onward, Telengits mobilized through petitions, formal complaints, networked collective actions, and sustained protests, portraying the project as an assault on their ethnic and cultural survival. These efforts culminated in the pipeline's rerouting away from the highlands by 2021, preserving the area's spiritual significance without construction proceeding through Telengit lands.^[52]^[53] Ethnic tensions among Telengits frequently arise from socioeconomic strains in isolated regions like Kosh-Agach district, where poverty and regulatory limits on traditional herding—such as caps on household livestock in collective farms—exacerbate grievances against state policies and resource competition with non-indigenous groups. In the Kyzyl-Maany high-mountain kolkhoz, for example, households were restricted to no more than two cows, heightening local frustrations as of the early 2000s.^[54] Broader ethno-political dynamics in the Altai Republic have seen Russian authorities employ divide-and-rule approaches, amplifying subdivisions between Telengits and other indigenous subgroups like Teleuts or Kumandins to undermine cohesive activism and variegated sovereignty claims. Such tactics have persisted amid recent unrest, including 2025 protests against regional leadership, where lingering tribal identities fueled dissent among Altaic peoples.^[55]^[56]

Cultural Preservation versus Assimilation

The Telengits, numbering 2,769 according to the 2020 Russian census, face ongoing pressures toward cultural assimilation primarily through Russian-language education and Soviet-era legacies. Children predominantly attend state schools emphasizing the national curriculum in Russian, which often marginalizes Telengit language instruction and traditional knowledge transmission.^[2]^[57] During the Soviet period, Altaian languages, including the Southern Altai dialect spoken by Telengits, were removed from school curricula by the 1970s, accelerating linguistic assimilation and the suppression of shamanistic practices under state atheism.^[58] The Southern Altai language is classified as Definitely Endangered by UNESCO, reflecting intergenerational transmission challenges despite census data indicating high proficiency rates among Telengits.^[19] Post-Soviet revival efforts have countered assimilation through organized cultural initiatives. The Telengit Cultural Center, established in 2000, promotes ethnic identity via publications like a newspaper insert in the Altai language, craft workshops, and musical ensembles such as Tala, fostering continuity in oral traditions and folklore.^[1] Shamanism, integral to Telengit worldview with its tripartite cosmology of upper, middle, and lower worlds, has seen resurgence, including community-led rituals venerating natural spirits and sacred sites.^[1]^[47] Leaders like shaman Slava Cheltuev advocate rediscovering human-nature relationships, emphasizing traditional ecological knowledge amid environmental threats.^[59] Debates persist over the balance between preservation and adaptation to modernization. Economic shifts from semi-nomadic pastoralism to wage labor and tourism expose younger Telengits to urban influences, potentially eroding clan-based social structures and seok (clan) genealogies.^[57]^[1] While revival movements draw on epics and festivals like Naadym to reinforce identity, critics note hybrid "neoshamanism" forms may dilute authentic practices.^[46]^[60] Isolation in remote Altai districts has aided resilience, yet infrastructure projects and climate impacts on livestock breeding pose risks to traditional livelihoods, intensifying assimilation vectors.^[21]^[51]

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