There is no universally accepted etymology of the wordChuvash, but there are two main theories that try to explain it: one suggests that the word Chuvash may be derived from Common Turkicjăvaš, as opposed to şarmăs. Another theory is based on the Tabghach, an early medieval Xianbei clan and founders of the Northern Wei dynasty in China. The Old Turkic name Tabghach was used by some Inner Asian peoples to refer to China long after this dynasty. Gerard Clauson has shown that through regular sound changes, the clan name Tabghach may have transformed to the ethnonym Chuvash.
Subgroups
Chuvash people are divided into three main groups:
Virjal or Turi
Anat jenchi
Anatri
*Hirti
History
The Turkic ancestors of the Chuvash people are believed to have come from central Siberia, where they lived in the Irtysh basin from at least the end of the third millennium BC. In the beginning of the first century AD, the Bulgars started moving west through Zhetysu and the steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan, reaching the North Caucasus in 2nd–3rd centuries AD. There they established several states to embrace the religion. After the collapse of Volga Bulgaria by the Mongols in 1236, the Golden Horde kept control of the region until its slow dissolution in 1438. The Kazan Khanate then became the new authorities of the region and of the Chuvash. The modern name 'Chuvash' began to appear in records starting from the sixteenth century from Russian and other foreign sources. In 1552, the Russians conquered the Kazan Khanate and its territories. The subsequent centuries saw the Christianization and Russification of the Chuvash. During this period, most Chuvash converted to Orthodox Christianity but Russification was never achieved. However, a few Chuvash continued being Muslim. The eighteenth and nineteenth century saw the revival of Chuvash culture and the publication of many educational, literary, and linguistic works along with the establishment of schools and other programs. The Chuvash language began being used in local schools and a special written script for the Chuvash language was created in 1871. On June 24, 1920, the Chuvash Autonomous Region was established but was renamed the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in April 21, 1925. Around this time saw the rise of Chuvash nationalism but the Soviet authorities attempted to suppress these nationalist movements by redrawing the borders of the republic so that many Chuvash will be living in neighboring republics or Russian districts. During most of the Soviet period, the Chuvash were subjected to Russification campaigns and propaganda. The Chuvash language vanished from educational and public use. In 1989, another Chuvash cultural revival began partly in response to these changes. Soon, the Chuvash language was once again used in educational, public, and political life. Today, the Chuvash language and culture is taught in schools in the Chuvash Republic and in areas outside that have large Chuvash populations. Chuvash around Russia also have media available to them in their local communities.
Origin
According to one theory, the Chuvash may be descended from the Volga Bulgars. They have been subjected to much infusion and influence, not only from Russian and Turkic peoples, but also from neighboring Finnic tribes, with whom they were persistently and mistakenly identified for centuries, perhaps aided by the fact that the Chuvash language is a highly divergent form of Turkic, and was not easily recognized as such. Chuvash is classified, alongside the extinct Bulgar language, as the only remaining member of the Oghuric branch of the Turkic language family.
Genetics
Chuvashes are autosomally approximately 75% West Eurasian and 25% East Eurasian on average. The two main Y-DNA haplogroups amongst the Chuvash are R1a at the frequency of 28-32% and N-B211 at about 20%. R1a haplogroup peaks in the Kyrgyz at 63% and is present at 57,5% in Poles. N-B211 reaches its highest frequency at 67% in Udmurts and is also found in approximately 20% of Komis and Ugrians and in approximately 10% of Maris and Mordvins. In lower frequencies other haplogroups also found amongst the Chuvash are E-M78, N-P43, J2, I1, R1b, I2a, J1a and C. Osteopetrosis affects 1 newborn out of every 20,000 to 250,000 worldwide, but the odds are much higher in the Russian region of Chuvashia due to genetic traits of the Chuvash people.
Culture
They speak the Chuvash language and have some pre-Christian traditions. The Chuvash language is Turkic and is the only Oghur Turkic language that survives. The language has been influenced by Tatar, Russian, and Finno-Ugric languages. It has two to three dialects. In addition to Chuvash, many people also use the Russian language.
Religion
Today Chuvash people are Eastern Orthodox Christians and belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. They retain some pre-Christian Tengrism traditions in their cultural activities. They syncretized Orthodox Christianity and Tengriism. Parallel pray in the shrines called keremet and sacrifice geese there. One of the main shrines is located in the town of Bilyarsk. There are some Chuvash who follow Islam which also has many traces of pre-Islamic beliefs and rituals.
