Tubalar


The Tubalar are an ethnic group native to the Altai Republic in Russia.
According to the 2010 census, there were 1,965 Tubalars in Russia.
The villages with the highest population of Tubalars are Artybash, Iogach, Novotroitsk, Tuloi, Tondoshka, Kebezen, Ust-Pyzha, Biyka, Yailu, Chuyka, Torochak, Paspaul, Salganda, Karakoksha, Tunzha, Krasnoselskoye, Uskuch, Uimen, and Karasuk.

History

The Tubalars emerged from the mixing of Turkic tribes with Ket, Samoyed, and other native Siberian groups. This was a process that began as early as the period when the Yenisei Kyrgyz dominated the region. The Mongols then ruled over the region and people from the 13th to 18th centuries. The Dzungars than briefly controlled the area until the Tubalars submitted to the Russians. The Tubalars consider themselves to be distinct from the other Turkic peoples in the Altai region.

Culture

The Tubalars were originally hunters and animals living in the taiga were vital to the local subsistence economy.
The traditional dwellings of the Tubalars included polygonal yurts made out of bark or log and topped with a conic bark roof. Other types of dwellings also included conic yurts made out of bark or perches.
Traditional Tubalar dress included short breeches, linen shirts, and single-breasted robes.
A clan structure is still strongly prevalent among the modern Tubalars.
The sacred tree of Tubalars is the cedar, a symbol of the power, beauty and courage of taiga. The Holiday of Cedar is a celebration of this tree.

Religion

Most Tubalars are Orthodox Christian but there is a significant minority that still practice shamanism. Burkhanism can also be found practiced by some Altaians in general.