Онгоцонские хамниганы в XIX в.: этнический состав и расселение

Abstract

This article continues the series of the works devoted to the study of ethnic composition of the Buryat and Khamnigan departments in 19th century. One of the self-government bodies of indigenous of the Transbaikalia in the 19th century was the Urulginskaya Steppe Duma, the main population of which was the “Tungus of Manchu tribe”, as the Russian administration called them. The Ongotson indigenous council was the southwestern outskirts of the Urulga Steppe duma. In the 19th century, in the literature, the population of this council, like most of the population of Urulga Steppe Duma, was called “Horse Tungus”. The basis of the ethnic composition of the Ongotson Khamnigans was represented by Sartuls, Sarduls, Bakhashils, Lunikers and Chimchagits. The largest unit was the Sartuls – immigrants from Central Asia, who settled in Mongolia, mainly in the west of Khalkha. A part of the Sartuls in the east (in the Setsen-khan aimag, on the borderlands of Mongolia and Manchuria, in Jarut, Yekhe and Khada), became involved in the ethnic composition of both the Mongols and Manchus. From here, probably, take roots of both the Sartuls and Sarduls of Onon region. It was the Sartuls who had a key influence on the linguistic and confessional affiliation of all Ongotson Khamnigans. The ethnonym Bakhashil < Vakasil < Vakaroi indicates the participation of “Reindeer Tungus” (Evenks) in the formation of groups of “Horse Tungus” (Solon). The spread of the ethnonym Vakarai and its other phonetic variants indicates a wide area of its distribution in the Evenks environment. However, the existing hypotheses admit its origin in the Manchu-Tungusic, Yukaghir and Turkic environment, of which the first two are preferable. The ethnonym Chimchigit< Chimchagir may have Tungus-Manchurian and Mongolian roots. Lunikir is found in Transbaikalia, Mongolia and Barga, which reflects the long-term contacts of its carriers in this region. The origin of this ethnonym is unclear, although it has a form close to the Tungus languages. The discovered connections with Mongolia, Manchuria and vast expanses of Eastern Siberia and Amgun region reflect the crossroads of the migration routes of Mongols and Manchu-Tungusic both in Transbaikalia, and specifically in the Onon region. This significantly expands the research area into ethnic history not only of the Khamnigans, but also wider than the Mongolian and Manchu-Tungusic linguistic groups. A detailed map of the settlement of Ongotson Khamnigans, based on the census tables, was compiled.