Nomadic Research Articles

НОВЫЕ ВЗГЛЯДЫ НА ПРОИСХОЖДЕНИЕ ПЛЕМЕНИ КАТАГАН: ИСТОРИОГРАФИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ

The peoples of Central Asia experienced complex ethnocultural processes throughout their centuries-old history. Such a situation is observed in all Turkic tribes including the Katagans, who make up a part of the the Uzbek people. Analyzing historical sources, ethnographic, archeological, toponymic, linguistic, anthropological materials and field data, one can see that the Katagans were one of the most ancient Uzbek tribes. For a long time, the Katagans and their clans lived in the vast areas from the banks of the Amudarya River to Lake Baykal. That is why in historical sources they are recorded as Mongolian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz or Uzbek tribes. In fact, the Katagan tribe was formed over the course of many centuries due to the mingling of Turkic tribes living in Southern Siberia, Mongolia, Central Asia and Eastern Turkestan. And it indicates that the history of the Katagans is closely connected with the history of other Turkic peoples. At one time, world scientists expressed diverging views regarding the origin of the Kataghan genus. In different historical periods, the Katagan ancestors were called Sattagids, Bhattavaryans, Itagakans, Khatakins, Khuttalans and Khalajs. When the tribal union of the Katagans was formed, many tribes of the Bukhara Khanate joined it. The local Turkic tribes living in the Amudarya and Syrdarya basins played an important role in the formation of Uzbek Katagans. According to the tradition among the nomadic peoples, the Turkic population was called by the name of the people to which their ancestors belonged. The article provides information on the origin, location, and classification of Katagans.

Infant-carrying mechanisms in a natural environment: the case of Qashqai nomad

Abstract Infant carrying and more generally load carrying may impact bipedal locomotion and thus the energy cost of the daily activities, in living people but also in our ancestors. In order to improve our knowledge of infant carrying strategies we investigate the biomechanics of infant carrying in a non-mechanised group. The Qashqai are nomadic people who still carry loads and infants habitually without any daily assistance in varied natural environments. Our analysis focuses on the sagittal kinematics using a high-speed camera (joint angles, speed, position of the centre of mass) and kinetics (ground reaction forces and displacement of the centre of mass) using a six-degree of freedom force plate. We assessed the unloaded and loaded (infant) walking of 26 Qashqai women, living in the Fars province (Iran). The results demonstrate that different mechanisms of walking exist that are related to the mode of carrying and the weight of the infant, by which step length, walking speed and the lower limb angles are not affected. The displacement of the total centre of mass remains unchanged. This supports the hypothesis that the Qashqai have developed mechanisms of load carrying that limit the increase in energy consumption. This could be related to the usual high level of daily activity.

ФОНД "БАЛАГАНСКАЯ СТЕПНАЯ ДУМА" В ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОМ АРХИВЕ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БУРЯТИЯ КАК ИСТОЧНИК ПО ИСТОРИИ МЕСТНОГО САМОУПРАВЛЕНИЯ БАЛАГАНСКИХ БУРЯТ В XIX В.

The article deals with the results of studying the documents from Fund no. 3 of the State Archives of the Republic of Buryatia – the “Balagan Steppe Duma”, the main source on the history of the local government of the Balagan Buryats in the 19th century. The three-tier system of the local selfgovernment bodies of the Buryats (Steppe Dumas – intertribal councils – clan administrations) was established in accordance with the Charter on the management of foreigners of 1822 by M.M. Speransky. The charter provided for the creation of that system among the nomadic peoples: Buryats, Yakuts, Tungus and Khakass. The Balagan Steppe Duma was one of the 12 Buryat Steppe Dumas, and the largest in number in the Irkutsk province. The Balagan Buryats were a complex ethnic group, which included the Bulagat and Ikinat clans. The fund of the Balagan Steppe Duma, which consists of 2063 files for 1809–1903, fully reflects the history of the Balagan Buryats in the 19th century. The article briefly describes the history of the Balagan Steppe Duma, as a local government body of the Balagan Buryats, and also talks about the sources on the history of the Balagan Department, the history of the fund, the variety of the documents that are kept in the State Archives of the Republic of Buryatia.

Затты жазу, суретті жазу және ой жазу кезеңдері

In our study, we focus on periods leading up to the ancient Turkic Bitig script of the steppe nomads, analyzing the prerequisites and possibilities of writing culture. There are many petroglyphs and symbols that belong to early pictographic writing in the regions inhabited by steppe nomads. We have worked with these petroglyphs and symbols during several expeditions, including Shiveet Khairkhan, Arshan Khad, Hoyt-Tsenher, Baga-Uygur in Mongolia, Bichikt-Bom, Karakol in the Altai Mountains of Russia, Bizhik-Khaya, Bii-Khem in Tuva region, Karasuk inscriptions in the Khakassia, and AkBauyr, Zhetysu, Tangbaly, Terekti petroglyphs in Kazakhstan. Regarding the Greek data related to the period of object-based writing pertaining to the Saks, representatives of the steppe nomads, are presented. Focusing on the concepts formed from the writing history passed down through generation, this article considers its utilization among nomadic communities. It is clear that the tradition of counting the years and remembering well-known events, such as, “The Famine of the Year of the rabbit”, “The massacre of the Year of the Monkey” in nomadic culture, also the object-based writing and pictographic writing created the prerequisites of ancient Turkic script. This cultural-cognitive continuity is probably one of the main reasons why many petroglyphs and symbols are similar to the ancient Turkic script. Through this article, we have confirmed that all samples of historical writing periods are found in regions inhabited by steppe nomads. We aim to convey, their significant role in the formation of the ancient Turkic script and also their place in the world writing culture.

Этнокультурный ландшафт средневековых мавзолеев Волго-Уралья

The purpose of the study: To show that the Golden Horde mausoleums (keshene) of the Southern Cis-Urals – Husein-bek, Tura Khan, Bendebike, Kesene (Ta­merlane’s Tower) – belong not only to different architectural schools, but they also belong to different ethnocultural and geographical spaces. In this regard, the following tasks were laid out: To show that the Keshene Bendebike and the “Tower of Tamerlane” belong to a large group of so-called. steppe brick mausoleums built in the steppes of the Volga and Southern Urals according to the canons of the Central Asian architectural school. Erected in the second half to the end of the 14th century (or even at the beginning of the 15th century), they were intended to perpetuate the memory of representatives of the elite of the Golden Horde nomads. Unlike the brick ones, the stone mausoleums-keshene of Husein-bek, Tura Khan, Small Keshene were built according to the traditions of Bulgarian architecture in the forest-steppe regions of the Dema River valley, a territory inhabited in the 14th century, by carriers of the Chiyalik culture. Research materials: The study uses geographical, archaeological, and folklore data on the kashene mausoleums of the Southern Cis-Urals obtained by researchers of the 18th–20th centuries. Results and scientific novelty: The geography of the distribution of brick mausoleums in the steppes of the Volga and Cis-Ural regions shows that, based on the time of their construction, they could have appeared among the Golden Horde nomads even at a time when paganism was not completely supplanted by Islam (there are numerous nomadic burials with coins of Uzbekistan and later rulers). Thus, mausoleums erected over the graves of the nomadic elite became an organic part of the culture of the nomads of the Golden Horde. The stone mausoleums of the Cis-Urals had nothing to do with nomadic culture. They were built in the ethnocultural space and on the territory of settlement of semi-nomadic carriers of the Chiyalik culture (Ishtyak-Ugrians). They became centers of Muslim cemete­ries quite late – not earlier than the 17th century – when the “Chiyaliks” were already assimilated by the Turkic ancestors of the Dem Bashkir-Mings/Mings. Therefore, in the historical memory of their descendants, the Bashkirs of the 18th–19th centuries, the stone keshenes of Husein-bek and Tura Khan were overgrown with traditions and legends, the plots and cha­racters of which are not directly related to the ethnocultural history of the Bashkirs.

ҚАЗАҚ ФӘЛСАФАСЫНДАҒЫ КЕҢІСТІК ПЕН УАҚЫТ ФИЛОСОФИЯСЫН БАСҚА ХАЛЫҚТАРДЫҢ ФИЛОСОФИЯЛЫҚ ДӘСТҮРЛЕРІМЕН САЛЫСТЫРМАЛЫ ТАЛДАУ

The philosophy of space and time represents an important direction in philosophical research, enriching the understanding of the nature of time and space in the context of the cultural, historical, and philosophical traditions of various peoples. This article conducts a comparative analysis of the philosophy of space and time in the Kazakh philosophical tradition with the philosophical traditions of other nations, such as Chinese and Greek. The article emphasizes the relevance of studying this topic in the modern world, where rapid technological progress, climate change, globalization, and cultural diversity present us with new challenges and changes. The philosophy of space and time contributes to a deep understanding of the impact of these changes on our perception of the world. The analysis of the philosophical views of Kazakh philosophy, based on nomadic culture, Islam, and historical factors, reveals the unique features of this philosophical tradition. A comparison with Chinese and Greek philosophy highlights similarities and differences in the understanding of time and space, enriching the philosophical dialogue between cultures. Furthermore, the analysis of the influence of cultural and historical factors on the formation of the philosophy of space and time in Kazakhstan underscores the importance of these factors in shaping philosophical traditions. Thus, this article calls for the continued study of the philosophy of space and time in the modern world to better understand the challenges and changes we face and to develop deeper and more balanced approaches to addressing them.

Кочевые тюркские племена Мангышлака в конце XI — первой половине XII в.: по сведениям мусульманской историографии домонгольского периода

Кочевые тюркские племена Мангышлака в конце XI — первой половине XII в.: по сведениям мусульманской историографии домонгольского периода

The Policy of Acculturation by Means of Education in the Russian Empire in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Centuries: Conceptualization and Specific Historical Approach

The review article is aimed at solving a major scientific problem — conducting a comprehensive analysis of modern scientific approaches to the study of the policy of acculturation by means of education, carried out by the Russian Empire in relation to various regions of the country, including in relation to the southeastern frontier, namely nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of Central Asian and Ural-Volga macroregions of the country in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries. The accumulated experience of scientific research on the history of acculturation by means of education in the post-reform Russian Empire makes it possible to pose this problem, and the need to determine further promising directions for scientific research into the policy of acculturation makes the topic of this scientific article relevant. The main results of the study are to clarify the main approaches to the study of the policy of acculturation of “foreigners” of the Russian Empire by means of education, generalize the most significant scientific experience in understanding the policy of acculturation in the post-reform decades, as well as identify the most promising issues for further study related to the problems of acculturation of nomadic and semi-nomadic subjects of the Russian Empire through the means of education.

Маркер кара в тюркской этнонимике XII в.

Research Objectives: This article is devoted to the study of some aspects of the problem of the origin of ethnonyms with color markers among the nomadic Turkic-speaking peoples. They are analysed only in regard to the two-component ethnonyms where the word denoting the name of the color is used as an attributive syntactically. In the academic literature, there are several views on the practice of using such markers and various explanations of their registry and semantics. The authors of the article proceed from the consideration that any explanations being imposed universally are premature and no generalizations can help to explain all the specific examples attested in the historical and ethnographic literature. They should be viewed for each chronological period and specific region since the practice of using color markers had its own characteristics, being, apparently, due to various factors. Thus, the marker should be identified directly with narrow specific source data. Written sources, however, contain almost no direct data to help in the problem. Research Materials: The authors of the article used a Persian-language source of the 12th century, “ ʻEkd al-ʻOlā leʼl-mawkef al-aʻlā” by Afẓal al-Dīn Kermānī. Results and Novelty of the Research: Information presented in the source mentioned a rare example to allow light to be shed on a specific case. There is a passage about a group of Ghūzz had to arrive in Kermān from Khurāsān. They also are named in the text as Qarā Ghūzz. The fact allows to confirm that, at least in the second half of the 12th century among the tribes of the Oghuzs, the color marker qara was used to denote a secondary community that broke away from the initial collective, the name of which is represented by the second element of a two-component ethnonym with a color marker.

Новый взгляд на «Историю монголов» Иоан­на де Плано Карпини

Research objectives: This article analyzes a new edition of the book by the famous Franciscan ambassador to the Mongols, John de Plano Carpini (1182–1252), who made a long journey from Lyon to Central Mongolia in 1245–1247 where he witnessed the enthronement of the khagan, Guyuk (1246–1248). Following the results of his difficult and dangerous journey, he wrote a report “The History of the Mongols,” in which he described quite fully and accurately what he saw and heard. Research results and scientific novelty: The work of Plano Carpini was published in Russian three times: in 1795, 1825 and 1911; the last translation, made by A.I. Malein, was then published more than once and gradually overgrown with comments. However, all these editions cannot be considered fully satisfying the requirements of publishing medieval sources. The new edition in question here meets the standards of modern science. It includes an introductory part, a critical text of the source, its new translation into Russian and detailed comments made by professional medievalist historians. In the comments, various aspects of the Central Asian civilization of the XIII century, with which the Franciscan mission had a chance to come into contact, are covered as fully as possible: material and spiritual culture of nomads, organization of their society, military affairs and many others. Despite the high level of preparation of this publication, some points in it do not exclude an alternative interpretation.

The influence of world water routes on the statehood and communications of the Kyrgyz Republic

The article analyzes the influence of historical transport routes, Kyrgyz statehood and culture, the Kyrgyz economy of that period and the Kyrgyz way of communication, as well as changes in the Kyrgyz language and the role of the Kyrgyz in intercultural communication in different historical periods. Great has influenced the statehood, culture, religion and mentality of Kyrgyz people, and surely changed the economic situation of the nomadic tribes in the times of the Great Silk Road. Great Silk Road became a huge chance to see the other people: to communicate and develop communicative skills with other cultures living on this road. The influence on to the language brought a lot of new words and terms which settled in the Kyrgyz language. Moreover, the Great Silk road gave a possibility for enlarging diplomatic relationship with the other empires and kingdoms of that period. Kyrgyz people with their nomadic style of living before communicated with a lot of people, and their language was adaptable to new languages, and it became a reason why did the most of the Kyrgyz people became the guides of caravans and even translators on the Great Silk Road.

Women and religion in the nomadic Nat community in India: A view from within

Women and religion have a complex and multifaceted relationship that has evolved throughout history. Religion affects nomadic women's social, cultural, economic, and political standing. However, despite extensive research, many women from unique collectivities have been left out of the narratives of marginalized socio-histories and their voice is yet to be documented and heard. This study examines how religion simultaneously empowers and constrains the role of Nat women in everyday life who are engaged in productive activities in either domestic or public spaces. Narrative case studies have helped to shed a light on certain gender issues of Nat nomadic tribe. As part of this research, thirty (30) Nat households and five (5) Nat community heads from Gariyaband district of Chhattisgarh, India, were interviewed. Narrative analysis was used for analyzing the data collected, the findings of which show simultaneous practices of Hinduism and Islam by Nat community. Both religions put the Nat women in both advantageous and disadvantageous positions. For instance, Hindu Nat women perform acrobatics in public fairs while Muslim Nat women are engaged in dhol making activities restricted to the domestic space of their household. The intention of this article is therefore to promote visibility of Nat community and pave a way for any possible positive change for the betterment of Nat women.

Chinggis Khan and the Idea of World Domination

The article proposes a solution to the question of Temujin/ Chinggis Khan’s plans for world domination. Based on reports of a number of medieval sources, the author comes to the conclusion that his military campaigns pursued specific goals mostly to take revenge on numerous enemies and were not a part of a common aggressive plan. After uniting nomadic tribes and pacifying borderlands, Chinggis Khan usually reacted severely to external challenges, and his first campaignto Xi Xia and Jin were predatory. At the same time, the war did not always imply seizure of foreign territories, or the Mongols at first limited themselves to their partial annexation. In process of revealing Chinggis Khan’s motivations, his testament to descendants is of great importance. Sources refute an idea that the dying khan bequeathed to complete his world conquests. In fact, his political testament is boiled down to the following: he approved Ogedei as his successor, ordered his sons to obey the new ruler and to do away with Tanguts, Jurchens, and Kipchaks. All these points were subsequently fulfilled. Chinggis Khan’s deathbed speeches do not contain words about the need to seize the whole earth. Plano Carpini was one of the first to attribute him such a will, but the source of his information is unknown. Most likely, the idea of world domination was formed by the Mongols during the reign of Ogedei, and then it began to be ascribed to the founder of the Mongol Empire, which probably arose in spite of his desire.

The Military Aspect of Acculturation of the South-Eastern Frontier: the Service of “Foreigners” in the Russian Empire in the 18th — 19th Centuries

The frontier approach in the study of the acculturation process makes it possible to determine the basic features of the formation and development of the regions of the south-eastern borderland within the framework of the entry of non-Russian peoples into the development system of the imperial outskirts and the empire as a whole. The analysis of the main activities of the organization of military service of such peoples as Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kalmyks leads to the fact that the service of “foreigners” in the army of the Russian Empire was a significant component of the acculturation policy and allowed attempts to diplomatically build trusting relations of nomadic peoples with the central government. The government was interested in integrating “foreigners” into the imperial system, legally securing the rights and duties of representatives of peoples as full-fledged subjects, investing in the development of national suburbs, creating upward mobility.

Transformação da consciência dos pós-nômades no contexto da globalização

Abstract: Globalization has changed traditional society’s many aspects. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that one of the consequences of globalization is the loss of nomadic peoples’ traditions, culture, ideology and uniqueness, including post-nomads. The purpose of this study is a detailed analysis of the literature on how the post-nomads’ consciousness changes from globalization processes, and how nomads adapt to such processes. Having analysed all the problems and challenges for the post-nomads’ consciousness in the adaptation to globalization, it was revealed that the post-nomads’ cultural identity in the Kyrgyz Republic, with successful adaptation to modern living conditions, remains important. It is established that it is more expedient to introduce original development, in the form of a harmonious combination of traditions and innovations, to improve living standards. In the course of the study, recommendations were developed for the revival and preservation of post-nomads’ traditional values and culture, in the context of globalization, to preserve identity and ethnic identity.

Periplus to the Unknown. The Greek Conquest of the Black Sea and the Origin of the Amazon Myths

The aim of this paper is to address the colonisation of the Pontus in relation to the Amazon myths. An attempt will be made to clarify the difficulties in identifying both the initial contacts between the Greeks and the ancient steppe nomad peoples in that region and the origin of the Amazon myths on the basis of the apparently more egalitarian lifestyle of those societies. Similarly, the intention is to offer an explanation for the presence of iconographic pieces of an Amazon character in that liminal space. The Amazon kingdom, regardless of whether it has been located preferably in the southern Pontus or less frequently in its northern or eastern reaches, was undoubtedly connected with the Black Sea. Even though those myths are rooted in a time long before the period in which the region was colonised by the Greeks, they formed part of it, as occurred with many other accounts dealing with the Argonauts, Medea and so forth, with the mission of exploring those distant lands, bringing them closer to the Greek world and facilitating their control, as well as converting them into essential elements for identifying the ‘other’ and, by extension, Hellenic culture itself.

The Sir Daria and Fergana Valley – crucial component of the rich historical and cultural heritage of nomadic cultures and ancient civilizations

This paper will and comment upon a several number of ancient Turkic names, e. g. the model toponym ↔ ethnonym, - and discuss the nature or natural linguistical evolution of their antic forms. So, our examination of ancient Turkic names will bring us up to date and will suggest that with a small and select lexicon of Old Turkic historical-onomastic terms the researches, who investigating and testing about to understand diachronically evolution and meaning of ancient Turkic names. Further, this investigation ancient placenames and/or ethnonyms of a greatest cultural-geographical region and country, whose antic names for thousands of years were unknown their Altaic form to Westerners. Because, written in a script very few, except dialectally forms of several modern Turkic languages in rural regions from Eurasian continent.

Калмыки Поволжья и казахи: к истории их взаимоотношений в XVIII – начале XIX в.

Introduction. The paper introduces some newly discovered archival material and sources in different languages to examine the shaping of Kalmyk-Kazakh relations in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The concern about the issue is explained by its limited historiography, since only a few unconnected works have tackled it to date. Furthermore, decent research efforts therein do imply the need for interdisciplinary and cross-civilizational/cross-cultural approaches. Goals. The work attempts a comprehensive review of how relations between the Volga Kalmyks and Kazakhs developed throughout the mentioned period, which shall shed light on the dramatic events that would prove crucial to historical destinies of the nomadic peoples. Materials. To facilitate this, the publication introduces some related data contained in various sources (repositories) and supplemented with historiographic analyses by both Russian and foreign scholars. The identified period seems most instrumental in analyzing the evolution of Kalmyk-Kazakh relations and the latter’s impacts onto their then (and subsequent) historical agendas. Results. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, relations between the Volga Kalmyks and Kazakhs were somewhat controversial and ambivalent, which never excluded certain cultural ties then manifested in bilingualism of Kazakh elites that tended to make fluency in Kalmyk a useful rule of theirs, in dynastic marriages and mutual judicial influences traced in codes of laws (Jeti-Jargy and Iki Tsaadzhin Bitchig).

Megtartó hagyomány vagy a kirekesztés eszköze?

Gypsies, Roma and Travelers are often classified under the term “Roma” in Europe and under the acronym “GRT” in Great Britain. These communities and other nomadic groups, such as Scottish and English travellers, the so-called “show people” (traveling entertainers) and new travellers share many common characteristics: the importance of family and/or social networks; nomadic lifestyles, propensity for self-employment, disadvantage and the worst health outcomes in the UK. Irish Travellers are traditionally a nomadic people group in Ireland, but have a distinct identity, heritage and culture from mainstream society. The presence of Irish travellers can be traced back to 12th century Ireland. The community has been recognized as an ethnic minority in Ireland. They are not related to the Roma either in origin or in their history, but the similarity of their way of life is often a basis for the “conflation” of the two groups, and their mostly identical discrimination. Travelers provide a particularly interesting surface for examination because they do not differ markedly from the Irish majority population in appearance, so they could easily blend in to make it easier to assert themselves. However, the traditions that ensure community cohesion and identity at the same time prevent assimilation. The paper is about such a tradition that simultaneously provides identity and causes exclusion: women’s hairstyle.

Qazaq-Qalmaq Relations in the 16th Century

The article deals with the Qazaq-Qalmaq relations in the 16th century and is based on the data of medieval Muslim sources. The author concludes that the history of relations between these two big nomadic peoples of the late medieval Central Asia began in the 1520s, and during the next eighty years, until the end of the 16th century, the character of these relations was complicated. Mostly the relations were hostile, but sometimes several Qalmaq groups would make alliances with Qazaqs and opposed the outer powers together. Sometimes this or that part of Qalmaqs was not only a political ally of the Qazaqs but also was a subject of the rulers of the Qazaq state, particularly Tauekel Khan