The Chelkans emerged from the mixing of Turkic clans with Ket, Samoyed, and other native Siberian groups. This was a process that began as early as the period when the Yenisei Kygryz dominated the region. The Mongols then ruled over the region and people from the 13th to 18th centuries. The Dzungars then briefly controlled the area until the Chelkans (along with other Altaians) submitted to the Russians.[3]
Culture
The Chelkans were originally hunters and animals living in the taiga were their main prey and were vital to the local subsistence economy.[3] Around the 19th century, the Chelkans took up picking cedar nuts as an additional economic activity.[4]
The Chelkans traditional dwellings 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.[3]
Traditional Chelkan dress included short breeches, linen shirts, and single-breasted robes.[3]
Religion
Most modern Chelkans are Orthodox Christian. However, Burkhanism and shamanism is also found among the Chelkans.[3]
^Tazranova A.R. "The Chelkan Language". Endangered Languages of Indigenous Peoples of Siberia. UNESCO. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^ abcdeEncyclopedia of the world's minorities. Skutsch, Carl., Ryle, Martin (J. Martin). New York: Routledge. 2005. pp. 82–83. ISBN1-57958-392-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
1 Central Asian (i.e. Turkmeni, Afghani and Iranian) Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e. Iraqi and Syrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.
2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. former Ottoman territories).
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