Udmurts
Template:Short description Template:Infobox ethnic group
The Udmurts (Template:Langx, Template:Transliteration) are a Permian (Finno-Ugric)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> ethnic group in Eastern Europe, who speak the Udmurt language. They mainly live in the republic of Udmurtia in Russia.
Etymology
The name Udmurt comes from *Template:Lang 'meadow people', from the Permic root *Template:Lang<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 'meadow, glade, turf, greenery' and murt 'person' (cf. Komi Template:Lang, Mari Template:Lang, Mordvin mirď-), probably an early borrowing from an Iranian language (such as Scythian): *Template:Lang or *Template:Lang meaning 'person, man' (cf. Persian Template:Lang). This, in turn, is thought to have been borrowed from the Indo-Aryan term *Template:Lang 'man', literally 'mortal, one who is bound to die' (< PIE Template:Lang 'to die'), compare Old Indic Template:Lang 'young warrior' and Old Indic Template:Lang 'chariot warrior', both connected specifically with horses and chariots.<ref>Christopher I. Beckwith. Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2009. Page 397.</ref> This is supported by a document dated 1557, in which the Udmurts are referred to as lugovye lyudi 'meadow people', alongside the traditional Russian name Template:Lang.<ref>A.G. Ivanov, "Udmurty – 'Lugovye lyudi'", Linguistica Uralica Vol. 27, No. 3 (1991), pp. 188–92.</ref>
On the other hand, in the Russian tradition, the name 'meadow people' refers to the inhabitants of the left bank of a river in general. Most relevant in this regard is the recent theory proposed by V. V. Napolskikh and S. K. Belykh, who suppose that the ethnonym was borrowed from Proto-Iranian entirely: Template:Lang meaning 'resident of outskirts, border zone' (cf. Antes) → Proto-Permic *Template:Lang → Udmurt Template:Lang.<ref>Белых С. К., Напольских В. В. Этноним удмурт: исчерпаны ли альтернативы? Linguistica Uralica. T. 30, № 4. Tallinn, 1994.</ref>
Under the Russian Empire, Udmurts were mainly called by the exonyms Template:Transliteration (Template:Lang), Otyaks, Wotyaks<ref name=müller1776/> or Votyaks. Today these names are considered offensive by Udmurts themselves and are mainly used against those who have forgotten the Udmurt language. The Udmurts are closely related to Komis to their north, both linguistically and culturally.Template:Citation needed
Distribution
Most Udmurt people live in Udmurtia. Small groups live in the neighboring areas of Kirov Oblast and Perm Krai, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Mari El.Template:Citation needed
The Udmurt population is shrinking; the Russian Census reported 552,299 in 2010, down from the 2002 Russian census figure of 637,000, in turn down from 746,562 in 1989.Template:Citation needed The 2021 census counted fewer Udmurts than had the 1926 census.
| Census | 1926 | 1939 | 1959 | 1970 | 1979 | 1989 | 2002 | 2010 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 503,970 | 599,893 | 615,640 | 678,393 | 685,718 | 714,883 | 636,906 | 552,299 | 386,465 |
| Percentage | 0.54% | 0.55% | 0.52% | 0.52% | 0.50% | 0.49% | 0.45% | 0.40% | 0.30% |
Culture
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The Udmurt language belongs to the Uralic family.
The Udmurts have a national epic called Dorvyzhy. Their national musical instruments include the krez zither (similar to the Russian gusli) and a pipe-like wind instrument called the Template:Lang.<ref name="Michka1994">Template:Cite book</ref>
A chapter in the French Template:Lang from 1776 is devoted to the description of the Wotyak people.<ref name=müller1776>Template:Cite book</ref> James George Frazer also mentions a rite performed by the people in his book The Golden Bough.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Many Udmurt people have red hair,<ref>Mapped: Which countries have the most redheads? - The Telegraph</ref><ref>The people with the reddest hair in the world - BBC News</ref> and a festival to celebrate the red-haired people has been held annually in Izhevsk since 2004.<ref>Рыжий фестиваль - 2017 Template:Webarchive - Izhevsk city portal</ref>
The Udmurts used to be semi-nomadic forest dwellers that lived in riverside communities. However, most Udmurts now live in towns. Although the clan-based social structure of the Udmurts no longer exists, its traces are still strong and it continues to shape modern Udmurt culture.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Genetics
According to the data gathered by Kristiina Tambets and others (2018), the majority (about 70%) of Udmurt men carry the haplogroup N. The high frequency of this East Eurasian-related haplogroup is a common pattern among Uralic-speaking peoples. Most Udmurt men belong to the subclade N1c and 16.8 percent of them belong the subclade N1b-P43. The second most common Y-DNA haplogroup among Udmurts is R1a (19%).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>
The most common maternal haplogroup for Udmurts is U (23.5%). Most Udmurts who have it belong to its subclades U2 (10.4%) and U5 (9.3%). Nearly as common is H (22.5%). Other mtDNA haplogroups among Udmurts include T (16.5%), D (11%) and Z (6%).<ref name=":0" />
When it comes to the autosomal ancestry of Udmurts, around 30 percent of it is Nganasan-like.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref> This Siberian component is typical for Uralic-speaking peoples. The rest can be modelled to be mostly Steppe-like with a smaller eastern hunter-gatherer component,<ref name=":0" /> or Srubnaya-like.<ref name=":1" /> It is common for Northeastern Europeans to have a high level of Steppe-related admixture.<ref name=":0" />
Notable people
- Nicholas B. Suntzeff, is an American astronomer and cosmologist
Gallery
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Wikimedia Russia director Vladimir Medeyko congratulates Udmurt language -
Udmurt women in traditional clothing -
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An Udmurt man wearing traditional clothing -
Udmurt girls at the Italmas Nuk flower festival in Igrinsky District
See also
- Besermyan (considered a subgroup of the Udmurts)
References
Further reading
- Klabukov, A. "Udmurtskije narodnyje skazki". Vstupitel'naja stat'ja P. Jasina, kommentarii A. Zapadova. Izevsk: 1948.
- Nadezhda Kralina. "Сто сказок удмуртского народа" [A hundred fairy tales from the Udmurt people]. Ижевск: Удмуртское книжное издательство, 1961.
- Template:Cite journal
- Shushakova, Galina. "The Idea of Earthly and Unearthly worlds in the Udmurt fairy-tales". In: Folk Belief Today. Edited by Mare Kõiva and Kai Vassiljeva. Tartu: Estonian Academy of Sciences; Institute of Estonian Language; Estonian Museum of Literature, 1995. pp. 442–446. Template:ISBN.
External links
Template:Finno-Ugric peoples Template:Ethnic groups of Russia Template:Authority control