View source for Khanty

{{Short description|Indigenous people of Western Siberia}}
{{other uses}}{{Cleanup lang|date=September 2024|iso=kca}}{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Khanty
| image            = Ostyak.jpg
| image_caption    = Khanty man in [[Tomsk]], 2006.
| population       = 33,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2020 года. Таблица 1. Национальный состав населения.|trans-title=Results of the All-Russian population census 2020. Table 1. National composition of the population. |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=rosstat.gov.ru}}</ref>
| popplace         = [[Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Russia]])
| region1          = {{flag |Russia}}
| pop1             = 31,467 (2021)
| ref1             = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Росстат — Всероссийская перепись населения 2020 |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=rosstat.gov.ru}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flag |Ukraine}}
| pop2             = 100 (2001)
| ref2             = <ref>{{cite web|url= http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/results/nationality_population/nationality_popul1/select_5/?botton=cens_db&box=5.1W&k_t=00&p=50&rz=1_1&rz_b=2_1%20%20%20&n_page=3|publisher=State statistics committee of Ukraine|title = National composition of population|year=2001 |work=Census|language=uk|place=[[Ukraine|UA]]}}</ref>
| region3          = {{KAZ}}
| pop3             = 429 (2009) 
| ref3             = <ref name="Каз2009">[http://www.stat.kz/p_perepis/Pages/default.aspx Агентство Республики Казахстан по статистике. Перепись 2009.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501000000/http://www.stat.kz/p_perepis/Pages/default.aspx}} ([http://www.stat.kz/p_perepis/Documents/Нац%20состав.rar Национальный состав населения] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511104653/http://www.stat.kz/p_perepis/Documents/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%86%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2.rar}})</ref>
| rels             = [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodoxy]], [[Shamanism]]
| langs            = [[Khanty language|Khanty]], [[Russian language|Russian]]
| related          = [[Mansi people|Mansi]]
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| flag             = 
| flag_caption     = 
}}
[[File:Khant_Family.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Khanty family standing in front of a [[chum (tent)|chum]], their traditional tent]]
[[File:Map of Russia - Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (2008-03).svg|thumb|200px|Most Khanty people live in the [[Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug]] in western [[Siberia]]]]
The '''Khanty''' ({{langx|kca|ха́нты|khanty}}), also known in older literature as '''Ostyaks''' ({{langx|ru|остяки}}), are a [[Ob-Ugric languages|Ugric]] [[Indigenous people]], living in [[Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug]], a region historically known as "[[Yugra]]" in Russia, together with the [[Mansi people|Mansi]]. In the [[autonomous okrug]], the [[Khanty language|Khanty]] and [[Mansi language]]s are given co-official status with [[Russian language|Russian]]. In the [[Russian Census (2021)|2021 Census]],<ref name="census2021">{{cite web|title=Национальный состав населения|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx|publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]|accessdate=30 December 2022}}</ref> 31,467 persons identified themselves as Khanty. Of those, 30,242 were resident in [[Tyumen Oblast]], of whom 19,568 were living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and 9,985&mdash;in [[Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug]]. 495 were residents of neighbouring [[Tomsk Oblast]], and 109 lived in [[Sverdlovsk Oblast]].<!-- [http://www.raipon.org/russian_site/people/people_perepis_2002_rus.htm] -->

== Ethnonym ==
[[File:Russischer Photograph - Ostjaken vom Ob (Zeno Fotografie).jpg|thumb|Khanty from the Ob river]]
Since the Khanty language has about 10 dialects which can be united in 3 main branches, there are several slightly different words used by these people to describe themselves:
*''Khanti, Khante'' (in [[Northern Khanty language|North]])
*''Khande'' (in [[Southern Khanty language|South]])
*''Kantek, Kantakh'' (in [[Eastern Khanty language|East]])
All these words mean 'human'. They also call themselves ''As Khoyat'' which means '[[Ob (river)|Obian]] people'{{according to whom?|date=September 2024}} or 'people from Ob'.

== History ==
In the second millennium BC, the territories between the [[Kama River|Kama]] and the [[Irtysh River|Irtysh]] Rivers were the home of a [[Proto-Uralic]]-speaking population that had contacts with [[Proto-Indo-European]] speakers from the south.<ref name="Khanty">{{Cite book| last1 =Wiget| first1 =Andrew | last2= Balalaeva | first2= Olga | title = Khanty, People of the Taiga: Surviving the 20th Century | publisher = University of Alaska Press | year = 2011 | pages =3 | isbn = 978-16022-3125-2 }}</ref> The woodland population is the ancestor of the modern Ugrian inhabitants of Trans-Uralia.<ref name="Khanty"/> Other researchers say that the Khanty people originated in the south Ural steppe and moved northwards into their current location about 500 AD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Khanty and Mansi {{!}} History, Culture & Language {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Khanty |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Khanty probably appear in Russian records under the name Yugra (ca. 11th century), when they had contact with [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorodian]] hunters and merchants.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Balzer |first=Marjorie Mandelstam |date=1983 |title=Ethnicity Without Power: The Siberian Khanty in Soviet Society |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0037677900084230/type/journal_article |journal=Slavic Review |language=en |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=633–648 |doi=10.2307/2497372 |jstor=2497372 |s2cid=155219886 |issn=0037-6779|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The name of [[Yugra]] derives from [[Komi-Zyrian language|Komi-Zyrian]] word ''jögra'' ('Khanty'). The older Russian name [[Ostyak]] is from Khanty ''as-kho'' 'person from the Ob (''as'') River,' with -''yak'' after other ethnic terms like ''Permyak''.<ref name=":1">M. Vasmer, ''Etimologicheskii slovar russkogo yazyka'', Vol. III (Moscow, 1971), p. 167.</ref>

Some Khanty princedoms were partially included in the [[Siberia Khanate]] from the 1440s–1570s.

In the 11th century, Yugra was actually a term for numerous tribes, each having its own centre and its own chief. Every tribe had two [[exogamy|exogamic]] [[phratry|phratries]], termed ''mon't{{'}}'' and ''por'', and all members were considered to be blood relatives. This structure was later replaced with [[clan]]s, where each clan leader (''knyazets'') negotiated with the Russian realm. They also participated in Russian campaigns, and received the right to collect ''yasaq'' (tribute) from two Khanty ''volosts'' (districts) respectively. When this structure was no longer needed, Russia deprived them of their privileges.

After the [[Russian conquest of Siberia]], Russians attempted to Christianize the Khanty. Russian missionaries and officials instructed that idols be destroyed, mass baptisms be performed, and harsh punishment for those that disobeyed the church. Russian officials also took Khanty children as hostages and converted them to Christianity.<ref name=":2" /> Conversions were generally superficial in nature and motivated by economic incentives. As a consequence, the Khanty continued to incorporate native practices and beliefs into their spirituality.<ref name=":2" />

During the [[USSR|Soviet]] period the Khanty were one of the few indigenous minorities of Siberia to be granted an autonomy in the form of an [[okrug]] (autonomous district). The establishment of autonomy has played a considerable role in consolidation of the ethnos (the Western Khants called their eastern neighbours ''Kantõk'' [the Other People]). However, in the 1930s concerted efforts were made by the Soviet state to collectivise them.<ref name=":2" /> The initial stages of this meant the execution of tribal chiefs, who were labelled "[[kulak]]s", followed by the execution of [[shaman]]s. The abduction by the state of the children who were sent to Russian-speaking boarding schools provoked a national revolt in 1933 called the [[Kazym rebellion]].

After the end of the [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] period this process was relaxed and efforts were intensified in the 1980s and 1990s to protect their common territory from industrial expansion of various ministries and agencies. The autonomy has also played a major role in preserving the traditional culture and language.

== Organisation ==
The Khanty are one of the indigenous minorities in Siberia with an autonomy in the form of an okrug (autonomous area).

== Culture ==
[[File:Семья хантов.jpg|thumb|Khanty family]]
The Khanty share many cultural similarities with the [[Mansi people]]. Together they are called Ob-Ugric peoples.<ref name=":3">Kulonen, Ulla-Maija: ”Obinugrilaiset”, in Laakso, Johanna (ed.): ''Uralilaiset kansat''. Helsinki: WSOY, 1991. {{ISBN|951-0-16485-2}}</ref>

=== Economy and livelihood ===
The Khantys' traditional occupations were fishery, taiga hunting and reindeer herding. They lived as trappers, thus gathering was of major importance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Forsyth|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzhq85nPrdsC|title=A History of the Peoples of Siberia: Russia's North Asian Colony 1581-1990|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-521-47771-0|pages=11–12|language=en}}</ref>

During the winter, the Khanty lived in stationary huts made out of dirt and branches at permanent villages. During the spring, the Khanty moved towards hunting and fishing grounds, where they constructed temporary rectangular-shaped shelters out of birch-bark and poles.<ref name=":0" />

Weapons utilized by the Khanty were advanced for the period and included longbows, arrows, spears, and the use of iron helmets and chain mail.<ref name=":0" />

=== Religion ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}
Most Khanty are today Orthodox Christians, mixed with traditional beliefs (shamans, reincarnation). Their historical shaman wore no special clothes except a cap. Traditional Khanty cults are closely related to nature. The Crow spring celebration<ref>{{Cite web |title=Вороний день. Вурна Хатл - Музей истории и этнографии города Югорска |url=http://muzeumugorsk.ru/publichnye-aktsii/voronij-den-vurna-khatl |access-date=2025-11-06 |website=muzeumugorsk.ru |language=ru-ru}}</ref> is being celebrated in April, nowadays it is April 7, the same day as the Annunciation day. The Bear Celebration is being celebrated occasionally after a successful hunting of a bear. The Bear Celebration continues 5 or 6 days (the duration depends on the sex of the animal). Over 300 songs and performances occur during a Bear Celebration. The most important parts of the celebration are:
* Nukh Kiltatty Ar (The Awakening Song) 
* Ily Vukhalty Ar (The Coming Down From The Sky Song) - The story about the son of Torum (the sky god). The son was sent by Torum to rule the Earth. He has forgotten father's advice, lost his immortality, turned into a beast and has been killed by the hunters. 
*  Il Veltatty Ar (The Lullaby)

=== Oral and written literature ===
In addition to bear songs, [[Fairy tale|fairy tales]] and other stories, Khanty folklore includes [[epic poetry]]. It shares similar themes with the mythical and heroic stories told by the Mansi people.<ref name=":3" />

The Khanty's written literature had its beginnings in the first half of the 20th century. The first notable Khanty writer was {{ill|Grigori Lazarev|ru|Лазарев, Григорий Дмитриевич}}, best known for his novel ''Sorneng tow''.<ref name=":3" />

=== Media ===
''{{ill|Khanty yasang|ru|Ханты ясанг}}'' is a Khanty-language newspaper that was founded in 1957.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ханты Манси Мир {{!}} Югра |url=https://www.khanty-yasang.ru/ |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=www.khanty-yasang.ru}}</ref> Another Khanty-language newspaper is ''{{ill|Lukh avt|ru|Лух авт|uk|Лух авт (газета)}}'', founded in 2001.

== Language ==
{{main|Khanty language}}
The Khanty language is part of the [[Ugric languages|Ugric branch]] of the [[Uralic languages]], and thus most closely related to [[Mansi language|Mansi]] and [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]].

The Khanty language and people are studied through {{ill|Khanty studies|ru|Хантыведение}}.

== Genetics ==
[[File:Uralic populations PCA (Cropped).jpg|thumb|Khanty (Khn) and other Uralic populations in a PCA.<ref name=":4" />]]
80 percent of Khanty men carry the [[Haplogroup N-M231|haplogroup N]]. 48.8 percent of them belong to its subgroup [[Haplogroup N-M231#N1a1a (M178)|N1c]] and 31.4 percent belong to the subclade [[Haplogroup N-M231#N1a2b (P43)|N-P43]]. Other haplotypes include [[Haplogroup R1b|R1b]] (10.5 %) and [[Haplogroup R1a|R1a]] (5.8 %).<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Tambets |first1=Kristiina |last2=Yunusbayev |first2=Bayazit |last3=Hudjashov |first3=Georgi |last4=Ilumäe |first4=Anne-Mai |last5=Rootsi |first5=Siiri |last6=Honkola |first6=Terhi |last7=Vesakoski |first7=Outi |last8=Atkinson |first8=Quentin |last9=Skoglund |first9=Pontus |last10=Kushniarevich |first10=Alena |last11=Litvinov |first11=Sergey |last12=Reidla |first12=Maere |last13=Metspalu |first13=Ene |last14=Saag |first14=Lehti |last15=Rantanen |first15=Timo |date=2018-09-21 |title=Genes reveal traces of common recent demographic history for most of the Uralic-speaking populations |journal=Genome Biology |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=139 |doi=10.1186/s13059-018-1522-1 |doi-access=free |issn=1474-760X |pmc=6151024 |pmid=30241495}}</ref>

The most common mtDNA haplogroup among the Khantys is [[Haplogroup U|U]] (28.3 %). 16.5 percent of Khanty women belong to its subgroup [[Haplogroup U#Haplogroup U4|U4]], 5.7 percent to subgroup [[Haplogroup U#Haplogroup U7|U7]], 5.4 percent to subgroup [[Haplogroup U#Haplogroup U5|U5]], and the subclades [[Haplogroup U#Haplogroup U2|U2]] and [[Haplogroup U#Haplogroup U1|U1]] are found with frequencies of less than one percent. Other maternal haplogroups include [[Haplogroup H (mtDNA)|H]] (17.3 %), [[Haplogroup J (mtDNA)|J]] (13.1 %), [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)|D]] (11.6 %) and [[Haplogroup C (mtDNA)|C]] (10.4 %).<ref name=":4" />

An estimated 61 percent of the Khanty's autosomal DNA is [[Nganasan people|Nganasan]]-like Siberian and the rest is West Eurasian.<ref name=":4" />

== Notable Khanty ==
* {{ill|Alachevy|ru|Алачевы|uk|Алачєви}}, princely family of Khanty origin
* [[Ambal]] (fl. 16th and 17th c.), Khanty and Tatar prince
* {{ill|Yeremey Aypin|de|Jeremei Danilowitsch Aipin|fr|Erémeï Aïpine|ru|Айпин, Еремей Данилович}} (born 1948), Khanty writer and politician
* {{ill|Grigori Lazarev|ru|Лазарев, Григорий Дмитриевич}} (1917–1979), Khanty journalist and writer
* {{ill|Roman Rugin|et|Roman Rugin|ru|Ругин, Роман Прокопьевич}} (1939–2016), Khanty writer, journalist and professor
* {{ill|Mikul Shulgin|ru|Шульгин, Микуль Иванович}} (1940–2007), Khanty poet
* {{ill|Mitrofan Tebetev|ru|Тебетев, Митрофан Алексеевич}} (1924–2011), Khanty artist
* {{ill|Maria Vagatova|ru|Вагатова, Мария|uk|Вагатова Марія Кузьмівна}} (born 1936), Khanty poet
* [[Vladimir Voldin]] (1938–1971), Khanty poet

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="150px">
Khanty_children_in_front_of_a_reindeer_sledge.jpg|Khanty children pose for the camera in front of a reindeer sledge near Lake [[Numto]]
Khanty_family.jpg|Khanty family at River Ob in the village of Tegi
Khanty_old_women_in_Numsang_Yoh.jpg|Kazym grandmothers old women in Numsang Yoh nomad camp
Khanty girls gathering berries.jpg|Khanty girls gathering berries
Khanty people selling blueberries and stuffed animals (129).jpg|Khanty selling blueberries and stuffed animals
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Principality of Kod]], a Khanty principality that existed from the 15th to the 17th centuries

== Notes ==
<references/>

== External links ==
{{commons category|Khanty}}
* [http://www.nba.fi/hanti/en/a4_s1.php KHANTIA-MANSIA – YUGRA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117064638/http://www.nba.fi/hanti/en/a4_s1.php |date=2021-01-17 }}
* [http://www.raipon.org/Web_Database/khant.html Khants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041206180447/http://www.raipon.org/Web_Database/khant.html |date=2004-12-06 }} — Some pictures of Khants' bird and fishery traps
* [http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/khants.shtml Redbook: The Khants]
* [https://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/khanty Survival International]
* [http://www.suri.ee/eup/khants.html Endangered Uralic Peoples: Khants or Ostyaks]
* http://www.siberianlanguages.surrey.ac.uk/summary/

{{Uralic peoples}}
{{Indigenous peoples of Russia}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Khanty| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Russia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Siberia]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:Khanty people]]
[[Category:History of Ural]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Siberia]]
[[Category:Ugric peoples]]
[[Category:Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East]]
[[Category:Modern nomads]]