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{{Short description|Ethnic group of far northeastern Russia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Koryaks
| image            = Koryak ceremony of starting the New Fire.jpeg
| image_caption    = Koryak ceremony of starting the New Fire
| population       = 7,554
| popplace         = 
| region1          = {{flag|Russia}}
*{{flag| Kamchatka}}:
∟ {{flag|Koryakia}}
| pop1             = 7,485 (2021 census)
| ref1             = <ref>{{cite web|title=Оценка численности постоянного населения по субъектам Российской Федерации|url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/tab-5_VPN-2020.xlsx|publisher=[[Federal State Statistics Service (Russia)|Federal State Statistics Service]]|access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flag|Ukraine}}
| pop2             = 69 (2001 census)
| ref2             = <ref>[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%20%20&n_page=3] State statistics committee of Ukraine - National composition of population, 2001 census] (Ukrainian)</ref>
| langs            = [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Koryak language|Koryak]]
| rels             = Predominantly [[Russian Orthodoxy|Russian Orthodox Christianity]]<br>also [[Shamanism]]
| related-c        = other [[Chukotko-Kamchatkan peoples]]
}}
[[File:Расселение коряков в ДФО по городским и сельским поселениям, в %.png|thumb|300px|Settlement of Koryaks in the Far Eastern Federal District by urban and rural settlements in %, 2010 census]]
'''Koryaks''' ({{Langx|ru|коряки}}) are an [[Indigenous people#North Asia|Indigenous people]] of the [[Russian Far East]] who live immediately north of the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]] in [[Kamchatka Krai]] and inhabit the coastlands of the [[Bering Sea]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saunders |first=Robert A. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Historical_Dictionary_of_the_Russian_Fed/WemAEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=koryaks&pg=PA383&printsec=frontcover |title=Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation: 2 Volumes |date=2019-09-20 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-22538-6 |language=en}}</ref> The cultural borders of the Koryaks include [[Tigilsky District|Tigilsk]] in the south and the [[Anadyr (river)|Anadyr]] basin in the north.

The Koryaks are culturally similar to the [[Chukchis]] of extreme northeast Siberia.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Chukchi |url=https://minorityrights.org/minorities/chukchi/ |access-date=January 21, 2024 |website=[[Minority Rights Group]]|date=16 October 2023 }}</ref> The [[Koryak language]] and [[Alutor language|Alutor]] (which is often regarded as a dialect of Koryak), are linguistically close to the [[Chukchi language]]. All of these languages are members of the [[Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages|Chukotko-Kamchatkan]] [[Language families and languages|language family]]. They are more distantly related to the [[Itelmens]] on the Kamchatka Peninsula. All of these peoples and other, unrelated minorities in and around Kamchatka are known collectively as [[Kamchadals]].

Neighbors of the Koryaks include the [[Evens]] to the west, the [[Alutor]] to the south (on the [[isthmus]] of [[Kamchatka Peninsula]]), the [[Kereks|Kerek]] to the east, and the Chukchi to the northeast.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

The Koryak are typically split into two groups.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} The [[coastal]] people are called ''Nemelan'' (or ''Nymylan'') meaning 'village dwellers', due to their living in villages. Their lifestyle is based on local [[fishing]] and marine mammal hunting. The inland Koryak, reindeer herders, are called ''Chaucu'' (or ''Chauchuven''), meaning 'rich in reindeer'. They are more [[nomad]]ic, following the herds as they graze with the seasons.{{sfn|Chaussonnet|1995|p=28-29}}

According to the 2010 census, there were 7,953 Koryaks in Russia.

==Etymology==
The name Koryak was from the [[exonym]] word 'Korak', meaning 'with the [[reindeer]] (kor)' in a nearby group [[Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages|Chukotko-Kamchatkan language]].{{sfn|Kolga|2001|pp=230-234}} The earliest references to the name 'Koryak' were recorded in the writings of the [[Russians|Russian]] [[cossack]] [[Vladimir Atlasov]], who conquered Kamchatka for the [[Tsar]] in 1695.<ref>Al'kor, Ia P., and A. K. Dranen. (1935) ''Kolonial'naia politika tsarizzna na Kamchatke'', Leningrad: Tsentral'nyi istoricheskii arkhiv. Leningradskoe otdelenie.</ref> The variant name was adopted by [[Russia]] in official state documents, hence popularizing it ever since.{{sfn|Kolga|2001|pp=230-234}}

==Origin==
[[File:Koryaks in Russian Federation.png|thumb|The Koryak in Russian Federation|alt=]]
The origin of the Koryak is unknown. [[Anthropologist]]s have speculated that a [[Beringia|land bridge]] connected the [[Eurasia]]n and [[North America]]n continent during [[Late Pleistocene]]. It is possible that migratory peoples crossed the modern-day Koryak land ''en route'' to [[North America]]. Scientists have suggested that people traveled back and forth between this area and [[Haida Gwaii]] before the [[Last glacial period|ice age]] receded. They theorize that the ancestors of the Koryak had returned to [[Siberia]]n [[Asia]] from North America during this time.{{sfn|Chaussonnet|1995|p=28-29}} Cultural and some linguistic similarity exists between the [[Nivkh people|Nivkh]] and the Koryak.{{sfn|Friedrich|Diamond|1994}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}}

==History==
[[File:Koryak shaman woman.jpeg|thumb|Koryak shaman woman (circa 1900)]]
The Koryak once occupied a much larger area of the Russian Far East. Their overlapping borders extended to the Nivkh areas in [[Khabarovsk Krai]] until the [[Evens]] arrived, and pushed them into their present region.{{sfn|Friedrich|Diamond|1994}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}} A [[smallpox]] [[epidemic]] in 1769–1770 and [[Conquest of Siberia#Genocides|warfare with Russian Cossacks]] reduced the Koryak population from 10-11,000 in 1700 to 4,800 in 1800.<ref name=ANSI>[http://www.npolar.no/ansipra/english/Indexpages/Ethnic_groups.html#19 "Indigenous Peoples of the Russian North, Siberia and Far East"], Arctic Network for the Support of the Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Arctic</ref>

Under the [[Soviet Union]], the [[Koryak Autonomous Okrug]] was formed in 1931 and named after the Koryak people. Based on a local referendum in 2005, this was merged with [[Kamchatka Krai]] effective 1 July 2007.{{sfn|Chaussonnet|1995|p=28-29}}

==Culture==
[[File:Koryak armor.jpeg|thumb|[[Lamellar armour]] traditionally worn by the Koryak people (circa 1900)]]
Families usually gathered into groups of six or seven, forming [[Band society|bands]]. The nominal chief had no predominating authority, and the groups relied on consensus to make decisions, resembling common small group [[egalitarianism]].

The lives of the people in the interior revolved around [[reindeer]], their main source of food. They also used all the parts of its body to make sewing materials and clothing, tools and weapons. The [[meat]] was mostly eaten [[roasted]] and the [[blood]], [[Bone marrow|marrow]], and [[milk]] were drunk or eaten raw. The [[liver]], [[heart]], [[kidney]]s, and [[tongue]] were considered delicacies. [[Salmon]] and other [[freshwater fish]] as well as [[berries]] and [[root]]s played a major part in the diet, as reindeer flesh did not contain some necessary [[vitamin]]s and [[mineral]]s, nor [[dietary fibre]], needed to survive in the harsh [[tundra]].

Today, the Koryaks also buy processed food, such as [[bread]], [[cereal]], and [[canned fish]]. They sell some reindeer each year for money, but can build up their herds due to the large population of reindeer.
[[File:Pels til kvinde fra korjaker i Østsibirien - Woman’s parka from Koryaks in eastern Siberia (15144851359).jpg|thumb|Koryak women's coat]]
[[Clothing]] was made out of reindeer [[Hide (skin)|hides]], but nowadays men and women often have replaced that with [[cloth]]. The men wore baggy [[trousers|pants]] and a hide [[shirt]], which often had a [[hood (headgear)|hood]] attached to it, [[boot]]s and traditional [[cap]]s made of reindeer skin. They still use the boots and caps. The women wore the same as the men, but with a longer shirt reaching to the calves. Today, women often wear a head cloth and [[skirt]], but wear the reindeer skin [[robe]] in cold weather.

The Koryak lived in domed shaped tents, called ''jajanga,'' or yaranga (from the more famous Chukchi term) similar to a [[tipi]] of the American Plains Indians, but less vertical, while some lived in [[yurts]]. The framework was covered in many reindeer skins. Few families still use the yaranga as dwellings, but some use them for trips to the tundra. The centre of the yaranga had a [[hearth]], which has been replaced by an iron [[stove]]. Reindeer hide [[bed]]s are placed to the east in the chum. They used small [[cupboard]]s to store the families' food, clothing and personal items.

==Transportation==
{{More footnotes needed|section|date=May 2013}}
[[File:Winter reindeer herders (1906991487).jpg|thumb|Koryak reindeer herders]]
The inland Koryak rode [[reindeer]] to get around, cutting off their antlers to prevent injuries. They also fitted a team of reindeer with harnesses and attached them to [[sled]]s to transport goods and people when moving camp.{{sfn|Jochelson|1908|}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}} Today the Koryak use [[snowmobiles]] more often than reindeer. Most inter-village transport is by air or boat, although tracked vehicles are used for travel to neighboring villages.{{sfn|King|2011}}{{page needed|date=October 2020}}

They developed [[snowshoes]], which they used in winter (and still do) when the snow is deep. Snowshoes are made by lashing reindeer [[sinew]] and hide strips to a [[tennis racket]]-shaped [[birch]] bark or willow hoop. The sinew straps are used to attach the shoe to the foot.

Children learned to ride a reindeer, sleigh, and use snowshoes at a very young age.

The other Koryak were skilled seafarers hunting whales and other marine mammals.

==Religion==
Koryaks believe in a Supreme Being whom they call by various names: ''ŋajŋənen'' (Universe/World), ''ineɣitelʔən'' (Supervisor), ''ɣət͡ɕɣoletənvəlʔən'' (Master-of-the-Upper-World), ''ɣət͡ɕɣolʔən'' (One-on-High), etc. He is considered to reside in Heaven with his family and when he wishes to punish mankind for immoral acts, he falls asleep and thus leaves man vulnerable to unsuccessful hunting and other ills.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jochelson|first=Waldemar|date=1904|title=The Mythology of the Koryak|jstor=659272|journal=American Anthropologist|volume=6|issue=4|pages=413–425|doi=10.1525/aa.1904.6.4.02a00010|url=https://zenodo.org/record/2275313}}</ref> Koryak [[mythology]] centers on the supernatural shaman ''[[Kutkh|Quikil]]'' (Big-Raven), who was created by the Supreme Being as the first man and protector of the Koryak.{{sfn|Chaussonnet|1995|p=28-29}} [[Raven in mythology|Big Raven myths]] are also found in Southeast Alaska in the [[Tlingit people|Tlingit]] culture, and among the [[Haida people|Haida]], [[Tsimshian]], and other natives of the Pacific Northwest Coast [[Amerindian]]s.{{sfn|Chaussonnet|1995|p=28-29}}

==Environment==
[[File:Palana.jpg|thumb|[[Palana, Russia|Palana]], a majority Koryak town in [[Kamchatka Krai]]]]
Koryak lands are [[mountain]]s and volcanic, covered in mostly Arctic tundra. [[Conifer]]ous trees lie near the southern regions along the coast of the Shelekhova Bay of the [[Sea of Okhotsk]]. The northern regions inland are much colder, where only various shrubs grow, but these are enough to sustain reindeer migration.{{sfn|Chaussonnet|1995|p=28-29}} The mean temperature in [[winter]] is {{convert|-13|C|F}} while the short [[summer]]s are {{convert|+12|C|F}}. The area they covered before Russian colonization was {{convert|301,500|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, roughly corresponding to the [[Koryak Okrug]], of which the administrative centre is [[Palana, Russia|Palana]].{{sfn|Kolga|2001|pp=230-234}} Today the Koryak are the largest minority group with 8,743 people. The krai's population is now majority ethnic Russian, descendants of the Cossack colonizers.

==See also==
*[[Haplogroup G (mtDNA)]]
*[[Alyutors]] (Koryak sub group)
*[[Anapel]]
*[[Apuka|Apuka District]]
*[[Olyutorsky District]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Works cited===
*{{cite book |last1=Chaussonnet |first1=Valérie  |title=Crossroads Alaska: Native Cultures of Alaska and Siberia |date=1995 |publisher=Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History |isbn=978-1-56098-661-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=06t1AAAAMAAJ |access-date=7 October 2020 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Friedrich |first1=Paul |last2=Diamond |first2=Norma |title=Encyclopedia of World Cultures: Russia and Eurasia, China |volume=6 |date=1994 |publisher=G.K. Hall |location=Boston, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-8161-1810-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc4ZAQAAIAAJ |access-date=7 October 2020 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Jochelson |first1=Waldemar |title=The Koryak'', Memoirs of the [[American Museum of Natural History]], vol. 10, parts 1–2: ''The Jesup North Pacific Expedition |date=1908 |publisher=E. J. Brill |location=Leiden}}
*{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Alexander D. |title=Living with Koryak Traditions: Playing with Culture in Siberia |date=2011 |publisher=U of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln, Nebraska |isbn=978-0-8032-3601-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1wfeBYr15QC |access-date=7 October 2020 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Kolga |first1=Margus |title=The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire |date=2001 |publisher=NGO Red Book |location=Tallinn, Estonia |isbn=978-9985-9369-2-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZoF0QgAACAAJ |access-date=7 October 2020 }}
*Gall, Timothy L. (1998) ''Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life'': Koriaks. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Inc. {{ISBN|0-7876-0552-2}}

===General references===
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Koryaks}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|first=George |last=Kennan|title=Tent Life in Siberia: And Adventures Among the Koraks and Other Tribes in Kamtchatka and Northern Asia|url=https://archive.org/details/tentlifeinsiberi00kenn|year=1871|publisher=Putnam}}; "Über die Koriaken u. ihnen nähe verwandten Tchouktchen," in ''But. Acad. Sc. St. Petersburg,'' xii. 99.
* Jochelson, Waldemar. ''The Koryak''. New York: AMS Press, 1975. {{ISBN|0-404-58106-4}}
* [[Vladimir Jochelson|Jochelson, Vladimir Il'ich]], and F. Boas. ''Religion and Myths of the Koryak Material Culture and Social Organization of the Koryak''. New York: [s.n.], 1908.
* Nagayama, Yukari ed. ''The Magic Rope Koryak Folktale''. Kyoto, Japan: ELPR, 2003.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Koryaks}}
{{NIE Poster|Koriaks}}
*[http://www.koryaks.net Koryaks.net: Website about the Koryak people]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130927132703/http://www.gendercentre.org.au/resources/polare-archive/archived-articles/trannie-mystics.htm Transgender shamans] 
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Koryaks|short=x}}

{{Indigenous peoples of Russia}}
{{Eastern Christianity footer}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Russia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Siberia]]
[[Category:Kamchatka Peninsula]]
[[Category:People from Kamchatka Krai]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Siberia]]
[[Category:Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East]]
[[Category:History of the Kamchatka Peninsula]]
[[Category:Kamchatka Krai]]
[[Category:Modern nomads]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:Politics of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug]]