Samoyedic peoples
Ethnolinguistic group indigenous to Siberia, Russia
The Samoyedic peoples (sometimes Samodeic peoples) are a group of closely related peoples who speak Samoyedic languages, which are part of the Uralic family. They are a linguistic, ethnic, and cultural grouping. The name derives from the obsolete term Samoyed used in the Russian Empire for some of the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
01Peoples
Contemporary
| People | Language | Numbers | Most important territory | Other traditional territories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nenets | Nenets | 45,000 | Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug | Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug |
| Enets | Enets | 200-300 | Krasnoyarsk Krai | |
| Nganasans | Nganasan | 900-1000 | Krasnoyarsk Krai | |
| Selkups | Selkup | 3,700 | Tomsk Oblast | Krasnoyarsk Krai |
| Kamasins | Kamassian (extinct) | 20 | Krasnoyarsk Krai |
Extinct
02Classification
Traditionally, Samoyedic languages and peoples have been divided into two major areal groups: Northern Samoyedic (Nenets, Yurats, Enets, Nganasans), and Southern Samoyedic (Selkups) with a further subgroup of Sayan-Samoyedic (Kamasins, Mators) named after the Sayan Mountains. This classification does not reflect linguistic relations, being purely geographical.
The most numerous of the Samoyedic peoples are the Nenets, who mainly live in two autonomous districts of Russia: Yamalo-Nenetsia and Nenetsia. Some of the Nenets and most of the Enets and Nganasans used to live in the Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District. Most of the Selkups live in Yamalo-Nenetsia, but there is also a significant population in Tomsk Oblast.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Samoyedic peoples”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Samoyedic map XVII-XX.png by Background map by user:fremantleboy, language map by Minami Himemiya, CC BY 2.5
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